Kardify's Cardistry Deck of the Year 2025

Here we go! We’ve wrapped up our annual review, looking back on the events of the playing card industry over the past year. Throughout 2025, the industry saw some innovative releases, and creative deck designs that kept the community engaged and inspired. 

To kick things off... our Cardistry ‘Deck of the Year’. This year the honour goes to Beam Playing Cards by Missing New York.

This innovative deck is a brand-new way to experience a deck of cards! A collab with Room One Cards, the deck was first released at the inaugural 2025 Asia Card Convention (ACC). 

Definitely a unique deck  that’s both visually stunning and immersive experience. The deck features custom-designed card backs, courts and jokers, and beautiful power Aces. 

Congratulations to the team at Missing and Room One!

Top 5 Most Funded Kickstarter Playing Cards Project of 2025

 

Crowdfunding has changed how creators bring their ideas to life by allowing people to gather support from backers worldwide. In the world of playing cards, Kickstarter has become a hub for innovative and beautifully designed decks that capture the imagination of collectors and enthusiasts alike.

We’ve compiled a list of the top five most funded Kickstarter playing card projects for 2025, showcasing the incredible creativity and support that these campaigns have garnered. These projects highlight the unique designs and themes that resonate with backers, making them some of the most successful campaigns in the playing card community. Dive in to see which decks have captured the hearts (and wallets) of the crowdfunding community this year.

5. Odd Fellows From the Sanctuary
Funding $128,379
Stockholm17

The story of Stockholm17's Odd Fellows continues at 17 Sinner’s Street but this time, behind the walls of a crooked British pub called The Sanctuary, where a gang of petty criminals disguised as members of the clergy prepares for their most daring heist. 

4. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Funding $134,234
Prodigal Entertainment

The Infinite Improbability Deck is a fully custom deck of playing cards inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Designed by surrealist artist Jack Brutus Penny, this officially licensed deck blends iconic characters, absurd humor, and intricate art into one improbably beautiful package.

3. Cerberus the Hellhound
Funding $134,930
JinJade

Designed by Jin, this eye-catching deck is forged in the shadows of the underworld- Cerberus, the legendary Hellhound, has prowled through Greek myths for centuries.

2. Horror Night
Funding $135,730
ARK

Drawing inspiration from urban legends, myths, and classic horror icons, ARK's Horror Night Playing Cards brings monsters to life with neo-classical gothic illustrations and richly detailed, hand-drawn artwork. The  deck comes with stunning holo foil and a warm orange glow that evokes an eerie, lurking presence.

1. Magician's Last Secret
Funding $147,318
Room One

The Magician’s Last Secret Playing Cards is a lavish tribute to the golden age of stage magic, where velvet curtains, whispered intrigue, and sleight of hand ruled the night. Inspired by legendary illusionists like Houdini, each  deck blends vintage poster artistry with modern usability

The Playing Cards Spotted in Brad Pitt's F1 The Movie

In F1 The Movie, the high-speed action isn’t the only thing catching viewers’ attention, sharp-eyed playing card Aficionado and fans of magicnmight recognize the playing cards used throughout the film. That’s no coincidence. Renowned magician Franco Pascali served as a consultant on the movie, and his signature playing cards make several prominent appearances. Blending sleight of hand with cinematic flair, Pascali’s influence adds a layer of subtle artistry to the film’s high-stakes racing world.

Cartelago Playing Cards

A custom premium deck, designed by Franco Pascali, created for cardistry and magic, printed on high-quality USPCC crushed Bicycle stock with an air-cushion finish for excellent handling and performance. The Standard Index deck features a distinctive black and white design, a unique logo, and includes the standard 52 cards, 2 jokers, plus bonus gaff cards and a secret marking system for enhanced tricks.

Cartelago Mirinos Playing Cards

The deck feature a unique modern design with a central star motif and an ornamental chain of text, printed on a premium crushed Bicycle stock for a smooth handling experience ideal for cardistry and magic. These standard-sized cards are traditionally cut and include 52 cards, 2 jokers, and 2 bonus gaff cards to assist with tricks and illusions. 

Gemaco Wynn Alpha Series Playing Cards

Vintage MGM Grand Casino Playing Cards

This deck is manufactured for the casino in Las Vegas or Reno, Nevada, featuring the MGM Grand's branding for collectors and enthusiasts. These cards, often marked for security with cut corners or other alterations to prevent cheating, offer a piece of casino history and are sold as memorabilia from the iconic hotels. While the designs vary, they reflect the prestige and excitement of the MGM Grand brand and are a collectible item for those interested in gambling or Las Vegas memorabilia.

Top 5 Most Funded Kickstarter Playing Cards Project of 2024

 

Crowdfunding has changed how creators bring their ideas to life by allowing people to gather support from backers worldwide. In the world of playing cards, Kickstarter has become a hub for innovative and beautifully designed decks that capture the imagination of collectors and enthusiasts alike.

We’ve compiled a list of the top five most funded Kickstarter playing card projects for 2024 (so far), showcasing the incredible creativity and support that these campaigns have garnered. These projects highlight the unique designs and themes that resonate with backers, making them some of the most successful campaigns in the playing card community. Dive in to see which decks have captured the hearts (and wallets) of the crowdfunding community this year.

5. Apollo
Funding $102,019
ARK Playing Cards

Drawing inspiration from Mount Olympus and the god of light himself, this deck is a testament to ARK’s creativity and innovation. With intricate illustrations and a creative tuck case, every aspect of this deck reflects the splendor of Greek mythology and captured beautifully through a stunning tuck case that unfolds into a perfect circle.

4. ANKH
Funding $118,397
ARK Playing Cards

Ankh Playing Cards by ARK are a tribute to the rich heritage and mythology of Ancient Egypt. At the heart of this collection is the ARK Case, designed with a pyramid-inspired triangular structure. This innovative case opens horizontally, revealing a large triangle formed by the sides and top. Inside, the illustrations in the Ankh Playing Cards blend hand-drawn and digital art techniques, vividly bringing to life the stories of Egyptian mythology. 

3. Morpheus
Funding $118,429
Charmie & Herman

Beautifully crafted by Charmie & Herman these decks are part of the Dream Spirits Oneiros collection. Inspired by the mythical land of dreams, these decks pay homage to the legendary God of Dreams in Greek mythology, Morpheus. Each card is adorned with full-foiled polar colors and starry-galaxy gilding, creating a truly enchanting experience. The tuck box is intricately designed to resemble the Palace of Morpheus, complete with a 3D laser-cut window and foiled artwork inside.

2. The Eye of the Ocean II
Funding $259,779
Stockholm17

This is the second part to Lorenzo Gaggiotti‘s archaeo-fantasy project based on the age of sails. It is not just another deck of playing cards, but also a novel with an interactive puzzle. The journey takes place on the mythical sailing island itself, exploring all the mysteries around the place. 

1. The Lord of the Rings Vol. 3
Funding $538,877
Kings Wild Project

Designed by Jackson Robinson, this final installment in the epic trilogy brings to life J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic characters through beautifully illustrated court cards. Based The Return of the King, the deck features intricately designed court cards that depict key characters from the saga. Characters such as Aragorn and Arwen, Sam carrying Frodo, The King of the Dead, Denethor, Sauron, and many others are vividly illustrated, capturing their essence and significance in the story. Each card serves as a piece of art, designed to transport players into the legendary world of Middle-earth.

Top 12 Playing Cards of 2022

Another great year for playing cards! We’ve compiled our favorite decks for 2022 right here. This will be the third of four articles counting down to our Deck of the Year reveal later this week. 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 12 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.

Victory

Joker and the Thief’s Victory playing cards are crafted for those who seek Victory, in any endeavor. This stunning deck comes with an embossed tuck box with letterpress inks and foil both interior and exterior. The borderless card back comes with a repeated JT logo design with metallic inks. The court cards are modeled in classics to create a distressed vibe associated with the brand.

52 Plus Joker Club Deck 2022

The elegant 2022 52 Plus Joker Club deck is created by Jody Eklund exclusively for 52 Plus Joker. This limited edition deck is a superb deck that embodies the world’s greatest playing card collector’s club. Inside, the deck features a borderless card back design, fully customized regal and refined courts, and jokers. Stunning full flood foil has been used on both sides of the cards, making them look incredibly stunning.

Mastermind

Mastermind playing cards by Keymaster games features an embossed and foil-stamped deck box, custom card backs, and royals planning and executing elaborate strings of heists. The deck is based on the board game Caper: Europe, a game where players recruit a crew of skilled thieves to outmaneuver, steal valuable goods, and dominate the most famous landmarks across Paris, Rome, London, and Barcelona!

Sterling

Sterling playing cards is the latest addition to the Legal Tender series by Kings Wild Project. Inspired by the beautiful artwork of British currency, the stunning Sterling features both holographic foiling and hot-stamped gold foiling on the cards and tuck case. 

MEDCHA

MEDCHA playing cards is a thematic deck by Hyuga & Mijiko that centers around tea and its usage in healthy meditation. The deck is an infographic deck designed to teach you how to enjoy your tea and use it for healthy meditation. The cards have stunning foil on the card back and features graphic artworks of tea. Also, the cards are gilded with sharp orange metallic foil.

Devotion

Thirdway Industries designed this exclusive deck that tests the loyalty of its followers. The tuck box for this deck is made of premium black matte paper stock with embossing on the artwork and metallic hot foiling for both the inside and outside of the box. Inside, the cards featured metallic hot foiled artwork on the back design and metallic inks on the card faces. Also, the cards will be gilded with metallic foil!

Tale of the Tempest

The Gentleman Wake’s Tale of the Tempest Playing Cards features artwork by Lotrek. The courts of the deck are based on 19th-century courts that feature beautiful royals that are classically inspired and artfully refined. The card back showcases waves of intricate filigree and Victorian-inspired design along with the elegant TGW monogram. 

The Illusionist

The Illusionist by ARK is an incredible-looking playing cards set with meticulous hand-illustrated and intricate details. The box set depicts a fantasy theater for magic with unprecedented structure and design for the Illusionist playing cards. The entire design concept adopts a classical and luxurious visual style to restore the classic and mysterious art form of Magic. The illustrations on the entire deck of cards are very intricate and littered with fine details.

Vivid Kingdoms

Vivid Kingdoms is the most successful ever in Kickstarter’s history for a playing cards campaign. This fully custom transformation deck features beautifully illustrated artwork, vibrant colors, and unique characters. Ten Hundred’s artwork is inspired by cartoons and anime, street art and graffiti, childlike imagination, comics, world cultures, religions, and folklore.

Kings Wild’s The Lord of the Rings

The beautifully illustrated deck by Jackson Robinson is based on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and The Fellowship of the Rings. Every aspect of this deck of cards is uniquely illustrated and designed with as much detail as possible to create a deck of cards that will be loved by Tolkien fans all over the world. Each of the characters from The Fellowship of the Ring deck is pulled from the text and brought to life in a new and fresh way

RX Almanac

Meadowlark Pharmacy‘s Rx Almanac Playing Cards is designed to look like a vintage pharmacy almanac of the mid-1900s, with advertisements of medications along with other types of items from milk to bird seed. The face cards illustrations are hand-illustrated by Italian designer Elettra Deganello features display pages from the almanac and the tuck box would be the leather cover of the almanac.

Black Requiem

This special edition Black Requiem Counterspell by Lorenzo Gaggiotti comes with fully custom artwork and features darkness and pain as a theme. All court cards and aces have a magick sigil overprinted with cold foil application on the center (gold for hearts and diamonds, silver for clubs and spades). The tuck box features white foil, black foil, embossing, and inner color in deep shiny red on black paper stock.

Honorable mention: Mechanimals by Celcius Pictor, Odd Fellows by Stockholm17, Vacuum Tube Space by Vitaly Sinkevich & Deallez Pro, Four Clans by Docs & Native Tongue, Mistborn by Kings Wild Project, Memoria by Thirdway Industries, Eye of the Ocean by Stockholm17, Ghost of Kyiv by 3rd Dominion, Singularity by RedBlack Inc, ICONS Anniversary by Oath Playing Card, 3 Musketeers by Kings Wild Project, and Stratosphere Meteorite by Legends Playing Card Co.

Note that the selection expressed in this top 12 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.

Top 5 Collector Playing Cards of 2022

Another great year for playing cards! We’ve compiled our favorite decks for 2022 right here. This will be the second of four articles counting down to our Deck of the Year reveal next week. 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.

Sterling

Sterling playing cards is the latest addition to the Legal Tender series by Kings Wild Project. Inspired by the beautiful artwork of British currency, the stunning Sterling features both holographic foiling and hot-stamped gold foiling on the cards and tuck case. 

Devotion

Thirdway Industries designed this exclusive deck that tests the loyalty of its followers. The tuck box for this deck is made of premium black matte paper stock with embossing on the artwork and metallic hot foiling for both the inside and outside of the box. Inside, the cards featured metallic hot foiled artwork on the back design and metallic inks on the card faces. Also, the cards will be gilded with metallic foil!

The Illusionist

The Illusionist by ARK is an incredible-looking playing cards set with meticulous hand-illustrated and intricate details. The box set depicts a fantasy theater for magic with unprecedented structure and design for the Illusionist playing cards. The entire design concept adopts a classical and luxurious visual style to restore the classic and mysterious art form of Magic. The illustrations on the entire deck of cards are very intricate and littered with fine details.

Kings Wild’s The Lord of the Rings

The beautifully illustrated deck by Jackson Robinson is based on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and The Fellowship of the Rings. Every aspect of this deck of cards is uniquely illustrated and designed with as much detail as possible to create a deck of cards that will be loved by Tolkien fans all over the world. Each of the characters from The Fellowship of the Ring deck is pulled from the text and brought to life in a new and fresh way

Black Requiem

This special edition Black Requiem Counterspell by Lorenzo Gaggiotti comes with fully custom artwork and features darkness and pain as a theme. All court cards and aces have a magick sigil overprinted with cold foil application on the center (gold for hearts and diamonds, silver for clubs and spades). The tuck box features white foil, black foil, embossing, and inner color in deep shiny red on black paper stock.

Note that the selection expressed in this top 5 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.

Top 5 Cardistry Playing Cards of 2022

Here we go! We’ve compiled our favorite decks for 2022 right here. To kick things off, this will be the first of four articles counting down to our Deck of the Year in the following weeks. 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.

Holographic Error

Dealersgrip‘s ERROR deck embraces mistakes and explores the ambivalent relationship between failure and creativity. This fully custom cardistry deck sports sharp graphics and typography fuses with sleek abstract imagery with stunning holographic design on the face cards and back

Cardsicles

This year, Organic Playing Cards has expanded into food as a brand! The refreshing Cardsicles come in a bag with 1 deck, one OPC branded popsicle, and a card to stick on the tuck box to make YOUR OWN POPSICLE!  This semi-custom deck follows the usual OPC theme with a fun yet simple back design, creative tuck box, and slightly custom court cards! Like other OPC decks, each royal is doing something popsicle-related.

Thermo Solids

This mind-blowing deck by Lotus in Hand is printed with thermochromic ink, a type of dye that changes color when temperatures increase or decrease. The heat-sensitive card back can be seen changing color from black to lime green when fingers or hand contacts the deck. The face cards are pretty much standard and the pips and indices come with a lime green colorway.

Fulton Street MTA

Produced by Fulton Playing Cards in collaboration with the MTA, the Fulton Street deck is a love letter to the amazing graphic design of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Inside, the deck feature completely custom back, courts, and pips designs that celebrate the now legendary signage of the most frequented transit system in the USA. By “cropping into” the curves so eloquently designed by Vignelli, these cards provide a dynamic back design that encapsulates the kinetic energy of transit in The Big Apple.

Victory

Joker and the Thief’s Victory playing cards are crafted for those who seek Victory, in any endeavor. This stunning deck comes with an embossed tuck box with letterpress inks and foil both interior and exterior. The borderless card back comes with a repeated JT logo design with metallic inks. The court cards are modeled in classics to create a distressed vibe associated with the brand.

Note that the selection expressed in this top 5 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.

Top 12: Rare Playing Card Decks to add to your Collection

The custom playing cards market has boomed over the past year, investment in crowd-funded decks has surged and new playing card designs and concepts are pushing the boundaries of the simple constraints of one tuck x four suits x thirteen cards.

No doubt, there are an incredible number of amazing decks out there and each deck is unique in its own way! So, how do you complete your collection? How do you know which decks to use for your stylish cardistry video? How do you impress your poker buddies at the weekly meet-up?

In the third part of our popular "Top 12" series, we’ve collated 12 of our favorite RARE custom decks to get you to the next level! The playing cards featured below are a very hard to find and very expensive. Check out the first part here! and the second part here!

Enjoy the selection below. If you have one that we haven't discovered. Do feel free to share. Difficulty scale from easy (1) to difficult (5).

12. Red Fontaine

In 2013,  Zach Mueller launched his first crowd-funding project, the Red Fontaines on Indiegogo. The project was a huge success, hitting its $10k funding goal within 18 hours and doubled its funding by months end. Since then, strong demand by cardist for the elusive Red Fontaines drove up prices and the deck was sold at a premium on eBay.

Difficulty: 3
Price: $200

11. White Centurion 

Stemming from the original design and concept of Theory11's Bicycle Centurions playing cards, the white Centurions first appeared in Chris Kenner's 1-on-1 effect Blueprint. Immediately, fans from all over the world began expressing interest in them. As it stands, there are less than 1,100 white Centurions in existence. The deck is the same as the original, only with an inverted more elegant appeal.

Difficulty: 5
Price: $325

10. Zenith

Zenith is the first deck in the Encarded Signature Series masterfully crafted by Paul Carpenter. This stunning deck is a dramatic re-imagining of several commonly seen playing card themes: the black and white deck design, the central circular medallion motif, and borderless design. Housed in a special sideways opening tuck box made of elegant, thick matte black paper, Zenith is adorned with amazingly detailed and vibrant holographic silver foil and sealed with a sequentially numbered seal (xxxx/1000) under the cellophane.

Difficulty: 4
Price: $150

9.  Green Rarebit

The Rarebit Playing cards were produced by Theory11 for The Rarebit Restaurant and Lounge located in Charleston South Carolina. The original Green foiled version is what you can pick up at the restaurant IF your meal purchase hit's the $100.00 mark. The tuck case is in a matte black finish making the intricate foil line work just pop off the black background, the tuck also includes a nice custom seal. The deck itself has the same back design as the tuck in a yellowish-green pallet, the face cards, courts, and jokers are completely custom and draw inspiration from the restaurant's logo of a Rabbit or Hare.

Difficulty: 4
Price: $100

8. Gold Venexiana

The Venexiana Gold playing card is a one-of-a-kind, luxury deck of playing cards showcasing stunning works of Lotrek. The deck features hot-stamped Gold foil on all 52 cards, printed on 330gsm French casino stock. The Venexiana faces are printed with metallic gold ink on all cards and neatly packaged into a stunning Gold foiled accented tuck case. Only 212 numbered decks have been produced.

Difficulty: 5
Price: $425

7. The Boss Deck

Back in 2013, the Boss deck was made as an add-on for the Draw like a Boss Kickstarter campaign. Shortly after, the stock of 2,500 decks sold out! Fully custom, the Boss deck was made to the highest possible standard by the United States Playing Card Co.

Difficulty: 5
Price: $100

6. Gold Private Reserve

Perhaps one of the most elusive deck of playing cards Dan and Dave have ever produced. Excluding the occasional sale and promotion by Dan and Dave, the only way to get one of these decks is in person. The courts of the Private Reserve are standard with a touch of gold in place of the traditional colors. The Ace of Spades and Jokers are custom and beautifully designed to fit Dan and Dave's minimal yet sophisticated style. Limited to just 2,500 sets each deck is inspected prior to being wrapped in gold foil and placed inside a beautiful tuck.

Difficulty: 5
Price: $149

5. Microsoft David Blaine 

This very hard-to-find deck was produced by Expert Playing Card Co for Microsoft. Not much is known about the deck except that they were given away to Microsoft Interns attending a function at which David Blaine was performing. Qty unknown.

Difficulty: 5
Price: Unknown

4. Scarlett Tally-Ho

Kings Wild Scarlett Tally Ho’s are inspired by the iconic brand as well as Jackson Robinson’s daughter (Scarlett). The Tuck is a deep red with Gold Foil accents and embossing as well as a “Lattice” like pattern that embellishes the interior of the tuck to complete the custom case. The cards are completely custom courts with 2 gold metallic ink accents on the face cards as well as 1 gold metallic ink accent on the back design presented in the bold, intricate design style that we’ve come to expect from KWP.  The Gold Edition is limited to only 200 decks and featured Gold Gilded edges.

Difficulty: 4
Price: $185

3. Empire

Empire by Kings and Crooks was a breakout deck on Kickstarter. Everything about it was just inspiring. It had a strong design with bold imagery and every single card element was touched and customized. This deck really reflects the designer, Lee Mckenzie is an amazing designer with passion and some very inspired visions. The bold dark red and gold color pallet lent itself very well to the feel of the deck and the striking and strong Ace of Spades, Jokers and Court cards just rounded off this deck.

Difficulty: 5
Price: $100

2. Unbranded Reserve Note

The follow up to the Original Federal 52 campaign was the Federal 52 Part II. The campaign consisted of a total of 6 decks. The Silver Certificate, The White Reserve Note and the Black Reserve Note (branded and un-branded version). The Black Reserve Note shares many of the features as the rest of the decks in the series, but the Un-Branded version is still highly sought after. The un-branded version features a two-panel Diptych of George Washington crossing Delaware as well as the black card backs. Limited to only 1000, the stunning embossing along with a hint of bright red foil just sets this deck apart.

Difficulty: 5
Price: $250

1. Blue Blood

The first deck in Uusi's incredible six-deck series, Blue Blood features hand-drawn illustrations by artists, Linnea Gits & Peter Dunham. This elusive deck is fully custom, from the courts, pips to the face cards. Limited edition of 2500 printed by the United States Playing Card Company with their air cushion and magic finish on Bicycle-grade stock.

Difficulty: 3
Price: $100

The selection expressed in this top12 is solely those of the author. Images for Red Fontaine and Blue Blood by Akhmal Luthfi. Zenith, Green Rarebit, Scarlett Tally-Ho, and Empire by Anthony Ingrassia. Boss deck, Private Reserve, and Microsoft David Blaine by Ivan Choe.