It’s been just about a year since the Hundred Years War decks funded on Kickstarter, they’ve kind of went under the radar after fulfillment, but it’s one of those decks that wasn’t over the top in funding, didn’t make people go mental, but it’s a solid deck and you can see that some thought and work went into it.
Inspired by the Hundred Years War between England and France the deck takes many elements of the time and incorporates them very well into a beautiful and detailed design. The decks were printed by USPC, 5000 decks of each the Silver and Black was produced. The tuck cases are stunning with some really nice deep embossing as well as silver and gold foil highlights respectively. The cards themselves are completely custom and both decks feature metallic inks on the Hearts and Diamond suites as well as the details on the Aces and Jokers.
The back design has a nice design to it that lends itself well to the theme of the deck; it does have a one way back design due to the varying crowns at each end of the center design. The back also features metallic inks in each respective color. The courts fit really well with the rest of the design and concept, and I like the way the banner/ribbon design brings to the mirror images together. The court cards also receive the metallic ink treatment on the pips as I mentioned as well as some of the design details in the wardrobe and crowns. A nice touch to the overall deck is the four Aces getting the full “Custom” treatment and the decks also include a double backer.
Overall the Hundred Years War decks are well conceived and offer some stunning design elements, while I lean towards liking the silver deck a little more; the silver metallic inks tend to vanish at certain angles making your pips non existent. The one way back design may be a turn off for some, but it’s done with a purpose so I can look past that pretty easily. Unfortunately this deck, at least the decks that I have, is plagued by USPC’s issue of off center printing. Again, I don’t put the blame on the creators, this is out of their hands, but it’s been a thorn in many decks coming from USPC.
Hundred Years War is still readily available at a range of pricing, you can definitely find a good price if your patient and shop around. I give the HYW Decks a positive nod as a deck worth adding to the collection at the right price. Solid work, great concept and beautiful presentaion by SPAAAADE & Co.
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 Anthony’s (Sparkz) collection and work please visit sparkzphoto.com .
