5 Things You Did Not Know About Dark Kingdom Playing Cards

Inspired by old engravings and fairy tales about mysterious magic castles with dragons and strange creatures that inhabit them, designer E.Zhade (Instagram: @zhade_evgenia) together with 52 Wonders have created Dark Kingdom Playing Cards. Currently funding on Kickstarter, the dark design alludes to mystery and power with a fascinating backstory. According to the campaign page,

Legend foretells of a foolish king who lost his kingdom to a cunning and evil wizard who was fond of the night and plunged the kingdom into darkness. The people began to spread rumors about this kingdom and other royals wanted to see it for themselves. The magic of the night attracted curious travelers from all ends of the Earth, but once they had seen the magic and beauty of the kingdom they found themselves unable to leave. The mysterious nature of the darkness and the shining stars captivated those who saw it… and they stayed there forever.

Fully custom, the deck features intricate card backs, beautifully illustrated court cards, and a unique Ace of Spades. All face cards have been framed with an ornate border. Here are 5 things you did not know about Dark Kingdom Playing Cards:

1. Number Cards
The design of the number cards is inspired by the 1937 Russian deck "Paleh", which was created by the artist Bazhenov specifically for the world exhibition in Paris. This deck occupies an honorable place in the history of playing cards. Each card is enclosed in a beautiful frame

2. Ace of Clubs 
Gorynych - personifies evil in folk tales and wreaths of Slavs. In different legends, the description of the dragon changes within tales, which is why it is difficult to make an accurate portrait of this character. Generally, the Gorynych is portrayed as a speaking dragon-like creature, with three heads, with a tail and copper claws, which can breathe fire, while releasing smoke from its ears.

3. Jack of Hearts & Queen of Hearts
These are paired cards in the deck, each bares the word “enchanted” on their ribbons, linking them together and symbolizing the love and affection between the two.

4. The Process
Every card was meticulously hand-drawn. The whole process took an exceptionally long time. Each character has its own character and personifies with the word written on their ribbons.

5. Dark Kingdom Custom Guitar
Jim Longley (TC Custom Design) teamed up with Zhade Art to create a guitar design for a beautiful electric guitar. The images were based on the design elements of the back, tuck, suits, and jokers.

Dark Kingdom Playing Card will be printed by Cartamundi on True Linen B9 Slimline paper stock. Available now on Kickstarter and pledge starts at $20 for a single deck.

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Deck View: 1987 (January Edition) Playing Cards

Retro. TV. Pattern.

Produced by 52 Wonders and designed by Alex Matencio of Zalem Industries, the 1987 January Edition playing cards is an intriguing retro-inspired deck. The deck comes with standard face cards with recolored court cards and custom Ace of Spades. The back design is a reminiscence of the test pattern you might see on TV back in the 80's. The deck is packaged in a bold black and white stripe design tuck box.

Printed by Cartamundi and limited to 1000 decks. Available now from 52wonders.com for $19 with FREE worldwide shipping.

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Now of Patreon, Kardify Magazine Issue 97

Kardify Magazine Issue 97 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:   

+ Fiamma Rossa: Have a look at Thirdway Industries latest deck, an indulgent display of luxury and symbolism with custom faces, and card backs.

+ Nocturnal: Destino and EmilySleights52 have teamed up to create a stunning deck that captures the quiet beauty of nighttime designed for magicians and collectors in mind. Take a look!

+ Mucha & Van Gogh V2: Discover the two stunning art decks from 52 MUSÉE inspired by the world of fine art and high-end playing card design.

+ Intaglio Deux: Jackson Robinson created an entirely new deck of playing cards with the help of AI.. a striking fusion of tradition and technology. Find out more!

+ Bicycle Gundam:  Bicycle has teamed up with the legendary Mobile Suit Gundam franchise for a bold, limited-edition series of four playing cards, each celebrating a different era of Gundam’s rich saga.

+ Fulton's Gunsmoke: Illustrated by Ethan Kowaleski, this eye-catching deck is a heartfelt tribute to classic Western cinema and culture.

+ Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Eon, a sub-brand of Room One Cards, has unveiled its latest project,  an ambitious new series inspired by the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Check it out!

… and more! 50-pages of articles and deck images. Enjoy!

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.