Deck View: Priory (Primary Edition) Playing Cards

Colors. Bold. Visual.

Priory playing cards by Encarded features bold colors and modern sweeping lines. Inspired by a small fresco motif found in a French church built in the 13th century, the deck is truly eye-catching. The repeated and rotated combination creates a visual riot of movement that draws the eye back and forth across the design.

The faces are fully custom, with unique pips and a modern typeface, while the courts feature a bold “reversed” look with intense pinks, reds, and blacks. The Primary Edition is numbered 1-1500 and sealed with a custom holographic seal. The tuck box is printed on a heavy-duty gloss white cardstock with embossing and full coverage inks that highlight the bold, primary colors of the Priory.

Priory is printed by Expert Playing Cards with their Stud finish and a very snappy, thin stock. Sold out on encarded.com

Encarded 10-Year Anniversary Special

Today (March 10th) is the tenth anniversary of Encarded! The first Encarded deck, the now mythic Tendril, was successfully funded on Kickstarter on March 10th, 2012. An entire decade of playing card decks has come and gone, and to celebrate Encarded is giving everyone 10% off anything PLUS free decks! 

With Priory released recently and a small number of previous decks in stock, now is the perfect time to add a few more Encarded decks to your collection. From March 10th – 17th, use the promo code “ENCDECADE” to save 10% off your order on Encarded.com. Also, ALL ORDERS OVER $35 will automatically get a pair of free decks, one Tendril: Nightfall, and one Tendril: Ascendant.

ONE very lucky random customer will get an original Tendril deck, sealed and in perfect condition added to their order. The original Tendril is hard to find and shows up on eBay occasionally, but this is a great chance to get one straight from the source. 

Check out the sale on Encarded.com.

Exclusive First Look at Priory Playing Cards

It's been a while since we've featured an Encarded deck on Kardify. Paul Carpenter is back with Priory playing cards featuring bold colors and modern sweeping lines. Like all Encarded previous releases, Priory is truly eye-catching.

The design of Priory is inspired by a small fresco motif found in a French church built in the 13th century. On the design elements, Paul told Kardify,

It’s amazing how design can transcend time and allow us to reinterpret the long past into the current day. While there are only a few elements in the back design, the repeated and rotated combination creates a visual riot of movement that draws the eye back and forth across the design. 

Edge details mean that fans look amazing, and the unique coloring combination will certainly stand out from the crowd. The faces are fully custom, with unique pips and a modern typeface, while the courts feature a bold “reversed” look with intense pinks, reds, and blacks. No matter how you look at it, the cards explode with color and movement.

Priory will be available in three editions, each more limited than the last. The Primary Edition is numbered 1-1500 and sealed with a custom holographic seal. The tuck box is printed on a heavy-duty gloss white cardstock with embossing and full coverage inks that highlight the bold, primary colors of the Priory. 

The Nave Edition is numbered 1-500 and sealed with a custom holographic seal. The tuck box has no ink and uses silver holographic foil and embossing on a custom, rich blue cardstock to create a purposefully minimalistic version of the Priory design motif. The Nave edition is clean and composed on the outside, with a burst of colorful cards inside.

Finally, the Premiere Edition features an exclusive, silver holo gilding on the cards. Only a few dozen of these decks will be available to the public. The tuck box is handmade by Paul Carpenter, with the design printed on a metallic quartz white cardstock, and then laser cut and assembled. The intricately cut box is designed to provide glimpses of the gilded cards inside. The deck will be delivered in a protective clear sleeve from Carat Cases that is sealed with an Encarded holo seal. A certificate of authenticity will be included.

Priory is printed by Expert Playing Cards with their Stud finish and a very snappy, thin stock. They will be available exclusively on encarded.com on 6th February at 10AM EST.

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News: Encarded Just Announced RADIA Playing Cards, And It Is Stunning!

Paul Carpenter has just unveiled RADIA, the latest limited edition release from Encarded and a bold new vision in playing cards. RADIA is the first modern deck to combine the finest traditional paper stock with a complete coating of metallic foil and the highest quality printed details. According to Paul at the 52+Joker convention,

By printing an intricate design right on the foil, RADIA has unparalleled shine and visual dimension, but with its high-performance coating it also handles like any modern playing card should, fanning and shuffling beautifully.

RADIA is the spiritual successor to the highly-regarded Aurum deck and incorporates the beautiful purple, gold, and pearlescent white found in the Aurum Sovereign and White Gold versions. RADIA is packed with incredible detail in the back design, inspired by a 19th-century Spanish gold engraving.

Housed in a beautiful tuck with pearlescent paper, purple ink, gold foil, embossing and a custom die-cut, RADIA is the perfect combination of simplicity and complexity. Only 1000 decks were printed, each individually numbered and sealed.

Radia revealed. The first production deck that combines traditional paper stock, a complete metallic foil coating and traditionally printed inks. Only a handful of the limited edition 1000 decks remain, get yours at Encarded.com now. #playingcards #limitededition #collector #encarded

A post shared by Paul Carpenter (@encarded) on Oct 13, 2017 at 4:38pm PDT

A handful of RADIA decks are still available for pre-order at Encarded.com and all decks will be shipping near the end of October.

News: Encarded To Release RADIA Playing Cards For Pre-Order!

Encarded's RADIA Playing Cards is a bold new vision in deck design, inspired by the detail and coloring found in 2012's critically acclaimed Aurum deck. 

According to designer Paul Carpenter,

For several years, I’ve had a design motif in my files which I feel speaks beautifully to some of the original design ideas from Aurum, but until now I have not found a way to make this new deck truly special. Luckily, Expert Playing Card Co. approached me last year with a new possibility that I think perfectly accents the design and allowed me to create something brand new in the world of playing cards. The result will be quite spectacular.

RADIA will combine the purple and gold of Aurum in a dramatic new way, it has incredible levels of detail, will be limited in nature, and will be housed in a beautiful tuck box featuring pearlescent "white gold" paper, purple ink, gold foil, embossing and a custom diecut detail. Each deck will be individually numbered with a custom foil seal.

RADIA will be fully unveiled on October 13th, 2017 at the annual 52 Plus Joker playing card convention. For the bold collector, however, you have a chance to pre-order this deck for $30 on September 23rd before the reveal.

As with all Encarded decks, RADIA won't be printed again and only 750 will be stocked in the Encarded store.

Deck View: Tendril Ascendant (Special Edition) Playing Cards

Organic. Intense. Refined.

Tendril Ascendant Special Edition Playing Cards was released during Encarded's Tendril Ascendant & Nightfall Kickstarter campaign back in 2014. Only 50 copies were made available during the campaign.

The Tendril Ascendant design incorporates all the refinements that Encarded have learned over the years and mixes those with the organic symmetry first seen in the original Tendril. The colors are bold, the borders are intense, the faces are dark and the level of detail has been increased.

The Special Edition features a handmade tuck with a unique diecut on the back of the box to expose the card back design, as well as hand-foiled accents. The Special Edition is sealed in cellophane and will have the holographic signature seal with hand numbering.

Check out other stunning decks from Encarded at encarded.com

News: Encarded Celestial Playing Cards Available for Pre-Order Today!

Celestial Playing Cards is the latest limited release from Encarded. Inspired by the astronomical instruments of ancient times, the charts of the sky and the limitless bounds of imagination, Celestial comes in two beautiful editions, the Red Edition and the Black Edition.

The rich Red Edition features a simple and bold designed red back incorporating dynamic edge detail that makes spreads and fans look amazing. The tuck showcases both pearlescent white and metallic red foils, detailed embossing, custom numbered seal and adorned with details you've come to expect from Encarded. Only 1000 individually numbered Celestial Red decks have been printed.

The dramatic Black Edition features full-bleed black backs and faces, with the back design produced in metallic red foil! The eye-catching shimmering red design line on the backs will be perfect for cardistry. The Celestial Black box comes with dramatic red foil, glossy UV spot ink and large blind embossing on a thick matte black stock. Only 500 individually numbered Black decks are available.

Like all Encarded decks, the faces are custom yet familiar and perfectly playable. Celestial is printed by the EPCC on the popular Classic Stock. Available for pre-order, November 22nd at 12pm EST exclusively on Encarded.com. If it's anything like its predecessors, it won't last long.

Don't miss out!

Collections: Chancellor by Encarded Playing Cards

The second deck in the Encarded Signature Series, Chancellor, is the perfect follow up to the stunning series' launch deck Zenith. Chancellor took the bar that Zenith set and surpassed it with an elegant, strikingly original concept. Chancellor is just a beautiful piece of work top to bottom. The amazing tuck is only the "Cover" to this book and what lies within is just as impressive.

The tuck case for Chancellor is just stunning. A nice heavy stock fits the bill for this strong presentation. Featuring embossing, copper foil, black foil, and a seal like no other, one would think just by reading that list that this deck would be a bit much, bordering on gaudy. But the creative way all those elements come together on this deck is flawless. Chancellor's tuck also features a brilliant seal showcasing the "Main" image from the tuck case, accented by a faux Paul Carpenter Signature and the decks serial number and the Encarded logo on the back side.

The cards themselves are just as stunning as the box that houses them. Again, Paul Carpenter shows his attention to the smallest of details in the subtle fashion that's been part of his projects for a while. The faces have a beautiful, but subdued pattern in each corner, just strong enough to be noticed yet not distracting. Printed on Expert Playing Card Co,'s Master Finish, the cards have a nice snap and spring to them and handled exceptionally well. The Ace of Spades has an intricate design that's pulled from the tucks main design element. The intricate line work is also shared in the full sized pips of the other Aces in the deck. The Jokers depict a portrayal of a "Chancellor" like character, one designed in black and the other in a dark red.

If the tuck case wasn't enough, the back design on Chancellors is just amazing. Featuring four metallic inks, the line detail is just inspiring. The back design also has a truly amazing "Shadow Border" that creates the illusion of depth and dimension that has to be seen to be appreciated. The Court cards utilize a standard mirror layout, but with great detail to the wardrobe as well as being presented in full color giving them a more worldly European look and feel.

As mentioned Chancellor was printed by The Expert Playing Card Co. on it's Master Finish, only 1000 decks were produced and once the sale went live, they didn't last very long. I find it hard to write about decks sometimes because I feel like I'm just rambling on about what a great deck it is.

There are those decks we add to our collections that are well designed, well thought out and deserve to be there. Then there are some decks that become cornerstones, I have no problem giving Chancellor that label in my collection. Paul Carpenters talent and hard work are just mind blowing and his constant move into elements and things that haven't been done before make him on my Favorite Designers. Chancellor's selling price in the aftermarket has already swelled a bit from its launch price, but I would put this one on your radar at a price that your budget will allow and don't think twice about pulling the trigger if the opportunity presents itself, you won't be sorry.

So for anything that I couldn't put into words, I'll invite you to take a really good look at the images and everything that Chancellor has to offer. Absolutely stellar work by Encarded and Paul Carpenter.

 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. 

Deck View: Encarded Standard (First Edition) Playing Cards

Bold. First. Vintage

Created by Paul Carpenter, this bold eye-catching deck is the first in Encarded's Standard series. The First Edition features a metallic blue back and a 70's vintage-inspired, top loading tuck box with silver foil and embossing details.

Elegantly printed by the Expert Playing Card Company and available at JP Games.

First Look: Chancellor Playing Cards by Encarded

Following the success of Zenith Playing Cards which sold out in less than two days, Encarded has announced the release of the second deck in their signature series.

Chancellor Playing Cards is inspired by a small detail on a century-old Bicycle card back and grew into an incredibly detailed artwork, packing all of the experience and design innovations that Encarded has developed since their founding in 2011- the patterned border area of Aurum, the "shadow border" style of Tendril, the borderless concept of Zenith and the subtle pattern textures of Deco.

The deck will be printed by Expert Playing Card Co, on the same Master finish stock as Zenith and features FOUR metallic inks that intertwine into a detailed, "shadow bordered" back with subtle edge details and dimension. The faces are fully custom, with a dramatic court featuring beautiful detail and unique colorations.

The tuck looks incredible, with thick matte black paper, two foils and incredibly detailed blind embossing. The deck is sealed with a beautiful metallic foil seal, individually numbered and carefully designed to integrate with the tuck design.

There will be just 1000 decks of Chancellor printed. The Chancellor public pre-order will start November 24th at 6pm EST, exclusively on Encarded.com. Only 900 will be available to the public.f it's anything like its predecessor Zenith, it won't last long. Don't miss out!

News: The 52 Plus Joker Club Deck 2015

This elegant 52 Plus Joker Club Deck was unveiled at this year's 52 Plus Joker annual convention [Fox35 Orlando video], held in Orlando, Florida. Beautifully crafted by renowned playing card designer, Paul Carpenter of Encarded, this club deck is the second in the annual deck series.

Just 1000 decks were printed, and it comes with almost every luxury feature available, including a tuck with holographic gold foil, a die-cut viewing window on the back, and a custom numbered gold seal, the cards feature metallic inks, classically inspired custom faces and pips, and holographic foil on the card backs!

Currently, the 2015 Club Deck is only available to members of the club. If there are any decks left over, Encarded.com will have the deck available to the general public in mid-November, but prices will be higher and there is no guarantee they will still be available in a month. The 2014 Silver Club Deck, designed by Jackson Robinson of Kings Wild, is almost impossible to find and goes for a substantial premium, and we expect the new 2015 deck to be the same.

The 52 Plus Joker playing card collector's society has been around for over 30 years and the members hold some of the finest and complete collections of playing cards from every period of history. For more information about joining the 52 Plus Joker Society, click here!

Collections: The return of the Tendril by Encarded

The original Tendril’s have always been one of my favorites, bold, colorful……….and hard to find. Encarded has a knack for really re-inventing itself so to speak with each deck, their completely different, but you know it’s an Encarded design. So after 4 other amazing projects Encarded decided to bring back it’s “Modern Classic” for new collectors as well as those who were around for the original Tendril campaign.

The return of the Tendril’s came in a few versions, one true “Companion” deck to the original and a few close relatives. The easiest way to define Nightfall, it’s a “Colorful Negative” version of the original. Nightfall features the same design as the original, but in a bright and bold Blue color scheme. The face cards also mirror the original with a variation in color, a blue background that fades to black edges replaced the white bordered black background and the reds have taken a more “Orange” direction in color, while the blacks have gone with a slightly more intense blue to yellow color variation. One of the features I like most, and it’s a small thing at best, is the Nightfall tuck is the same as the original Tendril tuck, in material and design, which solidifies the connection between the two perfectly.

The Ascendant version comes across as a very close relative to the original Tendril, still keeping the beautiful organic feel of the original, but incorporating a bold green color scheme with some new spherical line work. Greens and Blues blend nicely together on the face and key cards with the Greens taking the place of the Black spots and a light Blue the Red spots. The Court cards hold true to the Tendril originals and the Jokers get an update to the intricate sphere design from the tuck case. Speaking of the Tuck case, that too got a bit of an update in material, this time in a soft touch Black stock with a black foil to accent the Tendril’s and a bold Green Foil for the new spheres, suite markers and print. Overall a beautiful deck that fits right in with the “Family”

The Project did offer backers a few treats, one in the way of a handmade “Mega-Tuck” that housed 3 decks, one of which was the original Tendril along with its new additions. Those were limited to 32 and no doubt due to the scarcity of the original deck. The other was the Tendril Ascendant Special Edition. This was another handmade tuck witch featured a flecked black tuck with gold foil accents and Paul Carpenters Signature, the decks were also limited to only 50 and are truly stunning.

The Tendril series is eye-catching, functional and collectible; Encarded covered all bases with the new release by giving collectors another opportunity to enjoy the design and concept of the original without having to break the bank to do so, but also gave die hard collectors something to add to their RARE category. If you can, find the original Tendrils for your collection, but this is one that is very scarce and will put a ding in the wallet, but if you really just enjoy the concept and presentation of the organic feel of the Tendril concept, pick up Nightfall and Ascendant, they’ll more then fill your needs.

Both decks are available on the Encarded site along with a few cool add-ons, the 3 deck bamboo stand is one of my favorites. Encarded did an awesome job with the Tendril follow up and Paul is one designer who always has my attention with each new release.

You can visit Encarded on their web site as well as follow them on social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

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 please visit sparkzcollector.com .                    

Deck View: Aurum White Gold Playing Cards

Luxurious. Royalty. Intricate.

Aurum is designed to be intricate, elegant and fit for the Venetian royalty that inspired it. Every card is intricately designed and features multiple metallic inks and was also carefully crafted to be "purposefully imperfect." The court figures are all based on the familiar Bicycle court but were painstakingly redrawn to have many subtle imperfections and asymmetric features.

The luxurious pearlescent paper of the tuck shimmers both white and gold depending on the light and features incredibly intricate gold foiling, metallic inks, embossing and custom diecut on the back. Also, each deck comes with an individually custom numbered holographic seal. Only 500 of these decks are publicly available.

For more cool playing cards, check out JP Games.

Deck View: Deco Bronze Playing Cards

Elegant. Bold. Dark

Created by Paul Carpenter, Deco is the third deck from Encarded. Deco features elegant, hand-crafted details printed on Bee casino stock and housed in a beautiful foil and embossed tuck box.

Deco is designed and sold as a matched pair, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze deck and only 2,500 pairs will be printed by the US Playing Card Company. Deco Bronze is dark deck, with warm near-black colors, metallic red and metallic bronze.

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Collections: Zenith by Encarded

The one thing you can always count on from Paul Carpenter of Encarded is a unique design concept. Paul Carpenter always seems to find a way to take design concepts, shapes and patterns to a whole new level, and Zenith is no different. 

The Zenith deck was self funded by Encarded and was a very limited release of only 1000 numbered decks. Needless to say they sold out relatively quickly and have found their way onto the "Sought After" and "Must Have" lists of many collectors and enthusiast.

The deck is completely custom, starting with the rainbow reflective tuck case design wrapped around a side opening Tuck case. The tuck itself has a bit of a heavier feel to it than most tucks and photos just don't do the "Reflective" creativity justice. The deck also comes with a custom Ace of Spades, custom Jokers and courts that continue the "Spherical" design and theme of the deck. The back design in basic black and white has a hypnotic look to it and produces a truly stunning and intricate fan. Zenith definitely earns a spot on my "Must Have" list, if you missed out on the release of Zenith, the deck can still be found with a little searching, but does command a bit of a premium. There are a handful of designers out there who continue to ride the edge of creativity with each new release, and Paul Carpenter and Encarded are one of them. They never seem to settle for the same old, same old and are always looking for new and interesting ways to share their vision.

Highly recommended!

  

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  Sparkz- Anthony's collection please visit anthonysparkz.blogspot.com

Kickstarter: Tendril Ascendant and Tendril Nightfall Playing Cards

Here's an exclusive first look of what is sure to be one of the most coveted decks this year, Tendril Ascendant and Tendril Nightfall by Encarded. Both worthy successors to the highly sought-after original Tendril playing cards.

[Update] Project is now LIVE on Kickstarter.

The first deck is called Ascendant. Its design incorporates all the refinements that Encarded have learned over the years and mixes those with the organic symmetry first seen in the original Tendril. The colors are bold, the borders are intense, the faces are dark and the level of detail has been increased.



Second is called Nightfall, a mirror of the original with much the same art and layout. Encarded designed the original to be as if you were in the tropical rainforest, peering up at the sun through the natural habitat. Nightfall is that same view, but time-shifted to the evening, when the moon is glowing and the light is cool and dark. Encarded subtly refined many aspects of the original design and added some visual texture and detail.

The most eye-catching item in the project is the MegaTuck. This never seen before tuck will hold one of each deck in the Trilogy: Tendril, Ascendant and Nightfall. It is hand-crafted of fine papers, with precision cut viewing windows that will show the three holographic signature seals from each deck, as well as a top window to get a small peek inside. There is a contrasting belly band with a hand foiled Tendril design and the individual edition number. The box will be signed in silver ink. Because these are handmade, and because Encarded have only a handful of original Tendril decks left, this is a VERY limited item.

Tendril Ascendant and Nightfall will be available on Kickstarter from 1 December 10am EST and will be printed by USPCC. There are a couple of add-ons available, including a coin, uncut sheets and a holographic signature panel which can be added to any deck.

Don't miss out!