I have to say, I really don't like this deck at all... It's quite awful and a real bastardization of the original 808 Rider Back... 813? Maiden Back? What a joke... The Mandolin Back I happen to love and I think it was a respectful alteration, but his is just horrendous...
Actually, the Mandolin Back is nice - one of my faves, in fact - but the Maiden Back more closely resembles the Rider Back, and that's intentional. Where a Rider Back has cherubs in the corner and a Mandolin Back has weird-looking feathers, the Maiden Back has maidens that resemble the cherubs. Where the Rider Back has a cherub riding a bicycle and the Mandolin Back has a cherub holding a mandolin in both hands vertically from the neck, the Maiden Back has a maiden similar in appearance to the riding cherub, and with arms spread out in the same manner as if it, too, was holding a set of handlebars. While a Mandolin Back would never fool a sharp eye or a fellow magician, Maiden Backs might. I spotted the difference in the Mandolin Backs right away, while I had to really stare at this deck to spot the differences to a Rider Back - I thought it was a Rider Back for the first minute or so.
It's got less to do with the plain deck being available, more to do with how anyone wanting new, true Rider Back altered cards is S.O.L. and has to settle for the Mandolins. They're planning to release a buttload of magic decks that are getting harder to find in the Rider Back (and some that are easily found, but you'll have matching backs if you buy Maidens).
The one I'd be most looking forward to is the Gambler's Deck. This was designed for Houdini in a Rider Back design, went out of print, and because USPC Legal isn't allowing any more altered backs on Riders, it had to be remade in a cheesier, generic back design that practically screams "I'm a magic deck, look at me!!" The Rider Back Gambler's Deck was a little crude in that the marks appeared to be almost handwritten, but they weren't too easily spotted in a magic trick - I haven't been caught once. The Gambler's Deck in any back is:
* a stripper deck
* a stacked deck, using an older stack model, not Mnemonica
* a marked deck
* the markings include the proper number order of the stack
* they also can tell you the BOTTOM card of the deck, when properly stacked
I bought two Rider Back versions on eBay last year and I think they're great cards - I always have them for my hospital gigs. Hopefully, this time around, the marks will be better integrated into the back design and won't look so crude.
The biggest thing that will determine the real worth of this deck will be how it handles. Rider Backs, well - they're not the worst, far from the best; very middle-of-the-road. Mandolin Backs are traditionally cut, but I think they still use the same Bicycle stock and no premium finish of any kind. Maiden Backs appear thus far to be available only in red (no blue deck shown in the photos or on the Houdini site) - beyond that, a personal inspection would be needed. If these were more like CARC Bikes or Turner Bikes, using Bee casino stock with a traditional cut, then we might be looking at something special. Even Aristocrat stock would be a nice upgrade in my opinion - I love Aristo stock more than Bike, that's for certain.
