Author (Read 11738 times)

blastercast · « **on:** January 12, 2013, 07:18:24 PM »

Hello Aether cards!
Today I bought myself a Magic castle deck and these are my views:
as usual I only got one deck so it is open in my collection, I have broken the cards in with 3 faros, 5 springs, 2 riffle shuffles, a LePaul and 2 anacondas :')
The deck is now in prime for a review, I am holding it now so you know this is fresh

Looks:
The deck has a very vintage look, it looks like it came from the Vaudeville era with a very intricate image based back.
It is overall a very appealing deck, the Ace of spades is themed and the two jokers are well themed, the face cards could do with a bit of re-colouring though as the deck seems to have a mainly black theme on the custom cards! The box has the back design on both sides and looks very good :')
Overall: 9/10

Handling:
This deck handles excellently, it faros perfectly with hardly any effort! As for fans this deck fans very well indeed, springs are really good looking and flow from your hand effortlessly :') For Dribbles and such it handles very well and for cuts the cards stick together pretty well!
Overall: 9/10

I Like this deck a lot and it's design is really vintage inspired :') Definitely one to add to any collection!
-Benny

Don Boyer · « **Reply #1 on:** January 12, 2013, 11:53:09 PM »

Makes me glad that I traded for some recently!

The Cartamundi Magic Castle decks were worse than some souvenir decks... Awful handling.

DeckReview · « **Reply #2 on:** January 13, 2013, 02:30:30 AM »

After reading your review, I was like O_o

"Are we handling the same deck? My magic castle deck handles pretty badly!"

I had no idea they redid them. Thanks for the review and the news, man

Don Boyer · « **Reply #3 on:** January 13, 2013, 02:42:10 AM »

Quote from: DeckReview on January 13, 2013, 02:30:30 AM

After reading your review, I was like O_o

"Are we handling the same deck? My magic castle deck handles pretty badly!"

I had no idea they redid them. Thanks for the review and the news, man

There's also an "Anniversary" version (50th Anniv., I think) from USPC, just like the new Castles.

blastercast · « **Reply #4 on:** January 13, 2013, 08:47:22 AM »

Yeah :')
They are pretty much brand new, USPC as well!
Thanks for reading it!
-Benny

Joker and the Thief · « **Reply #5 on:** January 15, 2013, 11:21:15 PM »

These are the ones that the Magic Apple is selling right?

PlayingKards · « **Reply #6 on:** January 25, 2013, 10:21:22 PM »

I wouldn't expect magic castle cards to handle very well at all. That was a shocker to me, I might have to pick some up!

blastercast · « **Reply #7 on:** January 26, 2013, 05:17:59 AM »

Quote

I wouldn't expect magic castle cards to handle very well at all. That was a shocker to me, I might have to pick some up!

I would recommend getting one just to use and collect, they are limited so try to get them before they go
-Benny

S.C. · « **Reply #8 on:** February 02, 2013, 07:06:48 PM »

Quote from: Don Boyer on January 12, 2013, 11:53:09 PM

Makes me glad that I traded for some recently!

The Cartamundi Magic Castle decks were worse than some souvenir decks... Awful handling.

when did Cartamundi make the decks? I have the Paulson ones from about 10 years ago (well that's when i got them anyway). I also have their limited release "Gaff" deck for those cards.

DeckReview · « **Reply #9 on:** February 02, 2013, 08:20:26 PM »

Quote from: S.C. on February 02, 2013, 07:06:48 PM

Quote from: Don Boyer on January 12, 2013, 11:53:09 PM
Makes me glad that I traded for some recently!

The Cartamundi Magic Castle decks were worse than some souvenir decks... Awful handling.

when did Cartamundi make the decks? I have the Paulson ones from about 10 years ago (well that's when i got them anyway). I also have their limited release "Gaff" deck for those cards.

Based on what I read from this thread

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=235301&forum=2

It seems, according to Chris SD, that there were 3 runs of the decks before the current one. To summarize whats on that thread, pretty much there is a small run of USPCC magic castle cards used by magicians in the west coast. There is a run made by paulson after the uspcc run. And then there is the carta mundi run after the paulson run.

I know sourcing from a thread is unreliable, but that's all the news I know. I don't even know which version I have. Mine has the carta mundi jokers so I figure I have the carta mundi deck.

Don Boyer · « **Reply #10 on:** February 03, 2013, 12:06:26 AM »

Quote from: DeckReview on February 02, 2013, 08:20:26 PM

I know sourcing from a thread is unreliable, but that's all the news I know. I don't even know which version I have. Mine has the carta mundi jokers so I figure I have the carta mundi deck.

Sometimes a thread is all we have to go on...

If there's enough people supporting an idea or concept, there's a decent chance that it's accurate.

There is a WORLD of difference between the Cartamundi MCs and the USPC MCs issued last year. The Cartamundis were awful out of the box and never got better - I used them for solitaire and nothing more.

Pacis · « **Reply #11 on:** February 03, 2013, 11:01:32 AM »

Are you talking of the decks that have on front a castle? Or two castles (mirror)?

Don Boyer · « **Reply #12 on:** February 03, 2013, 11:49:46 AM »

Quote from: Pacis on February 03, 2013, 11:01:32 AM

Are you talking of the decks that have on front a castle? Or two castles (mirror)?

Of these four versions, listed in chronological order:
1) USPC I
2) Paulson
3) Cartamundi
4) USPC II

I've only seen 3) & 4), and they're both two-way backs with the castle on each half. They're all souvenir decks of the Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA, USA, but other magic/card shops carry them. 1) & 2) both are older and somewhat rare, 1) because it was a good deck & sought-after and 2) because it was so disliked that I imagine many ended up in the trash sooner rather than later... Some shops still have 3) despite how truly awful they are and 4) came out late last year in red, blue and "50th Anniversary". The review that kicked off this topic is of 4).

Pacis · « **Reply #13 on:** February 03, 2013, 12:06:40 PM »

I can't tell what are the ones that I found. I'm just able to tell that one of them has a Castle on front and the other has 2 castles mirrored.
If I buy the two, will I be able to tell which deck, of the four, I have? (by checking out the box or the cards inside)

I've never seen the first two so I couldn't tell them from a hole in the wall.

Of the other two, the Cartamundi deck uses their trademark joker and has no manufacturer name or marks on it anywhere other than that. The joker is a jester character standing over the Earth and dribbling cards. The USPC deck is dead-easy to spot - it has the USPC seal on the box. I'm thinking the first deck would also have that seal, but there'd be marked differences in that the first deck is probably pushing vintage age now. City of origin marks on the box would say they were from Cincinnati rather than Erlanger, to be certain.

As far as identifying a Paulson deck - whichever one doesn't have a USPC seal or a Cartamundi joker must be a Paulson!

S.C. · « **Reply #14 on:** February 03, 2013, 12:46:03 PM »

Quote from: Don Boyer on February 03, 2013, 11:49:46 AM

Quote from: Pacis on February 03, 2013, 11:01:32 AM
Are you talking of the decks that have on front a castle? Or two castles (mirror)?

Of these four versions, listed in chronological order:
1) USPC I
2) Paulson
3) Cartamundi
4) USPC II

I've only seen 3) & 4), and they're both two-way backs with the castle on each half. They're all souvenir decks of the Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA, USA, but other magic/card shops carry them. 1) & 2) both are older and somewhat rare, 1) because it was a good deck & sought-after and 2) because it was so disliked that I imagine many ended up in the trash sooner rather than later... Some shops still have 3) despite how truly awful they are and 4) came out late last year in red, blue and "50th Anniversary". The review that kicked off this topic is of 4).

I can post photos of the Paulson Decks if you would like the reference, i have one red and one blue sealed. I may have an open one floating round here somewhere. I'm actually curious if the back design changed from the Paulson to the Cartimundi. I know it did on the most recent release.

Pacis · « **Reply #15 on:** February 03, 2013, 02:15:25 PM »

Yes, please, if you can, S.C.

Well, Don Boyer, the one castle only, seem to have no seal.
The two mirrored castle one, has a USPCC gold seal (probably the 4th that you mentioned, and is the one blastercast reviews in this topic).
What could they be?
For the one castle only, I guess I'll have to buy it to check out the joker.

Thanks

S.C. · « **Reply #16 on:** February 03, 2013, 07:26:30 PM »

Quote from: Pacis on February 03, 2013, 02:15:25 PM

Yes, please, if you can, S.C.

Well, Don Boyer, the one castle only, seem to have no seal.
The two mirrored castle one, has a USPCC gold seal (probably the 4th that you mentioned, and is the one blastercast reviews in this topic).
What could they be?
For the one castle only, I guess I'll have to buy it to check out the joker.

Thanks

Sure.

here ya go. the most identifying mark is the seal that says Paulson, but i assume the court cards have been changed given the manufacturer to suite their typical court cards. anyway, if anyone has the other decks I would love to see them.

Don Boyer · « **Reply #17 on:** February 03, 2013, 10:06:35 PM »

First of all, Pacis, sorry but I accidentally edited one of your posts instead of replying to it!

Second, the Paulson deck looks like it has Hoyle faces. I could be mistaken but I think the Paulson deck box (and probably the card back) are identical to the Cartamundi version. I have to dig my decks out of my collection.

Pacis · « **Reply #18 on:** February 03, 2013, 10:21:49 PM »

No problem, Don. Thanks for the reply!

Thanks for the pics, S.C.!

So, the lack of Paul Wilson's seal could tell that is not a Paul Wilson's deck? In that case, it would be a USPC I deck?

Don Boyer · « **Reply #19 on:** February 03, 2013, 11:48:50 PM »

Quote from: Pacis on February 03, 2013, 10:21:49 PM

No problem, Don. Thanks for the reply!

Thanks for the pics, S.C.!

So, the lack of Paul Wilson's seal could tell that is not a Paul Wilson's deck? In that case, it would be a USPC I deck?

Well, until the recent custom deck craze, USPC rarely if ever sold a deck without a seal. The USPC version 1 deck probably had a USPC seal on it. Without having ever seen it, I couldn't say with certainty; only by deductive reasoning have I come up with this theory. The Cartamundi deck, however, didn't have a seal, and there were no markings anywhere on the box indicating that it was made by Cartamundi. If you didn't recognize their joker, you'd have no way to tell who made it. It would appear that, aside from the deck seal, the Cartamundi and Paulson decks look identical - but the cards certainly don't.

(I wish someone would update Hochman's Encyclopedia with a new volume covering all American decks since 1950!)

S.C. · « **Reply #20 on:** February 04, 2013, 12:03:45 AM »

Quote from: Pacis on February 03, 2013, 10:21:49 PM

No problem, Don. Thanks for the reply!

Thanks for the pics, S.C.!

So, the lack of Paul Wilson's seal could tell that is not a Paul Wilson's deck? In that case, it would be a USPC I deck?

no worries

Pacis · « **Reply #21 on:** February 04, 2013, 10:26:29 AM »

I guess I'll buy it then.
When it arrives, I'll be posting about my findings.
Thanks

S.C. · « **Reply #22 on:** February 04, 2013, 01:26:33 PM »

I think I already asked this but it may have been overlooked, can someone post some photos of the other decks, if they have them. I would love to see the differences/similarities between the versions. Thanks.

Magic_Orthodoxy · « **Reply #23 on:** February 04, 2013, 01:52:49 PM »

I hope I read every post correctly, sorry if I am confusing something further, but is the review about these?

http://www.magiccastle.com/giftshop/order.cfm?page=list.cfm&afid=&cat=0&criteria=989&startrow=1&action=showspecials&var1=&var2=&var3=&

Thanks in advance

DeckReview · « **Reply #24 on:** February 04, 2013, 02:08:35 PM »

Quote from: Mojo_Turbo on February 04, 2013, 01:52:49 PM

I hope I read every post correctly, sorry if I am confusing something further, but is the review about these?

http://www.magiccastle.com/giftshop/order.cfm?page=list.cfm&afid=&cat=0&criteria=989&startrow=1&action=showspecials&var1=&var2=&var3=&

Thanks in advance

Yes, the review is about the one on the link you posted... The 4th and newest version.

As for pics of the cartamundi version, here they are. I only have the blue one. For kicks I posted pics of the collector's Magic Castle leather card case. There is no seal on the box and both sides are identical with no card company info.