I'm still trying to figure out what people find so darn attractive about that deck. Sure, the box is pretty, but some of the cards inside are coyote ugly. And it's one of the least practical decks I've ever seen, nearly useless for magic or games.
Don, I'm usually on par with much of what you contribute to the forum but I think you've misinterpreted the reason this deck was produced. I don't believe it was ever created for magicians or playing games, it was created as a nice way of showcasing the many art designs and branding behind the various products Stranger & Stranger has packaged and marketed. A "thank you" gift for clients and friends of S&S.
I understand that perfectly. And if it remained just a gift for S&S clients, I would have no real opinion about it. But it then became a product of Dan and Dave, on sale alongside all their other magic and cardistry products. At that point, it was being marketed to magicians and other people who use cards and is subject to being judged by those criteria used by the customers they're being marketed to when comparing products to each other.
The Ultimate Deck is one that I would like to have, I just don't want to shell out the money for it. Though I already missed it for the DoTM deal, its presence in the deal makes me really consider going DoTM.
Does one nice deck make the DOTM club worth it, when just about everything else they give out appears to be overstock and common?
It would depend on how full your collection is. If you didn't have the overstock/common cards to begin with or simply want more, it'd be a great value. For people who already have those cards in adequate quantities, it's more like "meh".
Most of us, when we heard about the club when it was introduced, though, "Wow, a new deck each month," thinking that each deck would be a new product recently released. When we saw that "new deck" simply meant "still shrink-wrapped", the "WOW!" factor became more of a "wow" factor.
