initial impressions of this deck:
- If I had to describe the feel of the deck in relation to a USPCC deck, I'd say aladdins with a magic finish I guess. The cards feel very smooth and slippery. The stock is thinner than most USPCC decks I've handled, and somewhat firm when trying to spring them. Though an individual card feels a bit more flimsy than a regular Bike card.
- The handling out of the box is fairly awful, but after about 25-30 minutes of breaking them in they start to handle pretty well. Fans are pretty standard, springs are pretty standard, the faroing ability is slightly worse than normal USPCC, and the finish on the cards is pretty prominent. Like the cards feel like there's still excess finish on them right out of the box. Not sure what's up with that. I tried doing some flourishes with them, but the slippery finish makes them less useful for that then other decks. Possibly once I break them in more they'll be a bit easier to do cuts with. Sleights are fairly standard with the deck
- I'm a fan of the design of the deck, the back design especially. Faces are fairly standard, except for the Stutzman standard of changing the court card faces. The AoS is a bit bland but still passable, but the jokers are pretty interesting and I actually like the design of them. The back design is packed with detail and I think it looks awesome. There's a ton going on design-wise, so I'm sure there's some sort of marking system hidden in there somewhere. Overall, I'd rate the design positively.
- I found a few of the "secrets" of the deck, and honestly I could take them or leave them. Some of it is clever, like the already mentioned 8 of Diamonds reveal on the back of the box, or the bolding of some pips to act as a kind of one-way back. Some of it is standard, like the joker reveal and the reveal on the bottom of the box. I'm sure there's more to be found in the deck. I certainly wouldn't recommend the deck based on these little secrets alone, but it's an interesting addition to the deck.
Overall, after about 45 minutes of handling I'd rate this deck as above average, right around the same rating I'd give most custom decks from USPCC. The handling is decent after some breaking in, the design is cool, and the "secrets" are a nice addition. I'd recommend picking up 1 or a 3-pack or whatever floats your boat.
Reading over this thread again, I can tell that guys like Zenneth and Don were way overhyping these for whatever reason (marketing purposes? who knows), so I don't think there will be any groundbreaking changes to the playing card industry. If the cost of making them actually is cheaper, which is somewhat unclear based on the prices they're currently going for, then I can see the manufacturer becoming an alternative to USPCC custom decks, which is nice side-effect of the deck. Overhyped? Probably, but still a good deck of cards.
