Sometimes I receive questions from my readers about stocks and finishes used to print playing cards. Although a thorough analysis of this topic would require a much longer article, it is possible to learn important aspects by observing the features of new releases. A good example is the new release by Di Fatta Magic: BICYCLE SUPREME LINE deck. Its appearance is that of a standard Bicycle rider back deck, with the traditional tuck case in red and blue colors. However…
The representation of Iustitia, the Roman goddess heiress of the Greek Dice, has traditionally been linked to a woman holding a scale in one hand to symbolize the balance between truth and justice and a sword in the other hand to show the strength of its application. From the 15th century, a blindfold was added to the iconography to indicate that the justice must be impartial. With this inspiration, the artist John Cho and Passione Cards Team have created the EQUALITY…
In 2012, magician Alex Pandrea launched a simple idea into the market that became something completely revolutionary: the NOC deck. With completely standard faces and solid colored backs, the NOC deck burst into the market and quickly became an essential item in the pocket of any magician or cardist. Since then, dozens of different colors and editions have been released both by the original creator and by different companies that wanted to print their personal stamp on an already legendary…
Christmas is a time for celebration and gifts. Our friends from Art Of Play offer us a selection of playing cards so varied that it will be impossible for you not to find the perfect gift for your loved one or, why not, for yourself. They are decks that combine the design and the avant-garde with the best printing quality. DKNG BLACK WHEELS The first DKNG deck (red) was launched in 2014 and was a real success. Since…
In 2013, Mike Lambert launched the first deck of what has already become the METROPOL series. Modernity and minimalism make a great team in these decks that have exploited different color schemes, from the fluorescent NOX to the new pastel colors on black and white backgrounds. Looking to the future of this brand, Mike has just launched METROPOL NEXT. This new deck keeps the essence of the series, with simple and very clean designs. The updated artwork in the faces…
Art Of Play was created in 2013 by the popular magicians Dan&Dave with the aim of offering a carefully selected collection of designer playing cards. Although they have expanded their business to other items such as puzzles and games, playing cards are still the flagship product. With all these items they have built an image that mixes beauty and elegance with mystery and, of course, magic. Among their activities, Art Of Play also produces their own line of decks teaming…
The joining together of magic and card flourishing is becoming increasingly popular. The growing interest by a very young audience to the cardistry discipline is flooding the market with a huge number of decks with colorful and striking designs. This interest has also generated a curious (and sometimes toxic) fever to get some of these decks that sometimes has insanely raised their price in secondary markets and whose new editions, with a simple change of the back color, have inflated…
In search of fresh proposals for custom cards designed for cardistry, TCC Cardistry has collaborated with an expert illustrator to create a quite interesting deck: FORMA. FORMA is the result of the work by Ale Urrutia, a Uruguayan designer based in China whose works are characterized by an intense use of color and simple forms. For this deck Ale has taken the basic geometric shapes as the main design elements, wisely combined with flat colors (blue, red and white)…
Two friends, Mike Wilson (The Doc/@thedoc318), a cardistry and magic fan and Randy Butterfield (Midnight Card Company) a talented designed and a good friend of Max Playing Cards, have teamed to create something new for both: OCULUS. For Mike, a passionate of magic and cardistry who works trying to incorporate them into helping autistic persons grow in their social, motor and self-knowledge skills , this is his very first playing cards project. For Randy, Oculus is the very first deck designed with cardistry in mind. Both wanted to…
TCC is a Chinese company that has created since 2011 playing cards that have become very popular all over the world. This time, they have teamed up with a European artists well known for his strange and sometimes disturbing designs, Sam Hayles, creator among others of the Karnival series produced by BBM. From this collaboration a new and interesting deck has appeared: BICYCLE DRAGONLORD. Dragonlord is a tribute to the traditional Chinese culture through one of its main icons:…