UnitedCardists.com - The forum for Cardistry, Magic, Custom Decks and All Things Playing Cards.

I'm curious what deck hooked you into the world of collecting?

What deck or series makes you want to simultaneously light it on fire and give it a hug for starting your (completely reasonable) journey?

For me, it was the Prohibition Box Set by Ellusionist. Now, I didn't actually purchase the set as it was sold out but it got me thinking about cards. A lot. I started to look at other decks they have and take note of decks I like. I thought Ellusionist was the only game in town. I am pretty picky, so I didn't buy any but I made a list of cards to buy when I had the chance to see them in person. Fast forward about 2 years (April, 2017) and I found myself in a magic shop in Seaport Village in San Diego. They had a lot of open decks and I had them open up the Dia de Los Muertos v2 by the Edgy Brothers. I was blown away as this was the first time I had actually held a fully-custom deck in my hands and it was from somewhere other than Ellusionist. I became aware of Kickstarter for playing card campaigns, which led to past campaigns I had missed. Now, here we are in 2019 and I have a fantastic collection so far and a mighty wishlist. My wife thinks my hobby is strange and I have to agree, but that won't sway me, lol. After all, cards aren't cocaine or hookers or any other kind of destructive past time, though my wallet might disagree.

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For me it was the David Blaine Green Gatorbacks. It was the first deck I bought, but it was already sold out on Blaine's website. So, I found every internet card store and ebay auction and bought every deck I could find for about $11. Then he announced the Red Gatorbacks and I saved up all my coins and was ready for the twitter notification from Blaine. I went to a meeting at work for 45 minutes and in that time frame he sent out the note and all of the Reds were sold out. I never did end up owning one or buying one ever. Still saddens me to this day. I usually buy big when I buy so I would have picked up at least two bricks. I like what I like.

I was starting to back stuff on Kickstarter and came across Lorenzo’s Gemini campaign. What first got me to even look at it was that I am a Gemini and a few of my friends. I had never seen custom decks before and was quickly hooked.

Cult Movie Cards was the first deck I bought, but it was Steve Minty's Hana campaign that hooked me and dragged me under.

Bradius wrote:I was starting to back stuff on Kickstarter and came across Lorenzo’s Gemini campaign. What first got me to even look at it was that I am a Gemini and a few of my friends. I had never seen custom decks before and was quickly hooked.

Lorenzo has me hooked deep. Geminis are on my wishlist as well as the No. 17 variations. I am overly fond of my HoTS decks and my Requiem decks. I MIGHT back the Parlour launch but I usually go for fully-custom because I am a snob. We'll see

Timmargh wrote:Cult Movie Cards was the first deck I bought, but it was Steve Minty's Hana campaign that hooked me and dragged me under.

I was lucky enough to get in on Minty's secret sale last year and snagged the Anubis/Osiris set in the minute it lasted. Minty's decks are phenomenal. Still need to complete my Muertos set (as you know) and I am excited to see what he comes up with next.

I wanted to add that the first kickstarter campaign I backed (that did not fund) was the Limited Edition "Perspective" Playing Cards by Hudson Design.

For some pretty funny takes on this deck from this forum, check out:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6198&p=73289&hilit= ... ign#p73289

Especially the post from Eoghann, a moderator from days past.

BaconWise wrote:I was lucky enough to get in on Minty's secret sale last year and snagged the Anubis/Osiris set in the minute it lasted. Minty's decks are phenomenal. Still need to complete my Muertos set (as you know) and I am excited to see what he comes up with next.

Nicely done! I completely missed it.

The first decks that I've ever bought myself were Federal 52, Gold Certificate, Silver Certificate, and Reserve Note. I got the Black Reserve Note about a year later.

After I saw the 1st aftermarket sale of Scarlett Tally-Ho Gold Edition go for $900, I got into the Kickstarter game. The first project I backed was the Emerald Tally-Ho...

Have always played card games since i was taught rummy by my grandad in the late 70s and still have that deck !! A couple of years ago i started searching for playing cards and came across the green gatorback much like Pablo above and bought this ( just 1 tho ), then i found kickstarter and for me what got me collecting were the sins decks and the hana decks cant remember which of these came first

One evening, after dinner out, my son asked if we could stop at Barnes & Nobles. While we were there he had me come over to the Theory 11 and Bicycle display they had and said he really liked those cards. This was the first time I had ever seen real custom decks that weren't just like a Disney or super hero theme you would see in a toy section at the store.

All the foil and embossing looked very nice. The next day sitting at home, I just wanted to look up what else might be out there. I came across an article for a current Kickstarter for the Emerald Insights. That green gilding hooked me, I bought 2 and now I am about 30 pledges and many web and Ebay purchases later. I would have to look at that campaign but I'm pretty sure that was only 6-7 months ago.


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Ellusionist...

The Arcanes, prohibition set, Artifice decks, Sultan decks...

Really sad about Ellusionist now.. Damn DM!

STLBluesNut wrote:One evening, after dinner out, my son asked if we could stop at Barnes & Nobles. While we were there he had me come over to the Theory 11 and Bicycle display they had and said he really liked those cards. This was the first time I had ever seen real custom decks that weren't just like a Disney or super hero theme you would see in a toy section at the store.

All the foil and embossing looked very nice. The next day sitting at home, I just wanted to look up what else might be out there. I came across an article for a current Kickstarter for the Emerald Insights. That green gilding hooked me, I bought 2 and now I am about 30 pledges and many web and Ebay purchases later. I would have to look at that campaign but I'm pretty sure that was only 6-7 months ago.


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I got a Ponderings as a gift and was amazed by the Alex's illustration skills. I am keeping my eye out for more Seasons decks but that Insights deck was gorgeous - wish I had jumped on that.

I've collected decks for as long as I can remember, but they were mostly "souvenir" decks and themed decks (Disney, etc.). Ellusionist's Ghost deck was the first to make me think there was something to modifying a traditional deck. More recently, Jackson's Sherlock Holmes deck started me paying attention to "premium" decks. Now I'm waning as it takes a lot for a new premium deck to show me something I need to have.

I've loved cards/card games/card magic since I was a kid. My brother had bought a few custom Bicycle decks that didn't really interest me. Then he showed me the Ultimate Deck (unique art on each card?! Blew my mind). A few hours of browsing later I stumbled on Federal 52 and I haven't stopped since.

I only started getting interested in playing cards last September, and my very first deck was Red Wheel. Just one day I came across Art of Play's website while I was watching Ramsay's videos, and he was introducing the Red Wheel's intricate designs. So I immediately fell in love, and over the time I've collected cards as pieces of affordable and playable artworks.

For me, it was Alex Chin’s Apothecary II series that kicked off this addict..., erm, hobby. That was then followed by Lotrek’s Arabesque decks, JR’s Tally-Hos, Lorenzo’s Requiem decks and now, 700 decks later, I am still hooked.

Decknowledgy wrote:I've collected cards as pieces of affordable and playable artworks.

Really? Do you still think they are that affordable anymore?

BTW, didn't we have a similar thead like this last year? I recall stating that mine was Jody's Titans as the very 1st KS project I backed and MPC Impressions Cardinal and Racing being the very first decks I recevied.

We did have a thread like this before, but when I saw this I thought there might as well be a new one. We have quite a few new members, and they would likely have to scroll through all of the old posts if we were to merge the two.

My first was either the Black Tigers or the Tally Ho Vipers. I may have bought both at the same time. I did get regular Tally Ho's earlier than that, but that was purely for cardistry and not for collecting.

Eric Lee wrote:BTW, didn't we have a similar thead like this last year? I recall stating that mine was Jody's Titans as the very 1st KS project I backed and MPC Impressions Cardinal and Racing being the very first decks I recevied.

I admit I didn't think to search past posts. I am new as of late-January so I thought it might be fun to read how others started

JR's first Federal 52. Just went for the branded, not knowing about unbranded or other types of tucks.

Well I sure don't feel older than the Rocky Mountains now, but for me it was the Black Tigers.

Now somebody get me my cane, please.

Well, given that I remember collecting Mercury dimes, Franklin Half Dollars etc in change and even getting silver dollars from the banks when I was a kid, you can borrow my cane.

I might take you up on that offer next time I need to chase out these young hooligans!

Marcus wrote:Well I sure don't feel older than the Rocky Mountains now, but for me it was the Black Tigers.

Now somebody get me my cane, please.

I feel ya brother!

Black tigers were one of my first as well.

Actually, this whole thing started for me with a jigsaw puzzle...

my wife is really into puzzles, and in 2003, i helped her put together this piatnik puzzle: It was the first time I had seen so many variations on the traditional court cards, and I was hooked. I eventually started looking for piatnik decks on ebay, and when I searched for "non-standard" decks a whole new world opened up for me!

I found decks like the black tigers and ghost, and became convinced that Ellusionist made the coolest cards in the world...

at least until 2013, when i discovered kickstarter.

the first projects I backed were:

"DIVINE" by Elite playing cards - their second KS deck
The original "White Rabbit Playing Cards" by Albino Dragon - also their second KS deck
and of course, "Founders Playing Cards", by a goddamned scam artist, so I learned that lesson pretty early on.

my first KS "big buy" (more than 1 or 2 decks) was from an upstart designer who really didn't know anything about playing cards when he started his Federal 52 campaign!

385 backed KS projects later... and I have finally become much more selective!

I missed out on the first UUSI deck, and the earlier Elite and AD decks, so i had to go looking for those, and eventually I came across this charming little forum, run by Mike. No, the other Mike!

and since no one's run me off yet, i'll just grab my cane and go hang out on the porch with the other old farts...

Steve Mintys TnR campaign is what tipped me over

I’ve always collected “something” - but stopped for a few years...

Once I pushed pledge - it was all on


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Ace Fulton's Casino brown and orange decks... the design and those colours... slick, cool & classy in all of its simplicity... as for the (standard) courts, I cannot fathom how he could have pulled off customized ones that would instill the same level of awe in me .... it would have been nice to see him try though...

Alex Chin’s Apothecary and Steve Minty’s Hana Signature campaigns opened my eyes to the existence of this niche of amazing card art. The Planets series were the first cards I actually bought... and now it’s derailed from there.

The Ellusionist BlackGhost was my first. At the time, they were this new concept to me of higher end, non shitty, unique cards.