Kickstarter: Deco Playing Cards Launch Web Store (Makers of the Sultana Playing Cards)

Often times when a Kickstarter project is funded the only people to get their hands on the completed reward are those that pledged. However, Deco Playing Cards, an historically inspired playing card company, has other plans. Deco recently launched a web store that now gives non-backers (and backers who want more) of their recently funded Kickstarter project, "Sultana", a chance to buy the deck. If you did not get a chance to pledge when this project was live or you found out about the project after it was funded or you simply want more - this is the news you have been waiting for. Although the store is live, the project was just funded a few weeks ago so they are only taking pre-orders right now with plans to ship the decks in July.

If this is the first you time you are hearing about the Sultana project here are the details from their Deco's Sultana Kickstarter page:

Beautiful, playable, hand-drawn art printed by USPCC and inspired by one of the earliest known decks, which came from Cairo, Egypt! 

Sultana is the first in a trilogy that will follow the evolution of playing cards from their Moorish roots to their modern manifestations!

The deck art is 100% hand-drawn in pencil before digitally colored!  The cards are printed on Bicycle® stock with an air-cushion finish.

The artist of our deck is Dave Boyd, and the designer of our custom tuck box is Katy Orr. (The Joker designer is Brian Kloetzel.)

Here is the design of the Sultana tuck case:

Read more about the entire project on their Kickstarter and on their website.

Review: Bicycle Guardians (USPCC Version)

Note: This is a review for the USPCC version of the deck that was originally designed by Theory 11 and produced by USPCC) for Theory 11 exclusively.

On to the review...

The Bicycle Guardians Playing Card Deck is a dark and ethereal take on the classic Bicycle Standard Playing Cards that everyone knows and loves.

Name: Bicycle Guardians (USPCC Version)
Company: Bicycle/USPCC, Design by Theory 11
Release Date: 2007 - 2008
Stock: Standard card stock (apparently a stronger or more flexible stock but no specific information has been found).
Finish:  Air-Cushion™ finish
Colors: Black. white and grey backs/Red, blue, black and grey fronts
Face: Standard
Size: Standard

As stated previously, the Guardians were originally a Theory 11 project but I speculate because of their popularity, USPCC decided to put out their own version. The deck comes with the standard 52 cards plus 2 ad cards. If you did not read the company's description for these cards, it is telling from one of the ad cards that this deck was made with the magician in mind, which features a simple trick to get anyone started with performing magic. However, one read of the description on the Bicycle website and you will figure out exactly who they are targeting:

Whether you’re interested in magic or cardistry, this deck has you covered. With its enhanced flexibility and strength, the Bicycle® Guardians maintains its shape longer and provides steadier handling. Giving you control and confidence whenever you need it.

Guardians cards sharpen the mind and improve sleight of hand with tips and tricks for the beginner magician in us all.

The Bicycle® Guardians cards design was created in conjunction with the minds behind Theory11, the go-to group for all things magic and cardistry. A deck of these Bicycle playing cards makes a terrific addition to the magicians arsenal of tricks or the card collectors assortment.

The centerpiece of the artwork focuses on a warrior angel or "guardian angel" on the backs in a duel-directional format like most playing cards. That same warrior angel is used for both joker cards. Considering the overall design and market for these cards, I think they could have differentiated the jokers a little bit by adding a Joker reveal. On the contrary, the design of the angel is super detailed so it is not too bad that it was doubled. It is unfortunate there is no guarantee on the Joker as Bicycle playing cards are all guaranteed. I am a firm believer that if you guarantee your products it should be on the box. Remember the manager in Tommy Boy? That's me.

The court cards feature slightly differentiated face designs by implementing a darker color palette than standard decks.   The color pallet includes dark red, blue and grey that really help tie the court cards into the whole theme of the deck. The hearts and diamonds also feature the dark red, which keeps the deck's theme consistent. The Ace of Spades brings the entire deck together with an interesting design of wings that take the shape of the spade.

Despite the description of these cards as having better flexibility and strength, the Bicycle Guardians perform like any standard deck of cards. That is not necessarily a bad thing considering standard decks are great for all kinds of play. If it is stronger and more flexible, I am not feeling it just yet but time will tell as I continue to play with these cards.  The design, however, pops when shuffling or playing with these cards. I am positive you will most likely get more attention playing with this deck than the Standard deck on the market.

Notes about Bicycle Guardians:

• The Guardians were first released by Theory 11 and then released by Bicycle/USPCC.


• Theory 11 released 2 editions. USPCC only released 1 editions.


• Marketed toward the magic community, but its versatile for all kinds of play.

Final Assessment: I like this deck because of it detailed and consistent design. It has earned its place in the card community and will be here to stay. The few disappointments I have with the deck are the repeating Joker design and lack of guarantee but it does not kill the deck for me by any means. I also think it could have done more to be incorporated into the magic community by adding a double back card like some magic-inspired decks have. This deck is a must have for any magician but if you are a casual card player, this deck will definitely impress and make the game more exciting.

Score: 9/10

Revealed: Federal 52 Playing Cards Part 2 Coming In June +Teaser

Federal 52 is the wildly successful Kickstarter project from LA-Based Artist, Jackson Robinson, that features magnificent artwork inspired by US currency and bank notes. Funded within the first 24 hours of going live on Kickstarter.com in March, the Federal 52 project raised a total of $149,156 from 2,798 backers (me included). During the entire project. which was live until April 22 when it was officially awarded the funds, Jackson kept the backer community on our feet with new add-on rewards and bonuses every step of the way. He even released a second Gold Certificate Deck as a special add-on. During the project, Jackson talked about ideas for a Silver Certificate Deck and Reserve Note Deck as add-ons or as a potential new project separate from the original Federal 52. However, it was eventually decided that the decks would be issued in a separate project after the current project.

Well, get ready folks! Jackson clearly did not waste much time dropping teasers of the second Federal 52 Kickstarter project. Today, Jackson released an update that simply said "Coming in June..." with the image that is posted below of the Silver Certificate and Reserve Note backs.

He also updated the community about the face card design for both decks in the comments of this teaser...

The Silver Certificate's face cards will match the Gold Cert and Federal 52 to keep in line with the set. However I'm planning on some cool stuff with the Reserve Note Deck. There are a few Presidents and portraits that I have been saving to switch things up.

After the success of the last project, I think it is safe to say this deck will have no trouble getting backed. I will be covering this project here on Tuck Case and will even post a review once the decks are received from both projects.

Check out the previous Federal 52 Kickstarter Here.

Also, Checkout Jackson Robinson's Kings Wild Project.

UPDATE (5/14/2013): Here is a new photo for the Silver Certificate Playing Cards posted by Jackson Robinson on Kickstarter.

News: Now You See Me Movie Preview Released

"Now You See Me" a movie infused with magic and thrills hits theaters on May 31, 2013. If you are in the the magic community you probably heard of this movie. However, compared to other movies being released this month (IRON MAN 3) it hasn't received a lot of publicity. Despite all that it has an all-start cast (Jesse Eisenberg and Morgan Freeman) and a $70 million budget.

Anyway, in anticipation of the release a 4 minute preview of the movie was released today. Check it out!  



According to Theory 11's Facebook post today, apparently the Monarchs deck is used. It is hard to tell in the following clip but hopefully we see more of them and other card decks throughout the movie.