We Just Dropped Issue 109 of Kardify Magazine on Patreon!

Issue 109 of Kardify Magazine is now on Patreon! Patrons who pledged $3 or more will be able to download the latest issue from our Patreon page. This issue compiles selected articles published from mid-May to mid-June. Deck images, articles, and news to keep you informed and up-to-date with the latest playing card news, releases, and previews. If you love playing cards, you will love Kardify Magazine!

Also, don’t forget to check out our other cool reward tiers on Patreon! The tiers include monthly desktop and smartphone wallpapers, a mystery deck shipped to you every 4 months of ongoing contributions, social media shout-outs, and multiple sponsorship tiers! Check it out!

Funds received from the magazine will help us keep the site running and growing, and bring new quality content to you. Our aim is to support designers by backing crowdfunded projects and supporting magic and playing cards retailers with their new releases. If you want to support us, please head over to our Patreon page. If you have an idea for an article you would like us to pursue, do get in contact with us. We hope you enjoy the read. In this issue:   

+ Wright Brothers: Room one’s richly illustrated deck inspired by the Wright Brothers, blending vintage aviation aesthetics with retro-futuristic design. Have a look!

+ U.S Soccer: A collab deck by Theory11 and the U.S Soccer Federation that celebrates American soccer history inspired by the national teams and the sport’s legacy.

+ The Age of Titans: A limited-edition dinosaur-themed deck by Kings Wild Project that channels the bold, nostalgic aesthetic of prehistoric classroom artwork from the 1970s and 1980s.

+ Lion X: The latest deck by David Blaine and his closest collaborators, combining luxury production with hidden magical details created for magicians, collectors, and cardists. 

+ The Magical Art of the Impossible: How can a magician still fool us in the most technologically advanced era in history? In this TEDx talk, join Magician Jackson Aces as he explores that question through a series of impossible illusions, including what he describes as the largest grand illusion ever performed on a TEDx stage. Check it out!

+ The Ship of Theseus:  A fascinating deck by MAINTEREST inspired by the famous philosophical paradox of identity and transformation. Drawing from maritime mythology, ancient symbolism, and the age of sail. Find out more!

+ Delirium (Absolute Edition): Take a look at the luxurious centerpiece of the Delirium Lost series by Thirdway Industries, featuring the signature Delirium creatures across the courts, Jokers, Ace of Spades, and card backs.

… and more! 48-pages of articles and deck images. Enjoy!

New Lions X Available NOW!

Black Lions X and White Lions X are premium playing card decks designed by David Blaine and his closest collaborators, combining luxury production with hidden magical details created for magicians, collectors, and cardists. 

Black Lions X features the Epic Black smooth-cover tuck accented with Silver Rainbow holographic foil applied inside and out, alongside sculpted embossing that creates a sharp, high-contrast finish with strong tactile depth. White Lions X takes a brighter approach with its Solar White tuck, combining Black and Silver Rainbow holographic foil with the same embossed detailing for a refined and elegant presentation.

Both decks include hidden reveals, subtle magic secrets, and layered visual details woven throughout the artwork by David Blaine and his collaborators, making them functional performance tools as well as collectible display pieces.

The Limited Edition Signed Lions X Set includes both Black Lions X and White Lions X, individually signed by David Blaine and housed inside a custom acrylic display case designed for presentation and display. 

Printed by United States Playing Card Company on premium stock, both decks are engineered for exceptional handling, durability, and precise performance. Available now on David Blaine Store. Orders are expected to begin shipping after May 28, 2026.

Bicycle David Blaine Gator Backs Playing Cards

Holographic. Iconic. Elite.

The Bicycle X David Blaine deck brings together two legendary for a collaboration built around premium materials and signature design. Illustrated by Mark Stutzman, the artwork blends Bicycle tradition with Blaine’s distinct visual identity to create a deck aimed at collectors, magicians, and design enthusiasts alike.

Featuring Metalluxe holographic foil on both backs and faces, the cards reinterpret Blaine’s classic Gator Back pattern in shimmering detail. Even the four Jokers, each uniquely illustrated, receive full holographic treatment.

The tuck case pairs a soft matte finish with holographic and green foil accents, enhanced by sculpted embossing. Available for $25 on David Blaine store.

Deck View: Legends 852 V1 Playing Cards

Detailed. Revolutionary. Timeless.

In 2011, the Legends 852 V1 playing cards is the deck that redefined quality and set the standard for durability and performance for custom decks. Conceived by Lawrence Sullivan between 2009 and 2011, with guidance from Bill Kalush, design advice from David Blaine, and artwork by Mark Stutzman, it became the first widely acclaimed deck printed outside of USPCC to deliver a completely new, consistent handling experience

The deck is bold yet richly detailed with a classically ornate look blended with modern elegance, drawing inspiration from both Asian and Western mythology. The mirrored-back design is instantly recognizable even at a distance with a distinctive diamond-shaped theme.

From tuck case to seal, every element received the same attention to detail. While later Legends decks featured die cuts, embossing, and foil accents, the original 852 still carried an understated elegance and a finely printed stamp seal.

Split Spades (Studio Edition) Black Unsigned Playing Cards

Masterclass. Magic. Complimentary.

David Blaine‘s Split Spades deck, created in collaboration with Studio, is a special release tied to his magic masterclass in 2022. The first 10,000 students who enroll in the class will receive this exclusive deck as a complimentary gift: one signed deck for collection and one unsigned deck for use in the course. The deck colors are randomized, adding an element of surprise for recipients.

Inside, the identical Jokers feature a unique illustration of a bald man spewing ravens, with several birds perched on his head and trees sprouting from his ears. Additionally, the deck includes two extra cards: one showcasing an illustration of Asi Wind’s magic book and the other providing a step-by-step guide to performing the Charlier Cut.

This Split Spades deck is marked for the order number of a Mnemonica Stack but comes in New Deck Order. Printed by the United States Playing Card Co.

The BLRD (Red Edition) Playing Cards

Harmony. Minimalist. Magic.

Red Black Inc released the third and final (for now) edition of the popular BLRD playing cards, in a striking red colorway. The BLRD Red deck seamlessly combines the minimalist aesthetics of the BLK edition with the refined elegance of the foiled Gold edition, achieving perfect harmony between the celebratory Gold versions and the utilitarian BLK worker version of the BLRD deck.

Designed for ease of learning and featuring a challenging yet clever reader system, developed by David Blaine and created by Mathieu Bich, the BLRD Red deck showcases optical illusion card backs (BLRD) that enable remarkably quick identification of each playing card’s value and suit.

The embossed tuck box of the BLRD Red deck is adorned with red foil, adding a touch of sophistication. Additionally, the tuck box boasts a clever reveal that is only visible when exposed to the light from a mobile phone, adding an element of intrigue.

The deck is printed by Legends Playing Card Co on the ultra-thin Viper Finish, ensuring a premium quality feel.

All 2023’s Black Friday Deck Releases!

Black Friday 2023 is here! Deals for savvy collectors, cardists, and magicians have already started appearing. Click here for some of our picks. Shop for your friends or treat yourself, but don’t miss out on these NEW deck releases: 

David Blaine: Signed In Spades Gatorbacks (Link)

Ellusionist: Sculpt (Link)

Kings Wild Project: Verum Videre (Kickstarter)

Art of Play: Mystery Decks

Theory11: Yellowstone

Theory11: Harry Potter Ivory and Gold Foil Edition

Theory11: WB Limited Edition Deck

Dan and Dave: Rouge Smoke & Mirrors (Link)

tAIpestry Playing Cards: An Interview With Riccardo Conturbia

tAIpestry playing cards is an experimental AI-designed deck by Riccardo Conturbia‘s new brand, Velata Playing Cards, born in 2021 from the ashes of his former company: Passione Playing Cards. Their first project: Love is a Smoke Legacy Edition is both a homage to the first Passione deck ever printed and a seed to the future of Velata’s endeavors. Riccardo told Kardify,

Giordano Loddo is my partner in crime in Velata, and our main goal is to produce cool, rich, and practical decks at a reasonable price. Both “Love is A Smoke Legacy” and tAIpestry will soon be sold on a brand-new website we are building together.

Last week, we interviewed Riccardo about the new deck tAIpestry, AI-generated art revolution, and the possibilities with this technology for playing cards.

Tell us about your new deck tAIpestry and what have you been creating with the AI Image generator?
It’s a concept deck, an experiment. We firmly believe in human creativity and want to work with human minds for our decks, but I wanted to try it at least once to create something different from our previous and future projects and unique. I’m not the only one, though; when I started working with MidJourney and Dall-E 2 in September, only a few Kickstarter projects for Tarot decks were available, and when I posted the first images on social media, tAIpestry was the first poker deck designed by A.I. techniques of my knowledge. Recently David Blaine published Singularity with the same base concept, and I believe more will follow.

All of the artwork on tAIpestry, box included, has been created directly by MidJourney and rescaled to enhance the digital resolution through A.I. techniques. The human intervention has been carefully weighted to stay faithful to the original concept: only some framing has been done to the fronts, and the back has been worked to become symmetric and ensure maximum playability.

What were some of the biggest surprises that you’ve seen while working with the technology?
How it’s quirky and picky with text input. For instance, changing the image’s ratio drastically changes the created artwork’s content, leading to unusable content. We had to make a lot of trial and error before finding the proper balance. Also, the concept of symmetry is not fully understood by the A.I., and I believe we’ll see improvements in this area in the future.

Having worked with this technology for a few months, what are some far-out possibilities that this technology might have for playing cards?
I think it is a tremendous tool to create concept art and help designers reach new frontiers for expressing new concepts. I also firmly believe we must be transparent and clearly explain what is produced by humans and what – if any – is produced directly by algorithms. Some concerning issues about the intellectual property must be addressed and solved; I hope this revolutionary technology will enhance the possibilities for everyone and not impoverish the market.

tAIpestry will be printed by WJPC and available now for pre-order here!

Where to Buy the CardCon 2022 Decks?

Bicycle Cards has just made available online the decks that were announced during the inaugural CardCon:

Orbit Tally-Ho ($15)

For the first time, Tally-Ho is featuring a Co-branded collaboration with Orbit Playing Cards. The card faces include the classic Tally-Ho joker and a custom Tally-Ho Orbit astronaut Joker, custom court card faces, A double backer card, and an extra 8S card. 

Kings Wild Tally-Ho ($15)

This stunning deck feature a co-branded collaboration with Kings Wild designer Jackson Robinson. This unique and beautiful deck features completely customized faces with a Tally-Ho inspired Ace of Spades.


Bicycle Gatorbacks ($25)

The David Blaine Gator Back is an ultra-premium deck featuring Metalluxe foil on the card back and faces. The card backs include striking Holographic foil while the faces are all custom designed, including 4 unique holographic foil jokers. The stunning matte tuck case is contrasted with gorgeous holographic and green foiling and a sculpted embossed accent.

Bicycle Peacock ($18)

The Peacock deck reimagines a historic deck design with new technology, Cold Foil, to be featured with Cool blues and greens with fantastic gold highlights. The back, as well as faces, feature gleaming foil accents including colorful foil court cards and gorgeous gold pips.

Unfortunately, only available in the United States of America. Shop at bicyclecards.com.

All The Decks Spotted at the Inaugural CardCon

Have a look at the decks spotted at the first-ever CardCon at Irvine, CA! This exclusive experience by Bicycle is dedicated to celebrating a collective love of cards. From the NFT Booth, the Bicycle NFT Playing Cards (finally!):

Emcee Chris Ramsay officially revealed the first-ever CardCon deck.

Also the announcement of the new and extraordinary Peacock deck with cold foil technology. 

Chris “Orbit” Brown revealed the new Tally-Ho x Orbit deck (blue and red) (Images by @socal.playing.cards). 

David Blaine revealed the Bicycle Gatorback Holo Metalluxe (Images by @socal.playing.cards).

Also spotted is the Bicycle Iridescent Prototype deck (Images by @gavinwongmagic).

BLRD BLK (First Edition) Playing Cards

Magic. Illusion. Marked.

From Red Black Inc, the ingenious BLRD BLK playing cards come in a bold black/white colorway. The deck’s clever reader system is created by Mathieu Bich and developed by David Blaine. It is easy to learn and challenging to spot! Perfect for the working magician to focus their attention purely on connecting with the people they are performing for.

Inside, the court cards are pretty much standard and updated to feature David’s friends and family making up the faces of the court cards as well as David holding his usual position as the King of Spades and the spot cards are pretty much your usual Blaine standards. The BLRD optical illusion card backs allow for a deceptively fast read of the value and suit of each playing card.

Crafted for both collectors and magicians and printed by Legends Playing Card Co. Sold out on redblackinc.com.

First Look: The BLRD (Red Edition) Playing Cards

Red Black Inc will be releasing the popular BLRD BLK playing cards in a RED colorway. Easy to learn and challenging to spot, the deck’s clever reader system is created by Mathieu Bich and developed by David Blaine. The BLRD optical illusion card backs allow for a deceptively fast read of the value and suit of each playing card.

The BLRD Red deck combines the minimalist look of the BLK edition with the elegance of the foiled Gold edition, striking a perfect balance between the celebratory Gold versions and the BLK worker version of the BLRD deck. This will be the final (for now) interaction of the BLRD deck.

The tuck box comes embossed and adorned with red foil. Also, the tuck box contains a clever reveal within that is only visible when using the light from your mobile phone.

Crafted for both collectors and magicians and printed by Legends Playing Card Co on the ultra-thin Viper FInish. Available on redblackinc.com tomorrow (8th October).

David Blaine's BLRD BLK- First Editon Drops Today!

Red Black will be releasing the BLK edition of the BLRD series playing cards created by Mathieu Bich and developed by David Blaine. The limited first edition BLRD deck was sold out quickly earlier this month and the deck is listed for $200+ on the secondary market.

With the BLRD Series, David introduced an amazing new reader system that is easy to learn and challenging to spot. Created by Mathieu Bich and developed by David, the optical illusion in the BLRD system allows for a deceptively fast read of the value and suit of each playing card.

There will be 3732 BLRD BLK decks available for sale and will also be available for re-orders by year-end. The BLK edition comes in a black/white colorway and it is crafted for both collectors and magicians. Bricks will be available for $180, and single decks for $16. Available today (July 27th at 1pm EDT) on redblackinc.com.

David Blaine' BLRD Playing Cards Drops Today!

After a successful drop of their first two decks last year, Red Black is here with yet another stunning deck, BLRD. This first edition deck will be released today (July 4th, 1pm EST) for $25 and like the previous drops, this deck will go FAST!

Over a decade in the making, this optical illusion-marked deck has quickly become a favorite among David Blaine and his closest magician collaborators. Mathieu Bich presented this design to David and he instantly understood the strength of this marking system, and this incredible deck was created.

BLRD playing cards are a stealth magic deck. This ‘reader’ system is not easy to learn, once it’s seen, it can’t be unseen. The BLRD system allows for a deceptively fast read of the value and suit of each playing card, even from a distance. 

This edition of BLRD features cold foiled card backs, numbered seals, and an embossed and foiled tuck. Only 52 decks have been signed by David Blaine and will be sent to randomly selected customers. If you miss out on this release, the standard editions will be coming soon.

Printed on Viper Finish from Legends Playing Card Co., this ultra-thin, soft card stock is engineered to be long-lasting and handle smoothly in varying climates. Limited edition of 2000.

This deck will be released today (July 4th, 1pm EST), don’t miss out!

Creators: Learn Magic With David Blaine. Receive $20 Off Enrollment!

For the first time ever, David Blaine is sharing the secrets behind his magic in a brand new online class. According to the announcement on his Instagram account,

With these secrets, you’ll be able to walk into any room anywhere in the world at any time, and immediately blow people’s mind. In my new class on Studio, you’ll learn my favorite tricks from my everyday life, television specials, and stage shows. 

Magicians aren’t supposed to share these guarded secrets, but David Blaine believes that by sharing these secrets with you, you’ll gain a whole new appreciation for the art of magic.

I’ve spent the past year working to bring my dream class to life, alongside my favorite magicians Asi Wind Steve Cuiffo and the incredible team Studio. 

Also, if you are the first 10,000 students to sign up for this class, you will receive two exclusive Studio x David Blaine custom decks of cards for free- one Collectors Edition deck signed by David and one deck to use during the class!

The 30-day online class starts on 9th May and will be taught by magician David Blaine. In the class, learn 30 of David’s favorite card tricks and physical feats. For $20 off the course, click here!