Battle 30: Smoke & Mirrors v. 4-6 vs. White Lions Series A & B

[Don Boyer]

D&D and DB go head-to-head again.  The last round of the prelims had to be a tough one!

Smoke and Mirrors, versions 4 (Eco), 5 (Paper Denim) and 6 (Rouge).  All used USPC's now-defunct Perfect Pips design and the minimalist courts that became the signature of the series until version 7 arrived.  Cardists love the stock and finish, which the Bucks claim as being "proprietary" to the series.

For the White Lions, David Blaine was given unprecedented access to the USPC printing facility to personally supervise the creation of his deck from Mark Stutzman's design to finished product.  They came in quite a few varieties...

Series A: common - blue; rare - red, "rainbow" (a shade-variable purple created when transitioning mid-print from one of those two previous colors to the other) and UV-sensitive blue.

Series B: all common - blue, red and "Black Label" (not marked as Series B, but contemporary to the Series B decks).

Performers love not just the stock and finish on this one, but the myriad of hidden features, including a marking system on the card backs as well as many card reveals.  Series A utilized a new joker and Ace of Spades, while Series B reverted back to the joker and Ace of Spades used on the Split Spades Lions series.

Voters who comment on their choice are entered in a random drawing for forum swag - see this topic for the rules.

[loldudex2]

Blaine wins for me. I love the back design, and I think the boxes are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Also, the series A jokers are te best I've ever seen!

[Don Boyer]

Loldudex2 - you forgot to vote in the poll... 

D&D's S&M is fine, but WL by DB is AOK, so S&M is SOL.  OK?  C U L8R. 

[KPopFever605]

S&M wins it for me. The back design is simpler and the court cards look nice.

[yoel]

Not a difficult decision here.  White Lions all the way!  Not really a huge fan of the S&M series'ssssss.  I'll say the same thing in a few years when we are talking about the v10's and v11's. 

[Soliloquy]

Love Smoke and Mirrors for the elegant box and that ace  of spades.

[The Quadfather]

Think I've got to vote for the white lions, even though the smoke and mirrors are pretty awesome! The back designs are nicer and I love the white lions series a box more than the others for reasons that I can't put into words.

[Utterfool]

This one is difficult.
Mainly because I have no real opinion towards Smoke and Mirrors. I never found them interesting enough to purchase. I think I have 1 v6 because it came with a set of other cards I picked up.

Where as I liked the Whit lions A I thought they were a good looking and handling deck. Unfortunately I out right hated the white lions B. I thought the boxes were pretty stunning at first but after seeing them for a day or two they became a bit blah. And as far as the cards I am surprised David Blaine put his name on them. I think they feel terrible and look worse. (maybe something Chris Angel would put his name on)

So
I am throwing my vote away on the Smoke and Mirrors

[Don Boyer]

It was a close contest, but S&M v. 4-6 wins by one vote.

The comment winner is KPopFever605.

Look at the Score Sheet topic in a few minutes for the tournament matchups and your chance to win two decks of cards!