[Update] The Piff Deck is available now from the official Piff the Magic Dragon Shop!
On the latest (July 14) episode of “America’s Got Talent”, Piff the Magic Dragon and his faithful companion Mr. Piffles (the World’s First Magic Performing Chihuahua) won over the audience and judges by making ham and cheese sandwiches, stealing a kiss from Heidi Klum and somehow, someway making a card appear in the strangest of places (we won’t ruin the surprise for you) and walked away, a proud golden buzzer recipient.
If you don’t already know, Piff the Magic Dragon is the stand out star of Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Las Vegas Headliner. With over 12 million YouTube hits to his name, Piff has performed to hundreds of thousands of people in famous venues such as Radio City Music Hall, Shakespeare’s Globe, the O2, London and Sydney Opera house. His solo show has had five record breaking runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, two sell-out seasons at Soho Theatre in London’s West End, a national tour of the UK and Australia. He was the opening act for Mumford & Sons on their 17 date uk tour and has just completed a six month residency at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in their flagship show Vegas Nocturne.
But enough of Piff because it’s time to talk about this incredibly fun deck. The Piff the Magic Dragon Playing Cards is a completely custom totally bad@$$ deck of playing cards designed from the ground up to fulfill all your magical dragon desires. Illustrated by UK artist Claire Blackledge, this unique deck features custom pips and indices, custom back, custom courts and redesigned tuck box, Die-Cut Harbin Table Playing Cards, and totally unique Gaff Cards for a special Piff magic trick.
The pips and indices have been redesigned to represent various aspects of Piff’s life Spades are now represented by flames. The paws of Mr Piffles have replaced the clubs. Hearts are out, flowers are in, and diamonds are still the same, but fancier. Also, each of the 12 court cards have been completely redesigned to tell a story between the suits. Kings are represented by Piff, Queens have been upgraded to Princesses and Jacks are represented by none other than Mr. Piffles himself.
Finally… The Tuckular! A Tuck Tacular! Each Piff deck is safely stored in a custom built and designed tuck case that is an exact replica of Piff’s legendary Tacular. The deck comes with 2 uniquely engineered die-cut playing cards that fold out into a Harbin table! How awesome is that??
Thanks to Chris Chelko, we managed to have a chat with Piff about life of a Magical Dragon, his brother Steve and creating a custom deck of playing cards.
How different is the life of a Magical Dragon compared to we mere mortals?
A magical dragon’s life consists of practicing card tricks, seeking out snacks and kidnapping princesses. I’m sure your readers will be able to identify with at least two of these quests.
You have a brother, Steve, are you related to that “Other” Dragon in any way?
“He’s dead to me”
What inspired you to bring your “Magical” abilities to the world stage?
I needed some gold. Kidnapping Princesses is not cheap.
Why would a Dragon decide to create a custom deck of playing cards?
See above.
Did you have any help in designing you’re playing cards?
Yes. I worked alongside an amazing artist called Claire Blackledge, who originally created a T-Shirt for me, and we’ve been working together ever since.
What elements of your playing cards excite you the most?
The Tuckular – It’s an exact replica of my Tacular, for playing cards. When I was bored on the road I would make small harbin tables out of playing cards. This is a continuation of that idea.
Also, Mr Piffles’ Cannon of Certain Boom has been immortalized in the deck and can now be performed by your readers on a nightly basis.
Have you developed any fondness for any of our Magicians or Designers?
I have a couple of magic bros like Chris Chelko, Justin Willman, Mac King, and Penn & Teller. As far as designers go, I am very fond of Dan & Dave. They make great treasure.
We want to thank Piff for his time and the opportunity to bring the Piff the Magic Dragon deck to our readers, it’s a real honor and we can’t wait to see Piff and Mr. Piffles on America’s Got Talent final rounds! Meanwhile, if you want to support Piff the Magic Dragon Playing Cards, you can find it on Kickstarter here!
Pledge starts from $15 and the deck will be printed by the Expert Playing Card Co. Uncut sheet and Piff T-Shirt are available as an add-on.
[Update] The Piff Deck is available now from the official Piff the Magic Dragon Shop!
