I figured I would try to give a detailed review of the cards I just recieved a few days ago. They've recieved a good amount of use so far, and I believe I know what I'm talking about when I rate them.
Okay, let's get started with appearance.
The Faces-The faces of these cards are really cool. They have standard two-way Bycicle pips, and normal court cards, aside from colors. The cards have a strange faded effect where the center spades/hearts/diamonds/clubs get darker, and they gradiate to a lighter shade as the pips get further out towards the edges of the cards. This provides a fantastic looking smokey effect. It follows the main theme of Shadow, but is not too sinister to move on to a darker effect. The court cards are also smokey (and im some places it seems bubbly) which provides the same look. The faces and the backs of these cards are black and inverted. Needless to say, the pips which would normally be black are white on the faces. On the court cards, the indexes are their respective color but the Kings, Queens, or Jacks are all gray, white, and black. There is no blue, yellow, or red as there is on a normal playing card. Overall, the faces of these cards have just the right mix of sinister and playful, and deserve a 10/10.
The Backs-Standard bicycle backs. The places that are normally white would be black, and the places that are normally blue or red are grey. These fade and get darker around the edges of the card and in the very center. The left and right of the border, and all the little angels or people riding bikes are slightly darker. The backs are nice and all, but more could've been done with them to make them different. I give them a 8/10.
The Ace, Jokers, and Box-The ace of spades on this deck is like the original Masters decks, but behind the Ace there is an eagle with unfurled wings made out of many, almost avante-garde swirls and lines. Looks great, really nice. Not too gaudy or gothic, but enough to stand out. The jokers went a little over the top here. One is a skeleton holding an hourglass and a scythe, and the other is a skeleton holding a 3 of (diamonds?) and a scythe also. These are quite gothic and showy, and it seems as if Ellusionist was desperately trying to appeal to the legions of kids that think emo cards make them cool. The jokers didn't please me. The box is nice, well put together of course, and shows the ace on the front and the backs of the cards on the back. There is a cheesy 3 07 5P4D3S under the barcode, which provides an extra cheap trick with the deck...not very exciting. Standard box, not much more. They each get a:
Ace-9/10
Jokers-6/10
Box-10/10
Overall-8.5/10
Next up in this monstrous review is the feel.
The Finish-WOW is what I thought after these had been broken in. They fan like magic so far. They aren't clumpy, and are very slidey, like glazed ice. Even after extensive use they still remain great for all types of fans. They giant fan well, smear fan, thumb fan, carnahan fan, and any other kind of fan somebody on Theory11 would do (see me for XCM stuff), well. A matter of fact, not just well, but amazing. I think the finish deserves a prestigious 10/10.
The Stock and Quality-The stock is thick...not quite as thick as Wynns of other Theory11 cards, but significantly thicker than Bikes. They are a little flimsy for their thickness, I think, but it shouldn't be a problem. The finish is durable, and so is the stock after a good breaking-in. Now for quality...*shakes head slowly and regretfully*...the ink comes off. Now, don't take that too seriously. If anybody says "The ink gets on my hands." or "If you rub the cards black comes off." they haven't used these cards. Through extensive weaving, cutting, fanning, dropping, and squaring, like other black cards, the ink will come off on the edges. This horrifyed me at first, but DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! It's never that noticable in my fans, and it doesn't get on my hands or all over the place. The quality of the cards overall is worth the pain of slowly watching glassy perfection melt away with cheap ink quality. I think the stock and quality, BECAUSE OF HIGH GRADE STOCK AND LASTING FEEL, gets a 9/10.
Let's recap:
Faces-10
Backs-8
Ace, Joker, and Box-8.5
Finish-10
Stock and Quality-9/10
Overall these cards recieve, from me, a 9.1 out of 10.
That's it. Buy some today!
CP~
Okay, let's get started with appearance.
The Faces-The faces of these cards are really cool. They have standard two-way Bycicle pips, and normal court cards, aside from colors. The cards have a strange faded effect where the center spades/hearts/diamonds/clubs get darker, and they gradiate to a lighter shade as the pips get further out towards the edges of the cards. This provides a fantastic looking smokey effect. It follows the main theme of Shadow, but is not too sinister to move on to a darker effect. The court cards are also smokey (and im some places it seems bubbly) which provides the same look. The faces and the backs of these cards are black and inverted. Needless to say, the pips which would normally be black are white on the faces. On the court cards, the indexes are their respective color but the Kings, Queens, or Jacks are all gray, white, and black. There is no blue, yellow, or red as there is on a normal playing card. Overall, the faces of these cards have just the right mix of sinister and playful, and deserve a 10/10.
The Backs-Standard bicycle backs. The places that are normally white would be black, and the places that are normally blue or red are grey. These fade and get darker around the edges of the card and in the very center. The left and right of the border, and all the little angels or people riding bikes are slightly darker. The backs are nice and all, but more could've been done with them to make them different. I give them a 8/10.
The Ace, Jokers, and Box-The ace of spades on this deck is like the original Masters decks, but behind the Ace there is an eagle with unfurled wings made out of many, almost avante-garde swirls and lines. Looks great, really nice. Not too gaudy or gothic, but enough to stand out. The jokers went a little over the top here. One is a skeleton holding an hourglass and a scythe, and the other is a skeleton holding a 3 of (diamonds?) and a scythe also. These are quite gothic and showy, and it seems as if Ellusionist was desperately trying to appeal to the legions of kids that think emo cards make them cool. The jokers didn't please me. The box is nice, well put together of course, and shows the ace on the front and the backs of the cards on the back. There is a cheesy 3 07 5P4D3S under the barcode, which provides an extra cheap trick with the deck...not very exciting. Standard box, not much more. They each get a:
Ace-9/10
Jokers-6/10
Box-10/10
Overall-8.5/10
Next up in this monstrous review is the feel.
The Finish-WOW is what I thought after these had been broken in. They fan like magic so far. They aren't clumpy, and are very slidey, like glazed ice. Even after extensive use they still remain great for all types of fans. They giant fan well, smear fan, thumb fan, carnahan fan, and any other kind of fan somebody on Theory11 would do (see me for XCM stuff), well. A matter of fact, not just well, but amazing. I think the finish deserves a prestigious 10/10.
The Stock and Quality-The stock is thick...not quite as thick as Wynns of other Theory11 cards, but significantly thicker than Bikes. They are a little flimsy for their thickness, I think, but it shouldn't be a problem. The finish is durable, and so is the stock after a good breaking-in. Now for quality...*shakes head slowly and regretfully*...the ink comes off. Now, don't take that too seriously. If anybody says "The ink gets on my hands." or "If you rub the cards black comes off." they haven't used these cards. Through extensive weaving, cutting, fanning, dropping, and squaring, like other black cards, the ink will come off on the edges. This horrifyed me at first, but DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! It's never that noticable in my fans, and it doesn't get on my hands or all over the place. The quality of the cards overall is worth the pain of slowly watching glassy perfection melt away with cheap ink quality. I think the stock and quality, BECAUSE OF HIGH GRADE STOCK AND LASTING FEEL, gets a 9/10.
Let's recap:
Faces-10
Backs-8
Ace, Joker, and Box-8.5
Finish-10
Stock and Quality-9/10
Overall these cards recieve, from me, a 9.1 out of 10.
That's it. Buy some today!
CP~
Last edited by a moderator:
