I just got a few decks of this brand in a trade with Lalita/Phantom, and I'm telling you - the quality is impressive to me. I read around a bit on the net, and poker players love these cards, the plastic versions in particular - they're pretty frequently seen in casinos throughout Macau and Australia.
I would compare them to Bee or Tally Ho in terms of production quality. They're stiffer and a little thicker than Bees and use variants of the standard courts that actually look kind of cute - the eyes just seem more expressive to me, silly as that might sound. They're traditionally cut, as well, and faro rather nicely. The back pattern is simple - reminiscent of Bee Stingers, but with a hard white border instead of a fade, and a line pattern forming diamond shapes, alternating as the back color plain and the back color with a diagonal pattern of small white stripes.
Fresh out of the box, they're flat as a board. They're curling a little now, but that's largely due to being used on the cold-stone desk I sit at while at work - they cause practically any deck to curl a little, but they flatten out when removed from the cold and played on, say, a wood table.
The colors aren't "casino colors", but they're not as brash and bright as most general-use decks - they're slightly faded, a lot like a plastic deck. The texture reminds me of Air Cushion, but the dimpling of the paper is much, much tighter, with more dimples, and the paper has a gentle shine to it when held in the light. They slip over each other very well - it's not Magic Finish quality, but it's an improvement over standard Air Cushion.
I have no idea how they'll hold up over time, but frankly, I'm pretty impressed by these. I'll try getting some photos taken when I get home in a couple of hours and let you folks get a peek at them.
In theory, they're available in the States as well - the manufacturer, Angel Cards out of Osaka, maintains an office in Henderson, NV. But what I read on the poker websites about these cards is that the company is far more interested in casino sales than general retail, plus they're extremely slow about replying to email inquiries. But if you can find them, try them.
EDIT: nearly forgot - my one gripe about them is that the edges aren't a single, uniform color of gray. They appear mottled, as if the base paper under the laminate wasn't a pure shade of gray, giving the edges a dirty appearance straight out of the box. But it's a minor issue, I feel. I'd still recommend getting a pack or two for your arsenal. Available in blue and red, at the very least.
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