Conquerors - a new deck by Thirdway Industries

[Thirdway Industries]

Hello UC!

As probably everyone guessed, the "Fish King" I've posted some hours ago was an April's Fool, but I've planned a real release for today.

I've designed a new series fully custom, with a new, simple and bold style with thick lines. The name is Conquerors and I have designed it mainly for Patreon Backers.
This WON'T be Kickstarted - I've already submitted the order to USPCC. Here are the tucks >

conquerors_mail.gif (129.88 KiB) Viewed 4766 times

Patrons will have priority and better conditions, but it will be available on my site as well.

If you want to know more (and see almost all the courts, back, pips and jokers), take a look on Patreon > https://www.patreon.com/posts/revealing ... d=21367919" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope you'll like it

[hsbc]

Very very cool! Even more pumped to be a Patron I'm really liking the red stripe on the backs

[gacktvam]

Just became a new Patron!

[Thirdway Industries]

Thank you guys! I am very happy with the positive response

The red stripe is a strong design elements, it will be there in both tucks.

I hope to be able to do more releases like this!

[vasta41]

I have to be honest, I don't like how these decks are being released via a subscription service. Not because I'm not a member of Patreon but because I'm not a member of any subscription service since they all fail. I was a member of Club 808 and that was the best one by far IMO but even it fizzled out. JR's seems to be going strong but for how long? I'm sure he's discovering it's VERY hard to produce one deck per month and I'd be surprised if he can keep it up 1-2 years from now. Don't get me wrong, I wish him and Gio luck but at the end of the day I just want to buy the two decks and that's it. Hopefully I will have a chance to.

[Bradius]

I think Gio said there should be a few extras that will be available on his website. So, you should be able to have a decent shot to get a set of them if you want.

I am a Patreon member and currently back two people. TGW, who I back to support his effort to promote playing cards to a broader audience. I also support Lorenzo because I want to help him succeed as a full-time deck creator and look forward to getting a few nice things as well, but mainly because I want to support him. I don't back Patreon folks mainly for rewards. They can be a nice bonus, but that shouldn't be your driving motivation. I also support Jackson Robinson's shorts programs (too much support to be honest), because I hoped that they would turn out as awesome as they have. I don't expect all his Subscription decks to be homeruns, but hopefully a few will be amazing. So far they really have been great. I do like how he is really trying some experimental things. I also participate Will Roya's Pip of the Month service. So far, I have been pleased with all of these projects, so I don't see any of them as failures.

I did support Paul Carpenter's Patreon, but eventually backed out. I was not a huge fan, and it really didn't go anywhere, at least for me to keep supporting it. After that failure, I decided to participate only because I wanted to support the artist, not what I could get out of it in the form of rewards.

I can't speak for the artists, but I imagine at least some steady income really can help them financially, which I assume is why they go this route. Plus it allows them to connect more with their more loyal fan base. Both can be positives. The problem with the playing card design/production deal as I see it for the artist/producer is that you get a large amount of your income at irregular intervals, so careful savings and such are critical. Rent/mortgage, insurance, taxes can't wait.

[Thirdway Industries]

@Vasta - Sure, I understand your concerns and some of the issues you pointed are right. I will try to explain a little more what I am trying to do

First of all, Conquerors will be available with a good price and priority for Patrons, but it will be also available also on my site for everyone want only to purchase the decks without join the subscription.
Of course I want to encourage people joining my Patreon, but on the other side I don't want to force anyone "punishing" the ones who don't want to join. Long story short, you'll be able to get Conquerors, without being a Patron

This is the reason I've opted with USPCC and not MPC - as you can imagine, this is a bold choice and not very "economical-wise", at least not in the short term. My active Patrons are less than 50 and minimum production number with USPCC is 1000 decks.

A little note about Patreon: it's not only a subcription plan. The site purpose is allow people to support artists to give them more freedom, and that's a thing I like a lot.
If I know in advance that I will have a fixed amount that come in every month I'll be more indipendent and I can plan my moves better.
So, I hope that the people who want to join Patreon are also interested in the preview, backstories and the chance to get in touch with me more easily (well, UC members already do that, haha).

About the subcription "fail"... of course I can't guarantee I can keep doing Patreon like this.
Everything is an experiment and honestly I am just doing my best using the good sense and the experience I've did in those 5 years of playing cards production

Thank you for the comment, I hope I've explained a little more my point of view.

Cheers

Gio

[vasta41]

Thanks, Gio. I understand completely why anyone would join a subscription service and how yours, more than most, supports creative freedom for artists. But while others show their support by joining your subscription service, I show mine by buying/pledging for almost every single deck you've ever made. Sure, maybe I'm not contributing as much as someone who enrolls in your service but I'd like to think I'm doing my part too.
The issue I have is that I collect playing cards- I've said this before and I'll say it again. Add-ons don't appeal to me and even though a subscription service isn't an add-on I still view it as a non-playing card purchase. If you try to parse out my logic I'm sure you'll realize I'm just a crazy person but I can't help the way I think.
I'm very excited to be able to purchase these and I will as soon as they're made available to "the public."

[Thirdway Industries]

Purchasing directly is no different than Patreon for me - the only difference is that Patreon is a little more steady and if I'll have several Patrons I might plan my moves a little easily.
I've built Thirdway Industries with all the support I've got from the loyal backers like you, I am extremely grateful and won't forget that

Also, I know that a subcription is not for everyone, so I won't push too much on that - I am aware that some people prefer pay a little more once, than be bound to a recurring amount (even if it's small).
Before I discovered Netflix I avoided all forms of subscriptions, so I was one of those people too.

@Bradius - Thank you, I've posted a second after you haha

[hsbc]

It looks to me like this got another 15 or so people to join the Thirdway Patreon

[Thirdway Industries]

It looks to me like this got another 15 or so people to join the Thirdway Patreon

Yes hehe I am very happy with the support!

[STLBluesNut]

I'll be there for the public release on these for sure. As I posted on IG when I saw these I am a bit disappointed with a patreon release as well.

However, as far as full blown subscription services go, like the Shorts or pip box, the only one I would seriously consider joining is if Gio had one. Something about your style that I love!

Sent from my Galaxy 8 using Tapatalk

[theCapraAegagrus]

Tucks are starting to get really boring and seemingly repetitive at a quick glance.

[JuFiN]

I'll be there for the public release on these for sure. As I posted on IG when I saw these I am a bit disappointed with a patreon release as well.

Not sure I understand this attitude. If you aren't a patron it is functionally as if he just directly released the deck, you still have access to it. This is markedly not like the kings wild shorts where people who are not subscribers never get a chance to get the decks. Its simply that Gio's patrons, people who are putting money forward to support his work in a consistent monthly way (which makes going full time actually possible), are getting a discounted price! This does not hurt non-patrons in any way.

Another thing that makes it different from other limited subscription decks is that it is printed by USPCC with a run of (atleast) 1000. A big part of the reason I didn't sign up for the kings wild subscription is because he was printing 100 run decks with objectively worse printers (because no big printer will print in such small numbers). That's not really the main point here but it does mean that given Gio only has around 50 patrons last I checked there will be plenty of decks left over for non patrons to scoop up.

[Thirdway Industries]

@STLBluesNut - Sorry, I haven't replied on IG! Will reply here
Don't worry, my goal isn't to force People to subscribe Patreon - Conquerors will be available also on my website. Patrons will have priority and a good discount, but that's all.

There will be 500+ Conquerors Victoria and 1000+ Conquerors Audax, so I don't think that they'll be sold out too easily. Like JuFin said, my goal is use Patreon for "fund" new decks, that will be released on site.

Have Patrons is good - have a fixed amount that came in every month helps a lot, so I can plan in advance and release decks more often without wait Kickstarter (which disappointed me a bit, lately).

But the focus of my business is my website, so, even if I am going to increase my Patreon release in the next month, I won't neglet my "regular" customers.

Some bits of my phylosophy:

I usually don't like make few decks. My company is Thirdway INDUSTRIES. I prefer use top quality printers and produce at least 500 decks per design.
This allow me to use the best technolgies available (offset, Pantone) and a save some money because I produce in bulk. Of course the downside is that I have to spend A LOT in advance

@TwoPiece - Well, I think the tucks are different enough (especially because one will be triple foiled and the other is metallic inked) - anyways, thank you for the feedback.

@Jufin - Thank you

[Romeril]

Gio, I absolutely love both of these tucks. They do look like a Thirdway Industries deck, but that’s a good thing. It is your art. It has that Gio flavor, but it does stand apart from your others on its own. Picassos look like Picassos, Monets look like Monets. I would not want a Thirdway Industries deck that did not look like a Thirdway Industries deck.

[STLBluesNut]

I guess I am just used to Gio's KS campaigns. I definitely understand the desire to have patrons and a more steady income source. I also understand the purpose of being a patron should be to support the creator and not the rewards, but my frugal consumer mind sees the reward for the money.

From what I have seen of the rewards is that most are decks I already have purchased and I don't really need doubles. I will definitely look into this more if these patreon releases become more of a thing. (I understand these aren't exclusive and will most likely end up available to all.)

I can live without JR's subscription decks, but for Gio, gotta have them all!

Sent from my Galaxy 8 using Tapatalk

[Thirdway Industries]

The good thing to "auto-fund" decks is that the production is super fast
I've got the USPCC digital proofs of Conquerors already.

Take a look and let me know if you see errors (I always give discounts/prizes to everyone help me find issues).

http://thirdway.it/file/conquerors_faces.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.thirdway.it/file/conquerors_backs.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.thirdway.it/file/conquerors_box.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope you like what you see

Gio

[Romeril]

I couldn’t find any errors, they look great!

[Thirdway Industries]

I couldn’t find any errors, they look great!

Thank you, much appreciated

[Eric Lee]

Looks good. No Lotrek type errors to me.

[Thirdway Industries]

Looks good. No Lotrek type errors to me.

Ahah actually I also did some silly errors in my past decks.
Luckily for me, the printer was so slow that when I've realized it... the decks weren't in production. So I managed to fix it before it was printed.

[BaconWise]

The good thing to "auto-fund" decks is that the production is super fast
I've got the USPCC digital proofs of Conquerors already.

Take a look and let me know if you see errors (I always give discounts/prizes to everyone help me find issues).

http://thirdway.it/file/conquerors_faces.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.thirdway.it/file/conquerors_backs.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.thirdway.it/file/conquerors_box.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope you like what you see

Gio

These look great, Gio! The only issue I saw (not a glaring issue by any means) would be that your name isn't quite centered under "With Bravery By". It's tough to tell if the whole group of text isn't centered on itself but I noticed the name is slightly off at least.
Best of luck with your Conquerors launch, Gio

[flyers3003]

Am I the only one that sees a face at the top of the red bar on the back? I can't unsee it now.

[Merlebird]

Am I the only one that sees a face at the top of the red bar on the back? I can't unsee it now.

I didn't see it but I think I might now. Are you talking about the tuck on the right, around the sword? (Crossguard as the "mouth," slanted lines just under the pommel as the "eyes?")

How do you come down on other ambiguous images, by the way? Duck or rabbit? Vase or faces? Old woman or young woman?

[flyers3003]

Am I the only one that sees a face at the top of the red bar on the back? I can't unsee it now.

I didn't see it but I think I might now. Are you talking about the tuck on the right, around the sword? (Crossguard as the "mouth," slanted lines just under the pommel as the "eyes?")

How do you come down on other ambiguous images, by the way? Duck or rabbit? Vase or faces? Old woman or young woman?

Actually right above the slanted lines - the curved line is the mouth, the pommel of the sword as the nose and the straight lines at the top as the eyes.

I usually see both images on those things. I forget which one I see 1st, but I usually recognize both pretty quickly

[chicken_ql]

Not sure if on purpose but the 41018 - Made in USA seems a little misaligned. Maybe I'm just looking at stuff that doesn't really matter though.

[hsbc]

I was going to mention the 41018 - is there not enough room for the ZIP code to be next to the city, with Made in (the?) USA on its own line?

[Thirdway Industries]

Thank you guys! All feedbacks are really useful.
I will approve those soon, I hope to make them in early summer

@flyers3003 - Haha now I also see the face on the back.

@Merlebird - I absolutely love the ambiguous images. Great idea for a future deck.
You know, I love betray people's eyes

[Timmargh]

I've spotted a mistake … I don't have them, yet.