The Heretic decks by Stockholm 17 and Lorenzo Gaggiotti, feature intricate designs and imagery based on Alchemy and the Hermetic world. The Kickstarter campaign featured two versions of the deck. The Heritic and the Noctis, there really isn’t a limited edition, both decks were produced in realatively equal quantaites, but the Noctis has a slightly smaller print run (Heretic 4400 & Noctis 4100).
Both deck features completely original work, every aspect has been touched from pips to court cards. The Heretic tuck has a subtle embosing on it with a nice “Long” flap design that tucks into a lip on the tuck. A nice elongated Red seal wraps itself around the bottom of the tuck to secure the flap and features sequential serial numbers. Unfortunately you will need to eaither remove the seal or trim it around the lip for it to work, but this deck is well worth opening. The back design is bright, but again works well with the overall theme of the deck. Intricate sphere’s and ribbons in the negative space make the back very eye-catching.
The Noctis deck features the same flap design but a darker color scheme along with it’s own unique set of Jokers and Ace of Spade. The back design mirrors the Heretic deck, but the dark blue pallet really makes it stand out on its own. The tuck case of the Noctis is just stunning. Embossed with a Black tuck with Black foil and a splash of Gold foil accents. The tuck has the same long serial numbered seal but keeps to the Black pallet of the deck. Again keeping with the Alchemy theme the designs and imagery on the tuck are just stunning.
What I really appreciate about Lorenzo’s work on Heritic is that it was well thought out, every little detail ties to the Alchemy theme. The mappings, diagrams, and “Watermarks” on the face cards to the celestial elements scattered throughout the decks just tie it all together beautifully. Both decks feature a 3rd Joker, a “Gimmick” card for use with magic and slights as well as a few “Heresies” you can discover on your own. Heretic isn’t limited by any means, but it’s a gorgeous deck with some nice unique features.
The Heretic decks were printed by the Expert Playing Card Company with their Master Finish which handles superbly.
The Collection segment is produced by Anthony Ingrassia of Kardify. No part of this article, images or video can be reproduced without written permission from the author and Kardify.com. To see more of Sparkz- Anthony’s collection please visit www.sparkzcollector.com
