What an uncertain year it has been! However, one thing is certain: we are incredibly fortunate to be part of such an inspired community of artists, designers, cardists, magicians, and collectors! Even with the pandemic, we have had a huge selection of decks released and delivered this year.
We’ve compiled our favorite decks for 2020 right here. To kick things off, this will be the first of four articles counting down to our Deck of the Year reveal next week.
Top 5 Cardistry Decks
Top 12 Playing Cards of 2020
Deck of the Year 2020
If you think we’ve missed your favorite cardistry playing cards, let us know in the comment section below. Note that the selection expressed in this top 5 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.
Fontaine x Babylon
The Babylon Fontaines generated quite a buzz within the community when Zach dropped the SPOTLIGHT video on youtube. The deck features a minimal white tuck box design and a white card back featuring the iconic ‘f’ in black and thin black borders. When using a UV torchlight, the deck is ‘activated’ with the Babylon brand logo revealed on the white spaces of the tuck AND card backs! Genius!
Fontaine x DabsmyLA
Another Fontaine deck in the list. This FULLY custom Fontaine is a collab with Australian husband-and-wife visual artists, DABSMYLA. Their vibrant artwork employs a shared design language that dictates subject matter, positioning, color theory, and perspective. The philosophy is reflected on the whimsical face cards, vibrant card backs, and colorful courts. Definitely perfect cardistry!
Touch Offset
The “Offset Orange” Concept deck is Cardistry Touch‘s bold take on the traditional deck of playing cards inspired by the misprint of certain playing cards, we wanted to use the “offset” as part of the actual design. The deck sports a bold orange/black colorway inspired by urban life, making this deck a perfect accessory to match your streetwear looks.
Avocardo
Organic Playing Cards released the fun and vibrant Avo-Card-O Playing Cards with eye-catching custom tuck boxes, sold in pairs. One box has a seed and the other doesn’t, making it look like you are opening up a real avocado. The deck sports an orange colorway and they definitely look very well with the fall season.
Hexa
The fourth deck in the Mono collection by Luke Wadey sports a vibrant purple color scheme teamed with the unmistakable pattern work of the Mono decks creating a hexagonal theme. Using a suite of purples, ranging from light to dark, and including a neon Pantone purple as the main color… a real sense of energy and dynamism in the design.
Note that the selection expressed in this top 5 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.
