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

[S.C.]

I'm not sure if anyone cares  but i thought i would document the order the cards they came in when i opened the pack. I did this for myself but thought I would share In case we figure out the stack we can use this as reference for the original.

I also couldn't help myself I need to shuffle these things before i lose it.

listed from face up position starting at the top card
AS,4H,7D,4C,9D,6C,QS,QD,9C,4D,4S,10H,JC,10S,JD,5C,3H,KD,10C,8S,JH,KC,5S,8H,3D,2S,5H,6D,3C,2H,AH,
10D,7C,JS,AC,7H,AD,7S,KH,8C,KS,8D,2C,5D,6H,3S,2D,9H,6S,QC,QH,9S,J,J

Hope this is useful to someone other than me.

[Michael]

Other than the fact that I really like the "structure" of this deck (edges, thin stock, stiff cards, fine finish in my opinion), I like the design as well. The back design is incredibly detailed and it had me staring at it for a good fifteen minutes after I opened the box before I had to force myself to look away. I enjoy the reveals on the tuck itself.

What sells this deck as well is the subtle marks built into the deck. I like that it has a subtle system within the dragons' spikes (noticed they were different but didn't even bother to put the effort in to see if it was a marking system). I like the one way back of the wings as well. I think it has been done extremely well and is definitely worth more than the price that all these sites are selling them for. I've been playing with them for hours on end almost daily and they don't seem to have gotten any worse (or at least nothing my Porper clip couldn't fix).

I guess I like them more than when I first opened them.

(I did notice many of these hidden features and mentioned how they were listed on the website after you scan the QR code but I figured half the novelty of them was trying to figure them out myself. Should have said something sooner )

[Card Player]

Sorry I missed this reply - I was rather excited about figuring out the deck's markings.

Yes, I see that. Glad you figured it out. It only makes this deck more enjoyable for me to have.

Zenneth summed everything up pretty well, really.  The deck is cheaper to make than at USPC, but a US-made deck doesn't have Customs/import taxes to be accounted for in the price unless it's being sold elsewhere in the world.  So in the end, the deck is, like he said, just somewhat cheaper rather than drastically so.  And let's not forget the amazingly intricate work that went into making this a real magician's deck - the marking system is brilliant and yet so simple to read, and it's just one of many such features in a feature-packed deck.  How often do you find all these features in a deck at that price?  A quality marked deck alone can run $10-20, or more in some cases.

I appreciate Zenneth’s explanation…

What quality marked decks are you referring to that cost $10-20?  I know there are others not as widely sold. Most recently, both the White Lions and Players were sold under $6-7 a deck when I bought them (as you know). Are Blaine's White Lions NOT what you consider a feature-packed "real magicians deck"?

Regarding the printer, the only things about the printer that I know are it's located in Taiwan and it's an industry secret.  But I would doubt that this Taiwanese company is that radically different in terms of their business practices and treatment of its employees than a good percentage of American firms.  I know that at least some of the people involved with the Legends deck got a look at the operation in person - if it didn't pass the smell test, I'm sure they wouldn't be using that printer, even if the decks were "Jerry's" good.

I’m not sure how I feel about this specific printer and its location being an industry secret. Wouldn't a company want people to know who they are and exactly where they are located to increase business?

Also, I can't imagine this Taiwan printer being all that busy making custom decks before last year. Do you know if there is a standard deck that was ever made possibly possessing similar handling abilities?

[Don Boyer]

Sorry I missed this reply - I was rather excited about figuring out the deck's markings.

Yes, I see that. Glad you figured it out. It only makes this deck more enjoyable for me to have.

Zenneth summed everything up pretty well, really.  The deck is cheaper to make than at USPC, but a US-made deck doesn't have Customs/import taxes to be accounted for in the price unless it's being sold elsewhere in the world.  So in the end, the deck is, like he said, just somewhat cheaper rather than drastically so.  And let's not forget the amazingly intricate work that went into making this a real magician's deck - the marking system is brilliant and yet so simple to read, and it's just one of many such features in a feature-packed deck.  How often do you find all these features in a deck at that price?  A quality marked deck alone can run $10-20, or more in some cases.

I appreciate Zenneth’s explanation…

What quality marked decks are you referring to that cost $10-20?  I know there are others not as widely sold. Most recently, both the White Lions and Players were sold under $6-7 a deck when I bought them (as you know). Are Blaine's White Lions NOT what you consider a feature-packed "real magicians deck"?

Regarding the printer, the only things about the printer that I know are it's located in Taiwan and it's an industry secret.  But I would doubt that this Taiwanese company is that radically different in terms of their business practices and treatment of its employees than a good percentage of American firms.  I know that at least some of the people involved with the Legends deck got a look at the operation in person - if it didn't pass the smell test, I'm sure they wouldn't be using that printer, even if the decks were "Jerry's" good.

I’m not sure how I feel about this specific printer and its location being an industry secret. Wouldn't a company want people to know who they are and exactly where they are located to increase business?

Also, I can't imagine this Taiwan printer being all that busy making custom decks before last year. Do you know if there is a standard deck that was ever made possibly possessing similar handling abilities?

Some quality marked decks that cost more than $10 a pack:

Ultimate Marked Deck (used to be $30, now, if you can find it, it's closer to $40)
Mandolin Back GT Speedreader (list $25)
Maiden Back Gambler's Deck ($30)
Rider Back Gambler's Deck (out of print, got mine for about $25)

The second two are more than simply marked decks - they're also stacked strippers.  But the key feature of all of these decks is that the markings, while subtle enough to pass casual inspection, are as easy to read as the front of the card is if you know where to look.  No code system to remember, either.

Madison's Players are a great deck, but they don't have quite the number of features as the Legends deck.  The main feature of the Players is: they're marked.  That's about it.  Not saying they're bad cards - I own 'em and like 'em - but Legends have more features.

In regards to the printer being an industry secret - if you had a goose that laid golden eggs, would you start passing it around to all your buddies, or would you keep it under wraps?    Misdirection's Mystery is equally as guarded about revealing who does their printing.

[sr15]

but it doesn't lay golden eggs. it lays regular eggs that are actually slightly worse than the eggs that you're used to eating

[Don Boyer]

but it doesn't lay golden eggs. it lays regular eggs that are actually slightly worse than the eggs that you're used to eating

Unh... D'oh?

Yep - D'OH!!!

[sr15]

let's be honest here, the legends deck is lower quality than the average custom deck from USPCC. There's no "golden egg" coming from this printer because the quality is the same as USPCC at best, and the foreign shipping makes the decks end up costing about the same as a custom deck from USPCC. We certainly don't have a game changer here.

[Gunshy1]

so far the only two people that have had this deck long enough to break it in to the point to actually know how it handles are don and evan. both of them have said that once they break in they handle very well.

[Michael]

I've been playing with my cards daily and in my opinion they have been holding up better than USPCC decks have in the way I play with them. So for me, I consider them "golden eggs." But to each his own right?

[Don Boyer]

let's be honest here, the legends deck is lower quality than the average custom deck from USPCC. There's no "golden egg" coming from this printer because the quality is the same as USPCC at best, and the foreign shipping makes the decks end up costing about the same as a custom deck from USPCC. We certainly don't have a game changer here.

As far as this being a "golden egg" or a game changer, I've said it before - this is more of a game changer on the designer end, though to a lesser extent on the consumer end as well.  Speaking on the consumer side, I don't know if a deck with this many features has ever sold this inexpensively before (adjusting for inflation, naturally) - Tannen's is now selling them for $6 a pack in a city where Bicycle Standard sells for nearly $4.50 with tax and I'm sorely tempted to go buy some in person.  And like any really good deck, there's a breaking-in period.

If you're too impatient or unwilling to work with that or simply don't see the value in it, then yes, this will never be the deck for you, just as not every deck appeals to every buyer.  Go buy something attractive to you with Bee stock and Magic Finish that performs well straight out of the box or perhaps a used pack of Jerry's Nuggets and call it a day.  To each his own.

[ruicorreia]

I leave here the link for my review of this deck.
Naturally, the review is incomplete because it is really necessary to break in this deck. But a few hours were enough to feel improvements on the handling.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.345467902226035.70778.271123556327137&type=3

[Siegismyname]

They were actually printed in Taiwan. Not Thailand. They are quite far apart.

Anyone here can link me to the link that the QR codes link to?

[ruicorreia]

They were actually printed in Taiwan. Not Thailand. They are quite far apart.

Anyone here can link me to the link that the QR codes link to?

What a silly mistake. Thank you for pointing that out!
I don't have the decks here with me, but when I arrive home I'll make sure to post the link.

[S.C.]

They were actually printed in Taiwan. Not Thailand. They are quite far apart.

Anyone here can link me to the link that the QR codes link to?

What a silly mistake. Thank you for pointing that out!
I don't have the decks here with me, but when I arrive home I'll make sure to post the link.

http://lawrencesullivan.com/L1/

ha ha beat yah.

[sr15]

so far the only two people that have had this deck long enough to break it in to the point to actually know how it handles are don and evan. both of them have said that once they break in they handle very well.

I'm not sure how long you think it takes to properly break in a deck of cards, but I assure that it's shorter than you think. You don't need a month+ of extensive use to break in a deck

[Gunshy1]

so far the only two people that have had this deck long enough to break it in to the point to actually know how it handles are don and evan. both of them have said that once they break in they handle very well.

I'm not sure how long you think it takes to properly break in a deck of cards, but I assure that it's shorter than you think. You don't need a month+ of extensive use to break in a deck

lol unless you've been using a quality deck for 3+ hours a day since you've had them for what... a week? then ya maybe you have them broken in.

[Don Boyer]

so far the only two people that have had this deck long enough to break it in to the point to actually know how it handles are don and evan. both of them have said that once they break in they handle very well.

I'm not sure how long you think it takes to properly break in a deck of cards, but I assure that it's shorter than you think. You don't need a month+ of extensive use to break in a deck

Some quality decks actually take longer.  Decks like Jerry's Nugget continue to improve with use over time, unless they're totally abused and thrashed.  There's a few people here who are finding theirs handle better with time - but as I stated before, to each his own.

[Paul Carpenter]

I got my set today. Initial thoughts:

The metallic green is only baaaaaarely metallic. The box, which I thought had deep and extensive embossing is glossy and flat as a pancake (the subtle box reveal is brilliant though). I was bummed the courts didn't have some custom coloring to match the backs, and a couple of the faces are a little odd looking. The back is quite a nice design but I wish there was another color worked in to provide a little pop and contrast. The edges of the deck are very smooth and the artwork is registered nicely with the thin borders (but no more so than Aurum turned out). Right out of the box, the feel is definitely different from USPCC, it's like a mix of air-cushion and smooth, you can see the dimples but the cards feel very slick. Stock feels thinner than some, but really isn't if you put the deck next to a USPCC. They fan beautifully out of the box for me. They also stink, in that they smell pretty nasty.

I'd say that they are different, but not really better or worse than a Q1 USPCC deck. Overall a very nice deck, but not the second coming.

[S.C.]

I got my set today. Initial thoughts:

The metallic green is only baaaaaarely metallic. The box, which I thought had deep and extensive embossing is glossy and flat as a pancake (the subtle box reveal is brilliant though). I was bummed the courts didn't have some custom coloring to match the backs, and a couple of the faces are a little odd looking. The back is quite a nice design but I wish there was another color worked in to provide a little pop and contrast. The edges of the deck are very smooth and the artwork is registered nicely with the thin borders (but no more so than Aurum turned out). Right out of the box, the feel is definitely different from USPCC, it's like a mix of air-cushion and smooth, you can see the dimples but the cards feel very slick. Stock feels thinner than some, but really isn't if you put the deck next to a USPCC. They fan beautifully out of the box for me. They also stink, in that they smell pretty nasty.

I'd say that they are different, but not really better or worse than a Q1 USPCC deck. Overall a very nice deck, but not the second coming.

Finally someone else comments on the smell of these cards. I thought I was crazy! I thought the Dan and Dave Ace Fulton's smelled weird but man these are funky smelling. I still love these cards but that smell takes a minute to get used to.

[sr15]

I got my set today. Initial thoughts:

The metallic green is only baaaaaarely metallic. The box, which I thought had deep and extensive embossing is glossy and flat as a pancake (the subtle box reveal is brilliant though). I was bummed the courts didn't have some custom coloring to match the backs, and a couple of the faces are a little odd looking. The back is quite a nice design but I wish there was another color worked in to provide a little pop and contrast. The edges of the deck are very smooth and the artwork is registered nicely with the thin borders (but no more so than Aurum turned out). Right out of the box, the feel is definitely different from USPCC, it's like a mix of air-cushion and smooth, you can see the dimples but the cards feel very slick. Stock feels thinner than some, but really isn't if you put the deck next to a USPCC. They fan beautifully out of the box for me. They also stink, in that they smell pretty nasty.

I'd say that they are different, but not really better or worse than a Q1 USPCC deck. Overall a very nice deck, but not the second coming.

agreed with this

To reply to people talking about breaking the deck in, I have been using these cards quite a bit over the past week+ and I agree that they do handle better after being worked in a bit. However, they are still not better or worse than any given custom deck from USPCC. Basically what Paul said. I never said I didn't like this deck because I definitely think it is a high quality deck, but my comments before are mainly in response to the significant hype on this deck that frankly isn't there for me. The "extras" are really take it or leave it for me as well, though if someone really wanted to use them in a routine I could see them getting some kind of use.

[Knobz1]

I got my set today. Initial thoughts:

The metallic green is only baaaaaarely metallic. The box, which I thought had deep and extensive embossing is glossy and flat as a pancake (the subtle box reveal is brilliant though). I was bummed the courts didn't have some custom coloring to match the backs, and a couple of the faces are a little odd looking. The back is quite a nice design but I wish there was another color worked in to provide a little pop and contrast. The edges of the deck are very smooth and the artwork is registered nicely with the thin borders (but no more so than Aurum turned out). Right out of the box, the feel is definitely different from USPCC, it's like a mix of air-cushion and smooth, you can see the dimples but the cards feel very slick. Stock feels thinner than some, but really isn't if you put the deck next to a USPCC. They fan beautifully out of the box for me. They also stink, in that they smell pretty nasty.

I'd say that they are different, but not really better or worse than a Q1 USPCC deck. Overall a very nice deck, but not the second coming.

Finally someone else comments on the smell of these cards. I thought I was crazy! I thought the Dan and Dave Ace Fulton's smelled weird but man these are funky smelling. I still love these cards but that smell takes a minute to get used to.

Your not the only one.   They smell really weird.   I don't know if this sounds odd but I enjoy taking out a deck of cards and smelling them.   Especially new decks.   I just like the smell of a new, fresh, deck of cards.   Just like taking your bed sheets out of the dryer and having that wonderful smell, depending on what fragrant dryer sheets you use.

[Michael]

It's not weird I think we all like the smell of new decks. I think I like the smell of these just cause they're different. It's strange but it's one of the smells that is weird and different but you kind of get used to them and like them.

[Curt]

The metallic green is only baaaaaarely metallic. The box, which I thought had deep and extensive embossing is glossy and flat as a pancake (the subtle box reveal is brilliant though). I was bummed the courts didn't have some custom coloring to match the backs, and a couple of the faces are a little odd looking. The back is quite a nice design but I wish there was another color worked in to provide a little pop and contrast. The edges of the deck are very smooth and the artwork is registered nicely with the thin borders (but no more so than Aurum turned out). Right out of the box, the feel is definitely different from USPCC, it's like a mix of air-cushion and smooth, you can see the dimples but the cards feel very slick. Stock feels thinner than some, but really isn't if you put the deck next to a USPCC. They fan beautifully out of the box for me. They also stink, in that they smell pretty nasty.

Agreed, I just got mine and haven't spent too much time with them yet but I would say different is a good word to describe them. It's nice to use something that feels different than the USPC decks that we know and love. Looking forward to seeing how they react after some good wear.

[Card Player]

Zenneth summed everything up pretty well, really.  The deck is cheaper to make than at USPC, but a US-made deck doesn't have Customs/import taxes to be accounted for in the price unless it's being sold elsewhere in the world.  So in the end, the deck is, like he said, just somewhat cheaper rather than drastically so.  And let's not forget the amazingly intricate work that went into making this a real magician's deck - the marking system is brilliant and yet so simple to read, and it's just one of many such features in a feature-packed deck.  How often do you find all these features in a deck at that price?  A quality marked deck alone can run $10-20, or more in some cases.

@ Don - To be fair to USPCC, we really should try to separate manufacturing quality (embossing, metallic inks, engineering of a tuck box, paper stock, cut and finish) from the artistic design of the deck. I don't think anyone here will deny the fact that Mark Stutzman has become a brilliant playing cards designer. This particular release is no exception to that.

I'm not sure how long you think it takes to properly break in a deck of cards, but I assure that it's shorter than you think. You don't need a month+ of extensive use to break in a deck

@ sr15 - Generally speaking I agree. You should not need a month to break in a deck of playing cards. I use most of the flourishes we see reviewers use to evaluate decks of cards and It only takes me about a half hour to get a deck responding consistently. A month of breaking in is a good evaluation of durability but the cards should handle as intended within one to two hours out of the box. Other factors start contributing to a decks handling (usage, moister, hand cleanliness) when breaking decks in over long periods of time.

[Frost]

does anybody have there order for Coterie for the legends deck i still don't get mine ?