5 Things You Need To Know About the Relaunch of DYSTOPIA Playing Cards

[Update] DYSTOPIA Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

On Friday, January 13, the team at Joker and the Thief is relaunching DYSTOPIA Playing Cards on Kickstarter. The original campaign was canceled and James Milaras, founder of Joker and the Thief has reworked the campaign. Here is a list of 5 things that you need to know for the relaunch of DYSTOPIA.

1. Dystopia will no longer be printed by Expert Playing Card Company. Instead, Joker and the Thief has moved production to the United States Playing Card Company. Printed under supervision of Dan and Dave Industries on their signature “thin stock” and finish, Dystopia is expected to handle brilliantly and be the best handling deck in our range.

2. During the relaunch campaign for Dystopia, the funding goal will be dramatically less than that of the previous campaign. With a far more achievable goal, Joker and the Thief is expected to fund quickly with the help of its valued backers.

3. Fulfilment. Switching from Art of Play to Amazon.com means that overall shipping costs within the USA are far lower than all of Joker and the Thief’s previous campaigns. International rates on multiple decks are far fairer than previous campaigns, with backers from the European Union further having a slightly discounted rate.

4. Luxury Tuck Box. Joker and the Thief has turned to professional letterpress studio Clove St. Press to create the tuck box for Dystopia Playing Cards. If you are unfamiliar with Clove St. Press, they create all the tuck boxes for Art of Play and Dan and Dave Industries. The same manufacturing methods are used by Theory11 and Ellusionist. With specialized machinery, Clove St. will be able to use luxurious, imported dyed paper, and apply rich foiling and deep, prominent embossing to Dystopia’s tucks. Capped with a custom shaped seal, it’s bound to be a stand out in your collection. For quality control, Art of Play will be assembling and inspecting the final product.

5. On launch day, Joker and the Thief will make available limited Early Bird Specials… at USD$10 per deck. Plus for those of you who live in the USA, these specials are shipped to you for FREE.

[Update] DYSTOPIA Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter!


Will you survive? DYSTOPIA will launch on Kickstarter Friday, 13 January 6PM PST.

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. 

Kings Wild's Nutcracker Artist Proof Deck Released!

Since Christmas is just around the corner (can you believe it?) we wanted to share this exquisite Christmas themed deck by Kings Wild Project.

This Nutcracker Playing Cards is a fully custom deck crafted from the ground up and is designed to communicate the joy, wonder, and imagination of Christmas. The artwork is hand-illustrated by Jackson Robinson, from the card backs, Ace of Spades to the whimsical royals and jokers.

What makes this deck incredible is the limited card stock with gold foil on both sides printed on top! According to Jackson,

I double printed the white borders so it would look like hot press foil with zero impressions on the cards from the foiling.

From our knowledge, no one has every actually printed on white borders. So we are looking forward to this... especially with the perfect registration.

The deck will be printed by the Expert Playing Card Co. and the tucks will be printed by Clove St Press. At the moment, the Artist Proof of Nutcracker Playing Cards is available for non-Kings Wild Shorts subscribers for $30 on kingswildproject.com.

Top 12: Playing Cards of 2019

Another record year for playing cards! What an incredible year it has been! Looking back, one thing is certain: we are incredibly fortunate to be part of such an inspired community of artists, designers, cardists, magicians and collectors! We have had a huge selection of decks released and delivered this year. To celebrate, we've compiled 12 of our favorite decks for 2019 right here. We realized that the benchmark is increasing each year with designers and producers putting out stunning decks, trying new innovation and design styles. So, if you think we've missed your favorite deck, let us know in the comment section below. :) You can also download the PDF on our Patron page.

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

Crayon

Designer Jackson Robinson released the Crayon deck, a nostalgic deck that looks just like your fave childhood crayons! A Super Duper Polka Dotted Gilded Edition Crayons features the limited edition red tuck case but with vibrant color splash paint and stickers scattered throughout the tuck... externally AND internally. No two tucks are the same. Inside, the deck is fully custom and features fractured holographic gilding, which gives this deck a vibrant and fun vibe!

NPCCD 2019

This year’s 2019 National Playing Card Collection (NPCCD) was inspired by the beauty of Morocco. The country is commonly known for its mesmerizing architecture and its labyrinth-esque marketplaces- the two aspects of the culture that designer Alex Chin wanted to imbue into this series when designing it. This year’s theme was to encapsulate this culture into this year’s 2019 NPCCD Palace Edition.

Fontaine Futures

Zach Mueller unveiled the Fontaine Future at Cardistry-Con Portland featuring a new product offering not seen in the playing cards industry. The decks are packed in a sealed anti-static shielding plastic pouch, giving it a futuristic look. Six different decks are on offer for the "blind packs": Glitch (1 of 1000), Polka (1 of 1500), 500 (1 of 500), Window (1 of 2000), Floral (1 of 2500) and Parrot (1 of 2000).

Six Strings

Six Strings is a collaboration between Kardify and Murphy's Magic inspired by the most majestic and fascinating musical instrument- the guitar. This limited edition deck is designed by Ade Suryana. You will love the fully custom design featuring gorgeous reimagined courts, visually appealing pips and suits, bold Ace of Spades, and an intricate card back design. All packaged in a beautifully crafted letter-pressed tuck case by Clove St Press.

Nutcracker

A fully custom deck crafted from the ground up and designed to communicate the joy, wonder, and imagination of Christmas. The artwork is hand-illustrated by Jackson Robinson, from the card backs, Ace of Spades to the whimsical royals and jokers. What makes this deck incredible is the limited card stock with gold foil on both sides printed on top! The white borders are double priced so it would look like hot press foil with zero impressions on the cards from the foiling.

Messymod

Art of Play's minimalist, delightful and weird deck of playing cards conceived by the Los Angeles based creative team, TRÜF born from their love of geometry, pattern, white space, Bauhaus, and Miró and mashed it all into a style called Messy Modernism – “messymod” for short. The deck features a completely custom design in typical Messymod fashion. What we love about this deck is that each card has its own presence and personality, making it an ideal piece of artwork that can stand on its own.

Luminosity

From Blackink Playing Cards, Luminosity Playing Cards are inspired by Norse Mythology depicting the age-old conflict between good and evil. Not only is it functional, but the fully custom deck has unique characters with their own story. The face cards include Silver Metallic ink accents which give it a touch of elegance. The Tuck Case designs are unique and printed on matte grey card stock adorned with elegant copper hot foil stamping and embossed.

Standards

Produced by Art of Play in collaboration with Kevin Cantrell Studio, Standards playing cards are crafted with meticulous attention to detail inspired by nineteenth-century British opulence, an era of elegance unsurpassed. Stredefineedefines luxury at the card table with fully custom artwork from the bold Ace of Spades, intricate card backs, to the gorgeous courts and ornate jokers.

Star Wars

A last-minute addition to the list. Theory11 released the deck in conjunction with the release of JJ Abram's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. 2 decks are on offer, The Light Side and The Dark Side. The Light side tuck box features a striking blue foil on black tuck while the Dark Side, stunning red foil on black tuck. Both decks will feature iconic design elements from the Star Wars universe. From the window of the Millenium Falcon, Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker's lightsaber and X-Wings to R2D2, Star Destroyers, and TIE Fighters.

Ascension

There's something special about Steve Minty decks, and his latest deck is no different. Ascension Playing cards are epically designed and illustrated as an homage to his beloved TV series while giving it a spin in his style and interpretation. The deck features fully custom artwork from the gorgeous Aces to the pips, indices, and courts featuring characters from the series. 

Chronos

Lotrek first announced Chronos Playing Cards during the 2019 52 Plus Joker Annual Convention. As the name suggests, the theme of the beautiful deck is time. The deck is fully custom from the pips, jokers to the court cards and Ace of Spades. All this while keeping the traditional elements of playing cards in place. The tuck box is stunning and the card backs are printed with gold foil.

Betrayers

All four decks are gorgeous! Betrayers Lucis, Tenebra and Veritas, in particular, are vibrant, colorful and thought-provoking, which add to the appeal and character of the decks. Giovanni Meroni loves to add small custom details to his artworks, so there is a lot to discover. What makes Betrayers different is flat design style and bold color schemes giving the illusion of 3D. Fans of Giovanni will notice that the artwork of Betrayers is a departure from his usual style.


Honorable mention:  Parlour by The Gentleman Wake, Butterfly by Ondrej Psenicka, Vittoria by Nicolai Aaroe, Silk by Lotrek, Equinox 2019 by Kings Wild,  FLUX by Lotus in Hand, Valley Forge by Kings Wild, Seafarers by J&T Playing Cards, Playing Arts ZERO by Playing Arts, Mono-Xero by Luke Wadey Design, Bitcoin by Patrick Kun and Andrei Jikh, Jerry's Nugget Reprint by Expert Playing Card Co., Coffee by Edo Huang, Tavern on the Green by Theory11, Ladybug by PlayingCardDecks and Tom's Town by Art of Play.

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

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Deck View: Nutcracker Playing Cards

Joy. Wonder. Christmas.

First released in 2019, a fully custom deck crafted from the ground up and designed to communicate the joy, wonder, and imagination of Christmas. The artwork is hand-illustrated by Jackson Robinson, from the card backs, Ace of Spades to the whimsical royals and jokers. 

What makes this deck incredible is the limited card stock with gold foil on both sides printed on top! The white borders are double priced so it would look like hot press foil with zero impressions on the cards from the foiling.

The deck is printed by the Expert Playing Card Co. and the tucks will be printed by Clove St Press.

Kings Wild's El Toro Playing Cards Released to Non-Subscribers

Kings Wild's El Toro is a fresh, unique, and hand-illustrated deck of playing cards inspired by traditional Mezcal Spirit labels. The inspiration is pulled from the simple but beautiful Mezcal bottles.

The decks feature a strikingly simple tuck case, that grabs your attention with its highly contrasting colors and bold typography. Relying heavily on the eye-pleasing aesthetic of straight to the point typesetting, El Toro uses a simple serifed font to communicate its message.

The deck showcase a complete set of custom court cards that carry on the simple and playful approach to the playing card design. Each member of El Toro royal court stands out with their own quirky personality and refreshing faces. Clothed in stylized 15th-century Spanish royal clothing, you will surely love fanning these cards in your next poker game or family game night.

Also, the face cards sports enlarged indexes and pips allow for extremely easy readability.

El Toro was printed by The United States Playing Card Company and the tuck case was beautifully letterpressed by Clove St. Press in San Diego. Available now from kingswildproject.com for $15.

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Six Strings Playing Cards is Available NOW!

The gorgeous Six Strings playing cards is available NOW from your favorite Murphy's Magic retailer. If you don't already know, the deck is a collaboration between Kardify and Murphy's Magic inspired by the most majestic and fascinating musical instrument- the guitar.

This limited edition deck is designed by Ade Suryana. You will love the fully custom design featuring gorgeous reimagined courts, visually appealing pips and suits, bold Ace of Spades, and an intricate card back design. All packaged in a beautifully crafted letter-pressed tuck case by Clove St Press.

Six Strings is as beautiful as it is functional – the idea is to create a deck that is versatile for themed magic, game nights and just to have in your collection. The deck combines distinctive design with the peerless quality of the United States Playing Card Co.

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The Full Trailer for Six Strings Playing Cards Just Dropped!

Murphy's Magic just dropped the teaser trailer for Six Strings playing cards. The gorgeous deck is a collaboration between Kardify and Murphy's Magic inspired by the most majestic and fascinating musical instrument- the guitar. This limited edition deck is designed by Ade Suryana and features fully custom design, reimagined courts, and a beautifully crafted letter-pressed tuck case by Clove St Press. Check out the trailer below:


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Ace Fulton's Casino Cowboy Denim Playing Cards

Inspired by vintage casino playing cards, the iconic Ace Fulton's Casino playing cards combine a retro style with a modern stock and finish. In 2013 Brad Fulton had the idea to make a version of his legendary Ace Fulton's that resembled “Cowboy Denim.” Growing up in the American West, Brad was always inspired by the faded jeans of cowboys and the contrasting stitching seen on the seems and pockets.

 
Working with his partners Dan and Dave Buck, Brad Designed the ultimate Ace Fulton, complete with patterned inside tuck printing. However, something went horribly wrong and the deck was never released to the public and only a handful of the originals remain.

 

Released late last week, the Ace Fulton's Casino Cowboy Denim is produced to the original standards envisioned almost eight years ago. The tuck box is printed by Clove St Press on recycled denim with beautiful Gold foil stamping and internal pattern foiling.

 
For the first time in years the original Ace Fulton Custom Face and Court Cards return along with Lady Luck and the color stroked iconic Ace Fulton Spade. Complete with the original Ace Small Indices.

 
Printed by US Playing Card Co on Cambric Thin Stock developed by Dan and Dave Buck for the Hollingworth Project. Available now from fultonsplayingcards.com for $17.

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News: Got Magic? Releases the Enchanting Winterberry Playing Cards

Winterberry playing cards by Got Magic? are beautifully designed and illustrated by Estonian graphic designer and cardist Toomas Pintson. 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.

According to Toomas,

One of the highlights of this deck and one I'm the proudest of is the artwork on the front of the tuck case - it features artistic “Winterberry” lettering surrounded by this cool looking psychedelic artwork.

Printed by The United States Playing Card Co. on a crushed-Bee® stock, 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.

Available NOW from gotmagic.com for $14.97