First Look: The Arthurian Playing Cards by Kings Wild Project

[Update] The Arthurian Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

Launching today on Kickstarter by Kings Wild Project is The Arthurian playing cards, a gorgeous deck inspired by the legend of King Arthur. Rich characters and a wide range of lore in the legend provides an ideal foundation for a deck of playing cards. Kings, Knights, Queens, Love, Betrayal, and Brotherhood are just a few of the themes that play out in this beloved story.

According to designer Jackson Robinson,

Since I started making playing cards, I spent time making lists of possible deck ideas. The King Authur Legend always made the list. I have been inspired by this legend since I was a child and now I am excited to share this deck with you.

On the unique art style, Jackson explained,

The art style is a reflection of the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is a beautiful hand drawn and written illuminated manuscript that tells the story of the four Gospels of the Bible. This book was written around the same time as the origins of the King Arthur story. This legend and art style are a perfect compliment to each other.

There are two editions being offered in this campaign, the Excalibur Edition and the Camelot Edition. Fully custom, both decks are accentuated by meticulous and elegant details throughout. Printed by the Expert Playing Card Co.

The Excalibur Edition tucks features a premium grade soft touch crimson red paper with gold foil design of Excalibur seated in the magical anvil.

The Camelot Edition features a unique set of court cards and back design. It also comes in a custom designed collector's box that opens like a book and is closed by an individually numbered seal.

[Update] The Arthurian Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

The Arthurian playing cards will be available at 7pm Central time today (March 4th) on Kickstarter.

First Look: Origins Shadows of History Playing Cards by Rick Davidson Part 2

[Update] Origins Shadow of History Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

A few days ago, we featured the first look of Origins Shadows of History deck, a follow-up to the successful Origins First Edition and Grail Limited Edition decks. In part 2 of the first look, designer and illustrator Rick Davidson shares with us the promo video of the deck and how the Ace of Spades is finalised.

Here's the time lapse of the development of the Ace of Spades in the Shadows of History deck of playing cards.




A look at the Queen of Hearts, inspired by history. The Rouen 1667 deck is a recreation of the source of the playing card pattern we know today.

Comparing the face cards, here are the spade cards for the Origins Shadows of History deck. The courts are vibrant, diptych jokers and the eye-catching Ace of Spades.

The Rouen 1567 hearts, meticulously redrawn from the original historic sheets.

Finally, the incredible teaser video.



[Update] Origins Shadow of History Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

We want to thank Rick for sharing the video and giving us a rare behind the scenes look of his design process. Campaign launches Saturday, 4 March 5pm EST.

Don't miss out!

Cardistry: Watch Kevin Ho's Mesmerising Arrowdynamics Demo

"Arrowdynamics" is a cool concept Kevin Ho from The Virts shared at last year's Cardistry-Con in Berlin, Germany. It is a simple visual premise that has a ton of cool applications and possibilities. Kevin shared this video on his various social media accounts for those who didn't manage to catch it last year.

Deck Watch: February 2017

While we'll be the first to say that Playing Cards as an investment is not the wisest of choices, the value of certain decks is an interesting thing to take note of. With anything deemed to be a "Collectible" value comes into play for various reasons, from just knowing to gambling on the possible return on your investment.

Deck Watch is just a look at what some items are actually selling for in the market. Over time it should be interesting to see how values hold and or fluctuate month to month and what trends develop. Each month Deck Watch will feature the top 5 Playing Card decks, in terms of selling price*,  in both the Modern, as well as Vintage categories.

Guide:
David Blaine Create Magic (3) - $450.00 / 300.00
(3) = Indicates the number of this deck that sold
$450.00 / 300.00 = Indicates what the highest selling price was for the 3 (450) and the lowest of the 3 (300.00)
Average High End Selling Price= Indicated with a ▼/▲  and red or blue, depending on if the total has gone up or down from last month. 

Top 5 Modern Playing Cards

5. 3D Mechanized Playing Cards by Dale Mathis v2 - $129.00
4. Zenith Playing Cards (2) - $169.00 / 145.00
3. Liturgy Treasure Playing Cards - $159.00
2. Red Fontaine Playing Cards (4) - $242.00 / 157.00
1. Black Tiger Playing Cards (1st Edition Ellusionist) - $300.00

Average high-end sale price for February Modern Decks: ▼ $189.00 for a single deck.

Top 5 Vintage Playing Cards

5. Oriental Playing Cards Andrew Dougherty c1900 - $191.00
4. #47 Circus Playing Cards c1896 - $300.00
3. Murphy Varnish Transformation Playing Cards - $300.00
2. Popish Conspiracy Playing Cards c1679.  - $350.00
1. H.H. Tammen Denver Burro Souvenir Playing Cards c1904 - $597.00

Average high-end sale price for February Vintage Decks: ▼ $347.00 for a single deck.


* Methodology: Items are filtered from ebay under the heading of  "Playing Cards" for the prior month and only include actual Sold Items and not "Offer Excepted" listings. Selling price rank is based on a single deck listing unless the per deck price on multiple items ranks appropriately. Items that would normally occupy multiple slots will be consolidated into one listing which will include the number of times it sold and its highest/lowest selling price.

Deck Watch is intended to be purely informational entertainment. Kardify by no means is setting or guaranteeing posted values to specific items. The value of anything is based on your own personal opinion.