This is one of those decks that started off as an internal company thing and exploded, catching the attention of a lot of Playing Card enthusiasts. The Mailchimp deck was produced by Fuzzco with the assistance of Theory 11. The original production run was limited and intended for internal purposes and promotions, but once the deck received exposure outside the company, the appreciation for the design became very evident.
Fast forward to March 2015, Theory 11 releases the 2nd version of the Mailchimp deck to the public and is meet with overwhelming support. One of the “Deck Features” that isn’t physically on the deck, is that 100% of the proceeds goes to support Fugees Family, a non-profit organization working with child survivors of war.
Mailchimp’s is whimsical and detailed. The tuck case offers some very detailed line work accented by red foiling. If you look closely at the design, you can see that the attention to detail went into making sure the design matched the concept. The tuck design is a mirror of the cards back design, red line work sitting on a deep blue background giving the design pop, and also accentuating the very thin white borders on the deck. The face cards and pips have a bit of customization to them and the design offers them in a smaller version than a standard deck, but in a customary layout.
The court cards are basically a “Standard” design, but have gone through a “Mailchimp” makeover with Ape faces taking center stage over human faces. I really like this deck, for a few reasons, 1st and foremost, the charity aspect of it. It’s always nice to enjoy your hobby and help others at the same time. In respect to the deck itself, it has Theory 11’s fingerprint on it, a beautiful tuck and a very concept solid deck. As I mentioned, it’s a fun, fancy and functional deck that will look nice in your collection and spark some interesting conversations at your family card night or weekly poker game.
The original batch that was released internally to Mailchimps seems to have become this Holy Grail to some, and while the collector in me understands the drive to find one, the common sense part of me has to reflect on the fact that, to the best of my knowledge, the only difference between the two is the seal. The original has the Mailchimp Logo screened onto it, while the public version two offers an embossed logo. That being said, the original is on my list of decks to look out for, I can’t keep the collector in me under control, but only if it can be had under my conditions, a good trade, or a really good price.
The public release of the version 2 deck was accompanied by a Black version, the line work being done in a “Black” ink to make it stand out on the matte black tuck. And of course, just recently, a Summer Edition was released by Theory 11. This one has a very bright palette the tuck is done in an Orange and Yellow scheme and the actual cards go into a “Hot Pink”. No actual numbers for the Summer Edition have been released, but its been stated that they would only be available through promotions from Theory 11. The first batch was released to Theory 11 Elite members via member points.
So don’t go crazy trying to find the original, if the opportunity arises and it works for you grab it, otherwise enjoy the version 2 and save yourself quite a bit of cash, the difference is too minimal to put the original on such a high pedestal.
So grab some friends, a bunch of bananas and deal them up…….and most importantly, have fun.
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 his Facebook page or follow him onInstagram.
