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. This will be the second of four articles counting down to our Deck of the Year reveal next week.
Top 5 Collector Playing Cards
Top 12 Playing Cards of 2020
Deck of the Year 2020
If you think we’ve missed your favorite deck, 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.
United
From Cartamundi, the United decks were made to celebrate the acquisition of USPCC earlier this year. These decks are never to be sold and were only given away to the lucky attendees of Cartamundi and USPCC’s House of Cardistry event in NYC.
Legal Tender
From Kings Wild, Legal Tender is a beautifully crafted deck and strikes a balance between classic banknote engraving and the modern sleekness of high tech banknote manufacturing. Inside, the court cards feature many iconic American figures that are featured on current American currency: Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. Legal Tender is the culmination of some of Jackson Robinson‘s most breathtaking artwork combined with the industry-leading advancements in printing technology and production.
Crypt
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| Image by Richard Arturo (Instagram: @richardarturo47) |
CRYPT Playing Cards by Lotrek of Oath playing Cards is the third installment of Oath’s mystery decks. Bought sight unseen, no pictures of this deck has been released to keep all its secrets hidden like – a crypt.
Star Wars Plying Card is an officially licensed deck produced by Theory11 in collaboration with LucasFilm and designed by Mattson Creative Inside the deck is fully custom with special court cards and card backs with details that will sure to delight fans. The deck is packaged shiny foil and embossed tuck boxe feature either Rebel Alliance imagery. A must-have for any Star Wars fan!
Trident
Trident Playing Cards by Kevin Yu is an incredible looking deck featuring an eye-catching tuck concept designed with magnetic opening and closing system. When the box is spread out, one will notice that each piece is lined by a stunning Foil line, which traces the weapon-shaped cutouts. The card backs feature a mesmerizing silver and copper metallic ink with highly saturated colored lines outline the image of the Poseidon’s trident. The courts are represented by legendary heroes from a different historical period, from Athena, to Alexander the Great and Hector from Homer’s epos Iliad.
Note that the selection expressed in this top 5 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.
