Legends Deck, coming Jan 2013 from David Blaine and Bill Kalush

[Evan]

So the box says printed in Taiwan. Who can tell me what premium company with beautiful smooth edges, perfect registration and laminated boxes made these over there? I'd love to know.

Googling found the Kuo Kau Paper Products company...

I don't think they're printing them. From what I see, they don't really do custom decks for cardistry and magic.
http://www.playingcards.com.tw/series2.html
What I really want to know is the playing card company that printed the Oriental Deck.

The Oriental deck was printed by USPC lol

[Joker and the Thief]

Googling found the Kuo Kau Paper Products company...

That's the only lead that I could locate...

[Siegismyname]

Dont quite dig the AoS. The printing company is probably the same on that printed the moth/myth decks.

[Don Boyer]

Dont quite dig the AoS. The printing company is probably the same on that printed the moth/myth decks.

That's my guess.  Taiwan's a small island, and I can't imagine there's a lot of playing card printers there.  One would be a lot.

[MrMollusk]

So the box says printed in Taiwan. Who can tell me what premium company with beautiful smooth edges, perfect registration and laminated boxes made these over there? I'd love to know.

Googling found the Kuo Kau Paper Products company...

I don't think they're printing them. From what I see, they don't really do custom decks for cardistry and magic.
http://www.playingcards.com.tw/series2.html
What I really want to know is the playing card company that printed the Oriental Deck.

The Oriental deck was printed by USPC lol

Oops. I meant the White Blue Tune deck. Derp.

[Don Boyer]

So the box says printed in Taiwan. Who can tell me what premium company with beautiful smooth edges, perfect registration and laminated boxes made these over there? I'd love to know.

Googling found the Kuo Kau Paper Products company...

I don't think they're printing them. From what I see, they don't really do custom decks for cardistry and magic.
http://www.playingcards.com.tw/series2.html
What I really want to know is the playing card company that printed the Oriental Deck.

The Oriental deck was printed by USPC lol

Oops. I meant the White Blue Tune deck. Derp.

Was the White Tune deck made in Taiwan?  I thought it was from somewhere else in Asia.

[Evan]

So the box says printed in Taiwan. Who can tell me what premium company with beautiful smooth edges, perfect registration and laminated boxes made these over there? I'd love to know.

Googling found the Kuo Kau Paper Products company...

I don't think they're printing them. From what I see, they don't really do custom decks for cardistry and magic.
http://www.playingcards.com.tw/series2.html
What I really want to know is the playing card company that printed the Oriental Deck.

The Oriental deck was printed by USPC lol

Oops. I meant the White Blue Tune deck. Derp.

Was the White Tune deck made in Taiwan?  I thought it was from somewhere else in Asia.

The White Tune deck was printed in Singapore.

[Don Boyer]

Was the White Tune deck made in Taiwan?  I thought it was from somewhere else in Asia.

The White Tune deck was printed in Singapore.

I thought as much.  Knew it was one of the smaller nations but couldn't remember which.  I just knew it wasn't Taiwan.

[Zenneth]

I met with Lawrence today and he gave me all three decks...
and I can testify everything that Lawrence said about them, they are beautiful in every aspect!
Very very nice quality, great for all kinds of card moves...I love them!
In fact, right after trying out these decks I decided to team up with Lawrence and use the same company for my personal future release too.

If you do magic, you will be very impressed for how clever this deck is designed.
Kalush and Lawrence have built in many clever details for these decks, damn...these guys are really smart people!
It's a real challenge to come up with ideas to top what they have already thought of.

[MrMollusk]

I met with Lawrence today and he gave me all three decks...
and I can testify everything that Lawrence said about them, they are beautiful in every aspect!
Very very nice quality, great for all kinds of card moves...I love them!
In fact, right after trying out these decks I decided to team up with Lawrence and use the same company for my personal future release too.

If you do magic, you will be very impressed for how clever this deck is designed.
Kalush and Lawrence have built in many clever details for these decks, damn...these guys are really smart people!
It's a real challenge to come up with ideas to top what they have already thought of.

So... what's the company? ._.

[Don Boyer]

I finally decided to get off my virtual butt and do a little research as to just how many playing card manufacturers exist in Taiwan.  This is not likely a comprehensive list, but there's far more companies in the business there than I thought.

A Plus Playing Card Co., Ltd.
Amass International Corp.
Chun Wei Paperware Factory
Countryside Industrial Co., Ltd.
Easywrite Industrial Co., Ltd.
Hong Tai Printing Co., Ltd.
Hsin Bi Golden Co., Ltd.
Joytop Enterprise Co., Ltd.
Kai Yuan Printing Co., Ltd.
Kuo Kao (makers of Royal and Queen brands)
Leisure Products Co., Ltd.
Nickie (Taiwan) Trading Co. (makes only nudie decks)
Rich Colors Technology Co., Ltd.
Shern Maw Enterprise Co., Ltd.
Tai Fu Chi Plastic Co., Ltd.
Taiwan Jhonsin Co., Ltd.
Yuan Fang Industrial Co., Ltd.

Of these companies, Amass appears to be the largest.  Below you'll find photos of two of their more curious-looking playing card products.  The first makes even the NOC deck appear complicated and the second will put an end to the debate of which deck has the largest index (the cards are also jumbo size, approx. 5.7" x 3.7")...

[sr15]

Nickie (Taiwan) Trading Co. (makes only nudie decks)

blaine might be going in a different direction than we thought??

[Evan]

I received these about a month before the release and I must say, I am impressed! It has a thin stock, slick finish, cool design, and thin borders! The cellophane pull strip thingy actually works which is awesome. The box has very light embossing and is kind of hard to feel. The box is also a bit flimsy but not terrible.

First impressions:

The finish is very slippery right out of the box and the stock is soft. The stock's stiffness is similar to Bicycle stock, but the stock is very thin, unlike Bike. Fans clump a bit, but I'm hoping that as I break in the deck, they won't clump as much. It spreads well, and it's great for pressure fans. The stock is springy which is good for springs.


I'll have a video review up when I break the deck in.

The file sizes of my pictures are too big to go on the forum, but you can see the pics here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.540511952630413.141448.295728693775408&type=1

[Don Boyer]

I received these about a month before the release and I must say, I am impressed! It has a thin stock, slick finish, cool design, and thin borders! The cellophane pull strip thingy actually works which is awesome. The box has very light embossing and is kind of hard to feel. The box is also a bit flimsy but not terrible.

First impressions:

The finish is very slippery right out of the box and the stock is soft. The stock's stiffness is similar to Bicycle stock, but the stock is very thin, unlike Bike. Fans clump a bit, but I'm hoping that as I break in the deck, they won't clump as much. It spreads well, and it's great for pressure fans. The stock is springy which is good for springs.


I'll have a video review up when I break the deck in.

The file sizes of my pictures are too big to go on the forum, but you can see the pics here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.540511952630413.141448.295728693775408&type=1

They won't clump.  I've had mine about as long.

The tuck boxes we got are NOT the release version.  The release tucks will have a matte finish instead of lamination and there will be more embossing - you posted a photo of the release version tuck uncut.

In addition, the deck back is slightly altered - it's a mirror image of what will be on the final product.  The back on the back of the box is correct, displaying the "LS diamond" logo unmirrored.

Conjuring Arts Research Center will be carrying them, among others I'm sure.

[sr15]

anyone have information on a specific or near-specific release date? I need to save up some money either way but it would be nice to know

[Evan]

anyone have information on a specific or near-specific release date? I need to save up some money either way but it would be nice to know

I believe it will be sometime this month.

[Don Boyer]

anyone have information on a specific or near-specific release date? I need to save up some money either way but it would be nice to know

I believe it will be sometime this month.

CARC will have them available before the end of this month.  If they follow their usual pattern, they will release them first to members at a discounted price, then to the public some weeks later.  It is possible, though, that others will be carrying this deck as well, so keep your eyes open.

As far as price, one of the many reasons for switching to the printer they used was to find a way to make quality cards less expensively.  How much of the savings will be passed on to the consumer remains to be seen, but I'm thinking it will be priced somewhere between competitively and cheaply.

[Gunshy1]

this is really the last deck that ive been looking forward to. i want to get away from collecting and focus on magic and cardistry more so then the cards. buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut always reading these forums and looking at the pics makes it hard sometimes to stay away from buying decks that really aren't all that good.

[Don Boyer]

this is really the last deck that ive been looking forward to. i want to get away from collecting and focus on magic and cardistry more so then the cards. buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut always reading these forums and looking at the pics makes it hard sometimes to stay away from buying decks that really aren't all that good.

Bro, these are good.  Thin, stiff without being obscenely so, an excellent deck when fully broken in.  Awesome design, lots of gimmies for magicians.  It could become the last deck you ever want...  (OK, that sounds like adspeak, but they're really good.)

[Gunshy1]

good to hear! hopefully they are priced on the  lowish side of custom decks.

[DrianAbara]

Don, do you prefer the Legends to the White Lions? Personally the White Lions are my favourite deck just because they're so durable and handle well after about 3 hours of messing around with them.

[Don Boyer]

HOW DO I DELETE POSTS

You need to ask Alex.  He doesn't do it often.  Easier thing to do is what you did - edit your post to say nothing, perhaps leave a note saying why.

[Evan]

Don, do you prefer the Legends to the White Lions? Personally the White Lions are my favourite deck just because they're so durable and handle well after about 3 hours of messing around with them.

I know this question wasn't directed at me, but I'm going to give you my opinion anyway 

I like the Legends deck much more than White Lions. These have a unique feel, and they handle better and better with more use.

[Don Boyer]

Don, do you prefer the Legends to the White Lions? Personally the White Lions are my favourite deck just because they're so durable and handle well after about 3 hours of messing around with them.

I've got to give it to the Legends.  White Lions are great cards, but the Legends have a feel that's comparable to the white decks produced by Misdirection's Mystery, "The Watcher" and "Moth/Myth" in white.  (The black Moth/Myth deck was also very good, but it had more of a waxy texture, possibly due to applying too much finish or a slightly different formula.  They have an unusual texture that allows them to fan well when broken in, but still has enough "cling" between cards to make magic moves like double lifts or cardistry moves like deck cuts easy as pie.  The feel is unlike anything I've experienced in cards produced by any company before, domestic or international.

I know this question wasn't directed at me, but I'm going to give you my opinion anyway 

Never let it be said that Evan won't pounce on an opportunity to offer his opinion, especially when he wasn't asked! 

[Joker and the Thief]

Don, do you prefer the Legends to the White Lions? Personally the White Lions are my favourite deck just because they're so durable and handle well after about 3 hours of messing around with them.

I know what you mean about the White Lions being durable. My recently opened series A has withstood around 15+ hours of heavy use.

As for the Legends Deck, how did you guys get them early? Not being picky just curious.