Kardify Magazine Issue 66 is available now on Patreon!

Issue 66 of Kardify Magazine is available 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-September to mid-October. 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:   

+ Sardines: From Squiddle Ink, a gorgeous deck that could be mistaken for an artisanal product packaged in a Spanish sardine canning factory. Check it out!

+ Doctor Strange: Card Mafia released the officially licensed Dr. Strange playing cards featuring finely tailored green, gold,  white Hot Foils and an innovative tuck box.

+ Nazo Nazo: Designed by Japan-based Jack Brutus Penny, the beautiful UC 2022 annual deck is inspired by animals and Japanese culture.

+ Cardcon 2022 Decks: Find out more about the 4 decks that Bicycle Cards has just made available online that were announced during the inaugural CardCon.

+ Shakespeare: A collaborative deck by Ukrainian artists and producers based on characters from William Shakespeare’s plays.

+ Devotion: Here are the five things we know about Thirdway Industries’ second Patreon yearly reward… Learn more!

+ BLRD BLK Edition: Have a look at the worker’s edition of the BLRD deck from Red Black Inc. The ingenious BLRD BLK playing cards come in a bold black/white colorway and a clever reader system.

+ PRIORY:  A beautiful deck by Encarded featuring bold colors and modern sweeping lines inspired by a small fresco motif found in a French church built in the 13th century.

… and more! 60 pages of articles and deck images. Enjoy!

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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Top 12 Playing Cards of 2020

What an uncertain year it has been! However, one thing is certain: we are incredibly fortunate to be part of such an inspired community of artists, designers, cardists, magicians, and collectors! Even with the pandemic, we have had a huge selection of decks released and delivered this year. 

We've compiled our favorite decks for 2020 right here. This will be the third of four articles counting down to our Deck of the Year reveal next week.

Top 5 Cardistry Decks

Top 5 Collector Playing Cards

Top 12 Playing Cards of 2020

Deck of the Year 2020

If you think we've missed your favorite deck, let us know in the comment section below. Note that the selection expressed in this top 5 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.

United

From Cartamundi, the United decks were made to celebrate the acquisition of USPCC earlier this year. These decks are never to be sold and were only given away to the lucky attendees of Cartamundi and USPCC's House of Cardistry event in NYC.

Modern Idols

Modern Idols is a brand new series of playing cards by Thirdway Industries, based on the beliefs of the modern age. Designed by the Italian designer Giovanni Meroni the decks are inspired by the TV Series about American Gods - The story is about the new Idols that replaced the Old Gods. Inside, the artwork is fully custom with unique court cards, different color schemes for each suits, and eye-catching neon ink card backs.

Legal Tender 

From Kings Wild, Legal Tender is a beautifully crafted deck and strikes a balance between classic banknote engraving and the modern sleekness of high tech banknote manufacturing. Inside, the court cards feature many iconic American figures that are featured on current American currency: Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. Legal Tender is the culmination of some of Jackson Robinson's most breathtaking artwork combined with the industry-leading advancements in printing technology and production.

Card College

Ark Playing Cards' Card College Limited Edition is a stunning deck based on Robert Giobbi's Card College. This exclusive playing card set design reflects the classic, elegance, and legacy of Robert's work. The tuck box comes with an elegant pop-up surprise that sets this deck apart. Inside, the face cards are standard with the exception of the custom Ace and Jokers. Metallic ink is used on the face and the card backs to give it a touch of luxury and elegance.

Crypt

Image by Richard Arturo (Instagram: @richardarturo47)

CRYPT Playing Cards by Lotrek of Oath playing Cards is the third installment of Oath's mystery decks. Bought sight unseen, no pictures of this deck have been released to keep all its secrets hidden like - a crypt. 

Meadowlark

By Meadowlark Pharmacy, the Meadowlark playing cards feature fully custom artwork by Russell Gray. The overall design of the deck has a retro yet modern feel throughout. From the mirrored card backs to the court cards, Ace of Spade, and cute Jokers. The deck is packaged in an eye-catching tuck box, copper foil, embossed, and capped with a beautiful seal. Everything ties together very well!

Star Wars 

Star Wars Playing Card is an officially licensed deck produced by Theory11 in collaboration with LucasFilm and designed by Mattson Creative Inside the deck is fully custom with special court cards and card backs with details that will sure to delight fans. The deck is packaged shiny foil and embossed tuck box feature either Rebel Alliance imagery. A must-have for any Star Wars fan! 

Robin Hood

Meticulously designed by Jackson Robinson, the unique artistic style achieved with the Robin Hood playing cards took heavy inspiration from the Bayeux Tapestry - a French tapestry from around 1066. Every stitch is hand-drawn to create this incredible display. The beautifully crafted court cards feature characters from the legend. The deck is kept in a striking tuck case designed to resemble an ancient book, including life-like features to resemble canvas and leather design-work, a book spine, frayed paper edges, and finished with realistic wear-n-tear details. 

52 Plus Joker 2020 Club Deck

The 52 Plus Joker club 2020 deck is designed UUSI. The deck is fully custom features original hand-drawn artwork by Peter using just 2 colors, black and red. The deck comes with a bold Ace of Spades, custom jokers, old-style suit symbols, and traditional courts inspired from full figure courts popular before the 1900s. The deck does have a vintage look and feel but with a modern simplistic touch.

Trident

Trident Playing Cards by Kevin Yu is an incredible looking deck featuring an eye-catching tuck concept designed with magnetic opening and closing system. When the box is spread out, one will notice that each piece is lined by a stunning Foil line, which traces the weapon-shaped cutouts. The card backs feature a mesmerizing silver and copper metallic ink with highly saturated colored lines that outline the image of the Poseidon’s trident. The courts are represented by legendary heroes from a different historical period, from Athena, to Alexander the Great and Hector from Homer’s epos Iliad.

Fontaine x Babylon

The Babylon Fontaines generated quite a buzz within the community when Zach dropped the SPOTLIGHT video on youtube. The deck features a minimal white tuck box design and a white card back featuring the iconic 'f' in black and thin black borders. When using a UV torchlight, the deck is 'activated' with the Babylon brand logo revealed on the white spaces of the tuck AND card backs! Genius! 

Beowulf

A last-minute addition to the list. 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. 

Honorable mention:  Royal Verge by Dealt Playing Cards, Kodiak by Black Ink Playing Cards, Postage Paid by Kings Wild Project, Black17 by Stockholm17,  Aurum Deus by Encarded, Charmers by Kellar O'Neil, Stratosphere by Legends Playing Card Co, Tough Luck by Native Tongue Studio and Doc's Playing Card Co., Mono Hexa by Luke Wadey Design, Rose Gold Gatorbacks by David Blaine and Fontaine x DabsmyLA.

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

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The 52 Plus Joker Club Deck- The Entertainer

The fifth 52 Plus Joker Club deck was presented at the 52 Plus Joker Annual Convention by none other than Lotrek! This year, the 2-time 52 Plus Joker Diamond Award winner has designed a stunning deck- The Entertainer.

The Club Deck is being offered to attendees of this years 52 Plus Joker Convention held in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Hilton Charlotte University Place. The convention draws a huge following from all corners of the globe and you would be hard pressed to find a larger collection of vintage playing cards and related items under one roof.

The eye-catching deck features an embossed tuck case with gold and silver foil accents. The cards are just as spectacular, with the same gold and silver foil used on the intricate card backs and face cards. On the inspiration, Lotrek said,

Because of the time period, I found the perfect wrapping for everything was my love for American typography and graphic design of the late 19th - early 20th century. More specifically, as typography appeared in sheet music covers. This artistic guideline gave me the freedom to use a lot of text all over the deck yet in a way that hopefully people will like and appreciate.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Encarded Inc. (@encarded) on Oct 11, 2019 at 5:25am PDT

The suits are custom and showcase the intricate design work within the symbols. Silver foil is used to decorate the black suit, while gold foil is used on the red suit. According to Lotrek, this deck feautues and "industry first",

Imagine combining both cold and hot foil printing. Yes, both foils shine. But they have different characteristics and limitations. This was purely experimental. But from my experience, I find the result to be beautiful. At the very least, hopefully you’ll find it interesting. In any case, to my knowledge, this has never been done before.

The deck also features a custom Ace of Spades, beautifully rich standard court cards and two custom Jokers depicting the 52 Plus Joker Logo.

For the courts, I trusted the long-loved standard scheme with some degree of customization. Initially, I thought to use my own take on the standard courts as a base. After some time in designing the deck though, I realized they should feel more unique and related to the era of the deck. So, I transformed them and made them look engraved to give a 19th century vibe.

Like all 52 Plus Joker club decks are available to club members only. To join 52 Plus Joker and be eligible to purchase one or more of these find decks, head to 52plusjoker.org.

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All The Decks Announced at the 52 Plus Joker Convention

Playing Cards collectors, designers, magicians, producers, and cardists have gathered in Hilton Charlotte University Place Charlotte, NC for the annual 52 Plus Joker convention last weekend. At this year's event, a few stunning decks were announced. Check it out:

Image above by @encarded. Used with permission.

Exquisite Fortuna

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The Exquisite Fortuna is a triple foil beauty published by @expertpcc and designed by @thirdway_industries That back is stunning! #52plusjoker #playingcards

A post shared by Encarded Inc. (@encarded) on Oct 11, 2019 at 10:57am PDT

Chronos

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Another beautiful item from @lotrek_oath called Chronos. Limited to 220 decks with an “aged” box, each unique. The pearlescent card stock is a great touch.

A post shared by Encarded Inc. (@encarded) on Oct 11, 2019 at 5:43am PDT

52 Plus Joker Club Deck: The Entertainer

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THE ENTERTAINER: 52Plus Joker club deck 2019

A post shared by Oath Playing Cards (@oathpcc) on Oct 14, 2019 at 6:43am PDT

NPCCD 2019: Palace

More images in our first looks published a few days ago. Courtesy of Seasons Playing cards.

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⏱️//CONTEST TIME//🏺⠀ ⠀ National #CardCollectionDay is just 3 days away! To celebrate the holiday we're asking all of YOU👊 to join in on the fun by sharing photos of your collection with the event tag and get multiple chances to win this year's 2019 NPCCD Palace Edition Deck.⠀ . 3 Categories To Enter. 3 Chances To Win:⠀ . 1) 'ONE AND ONLY': Take a picture of your single FAVORITE deck and explain why it stand out above the rest for you! Only posts with a single deck are eligible. 2) 'URBAN PLANNING': Show off your FULL collection. The bigger, the better! Dealing with big card collections take time and EFFORT. Show us how you store or display your collections. Any picture with more than 24 decks will be eligible. 3) 'CREATIVE DIRECTION': Get inspired and take a photo that'll catch someone's eye with your card collection. Be crazy with your videos and your shots. ⠀ *Be sure to label in your post which categories you are entering for. Winner drawn randomly from each category so feel free to share multiple photos.⠀ . Entry Rules:⠀ 1) Must be following @seasonsplayingcards ⠀ 2) Tag #CardCollectionDay in your entry⠀ 3) Post can be photo or video.⠀ 4) Only posts dated in the month of Oct 2019 will be eligible for contest. You are allowed to reuse older photos but must republish them as new with event tag to be seen for judging.⠀ 5) Contest ends midnight Oct 21st

A post shared by Alexander Chin (@seasonsplayingcards) on Oct 14, 2019 at 5:26pm PDT

Dogwood

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Back from the @52plusjoker convention with a small beautiful collection in tow and wanted to share. I think I even see the new 2019 NPCCD deck in there as well. :D . Oct 17th is around the corner. Share a picture of your collection with the hashtag #CardCollectionDay for your chance to add a deck to your own collection! A new contest announces tomorrow. . . . . . #cardart #cardistry #cardcollection #playingcards #cardporn #theory11 #artofplay #uspcc #customplayingcards #playingcardcollection

A post shared by Alexander Chin - Card Artist (@seasonsplayingcards) on Oct 13, 2019 at 5:33pm PDT

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Top 12: Playing Cards of 2017

What an amazing year for playing cards! To celebrate we've compiled 12 of our favorite decks right here. This IS the most challenging list we've ever had to put together to-date. So, 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.

Tally Ho Pearl Gilded

The Pearl Tally Ho is the final deck in a four deck series by Kings Wild Project. This beautiful deck includes an embossed, pearlescent paper stock, hot foil stamped tuck case and numbered seals. The cards themselves have completely custom courts with metallic ink accents on the face cards presented in a gorgeous pearl-pale off-white colorway and subtle metallic ink on the bold back design. The deck is gilded with a stunning Pearlescent foil.

Pantheon

Pantheon Playing Cards feature greek mythology focused on the Olympian Gods. Fully custom, from the Aces, Pips, Tuck Box and the card backs, which features the 6-pointed impossible star that is the main symbol of Pantheon. Also, the gold foil card backs are STUNNING! The Pantheon tuck is embossed, double foil on the exterior and red foil interior on premium soft-touch dark blue paper. Meticulously designed by Thirdway Industries and printed by Expert Playing Card Co with Classic Finish.

Exquisite Bolder

Three years in the making, Expert Playing Card Co's Exquisite Bolder Playing Cards is an eye-catching deck using Expert's brand new Perfecta Foil on the card backs and the tuck and 3d embossing on the side-way tuck. This amazing process creates foil with the illusion of depth built in. Also, the deck features standard courts, face cards, and incredibly thin (1mm) borders on the card back!

Cardistry Touch Origin

Crafted from scratch specifically for cardistry, the deck features a unique geometric design that accentuates spins, flourishes and large, multi-card displays. Also, a single design is repeated on each card for an enhanced cardistry experience. Printed by Cartamundi on a premium quality paper with a softer stock and coated in brand new "cardistry finish", which feels broken in right out of the box. All 51 cards are housed in a very unique swivel box. The team at Cardistry Touch won the Cardistry deck of the year at Cardistry-Con 2017 in Los Angeles.

Apothecary

This gorgeous deck is exactly what you come to expect from Seasons Playing Cards. Stunning foil, exquisite artwork, and entrancing design! Apothecary is an homage to old world illustrations. Reveling in the realm of true artisan craftsmanship, these cards embrace the engraving style intricacies and the custom illustrated courts elevate the experience with entrancing details.

Radia

A bold new vision in playing cards. Encarded's 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. By printing an intricate design inspired by a 19th-century Spanish gold engraving 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. The deck is 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.

Origins Shadow of History

The Origins Shadows of History deck by Rick Davidson is inspired by the elegance and charm of playing card history. The deck is beautifully crafted and features an ornate premium quality tuck case, embossed and hot stamped with stunning metallic foil. The face cards are entirely custom with vibrant gorgeous courts, diptych jokers and a bold Ace of Spades, printed with ornate metallic ink backs.

Winterberry

Beautifully designed by Estonian graphic designer Toomas Pintson and produced by Got Magic?. The enchanting deck is fully custom, and meticulously hand-illustrated from the ground up. The deck features a distinctive style of illustrations making it truly a unique piece of art inspired by the beautiful and cold Nordic winters. The goal was to create an elegant and beautiful deck of cards that card collectors would appreciate. The cards are housed in a gorgeous tuck case crafted by Clove St. Press on a deep-black soft-touch paper with silver foiling. Sealed by a tax-stamp style seal.

Golden Oath

This year, Lotrek's Golden Oath Playing Cards won Joker Plus 52's 'Deck of the Year' award for his painstaking work on this stunning deck. All the artwork are foiled including 2 foils (gold and red) on the card back and 3 foils (gold, silver and red) on the face cards. A tremendous technical challenge!

Dystopia

Dystopia Playing Cards by Joker and the Thief is a disturbed tribute to cult movie Mad Max, Muscle Car Culture, the Australian Film Industry and Outback. This blood and fuel injected deck features 100% custom illustrations by Pedro Oyarbide - a symbolic back design, a striking ace of spades, tyrannical court cards, insane jokers, and of course, a stunning tuck box from professional letterpress studio Clove St. Press, capped with a custom shaped seal.

Drifters

From Dan and Dave, Drifters Playing Cards is a gorgeous deck designed by Curtis Jenkins, illustrator of Monarchs playing cards. Born from the wilderness, a sense of adventure and the wonders of the unknown, the Drifters Playing Cards showcase the majestic beauty of the great outdoors. The deck features fully custom courts, jokers, beautifully illustrated aces, and gorgeous back with incredible line work. Every shuffle and cut of the cards is a reminder to never settle, to chase a life of freedom. The cards are housed in an eye-catching custom letter-pressed tuck case featuring intricate detail and incredible line work.

Gemini

Two years in the making, Gemini is a fascinating deck of playing cards designed by Lorenzo Gaggiotti of Stockholm17. The Gemini Playing Cards has been meticulously crafted to give it a classic medieval feel. The deck features aces that are depicted as axes and the royals of the court cards interact with their own pip, becoming part of the illustration. The number pips are bold and BIG. The striking Gemini tucks are adorned in gorgeous foil on thick black paper and feature beautiful calligraphic text.

Honorable mention: Butterfly Playing Cards by Ondrej Psenicka, Papilio by Kiran Kuruvithadam, Titans by Jody Eklund, RAVN Purple Haze by Stockholm17, Bharata by Sunish Chabba, The Confessions Series by Ellusionist, National Playing Cards by Harold Apples, Hocus Pocus 40th Anniversary deck by Edo Huang, Pearl Playing Cards by Hanson Chien Production Co, and Regalia deck by Shin Lim.


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