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

The Iron Horse premium quality playing cards has some of the most intricate details I've ever designed. This is a fully custom Illustrated deck of playing cards that has been painstakingly scrutinized on every level.

One of the most notable feature of this project is that this deck is inspired by a short story written by my good friend Ricky Cassford. His ability to creatively tell an epic story is truly awe-inspiring.

I am launching The Iron Horse on Saturday, May 6, 2017 @ 10am MST. As always, I would love to get your thoughts. I am attaching some pics of the project. Let me know your thoughts.

2 decks for $12.50 each with double-foiled tucks and those awesome courts? Count me in!!

I'll definitely be backing this one. Great Work Jody.

Also can't wait to get that Blue Innovations deck.

My opinion:
Cons:
- I'm not a fan of the tucks. It's hard to see the image, and the "Iron Horse" text seems a little bland at the top.
- Because this pair of decks says 'Standard Edition' I'm guessing we're going to see a minimum of 2 more decks, so a "complete" set would be 4 decks+. That's a lot.
Pros:
- Those card backs are amazing, as per usual.
- The art is looking unbelievable, that King of Spades, man o man.

Great stuff Jody, really quality work. I'm pretty well tapped out on decks and space these days, but this is tempting. Good luck!

shaitani wrote:My opinion:
Cons:
- Because this pair of decks says 'Standard Edition' I'm guessing we're going to see a minimum of 2 more decks, so a "complete" set would be 4 decks+. That's a lot.

I usually offer at least 3 decks. There is only one more deck that I have not revealed yet and that will be the limited edition. For the past 3 projects, I have had a lot of success with the 3 deck pack Signature series, so I like to come up with a great offer for 3 decks. Most backers pledge for at least 2 decks and so that will be the Standard 2x and the limited 1x.

What do a majority of the courts look like because I don't like all the horizontal lines on the Queen you show. The King looks amazing though. Thanks.

jodyeklund wrote:

shaitani wrote:My opinion:
Cons:
- Because this pair of decks says 'Standard Edition' I'm guessing we're going to see a minimum of 2 more decks, so a "complete" set would be 4 decks+. That's a lot.

I usually offer at least 3 decks. There is only one more deck that I have not revealed yet and that will be the limited edition. For the past 3 projects, I have had a lot of success with the 3 deck pack Signature series, so I like to come up with a great offer for 3 decks. Most backers pledge for at least 2 decks and so that will be the Standard 2x and the limited 1x.

My assumption was mistaken then, if you're only offering the 2 standard decks + 1 limited deck, then that is not a Con for me.
I was worried there would be 1 limited deck per standard deck, then sometimes creators go overboard and create 3 versions of a deck. E.g. standard + limited + super fancy. Which all made me worried we'd have 4 or even 6 decks.

Thank you for the reply, I'm glad I was wrong.
And I am really looking forward to seeing what this mystery limited deck is. Can't wait.

Just finished the Jokers. I wanted to do a diptych like I did for the Golden Spike Black Ink Jokers.

The Iron Horse Signature Edition. Only 1500 will be made.

jodyeklund wrote:The Iron Horse Signature Edition. Only 1500 will be made.

Lookin good.

One comment in case it goes unnoticed, that 9oH is missing the index pip.

In other news, love those numbered cards.

Looking very nice Jody!

Are you considering some extra features for the Limited edition? Silver Foil would look very nice on that back!

shaitani wrote:

jodyeklund wrote:The Iron Horse Signature Edition. Only 1500 will be made.

Lookin good.

One comment in case it goes unnoticed, that 9oH is missing the index pip.

In other news, love those numbered cards.

Thanks! Did not see that. Fixed!

sms69x wrote:Looking very nice Jody!

Are you considering some extra features for the Limited edition? Silver Foil would look very nice on that back!

If you mean putting foil on the backs of the cards. I would, but the price for doing that on the Titan's card backs was astronomical. Basically tripled my cost for one deck. I am looking into doing 3d Foiling for the seal that is on the front and back.

jodyeklund wrote:

sms69x wrote:Looking very nice Jody!

Are you considering some extra features for the Limited edition? Silver Foil would look very nice on that back!

If you mean putting foil on the backs of the cards. I would, but the price for doing that on the Titan's card backs was astronomical. Basically tripled my cost for one deck. I am looking into doing 3d Foiling for the seal that is on the front and back.

I would prefer foil on the back of the cards over a 3d seal!! Not a big fan of seals, I end up tearing them!

I really like the tuck box designs for the Black Ink edition of the Golden Spike deck, and these ones have a similar style: LIKE!

The idea of creating a deck based on a short story is also really unique. I also love the whole Western feel and atmosphere that the cards evoke, and the character bios really helps enhance the flavour of this setting.

Great work Jody, and success with the launch!

LAUNCH POSTPONED UNTIL MAY 8, 2017

I have decided to hold off on the launch until Monday (May 8). There is still a few things I need to work through, but Monday will work. It will be at 10am on Monday, May 8, 2017.

jodyeklund wrote:

shaitani wrote:

jodyeklund wrote:The Iron Horse Signature Edition. Only 1500 will be made.

Lookin good.

One comment in case it goes unnoticed, that 9oH is missing the index pip.

In other news, love those numbered cards.

Thanks! Did not see that. Fixed!

Please double check the rest of the cards, or post the uncut sheet. It doesn't inspire confidence when mistakes like this happen, and it's a trend for your cards...

Live !!

I'm sorry but it's kind of B.S. that the 1 deck tier charges an extra $6 for shipping (making the 1 deck total $19) and the 2 deck EB tier is $22 with shipping included.

EDIT: Just noticed that the EB tier is charging $6 for shipping, too even though it says it's included. Must be a mistake. Jody?

vasta41 wrote:I'm sorry but it's kind of B.S. that the 1 deck tier charges an extra $6 for shipping (making the 1 deck total $19) and the 2 deck EB tier is $22 with shipping included.

EDIT: Just noticed that the EB tier is charging $6 for shipping, too even though it says it's included. Must be a mistake. Jody?

It's fixed now.

Hey Jody,
The 12 Deck Tier also states free shipping but it isn't.

RichK wrote:

vasta41 wrote:I'm sorry but it's kind of B.S. that the 1 deck tier charges an extra $6 for shipping (making the 1 deck total $19) and the 2 deck EB tier is $22 with shipping included.

EDIT: Just noticed that the EB tier is charging $6 for shipping, too even though it says it's included. Must be a mistake. Jody?

It's fixed now.

The EB tier is fixed, yes. But the single deck tier is still $6 for shipping so either that's still a mistake that needs to be fixed or I recall my 1st statement.

vasta41 wrote:

RichK wrote:

vasta41 wrote:I'm sorry but it's kind of B.S. that the 1 deck tier charges an extra $6 for shipping (making the 1 deck total $19) and the 2 deck EB tier is $22 with shipping included.

EDIT: Just noticed that the EB tier is charging $6 for shipping, too even though it says it's included. Must be a mistake. Jody?

It's fixed now.

The EB tier is fixed, yes. But the single deck tier is still $6 for shipping so either that's still a mistake that needs to be fixed or I recall my 1st statement.

You're right. Single deck shipping is $6, 2 decks $8. I doubt it'll be changed because he wants people to go for the 3 deck set if not more. Add $5 for the PDF story too, pass on it.

RichK wrote:

vasta41 wrote:

RichK wrote:

vasta41 wrote:I'm sorry but it's kind of B.S. that the 1 deck tier charges an extra $6 for shipping (making the 1 deck total $19) and the 2 deck EB tier is $22 with shipping included.

EDIT: Just noticed that the EB tier is charging $6 for shipping, too even though it says it's included. Must be a mistake. Jody?

It's fixed now.

The EB tier is fixed, yes. But the single deck tier is still $6 for shipping so either that's still a mistake that needs to be fixed or I recall my 1st statement.

You're right. Single deck shipping is $6, 2 decks $8. I doubt it'll be changed because he wants people to go for the 3 deck set if not more. Add $5 for the PDF story too, pass on it.

It makes me pretty upset for several reasons. First and foremost, I don't give a crap about a diptych tuck case. It looks nice and all but I'm not one of those collectors that normally buys two decks- I simply can't afford it. So the fact that I'm swindled into having two buy two decks because it's a FAR better value pisses me off. Not to mention the sheer fact that it costs more money to ship more weight, thus two decks (in theory) cost more to ship than one deck... So if any tier should offer free shipping it should be the single deck! And while I'm on the subject, charging $6 to ship one deck in the US is yet another form of price gouging in this campaign.

Not only are the decks cheaper when bought in twos (which is generally obvious and not what I'm upset about) but Jody will also have to spend more money to ship them since it's "free" to the backer which lowers his profit margin on those 2 decks even more. MAKES NO SENSE. If the goal is to get people to buy more decks, either A) lower the cost of the overpriced 'special edition' deck or B) actually design two different, standard tucks (and preferably different cards as well). Driving up the price of one deck to force people to buy more decks is a business model that I don't appreciate.

Everybody's mileage on this one will vary, but here's my situation for what it's worth: I like Jody's work, and as a writer myself, I like the idea behind this deck being tied to a work of fiction. While I'm a little bummed that the "standard" decks don't include metallic inks, I'm still willing to shell out the $11 ea. early bird pricing for a pair of decks, plus a fiver for the story.

However, I had originally gone in for the special edition deck as well, and opted for the double set because that would also get me the story and the coin paid for... which actually meant the price per deck came down. Until I thought about it. And thought about it some more. And I realized... as much as I like his work, the special edition deck with the metallic inks and all that is simply overpriced for my taste.

His work is clearly worth what he's asking. How do I know? Because his project funded within a day. Kudos to Jody for a successful launch of a fine project. I look forward to receiving my two regular edition decks and the story (and the coin, which I'll also throw in for when that happens). I'd have liked to add the special edition to my collection, as well, but I'll have to pass for now simply because art is a matter of taste, and in this case, this artist is now able to command a price higher than I am inclined to pay. At least, for this project.

I did the opposite to you guys, I pledged for the Signature edition by itself because I'm not a huge fan of the regular edition tucks or the diptych they form whereas in past projects I enjoyed the appearance of all three tucks.
The thing is, I might have picked up the 'Signature set' that comes in the box anyway since I've already got a few of them in my collection, buuut the pledge for just the set doesn't come with the coin anymore.
For Titans, it was $52 eb and you'd get the set and the coin.
Here, to get the equivalent set+coin you'd have to pledge $67 eb. ( $52 + ~$15)

Anyway, anyone else curious what this soft touch no-slip case is?

Congratulations on the speedy funding, Jody, and another excellent project!

Glad to be in for one on this project - the artwork is beautiful!

Got mine today. The tuck is fantastic.