Issue 106 of Kardify Magazine Released!

Issue 106 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-February to mid-March. 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:   

+ Labyrinth: Designed by Jackson Robinson, Labyrinth is a puzzle-based playing card deck in which every court card is a fully solvable maze. Check it out!

+ Woodland Legends: A richly illustrated deck by Nicolai Aaroe inspired by the folklore of Reynard the Fox and classic tales such as Robin Hood.

+ Cryptids: Combining a love of fantastic creatures, the latest deck from AHPC pays homage to two mythical monsters from England. Have a look!

+ Andersen's Fairy Tale: Room One latest crowdfunded project bring the timeless stories of Hans Christian Andersen to life through a fully customized deck of playing cards.

+ Liminal: A new playing card series by Thirdway Industries that exists beyond the door, suspended in a world that is both hidden and ever-present. Find out more!

+ Room One X Bicycle Rookie: This deck by Room One marks the first official collaboration between Room One Cards and the Bicycle brand. 

+ 1st Vertek Edition: Emerged in 2022 as part of a hybrid escape-room experience created by Chris Ramsay. The deck lean into a futuristic cyberpunk aesthetic, with symmetrical, modern back designs and a cool-toned palette reminiscent of sci-fi armor.

… and more! 46-pages of articles and deck images. Enjoy!

Woodland Legends Playing Cards

Now seeking funds on Kickstarter, Woodland Legends is a richly illustrated playing card series by artist Nicolai Aaroe, presented in three distinct limited editions and inspired by the folklore of Reynard the Fox and classic tales such as Robin Hood.

Set in the woodland realm of Fernspire Forest beneath Cinderleaf Castle, Woodland Legends tells the story of six fox clans bound to the land’s most treasured natural resources: ashroot, fern, cinderleaf, and rowanberries. Each clan represents a different truth of the world, and while they share the forest’s abundance, they are not equal in coin or power. The narrative, written by Aaroe as A Tale of Six Clans, weaves themes of friendship, courage, and loyalty into a fully realized illustrated universe.

The project began as a purely human-driven art journey, documented from early sketches to finished designs. Every court card and pip has been hand-illustrated, resulting in a completely custom deck. Across the series, 18 unique woodland characters bring the fox clans to life.

Woodland Legends is produced in three editions: Ashroot Gold, Cinderleaf Orange, and Fernspire Green, each limited to 999 decks. All three are manufactured with special raw “herbage” tuck stocks made from grass and leafy plant fibers, reinforcing the organic theme of the series. The tuck cases feature embossed landscapes of trees and rolling hills that wrap fully around the box, accented with metallic foil detailing on all sides.

Each edition carries its own distinct back design variation tied to seasonal moments in the story, emphasizing the resources gathered and traded by the clans. The aces feature ornate, organic compositions inspired by fox tails, fern spires, roots, and branching woodland forms.

The two jokers depict the central locations of the narrative: Cinderleaf Castle and Fernspire Forest - anchoring the story’s world within the deck itself.

Printed on premium card stock with a linen finish and finished with metallic edge gilding, Pledge starts at $25 on Kickstarter.

Now on Kickstarter, Iron Hollow Playing Cards

Iron Hollow playing cards are a fusion of Victorian Gothic romance, dark folklore, and exquisite craftsmanship. Designed and illustrated by Nicolai Aaroe, this fascinating playing card set unveils a tragic love story steeped in gothic legend, where werewolves, vampires, and haunting figures shape a world of eerie beauty and untold horrors.

There are 2 exclusive editions, available during the Kickstarter campaign.

Ravenclaw Edition – Adorned with intricate gothic ornamentation, inspired by mausoleums and Victorian tombstones, this edition is crafted with black and silver foil, deeply embossed on matte black stock. Silver gilded edges symbolize the cold steel of blades, silver-tipped bolts, and ornate jewelry.

Scarlet Edition – Evoking the opulence and terror of a haunted Victorian mansion, this edition is wrapped in red and silver foil with a striking embossed design. Red gilding represents the sacred blood of hidden pacts and the flowing silk curtains of grand estates.

Each deck contains 55 poker-sized playing cards, all FULLY hand-illustrated, featuring custom pips, unique story-driven aces, and characters inspired by gothic folklore. The court cards breathe life into a haunting tale—fierce vampire hunters, cursed lovers, and vengeful spirits, each brought to life with rich lore and stunning detail.

The Iron Hollow Booklet serves as a companion guide, unraveling the hidden connections and tragic fates of the deck’s characters, deepening the immersive experience.

Printed on casino-quality M31 linen finish by MPC with metal foiled and embossed tuck cases. Pledge starts at $25 on Kickstarter.

Culminus Immortalis Playing Cards

Culminus Playing Cards were created by designer Nicolai Aaroe in 2017. These cards examine the contrast between angels and demons. Now, the new edition, Culminus Immortalis Playing Cards, comes with retouched artworks and exclusive features.

There are two main editions during the Kickstarter Campaign – Incarnum and Celestia. Incarnum edition represents the devil, having the cards in dark color scheme. Celestia edition represents the angels, having the cards in light color scheme. Both tuck boxes feature premium matte stock with black and gold foil along with strategic embossing.

The back design of the cards features a two-way illustration. Incarnum features the two-way artworks of a demonic ram skull with tridents and skulls, while Celestia features the two-way artworks of a fleur-de-lis with a pair of wings and crosses.

All the Aces feature enlarged pips, illustrated with great details, with the Ace of Spades showcasing the most elaborate one. The Number Cards for these decks will not be featuring pips, but descriptions of sins and virtues. All the courts are full length half bust illustrations of the characters complete with their names. The Jokers feature a diptych artwork of a circular tablet.

The cards will be printed in MPC on M31 Linen Finish. Pledge starts from $14 on Kickstarter.

Nicolai Aaroe's Vittoria Di Viritas Playing Cards

The enchanting world of Vittoria Playing Cards receives a captivating makeover in the form of the Vittoria Di Viritas project, a Kickstarter by Nicolai Aaroe.

Borne out of the success and acclaim garnered by the Vittoria Di Fiore Di Ferro experimental release, the design team dives deeper into the realms of Venetian embossed gold. This time, the focus intensifies on intricate details and embossed elements, crafting a visually stunning and technically impressive art project.

The project introduces two editions, each with its distinct character. The Duplice edition, meaning ‘double’ in Italian, showcases two-way court illustrations and a unique back design. The Singolo edition, meaning ‘singular,’ boasts one-way Vittoria court illustrations, setting it apart in the series.

The tuck cases, glossy and embossed, are a testament to the creator’s commitment to artistry. These designs forgo metal foil, relying instead on strategic embossing on glossy stock to simulate the appearance of elegantly embossed Italian gold ornamentation.

The court characters, illustrated by the talented Nicolai and Martin Helgren, present authentic Venetian mask types and clothing. Through extensive research, these artists breathe life into the courts, infusing them with unique color schemes and re-illustrated masks or clothing for a refreshing take on tradition.

The project goes beyond just cards, offering a range of exquisite boxes. From standard boxes to deluxe half-brick boxes with gold foil to the impressive Ultimo Hardbox, backers have a plethora of options to house these artistic wonders.

Printed by MPC on M31 linen finish with a print run of 3,000 for each edition. Pledge starts at $15 on Kickstarter.

Legends of Elven Resistance Playing Cards

One of the most prominent playing card designers in the community, Nicolai Aaroe has designed countless great thematic playing cards. Now with another cool project on Kickstarter, Legends of Elven Resistance Playing Cards, a deck series based on the mythical race of elves.

The Legends of Elven Resistance has two different editions: Hiroyini and Glamhoth. Hiroyini will have a darker color palette, while Glamhoth will have a bright green colorway.

The tuck box for both editions will be done with premium matte special paper stock adorned with embossed filigree of gold foiling and interior artwork done in copper foiling. The limited decks will be numbered and its seal is placed on the bottom of the tuck box.

Inside, the Number cards featured customized pips in a standard layout. The Aces and the Courts are the main thing of the decks, featuring different sets of characters of elves and orcs.

Both Hiroyini and Glamhoth feature two different sets of artworks, as well as different color palettes – Hiroyini edition, will have muted monotone colors, while the Glamhoth edition will have full bright colors.

The card back design for both editions features a two-way design of elvish ornamentation in an eye-catching gold tone. While the Hiroyini edition has fancy filigree within a white border, the Glamhoth edition has a beautifully natural pattern on a full-bleed colored background – a tribute to the woodland of the kingdom of elves.

Both decks will be printed by Noir Arts Playing Cards with premium linen finish. Pledge starts at $12 on Kickstarter.

12 Playing Cards Perfect for Halloween 2022

It’s that time of the year! We have painstakingly compiled the best playing cards for All Hallows’ Eve just for you… the 2022’s Kardify Top 12: Decks for Halloween! This year with enough glow-in-the-dark monsters, bones, skulls, quirky characters, and steampunk pirates to keep your spine tingling through the night. If you have one that we haven’t discovered, feel free to share your favorite spine-tinging deck 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.

Black Requiem Counterspell

From Stockholm17, the fully custom Black Requiem Counterspell features darkness and pain as a theme. The face cards come with gold and silver foil application and gold foil on the back design. As the illustrations for the Courts, Jokers, and Aces are very dark, the Black Requiem casts a counterspell using Magick sigils on those cards depicting the feeling. 

Play Dead V2

The stylish Play Dead V2 from Riffle Shuffle features mixes of bold line and shape patterns with the 3D forms, but this time with a teal-green colorway. Designed by Steven Harrison, the Skull theme pops with complementary colors and lines. 

Fulton’s October UV Glow

The fourth edition of Fulton’s October is a frightfully fun and whimsical deck featuring the illustrated artwork of Steven Noble. This edition comes with UV glow-inks that come to light up when exposed to a black light. These look absolutely unreal!

Psychonauts

From Joker and the Thief, Psychonauts Playing Cards explore reality beyond the perception of the five senses! This unique deck features custom art in reference to real-world influential spiritual figures hand illustrated by Pedro Oyarbide.

Bicycle Circus

A fully custom Bicycle-branded playing cards by PlayingCardDecks inspired by childhood memories of attending the circus! The custom court cards represent circus characters, from the ringmaster, juggler, and acrobats to the strongman and tightrope walker. The retro feel of the deck adds to the charm!

Arcane Tales

Arcane Tales by the Italian designer Giovanni Meroni is the second deck of the Tales series inspired by Fairy Tales, Fables, and Fantasy Books. The decks offer a vast array of characters of the most popular fairy tales, from witches, elves, to giants and orcs. Definitely a fun deck for Halloween!

666

Produced by Riffle Shuffle the deck is inspired by mysterious occult practices. The overall design looks deceptively simplistic at first glance. However, hold the tuck box to the light to reveal intricate details that were hiding in the shadows. Fully custom artwork insides with stunning metallic inks.

Shamanic Journey

The unique Shamanic Journey playing cards by 3rd Dominion features unique tuck boxes with ornaments that are filled with hidden abstract images of lizards and birds, as well as invisible, UV-glow images of wolf, shamans, and skeletons. Inside, the deck is fully custom with hand-illustrated court cards, jokers, bold Ace of Spades, and detailed card backs.

Campy Creatures

The Campy Creature Deadluxe Playing Cards are designed by Keymaster Games featuring twelve unique hand illustrations of notorious B-movie horror monsters including The Blob, The Invisible Man, The Man-Eating Plant, The Swamp Creature, and many more.

Beowulf

Beowulf playing cards inspired by the longest epic poem with the characters represented on the face cards in unique carving-styled artwork by Jackson Robinson. The deck is kept in a tuck case designed to resemble an ancient book, including life-like features to resemble canvas and leather design-work, and finished with realistic wear-n-tear details. 

Vengeance of Witches

By Nicolai Aaroe, Vengeance of Witches is a 17th-century witchcraft playing cards, manufactured with deluxe features in two limited editions. The artwork on the full bleed card backs features intricate artwork printed with metallic copper inks and blood red accents in Pantone. The face cards are hand-illustrated and feature archetypes inspired by the 17th-century witch-hunts.

Noctober

Two years in the making, House of Playing Cards, Noctober deck features a cut-out Jack-O-Lantern tuck design and an eye-catching neon orange colorway with black borders to bring that Halloween vibe to the deck. The coolest feature of using neon colors in playing cards is the magnificent glow when shined under a black light!

The selection expressed in this top12 is solely those of the author. 

Twelve Terrifying Playing Cards Perfect For Halloween 2021

It's that time of the year! We have painstakingly compiled the best playing cards for All Hallows' Eve just for you. Behold! The 2021's Kardify Top 12: Decks for Halloween! This year with enough monsters, bones, ghosts, skulls, quirky characters, and pirates to keep your spine tingling through the night. If you have one that we haven't discovered. Do feel free to share.

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

Little Deck of Horrors

From Ellusionist, the Little Deck of Horrors is a celebration of the nostalgically scary 'Ghost Train' with faces haunted by ghouls, goblins, and ghosts. This whimsical deck features evil characters from the yesteryears in bright neon colors with a retro graphic design. If you are looking for a cool monster-themed deck for your magic routine or a nostalgic deck for game nights, Little Deck of Horrors will definitely do the job.

2021 Trick or Treat

The 2021 Trick or Treat deck is a fully custom hand-illustrated deck featuring a monochromatic design and a nostalgic feel. Ghouls, Goblins, Werewolfs, Zombies, Skeletons, Pumpkins, and more...! Designed by Jackson Robinson, these spooky characters are completely updated with color palette and design elements to fit the theme. Definitely, a fun-filled deck brimming with artistry and ingenuity for All Hallows' Eve.

Fulton's Day of the Dead

Fulton's Day of the Dead Playing Cards is the ultimate deck of cards for the Halloween Season. The deck features original illustrations by Jeff Trish and weaves a personal story of the afterlife, Halloween, and Day of the Dead into one of the most profound back designs ever illustrated on a deck of playing cards.

Carvers V2

From Organic Playing Cards, these pumpkins won’t go bad after a few days! Sporting a fun orange border Carvers V2 looks amazing in packet cuts and fans. This semi-custom deck now comes with skeleton Kings, the Queens are witches, and the Jacks are all JACK-O-LANTERNS! This fun deck comes comes in a sealed candy wrapper.

Bicycle Monsters

A fully custom Bicycle-branded playing cards inspired by the classic monsters from stories and myths, created in a fun style that will appeal to all ages! Each set of courts represents a different type of monster, from the Water Dwellers to the Undead, Shape Shifters, and creatures not of this world. The retro feel of the deck adds to the deck charm. Definitely a great deck to use for Halloween.

Campy Creatures

The Campy Creature Deadluxe Playing Cards are designed by Keymaster Games featuring twelve unique hand illustrations of notorious B-movie horror monsters including The Blob, The Invisible Man, The Man-Eating Plant, The Swamp Creature, and many more.

Wicked Tales

Wicked Tales by the Italian designer Giovanni Meroni is the fourth deck of the Tales series inspired by Fairy Tales, Fables, and Fantasy Books. The decks offer a vast array of characters of the most popular fairy tales, from Capt. Hook, witches, to giants and orcs. Definitely a fun deck for Halloween!

Fear

Designed by Alex Pandrea, the FEAR deck was created for his favorite season and time of year! The deck sports a vibrant orange card back and features a simplistic tuck design with the caption "The Only Thing We Have To Fear, Is Fear Itself" on the front, and "...And Spiders" on the back. 

Screams at Midnight

Designed by Phill Smith, Penguin Magic's Screams at Midnight playing cards celebrate the creepy, fun monster movies of the past. Devilishly delightful creatures adorn the back design. Just like many of your favorite horror flicks, these cards use 3D technology to make the monsters jump right out at you when you wear the included glasses! The deck is also fully marked for Halloween-themed magic.

Play Dead V2

The stylish Play Dead V2 from Riffle Shuffle features mixes of bold line and shape patterns with the 3D forms, but this time with a teal-green colorway. Designed by Steven Harrison, the Skull theme pops with complementary colors and lines. 

Art of Steampunk V2

The Art of Steampunk Playing Cards Vol. 2 features a unique fantasy version of nineteenth-century Victorian England imbued with today's technology, resulting in devices and contraptions that seem to have sprung from the mind of a mad twenty-first-century scientist. The fully custom deck features iconic imagery and lots of metal detailing. The courts follow the characters in Steampunk outfits with heavy weaponry, bowler hat, goggle, and military-inspired garments with garments from the Victorian era.

Vengeance of Witches

By Nicolai Aaroe, Vengeance of Witches is a 17th-century witchcraft playing cards, manufactured with deluxe features in two limited editions. The artwork on the full bleed card backs feature intricate artwork printed with metallic copper inks and blood red accents in pantone. The face cards are hand-illustrated and feature archetypes inspired by the 17th-century witch-hunts.

The selection expressed in this top12 is solely those of the author. 

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Battle Kings: Who Will be Crowned King of Kings?

Choose your CONTENDER for our first head-to-head for our brand new social media duel: BATTLE KINGS. Every 3 weeks, voting for your favorite King will take place on our Instagram Story (@kardify). You decide WHO will be crowned the KING of Kings by the end of the year.

To kick things off, check out our Instagram post below to nominate the FIRST contender from #playingcards by Nicolai Aaroe, Daniel Schneider, and Joker and the Thief.

View this post on Instagram

Choose your CONTENDER for our first head-to-head for BATTLE KINGS on our IG story soon. WHO will be be crowned the KING of Kings? Round one nominations from #playingcards by @nicolaiaaroe, @danielschneider and @jokerandthethief.

A post shared by kardify.com (@kardify) on May 11, 2020 at 3:57pm PDT