Start Your Engines! Check Out RPM Playing Cards on Kickstarter

RPM is a sleek new deck by Doc's Playing Card Co. and Luke Wadey currently seeking funds on Kickstarter. The campaign features two car-themed decks, available in light and dark versions with additional upgrades to the tuck and gilded versions also being available. The project was funded in just over 24 hours of launch last week! 

 

These decks focus on a car theme and embrace intricate pattern work and typography as we have come to expect from any of Luke's decks. The origin of these decks came from Luke's ambition to be a car designer for most of his life, even studying it at university before switching to graphic design. The decks focus on use for cardistry, their strength lying in bold fans, and designed for rotation. 

  

The decks have several different features that will make them unique to your collection; The dark variant uses a full bleed design, contrasting reds and blacks combined with typography, and is themed around an alloy wheel. All the cards are black and fully custom, also including a flipbook effect showing the value of each card, inspired by an RPM meter on a car dashboard. Brilliant! 

The white deck variant combines both metallic and CMYK inks in a totally different design, aiming to contrast the black decks, a pair of street racers. Again using a flipbook effect on the faces, the semi-border design is based around a car brake disk and combines pattern work and typography once more to draw your eye during flourishes.



Both decks are 100% custom with modified courts and jokers, hand-drawn by Luke. Here are all the decks available during the RPM campaign: Black Edition, Onyx Edition, Onyx Gilded Edition, White Edition, Drift Edition, Drift Gilded Edition 

Also, the limited collector packages come with numbered seals on the main decks as well as limited numbered half brick boxes. Printed by the USPCC and pledge starts at $15 on Kickstarter.

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Issue 33 of Kardify Magazine Now on Patreon

Issue #33 of Kardify Magazine is now on Patreon! Patrons who pledged $3 or more on will be able to download the latest issue from our Patreon page. Issue #33 compiles selected articles published from mid-January to mid-February. 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 new tiers include monthly desktop and smartphone wallpapers, mystery deck shipped to you every 4 months of ongoing contribution, 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 bringing new quality content to you. Our aim is to support designers by backing on crowd-funded 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:

+ Monarch Mandarin:  To celebrate the Lunar New Year, Theory11 has released a brand new limited edition Monarch! Find out more.

+ Sovereign: Jody Eklund’s latest deck reimagines the courts of a standard playing cards with gorgeous illustrations. Check it out....

+ Void: A new cardistry brand by Scott Black. VOID is the first offering and explores the illusion of depth throughout the decks’ entire design.

+ Two NEW Gatorbacks: Find out more about David Blaine’s new releases. The Gatorbacks are one of his most collectible deck series.

+ Top 12 Most Funded Decks on Kickstarter: Have a look at the 12 most funded decks on Kickstarter. List updated with three new entries all breaking the $140k mark.

+ Four New Kings Wild Decks: Jackson Robinson has just released four new decks to non-Kings Wild Short subscribers. Find out more!

+ Black Dot: The team at Anyone released the highly sought-after Black Dot Playing Cards... sold out in less than 3 hours.

+ Lucky:  The fully custom deck by Doc’s Playing Card Co. and design studio Native Tongue. Lucky Playing Cards is luxurious yet practical and functional.

… and more! 56 pages of articles and deck images. Enjoy!

5 Things You Should Know About Latin Quarter Playing Cards

The Latin Quarter Playing Cards is a beautiful deck currently funding on Kickstarter. This project represents a collaborative effort between designer Jamie Stark (Instagram: @starkdesignsllc) and Mike McClure of Doc’s Play Card Company (Instagram: @docsplayingcardco). The intricate design combined with filigree embellishments and gold metallic inks on the cards makes this deck as stunning as they are elegant. Vintage in style with a hint of modern.

Here are 5 things you should know about The Latin Quarter Playing Cards:

1. Underground Casino
The Latin Quarter is an interpretation of playing cards that might have been used at the famous underground casino, The Latin Quarter, in Lexington, Kentucky, many years ago. The deeply intricate tuck design pays homage to historic styles. The tuck is emblazoned with the Latin phrase “ALEA IACTA EST” which translates as “The die is cast.” This phrase was chosen because of it’s relevance to gamblers and game players of all stripes and is also a subtle nod to the magicians and cardists and their uncanny abilities to control outcomes.

2. Court Card Design
Because they would have been used by a casino, mostly traditional court designs were chosen with a few twists including filigree embellishments and gold metallic inks. Gamblers, magicians, cardists, and collectors of all stripes can appreciate this fine creation.

3. The Tuck Design
The tuck design draws its inspiration from the historic context of the name "The Latin Quarter" which was the home of the large university in medieval Paris. It was called the "Latin Quarter" because the Latin language was spoken by the scholars and students who resided there. The typography of the name is a blackletter style font which is what would have been used by scribes creating illuminated manuscripts in that Latin Quarter.

4. Letterpressed
The tuck case is printed by the industry-renowned Clove Street Press, utilized by some of the finest card producing companies working today. It features 2 bright and unique foil colors and is printed on the highest quality smooth-touch paper available.

5. This project is not limited to cards
Matching gaming chips and dice are being offered as well. The dice are real razor-edged casino dice gold stamped with the Latin Quarter Branding. The chips are 10-gram ceramic chips available as Latin Quarter branded chips or as unbranded for board game use. These casino-quality chips will last a lifetime. You can also get a wooden chip box. The box holds 500 chips, is made in the USA of solid American hardwoods, and is laser engraved with the Latin Quarter logo. This thing is a real-deal treasure chest. Ready to have a full casino night at your home? This is the set for you.

The deck is printed by United States Playing Card Company on premium crushed stock with an embossed finish. Traditionally cut for smooth faro shuffle these cards feature 2-way back design printed with metallic gold ink. These cards will also be made available in limited numbers with red or gold gilding and custom metallic numbered seals. Pledge starts at $14 on Kickstarter!

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On Kickstarter, LORE Scandinavian Folklore Playing Cards

The team Native Tongue Studio has long been fascinated by the unique history and traditions of the many different cultures around the globe. One such tradition is that of folklore and stories passed down through the generations. In terms of folklore, one region stands out in particular, Scandinavia.

LORE is Native Tongue Studio's personal take on some of the characters commonly found throughout Scandinavian Folklore. According to designer Brad Gabbard,

While the tales can vary between regions, many of the characters themselves share

similar descriptions across the land. Many of the stories can also get quite dark. That’s what drew us in...

Currently funding on Kickstarter, the fully custom deck emphasizes the contrast between some of the more innocent-looking aspects of Scandinavian folklore and the dark undertones lying beneath the surface.

Each court card features a traditional folklore character shown in its most sinister form. From Mara, Troll to the Elf, Dwarf, and Pesta. 

The deck is packaged in beautifully foiled and embossed tuck boxes by Fresh Impression Letterpress on unique Oxford fabric textured stock. But once inside, the dark and creepy undertones come to light. Bard continued,

As seen in our Tough Luck collab with Doc’s, we tend to make decks with loads of personality. We tend to make decks with loads of personality. We enjoy when not all is what it seems on the surface.

Four editions are available on Kickstarter- Midsummer Blue Edition, Midwinter Red Edition, Vaesen Foil Editon, and Vaesen Gilded Edition. The Kickstarter exclusive Vaesen editions come with unique Rose Gold fully foil card backs.

Printed by Cartamundi, B9 True Linen Finish on Slimline Stock. Pledge starts at $16 on Kickstarter.

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Lucky Playing Cards Funded in 8 Hours on Kickstarter

Whoah! Loving this collab deck of playing cards by Doc's Playing Card Co. and design studio Native Tongue. Lucky Playing Cards is luxurious yet practical and functional.

According to Irish Legend, if you are lucky enough to capture a Leprechaun you can barter for his treasure. The team wanted to create a deck based upon the legend for quite a while. According to founder, Michael Mcclure,

As a child I was fascinated by these little men that stand about as tall as a three-year-old, pinch you if you don't wear green on St. Patrick's Day and hide gold at the end of rainbows. One day while talking to my friend and Artist Brad Gabbard of Native Tongue Studio, I ran the idea by him. Over the next several months he designed and redesigned many backs and court card combinations until he was able to come up with the perfect combination of both.

The deck they created a deck that would appeal to cardists, magicians and collectors. To achieve this goal, the team has crafted a fully custom St. Patrick's Day-themed courts feature along with a beautiful custom Ace of Spades and Jokers.

Clover pips are used in place of Clubs, as well as unique metallic gold and metallic green suits rather than traditional black and red. Also, we were told that a number of additional secrets are hidden throughout the deck.

The more of them you find, the more "lucky" you can make the deck for yourself...

Lucky Playing Cards will be printed by the USPCC using the finest traditionally cut crushed stock and finish in the industry. Metallic gold and green inks will feature throughout, including the courts.

Pledge starts at $12 for a single deck on Kickstarter.

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Only 3 more days to go on Kickstarter! 4 Clans Playing Cards

Only 3 more days to go on Kickstarter! Four Clans is the third collaborative release by Doc’s Playing Card Co. & designer Brad Gabbard of Native Tongue Studio featuring Samurai and Japanese culture. On the theme and design of the deck, Brad told Kardify,

As always, our main goal is to produce stylized, interesting cards while maintaining the highest standards in feel and handling. For this deck we travel back to Feudal Japan. Years of brutal war between samurai clans have left the country in ruins. Only four clans remain, each fighting for control of the entirety of Japan for their leader, the shogun.

 

Fully custom, each clan is represented in the deck by a different suit. The custom pips are styled after each clan’s kamon, or crest.



Every part of this deck was created with careful attention to detail and, while the story and clans are fictitious, a great deal of effort was put into ensuring all other elements are portrayed as accurately as possible. Also included is an ad card that gives background information on each clan. 

There are 4 editions on offer during the campaign, Standard Edition and a Limited Edition with premium foiled tuck box, and two gilded editions. The decks are printed by the USPCC. Pledge starts at $13 on Kickstarter!

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Latin Quarter Signature and Special Editions on Kickstarter

The Latin Quarter Playing Cards is a beautiful deck originally funded on Kickstarter late last year. The deck is a collaborative effort between designer Jamie Stark and Mike McClure of Doc’s Playing Card Company and features an intricate design combined with filigree embellishments. Vintage in style with a hint of modern. 

The deeply intricate tuck design pays homage to historic styles and is emblazoned with the Latin phrase “ALEA IACTA EST” which translates as “The die is cast.” The signature and special editions decks are part of the Latin Quarter Gaming Chips campaign currently funding on Kickstarter. The Signature Edition sports a black letterpress tuck with elegant black foil accents. 

Meanwhile, the Special Edition tucks feature letterpress debossing and foil stamped logo with matching gilded edge cards within the tuck: gold, red, purple, and ebony. 

Inside, the deck is pretty by standard traditional court designs but with a few twists including filigree embellishments and gold metallic inks.


The deck is printed by United States Playing Card Company on premium crushed stock with an embossed finish. Pledge starts at $14 on Kickstarter!

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On Kickstarter Today, Juice Joint Playing Cards!

[Update] Juice Joint Playing Catds are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

Best accommodations, world-class entertainment, and the highest gambling limits in town! The Juice Joint is a fictional casino that opened in 1958 and well-known for its world-class offerings. While it was initially known as the darling of the strip, by the late 1960’s, profits were in decline and the casino had been taken over by organized crime figures. In an effort to turn the declining profits around, the managers began hiring card and dice mechanics. By 1971, the best mechanics in town were employed at the Juice Joint. In the end, the house always won.

From Doc's Playing Cards, Juice Joint playing card pays homage to a rare 1970’s version of a deck of Silver Nugget playing cards. This deck was originally printed on the same stock and with the same finish as the famous Jerry’s Nugget deck of the 1970’s. However, unlike Jerry’s Nugget, the Silver Nugget decks were never sold in gift shops and are very rarely found unopened.

The Jucy Joint deck features a custom tuck, mirrored card backs, and Ace of Spades. Since this is a casino-inspired deck, the pips, indices, and courts are pretty much standard. Fans of vintage casino decks will not be disappointed!

Similar to these decks from the 1970’s, the Juice Joint deck will be printed to the highest standards of its time – premium stock, crushed and traditionally cut for the modern card mechanic, magician, and gambling demonstrator.

[Update] Juice Joint Playing Catds are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

The deck will be on Kickstarter today (6th August).

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Ocean’s Curse by Doc’s Playing Cards

Producer Michael McClure has released another great hit deck- one that has been teased for quite a while and is highly anticipated by fans of Docs Playing Cards. The enchanting Ocean’s Curse playing cards is a deck that felt fitting of the Pirates of the Seven Seas.

The deck itself tells a story of Ocean’s Curse, a pirate ship, and her crews. All of the artworks, from the card back design to pips, and the courts are fully customized and filled with great details and thematic elements. All of these are the works of designer Abraham Garcia (Instagram: @abraham_garcia_illustration).

The tuck box for the cards is made with premium matte paper with detailed 3D embossing complete with foiling. The interior of the tuck features a pirate’s map done in copper foiling.

The color of the tucks determines the editions: White gray for Limited, Black for Private Reserve, and Silver for Gilded.

The Private Reserve edition comes with a special wooden box made by Carat Case Creations. The decks will be sealed with a custom-made seal!

While the singles Limited Edition is sold out, you can still get it by acquiring the half brick box (placed in a custom half brick box). The Private Reserve edition is still available! The Gilded edition (along with custom poker chips) will be released soon. Available now on docsplayingcardco.com for a limited time.

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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