Patrick Kun Releases Stay Playing Cards

Stay Playing Cards by Magician Patrick Kun is a collaboration with Stay, a curated lifestyle shop for Travel on Instagram (@staylifestyle). Designed by Nick Vlow, the travel theme deck was designed from the ground up to enlighten the joy of travel.

The deck sports a bright turquoise colorway with fully customized pips and faces with a fun modern look. The deck is packaged in a clean minimal tuck case design with gold foil stamp and the tuck interior features a world map design, printed in metallic gold ink by Clove St. Press.

Whether you travel alone or with your friends, Stay Playing Cards will always be your perfect companion to create memorable moments for your next journey. Printed by the US Playing Card Co. on thin crush stock and available now from patrickkun.com for $15.

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First Look at Mantecore v2 Playing Cards

Inspired by their love for this majestic beast, Mantecore v2 Playing Cards is a follow-up to the bold Mantecore decks designed by Edo Huang and Benjamin Loo back in 2015. The new Mantecores are absolutely STUNNING!

The fully custom deck is enhanced with a new bold color scheme and functionality with updates to the pips, indices and simplified courts. The intricate two-way back design now sports a gold foil accent giving the deck a touch of sophistication and elegance for your magic performance and card flourishes.

The deck is housed in a black tuck case with gold metallic ink. The head of the majestic beast is prominently featured. Loving the new bold look of the deck, reflecting the power, might and agility of the creature.

Available on December 31st at Cardvo.com. Besides getting a stunning deck, you also get to support WWF's tiger conservation efforts!

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Deck View: Darkfall Playing Cards

Darkness. Street. Style.

This is our last Deck View for 2108! Darkfall Playing Cards is an intriguing deck designed by Jason Brumbalow and illustrated Abraham Garcia. The deck is a respectful nod to the street artists who charge into the darkness to imprint their brand on the city.

Darkfall is a fully custom-designed deck of high-quality playing cards with the modern street art spirit. The face and backs fade into complete darkness, giving the deck a bold and stylish design. The artwork of the Ace of Spades, Jokers and courts are an infusion of symbology, style, and passion.

At first glance the deck is unassuming, but the cards are meticulously illustrated and overflowing with detail, presented in a consistent color palette which suits the theme really well! Masterfully crafted exclusively at the US Playing Card Company, for a premium finish and highly-durable casino quality stock. Available from your favorite Muphy's Magic retailer!

See you in 2019!

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Cardistry: Entry 03 - Peppers Playing Cards Released!

The team at Entry released the 3rd deck in the series, the Entry 03- Peppers on Christmas Eve on their online store entry.us.com. Crafted for cardistry in mind,  the card back is formed from fluid half spade shapes in contrasting red colors. The result is a beautiful deck that is perfect for card flourishing... subtle yet impactful.

Like their previous two decks, the face cards are pretty much standard with the exception of the Ace of Spades and Jokers. The deck is packaged in a custom tuck with a number system that identifies the deck and the card back design featured on the tuck box.



Also as a surprise, the team at Entry will be selecting 200 random orders to receive one free Entry 04 deck ahead of release.  ‘Peppers’ are available now on entry.us.com for $15 per deck.

Article originally published on cardistrybeast.com

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Detailed Look at the Orbit V6 Deck

We just received the Orbit V6 and we LOVE it! Designed by Daniel Schneider, the deck combines the best design elements of the V4/V5 and features space, aliens, and trees, making this design a beautiful harmony of things the Orbit team loves.

Whilst the vibrant color palette of the V5 gives the deck a retro look and feel, the V6 has a darker tone, giving it a sense of mystery and intrigue.

In terms of the design, here's what the product page had to say,

The entire Orbit Crew sat down and spoke about design theory along with what makes playing cards look good up close and from afar. We made more renditions of this edition than all previous back designs combined. We believe we have a formula for what makes a deck aesthetically pleasing. After months of brainstorming we came to this final design. We couldn't be happier and it's our favorite deck to date. One of our rules is, we don't create a new Orbit deck unless it's going to be our new favorite deck to date.

Besides the new subtle one way back design on the V6, you will notice that the jokers have been updated with alien Jokers who have abducted Carl and are now riding his bike!

The face cards are pretty much standard, similar to those of the V5s.

Printed by the USPCC, the new Orbits will have the same crushed premium stock, same matte box, and same traditional cut as the V5's. Available now from theorbitbrown.myshopify.com for $13.

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Snow Crown Playing Cards- The Last of the Crown Deck Design

Alex Pandrea has decided to retire the legacy Crown Deck design. If you've started collecting back in 2012, you know how iconic the Crown decks are. The semi-custom decks are designed to evoke quality, elegance, and style with standard Arrco faces. According to Alex on the product page,

The last 7 years has been AMAZING producing this deck but the time has come to move forward! Don't worry, we'll be back in 2019 with an ALL NEW Crown Deck design.

The White Crown Playing Cards are printed by USPCC and will be available in LIMITED quantity. This will be THE LAST Crown Deck with this design. Available now from thebluecrown.com for $7.95.

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Top 12: Playing Cards of 2018

This is a record year for playing cards! We have a record number of decks released and delivered this year. To celebrate, we've compiled 12 of our favorite decks for 2018 right here. A very challenging list to put together due to the number of decks in the market. We realized that the benchmark is increasing each year with designers and producers putting out stunning decks, trying new innovation and design styles. So, if you think we've missed your favorite deck, let us know in the comment section below. :)

Note that the selection expressed in this top 12 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.

LUNA

Luna Decks by Bocopo Playing Cards Co. (BPCC) and Kevin Yu of Riffle Shuffle is an eye-catching deck with a revolutionary fanned deluxe tuck case. The deck has been inspired by the historical significance of the moon and sun in both Western and Chinese culture.

Cartomancer

Alain Benoit's Cartomancer Playing Cards won 52 Plus Joker's 'Deck of the Year' award for a very unique deck that fully incorporates themes of cartomancy into the deck design. Each card tells a story with an original illustration made with vintage engravings and prints. The whole deck paints the landscape of our lives in a beautifully nostalgic style. The result is a thought-provoking synergy between significance and design.

Illusion d'Optique

Seeing is not necessarily believing! Illusion d’Optique is the most jaw-dropping collection of optical illusion playing cards ever assembled. From Art of Play, the deck features 54 eye-popping original designs created by a master of visual perception, Gianni Sarcone. Watch closely as colors change, shapes transform and static, printed ink seems to come alive. The deck is housed in a wild, rainbow-sheen holographic tuck-case.

Junkanoo

This is an Uusi exclusive commission for Baha Mar Casino, "Junkanoo" is a playing card deck that pays homage to the storied, folk festival of the same name held every year in the Bahamas by the local island residents. The deck is fully custom with original artwork by Uusi and reflect the beauty and creative abundance of this local community and truly embody the Baha Mar catchphrase, Life Spectacular. The deck is packaged in a gorgeous tuck box, with gold foil details and embossed.

Hana

The Hana luxury playing cards is an original set of decks designed by Steve Minty. These gorgeous decks are inspired by the unique elegance of traditional Japanese culture. Elements from aspects of textile, art, and social structures are incorporated into this deck along with Steve's design sensibilities to make these different from what that has done before.

Damask

Lotrek Oath's stunning Damask Playing Cards is printed with two inks plus 4+1 foils on the face cards, 2 foils on the back, printed on a striking paper stock! Incredible! The deck features a floral design pattern throughout, from the borderless card backs to the Ace of Spades and the beautiful borders of the face cards.

El Recuerdo

Created with the spirit of freedom in mind, El Recuerdo Playing Cards by Sviatoslav Pashchuk are dedicated to Mexico’s heroic struggle for independence. The decks beautifully combine the modern attributes of Mexico with the history and traditions of the Incas and the Maya. The idea is to make El Recuerdo decks more graphics, similar to the old money used in Mexico in the 17th century. The face cards have a large number of symbols. Each suit has a unique armament of that time, the ancient Incas symbol, which symbolizes the suit, Mexico most recognizable plant, an integral part of the national cuisine. The center of each card contains Maya golden calendar and a decorative plate.

NPCCD 2018

To celebrate the 2018 National Playing Card Collection Day, Alex Chin has released the Official NPCCD Deck, a truly remarkable deck featuring the world’s first light filter that literally changes the design of the deck based on the filter of the tuck box. The chess-themed deck is fully custom and meticulously designed. The back design incorporates a mobius strip that reveals a sphere of 2 heads. The beautiful tuck box features gold and silver intaglio engraving onto astral pearl stock that exudes a feeling of luxury. Each box contains 2 large die-cut windows featuring either a red or blue “worldview” that shows the deck inside.

VIEWS

Luxurious and unique in design. VIEWS Playing Cards are an illusion-themed deck of cards designed by Yves Krähenbühl and produced by Nick Earl of Got Magic?. The cards are fully custom and designed from the ground up. The back design features the motion-like bending VIEWS dots with a mint undertone to create the illusion. The face cards have custom pips, and the modern clean-looking courts have Pantone metallic inks. The eye-catching tuck case is crafted out of a synthetic soft-touch paper by Clove St Press. It is surrounded by the mind-bending illusion card back design, hot-stamped in white and mint foil.

RIPNDIP Fontaine

Sold out in 10 minutes! Zach Mueller's highly anticipated Fontaine collaboration deck is the best collaboration deck yet. RIPNDIP is a Los Angeles based clothing brand that has a very specific voice and it often focuses on eccentric designs that aren't afraid to stray from the norm. This is clearly reflected on the FULLY custom RIPNDIP Fontaines. The tuck features RIPNDIP's iconic white cat, Lord Nermal. In fact, Lord Nermal is featured prominently throughout the deck. From the card back patterns, Aces to the pips, courts, and jokers.

Deck the Halls

Initially released as part of Kings Wild Shorts, the Deck the Halls: White Christmas Edition Playing Cards are designed to look like a sweater. The courts, face cards, Ace of Spades and card backs features embroidery artwork with three color thread. Definitely a unique deck for the holiday season and will surely put a smile on someone's face.

House of the Rising Spades

House of the Rising Spades Playing Cards are richly detailed and features Lorenzo Gaggioti's incredible artwork. The exquisite decks begin on the outside with a stunning tuck case and finished with breathtaking face cards inside. There's just so much to like about this deck!

Honorable mention: Delirium Lost Decks by Thirdway Industries, COBRA by JP Games Ltd, Untitled v1 by Adam Borderline, Maduro by Kings Wild Project, Maidens by J&T Playing Cards, Ragnorak by Design Imperator, Tigers by Kings Wild Project, Off the Wall by Art of Play, Orbit V5 by Orbit Brown, Red Cherry Casino by Pure Imagination Projects, Planets by Vanda, Papercuts by Art of Play,  ULTRA by Toomas Pintson, Odissea by Thirdway Industries and Alice in Wonderland by Playing Card Decks.


The selection expressed in this top12 are solely those of the author. 

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Season's Greetings 2018

Stunning innovations, new talents, new design ideas, and new subscription services! What incredible year! We at Kardify would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for the friendship and support you have given us. Also, we are thankful for the many contributors, sponsors, advertisers, who share their enthusiasm and vision with us. To the producers, designers, and artists, who took their time for interviews and sharing their talent, thank you!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :)

Deck View: Skateboard Playing Cards

Eat. Sleep. Skate.

Designed by Dario Genuardi and produced by Kevin Yu of Riffle Shuffle, the Skateboard deck fuses the skate and magic culture. The deck was released on Kickstarter back in 2016 and quickly hit its funding goal within days. The delightful fully custom deck features a meticulously illustrated subtle one-way back design with skate and pop culture iconographies displayed throughout.

The courts and jokers represent individual characters with their own personality who shares the love of the skate lifestyle. The Ace of Spades is made up of half of the top and bottom of a skateboard with the slogan Eat, Sleep, Skate. The deck is kept in a vibrant blue-colorway tuck box which is not only eye-catching but laden with the theme of the Skateboard culture.

The Skateboard deck is printed by the USPCC, on the Bee Stock, Thin Crushed. For more cool decks, check out JP Games.

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Cardistry: LotusinHand Unveils Echo Playing Cards

Taiwanese cardistry group, LotusinHand (Instagram: @lotusinhand) has unveiled the follow-up deck to Ventus. Echo Playing Cards will be available on 24th December. From the teaser trailer below, the deck features a modern design with a black/white colorway. The repeating 'bullseye' design is prominent on the card backs and the face cards with inverse colors that give it a satisfying and hypnotizing look to your card flourish especially cuts and spins. Check out the trailer below:
  

originally published on cardistrybeast.com

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Card Flash: Blue Ribbon 323 Rosette Back Reprint

Currently in fulfillment, the reproduction of Blue Ribbon 323 playing cards by Aethan Friday are based on an iconic vintage deck from the Blue Ribbon brand started by Willis W Russell in 1907. Russell Playing Card Co. produced the Blue Ribbon around 1916 and slightly different versions were produced over the years until USPC started putting their name on the brand in the mid-1930s.

The decks are often associated with the Aristocrat brand originated by the American Banknote Company. However, USPC discontinued the brand including the Aristocrats in the 1990s. Aethan revived the rosette backs of the Blue Ribbon in September this year with a successful crowdfunded campaign on Kickstarter.

Aethan's done an incredible job getting the decks to be as close to the originals as possible. These cards have a custom ace, jokers and standard pips and USPC courts.



The intricate "bank note" style card backs have been meticulously retraced by hand and the red and blue colors of the rosette backs are exceptionally striking.

Not only do the decks look good, but they also handle incredibly as well! Printed by the United States Playing Card Co., on crushed stock, Blue Ribbon 323 will be a conversation starter for your magic, cardistry and/or game nights.

Available now for $10 on blueribbon323.com.

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Card Radar: MarcDeck

MarcDeck is a unique deck of playing cards designed through a collaboration of artists, designers, illustrators and innovators from around the world.

The art deck was created as a method of promotion and a way to connect a diverse group of artists who wouldn’t typically have the opportunity to collaborate.

The Deck includes 52 uniquely illustrated custom face cards, 2 jokers, and an info card that lists the contributing artists, their respective card, and means of contact.

I love how the deck came together! I am sure it is no easy task coordinating 52 different artists and putting together a huge amount of artistic variety in a consistent manner.

The art on the cards features all different styles, themes, and characters, which makes it really nice to admire and appreciate each artwork individually. A truly incredible effort, resulting in an incredible art deck!

Available now from marcd.co for $18. Printed by the United States Playing Card Co.

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