We are very happy to introduce EPCC’s latest Superior brand product!
This 4 deck series is ultra luxurious and priced so that they can be used as EDC decks!
Full hot foil backs!
Cardista Thin Stock!
Synthetic Tuck Stock
Long Flapped Thin Fit Tuck
Numbered Seals
Very Low Pricing!
Gilding Optional!
Expert chose its Superior Classic design to introduce the new Cardista thin stock! This amazing Italian paper was discovered by our friend Lawrence Sullivan of Legends Playing Card Company and we think it is really nice.
As most know, Expert introduced hot foil to playing cards a number of years ago and it’s become very popular. The only problem is that the decks are usually too expensive to actually use! Expert set about to fix that and created some production efficiencies and now we can sell these amazing decks for only $9.95 a deck!
And for that performer who wants a bit more bling, you can even get the deck with Gilded Edges! And this upgraded version is only $11.95 per deck!
Give these amazing decks a try and we know you will love them.
Okay, I've had these decks for a few days now, and here are some initial thoughts:
First, know my own biases: I am often an early adopter of new playing card technology because, well, it's fun and it scratches an itch. I don't like paying a lot to be a guinea pig, which is why I didn't pick up Exquisite Fortuna, but I have bought at least one or two of each of the other Exquisite decks, and most of the Zen and Superior decks that CARC has released as experiments. I am by no means an expert on any of this stuff, but as I say, it scratches an itch, and if I'm contributing in my small way to keeping these experiments coming (up to a point), I'm cool with that.
With regard to CARC's experiments, especially with their manufacturers in China, yes: they have been pushing the boundaries of what's possible, which is great, and yes: their marketing hype really does overstate their advancement of the art, which is annoying. Not only were they not the first to hot foil images on card backs, their initial attempts were miles behind what their predecessors and even their successors had managed right out of the gate. The first many decks that EPCC produced with hot foil left impressions that bled through to the faces the cards; this was never a thing with Gemaco or USPCC or Cartamundi. I use that as an example, and please keep in mind, Gemaco and USPCC and Cartamundi (and WJPC and MPC and Liberty and others) have all had their own advantages and drawbacks.
However, to their credit, CARC and EPCC learn and continue to build on their advances. EPCC is *much* better at hot foil and cold foil these days; in fact, I think they are stand-outs when it comes to both. Truly.
The Cardista series appears to be testing a new stock/finish combination, if I understand correctly, and is certainly one of their most affordable experiments. For all I know, they are also experimenting with their gilding, insofar as their gilding offering is much less expensive than many others, and if so, I am very happy that they threw that into the mix. (Even if they aren't, I'm glad they threw it into the mix, because it shows to card designers that affordable gilding *is* an option.)
So, that's it for my caveats. Let's talk about my experience with these decks so far.
I don't like the seals. They are gummy and inelegant to remove. Not as bad as the seals on the Exquisite 8Teen decks, and not anywhere near as annoying, but I still don't like 'em. Just saying.
I do like the feel of the tucks. Something about the texture just makes them feel not as cheap as a standard Bike or Bee tuck. They feel friendly. The deeper tongue adds a little work to simply pulling open the deck, but that lends to the feeling of substance for this deck. This is nothing stellar; we're not talking about the experience of cracking open a V1 deck of Red Monarchs, here. It's just... a good, solid introduction to what's inside. These are standard decks, but on the higher quality side.
Now, then. The ungilded decks fan almost perfectly right out of the box. I am in no way an expert card handler, and my fans are simply not up the standards of an Ekaterina, who could probably fan thirty-year-old, well-used Mavericks and make them look fresh as daisies. That said, for these inexpert hands, these decks fan *almost* perfectly right out of the box. That said, the first deck of Classics that I got (for the purposes of this test, a red backed deck from the "Classic Twins" set that features the Superior backs and the "Classic" finish and stock) which has never been shuffled but has been taken out simply to test fan and feel on multiple occasions -- fans absolutely perfectly right out of the box, even with my inexpert hands. Truly a flawless fan, every time.
I will also note that, as with all foiled EPCC decks, they have a bit of a bow to them. The bow isn't quite as pronounced as some of the full-foil-coverage decks like KWP's Legal Tenders, but it's there. In regular game play, you don't really notice, but yeah. It's a still a thing.
The handling of these decks is totally fine. They feel a little less supple than the Classics and certainly less supple than Bikes and the Cartamundi B9s, but they are likewise nowhere near as stiff as CARC/EPCC's Robusto or Damask decks. They shuffle fine, although as with some other EPCC/CARC decks, I notice that they offer a more satisfactory riffle shuffle experience when I shuffle them face-up instead of face-down. Even so, it's all good, and I definitely get the sense that theses are sturdy cards that will live up to a lot of game play.
Oh, and for what it's worth, I notice that out of the box (I opened exactly one box each of the silver gilded, silver ungilded, gold gilded, and gold ungilded), the gold ungilded fan just a little closer to perfect than the silver ungilded did. I don't chalk this up to a difference between the gold and silver foiling, but rather to small variations in the manufacturing process over the course of the runs. To wit: I suspect that if I had opened different decks of either color, I might have gotten slightly different results. I had a much more noticeable experience of this variability with the first run of the Serpentine decks from LPCC some years ago, where one deck fanned perfectly out of the box and another fanned just so-so. This variability in the manufacturing process has occasionally been noted with the China (as opposed to Taiwan) facility that EPCC and LPCC were both known to use at the time. These days, I don't know if EPCC is still only using that same China facility or if they have more than one facility within China, but for whatever it's worth, out of a random sample size of two decks, I am experiencing a tiny bit of variability in the finish.
The upshot for the ungilded cards is this: at this price point, I find these to be totally fine decks for regular game play. I anticipate that they will prove to be slightly more durable than standard Bikes, and likely even more durable than standard Bees. Standard Bikes, of course, can be acquired at less than half the price (and, standard Bees are also less expensive than this batch of Cardistas, though still a little more expensive than Bikes), but these cards feature excellent foiling on the backs with narrower borders, giving them a touch more class. So, if you want to classy-up your poker nights, these are an affordable option. If these ever go on sale for brick purchases during CARC's seasonal sales like the Classic finish Superior decks do, these become a no-brainer. At that point, they are priced like standard Bees and are far more classy.
This brings us to the gilded Cardistas.
At this price point (add what, two dollars per deck?), you get the elegance and durability-enhancing advantages of gilding at an absolute steal. You also know that this is not going to be the kind of amazing-level gilding that you find on a master crafted deck like the 2020 Hindsight decks that Alex Chin released. I mean... those gilded decks fanned perfectly right out of the box for me, and as I've stated, I'm just a n00b. But still. It's good gilding for a mere extra two bucks.
Note: Even though I own several gilded decks from KWP, I haven't actually played with any of them except for the "error" gilded Equinox decks, which are not a fair representative at all. I should open up and play a "good" gilded deck from KWP just so that I have a broader basis of comparison. I do, however, own and play with several gilded decks from Penguin Magic, which are typically halfway between the KWP price point and the Cardista price point. In my current rotation, I have the gold- and black-gilded Honeybees in my batch of decks that my kids and I play with in the evenings as part of our bed time ritual.
Anyway, these Cardista gilded decks are clumpy as all hell when you first take them out of the box. Absolutely shiny and beautiful, and they definitely add to the sturdy feel of the cards -- I'm rather liking the way gilded decks feel in regular handling situations -- but truly, they are clumpy as hell.
At first.
Then, you break them in. You shuffle them. You play with them. You give them a really good work out. And after all that... they fan pretty well. Like, surprisingly well. They fan almost as well as my well-used gilded Honeybees, and those are, well, Honeybees (manufactured by USPCC using their premium "Bee" stock).
Because the Penguin Magic gilded decks have been far more affordable than the Kings Wild Project gilded decks, and both are much more available these days than new gilded decks used to be, I've started getting into the habit of adding gilded decks to my regular rotation of gameplay decks, and I am (as I noted above) really starting to get into the feel of them. The gilding just adds a certain... verve to the feel of the cards. And, let's face it, even after some wear and tear dulls and dimples the finish a little, gilded decks enhance the visual aspect when you square up the pack at the end of a round of gameplay.
So, I added the gold gilded Cardistas to my current rotation of decks, and I find them to be every bit as enjoyable as the gilded Honeybees. They handle great. They do have that idiosyncrasy of riffle shuffling better face-up, but that's fine. They take the abuse that my teenage boys dish out, and I suspect that, over the same given amount of time, they will probably withstand the wear and tear better than the gilded Honeybees will. (Now, whether the gilding itself will last as long, I have no idea. That won't become clear for a while, I suspect. But, so far, I'm seeing no obvious signs that the gilding is wearing any faster on the Cardistas than on the Honeybees.)
Gilded Honeybees from Penguin Magic run about $25 a deck currently, and at the price point, I was comfortable making it an everyday deck.
Gilded Cardistas are half that price.
At the same time, the aesthetics of the Honeybees are better. Of course. Randy Butterfield designed an absolutely excellent borderless back, the standard courts are colored and shaded by Randy to match the overall theme, and the Ace of Spades is unobtrusive but clearly a superior design. It's interesting without calling attention to itself. The Cardistas, on the other hand, have the "Superior" backs designed by Jackson Robinson, which is also an excellent (narrow border) back, and it's foiled, which lends a touch of class, but the faces are standard, run-of-the-mill, boring-as-smurf banality to the core (not designed by JR). I know this is intentional for the sake of an experimental deck. And, for regular game play, they are the epitome of functional. But, the Honeybees are also the epitome of functional without being the epitome of boredom.
If you want to add some elegance and shiny to your poker game, the gilded Cardistas are, hands down, the best value you can find at present. In the quality department, they absolutely hold their own against Bee-stock alternatives (a little bowing notwithstanding) at half the price.
If you're looking for style to go with your gilding, however, yeah... you're going to have to look elsewhere.
(Sorry this is so long. When I have more time, I'll come back and tighten this up a bit.)
rousselle wrote: ↑Thu Nov 04, 2021 1:05 pm
... so many people who have swapped the names Lorenzo and Gio, ...
That's what I was thinking, haha. Nothing to apologize for imo. I just wanted to clarify not that some of the crazy S17 nuts start to chase a deck that never existed, lol.
Next up in CARC/EPCC's moving sale. Probably the cheapest gilded decks you'll find at $9 per gilded deck. $7.50 per normal deck.
EDIT: Took out the pics since they're already up in the 1st post.
NOW THROUGH MONDAY!
Cardista Playing Cards Bricks!
Take 25% Off!
Gold or Silver Bricks for Only $90 Each!
Gilded Bricks for Only $108 Each!
Conjuring Arts is getting ready to move!
We will be holding a series of sales to help clear inventory in preparation!
Next up is the luxurious Cardista playing cards!
Printed on the new Cardista thin stock - a high quality Italian paper!
Fully hot foil backed - available in Gold or Silver!
Housed in our innovative indestructible tuck stock!
Numbered seals - limited production!
Gilded versions also available!
A luxurious deck at an affordable price!
Get 12 decks of Cardista playing cards for 25% off!!
TWO DAYS ONLY! Don't miss the best price on these decks yet!
Solid Bricks only, no mixes.
Spring cleaning sale by CARC/EPCC. Besides Cardista, JR's Imperials and Silver Arrows are also on sale.
Conjuring Arts is doing some spring cleaning, so we invite you to get big discounts on various products in our store!
For select playing cards, get 25% OFF when you buy 1-11, or 40% OFF when you buy 12 or more! Discount applies in cart.
Complete files of Gibeciere are 30% OFF!
Al Munroe's Magical Miscellany is 45% OFF!
Non Plus Ultra Vols III and IV set is 20% OFF!
The Ultimate Sphinx DVD is 50% OFF!
Card Collage Notebooks are 45% OFF!
