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Card Player · « **on:** June 20, 2013, 11:21:15 AM »

So I was looking at my collection trying to remember what I thought about particular decks at the time I bought them. I found a few I thought were great decks but now there not so hot. Then there are others that I'm still proud to have in my collection after 2 years. So I thought this would make a great topic. What decks do you own and remember loving but now are not fond of. Did the hype fade away like a ship in the night or will it stand the test of time?

Gunshy1 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 20, 2013, 11:45:59 AM »

pretty much anything where a theme was totally over done i look back and think what the hell did i buy this for. first one to come to mind is the americana deck. yes its a well put together deck, but it doesn't match my likes or style at all.

on the other spectrum when i randomly look through my collection i stop and look at the seasons decks for a good amount of time. they are such a classy deck. nothing over done just a beautiful classy deck.

Paul Carpenter · « **Reply #2 on:** June 20, 2013, 12:27:32 PM »

I think there is a reason the classic decks are still around, and still admired. I personally think that the latest fad of the "comic book style" artwork we are seeing a lot of will look kind of clumsy and dated in 10 years. The more refined (and ultimately simpler) designs seem to stand the test of time.

Gunshy1 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 20, 2013, 04:52:27 PM »

Quote from: Encarded on June 20, 2013, 12:27:32 PM

I think there is a reason the classic decks are still around, and still admired. I personally think that the latest fad of the "comic book style" artwork we are seeing a lot of will look kind of clumsy and dated in 10 years. The more refined (and ultimately simpler) designs seem to stand the test of time.

very well said. the decks with the comic like art work just seem like a novelty.

xela · « **Reply #4 on:** June 20, 2013, 05:14:38 PM »

I don't regret any of my vintage decks. I do regret owning such an extensive D&D deck collection.

Mallanaga · « **Reply #5 on:** June 21, 2013, 02:59:49 PM »

This thought is exactly what I was thinking about when designing this deck.

I've gotten some guff about the name, but the design is there, regardless. It was fun trying to get consistency across the Suits, and across the Royalty, at the same time. At a glance, a Queen is a Queen... a Club is a Club. I find many decks I've seen lately are way too novelty driven. I personally like to play with cards, and I'm definitely a function over form, kind of guy.

As much as I hate to say it, the Federal 52 deck fits this bill. Is it a piece of art? Absolutely. I put in my order for a deck of Silvers. It's almost too pretty though. I don't know as I'll actually want to play with it, for fear that someone will mess them up! There's a fine line designers have to walk, it would seem...

Don Boyer · « **Reply #6 on:** June 22, 2013, 01:59:27 AM »

To me, there's no such thing as a deck that's too pretty to use. It's the purpose behind its creation. I'm not one of those collectors who buys by the brick only to let decks collect dust on a shelf, never opened. It's like buying a famous work of art and never unpacking it, instead admiring the crate that it came in.

I've had an interesting change-of-mind about one deck in particular, the Monarchs. When they first came out, T11 was hyping them to no end, making them sound better than all of the world's deities on one stage with Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. I was complaining about them as loudly as anyone else. But after the hype died down, I looked a little closer at them and realized they're actually a well-done design - unique but familiar, and very attractive and eye-catching without having to bash you over the head with it. Monarchs and Silver Monarchs are now among my go-to decks. And to their benefit, T11 learned that the hype machine need not be turned to 11 in order to generate interest in a deck - they've never hyped another deck like that since.

And yes, you're getting "guff" about your deck's name, Mallanaga, because if you borrow from a popular copyrighted work like you are, it's only a matter of time before the lawyers fly over and carpet-bomb you with C-and-D letters... Believe it or not, we're giving you that advice for your own good because we've seen other projects crash and burn in similar fashion, some in the early stages (the "Heroes of Steampunk" deck, which you can't even find in a KS search any longer due to a C&D from Lego because all the art was made using modified Lego figures without the company's permission), some much later down the road (the "Bicycle Army Men" deck didn't get crushed by people speaking Legalese until after the campaign was successfully completed). Even if you can find a public domain work that predates G.R.R. Martin's books and contains the term "Westeros", you may still have to hire a lawyer if his lawyers decide to pursue you anyway, just to defend yourself in court. It simply isn't worth the hassle and the expense just to get publicity for your deck.

Card Player · « **Reply #7 on:** June 22, 2013, 01:10:12 PM »

Quote

first one to come to mind is the americana deck. yes its a well put together deck, but it doesn't match my likes or style at all.

@ Gunshy1:
The Americana Deck was one of the decks that I knew from the word go I had no interest. It’s probably one of the better themed Bicycle decks I’ve seen but like you say, not my style. I think in a few years the Americana Deck will become the one we all remember CCCC for, however long CCCC is in business. It does have a little history being one of the first HOPC Website launch decks, if you put any value in that? I do concur with you.
_________________________________________

SO… Here’s my contribution.

Two decks that are just not that special to me anymore. Both decks are beautifully designed. Given how particular I am now, It said allot to me about the two decks being in my collection in the first place. These are not decks I would simply pass on.

The first is the Fathom Deck by Ellusionist. At the time I liked everything about this deck. The back design, The AoS, Jokers and Court Cards. All beautiful and 100% custom. However, Fathom has lost its luster. It’s not the most practical of decks and has become very cartooned and themed out for my taste

The second deck is the Archangels by T11 and Bicycle. This deck is very practical. One of my favorite AoS but it’s nothing I have not seen attempted before. It’s probably a deck one would consider as a long lasting design because of its simplicity but It’s become a run of the mill theme bicycle deck. If being overproduced is the definition of standing the test of time, these will be around for awhile. The price per deck was worth giving it a try. I use them all the time to practice with but its not something I would regret not having at this point.

Preformer19 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 23, 2013, 08:47:30 PM »

One deck I seriously regret is the Alchemist X deck. What I regret even more is that I purchased 12 of them.

Then again, this was when I had just began my collection and didn't know a lot.

MrMollusk · « **Reply #9 on:** June 24, 2013, 09:12:16 AM »

I'm on board with Don. The only decks I have multiples of are ones I'm going to use once I wear out the ones I'm using. Come to think of it, I only own duplicates of the Albino Dragon Cthulhu decks, the Fantastique deck, and the S&M V6 deck.

There's no real deck that's lost it's appeal to me that I have. My first decks (S&M V6, Fantastique, Infinity, Monarchs, Deck ONE) Remain some of my favorites. The Infinity deck was the first custom deck I owned, and the sheer beauty of it's design still mesmerizes me when I'm playing with it. My Smoke and Mirrors deck remains the best handling deck I have, and the Fantastique is just too cool.

Other decks I once coveted have lost their appeal though. I went batty over the White Monarchs and the LTD decks, but I'm not too thrilled about either now.

Card Player · « **Reply #10 on:** June 25, 2013, 11:29:28 AM »

Quote from: MrMollusk on June 24, 2013, 09:12:16 AM

I'm on board with Don. The only decks I have multiples of are ones I'm going to use once I wear out the ones I'm using. Come to think of it, I only own duplicates of the Albino Dragon Cthulhu decks, the Fantastique deck, and the S&M V6 deck.

There's no real deck that's lost it's appeal to me that I have. My first decks (S&M V6, Fantastique, Infinity, Monarchs, Deck ONE) Remain some of my favorites. The Infinity deck was the first custom deck I owned, and the sheer beauty of it's design still mesmerizes me when I'm playing with it. My Smoke and Mirrors deck remains the best handling deck I have, and the Fantastique is just too cool.

Other decks I once coveted have lost their appeal though. I went batty over the White Monarchs and the LTD decks, but I'm not too thrilled about either now.

That's what I'm finding collectible are the decks that I "WANT" to use. Simply buying a deck for its design and limited release does not last very long. I'll buy some for my collection and a few I want to use.

Don Boyer · « **Reply #11 on:** June 25, 2013, 08:04:24 PM »

Quote from: MrMollusk on June 24, 2013, 09:12:16 AM

I'm on board with Don. The only decks I have multiples of are ones I'm going to use once I wear out the ones I'm using. Come to think of it, I only own duplicates of the Albino Dragon Cthulhu decks, the Fantastique deck, and the S&M V6 deck.

There's no real deck that's lost it's appeal to me that I have. My first decks (S&M V6, Fantastique, Infinity, Monarchs, Deck ONE) Remain some of my favorites. The Infinity deck was the first custom deck I owned, and the sheer beauty of it's design still mesmerizes me when I'm playing with it. My Smoke and Mirrors deck remains the best handling deck I have, and the Fantastique is just too cool.

Other decks I once coveted have lost their appeal though. I went batty over the White Monarchs and the LTD decks, but I'm not too thrilled about either now.

I do have a few decks that I own in bulk, but more for them being good utility decks for magic and poker. It's usually (though not always) a deck for which I have gaff cards or gaff decks. I usually try picking decks that are regularly stocked and not too expensive.

My "utility" decks:
Bicycle red/blue/black Riders
Bicycle Masters
Arcane black/white
Ghost (not Black Ghost)
Guardians
Monarchs (original and Silver)
Split Spades Lions (mostly just red/blue, and for special occasions, and I have the gaffed decks/cards).
White Lions (for VERY special occasions, and I have the gaffs)

Of all those, my most frequently carried are Guardians and Monarchs. Guardians are cheap and have a subtle one-way back, while the Monarchs are just plain cool. And of course, the zillions of gaff cards/decks made for Rider Backs. And I use 99-cent store decks for packet tricks where I destroy cards.

Rob Wright · « **Reply #12 on:** June 27, 2013, 01:33:17 AM »

I'm very new to the whole card collecting thing. Unfortunately I have a few decks, not that I regret getting, but probably would not have gotten knowing what I know now. I know that makes no sense. The short story- I found KS by accident about 4 months ago. There was all these cards. I didn't even know this could be done. So I had to have almost everything. So 13 successful projects out of 19. The damnedest thing is, I've only received 1 deck so far. To be fare, the rest are on schedule. At this point I am being much more selective. I have ordered a few other decks outside of KS, but mostly for research. I play a lot of poker. So I will bring out the new decks for a few rounds, then back to the Copags.

Don Boyer · « **Reply #13 on:** June 27, 2013, 10:58:41 AM »

Quote from: Rob Wright on June 27, 2013, 01:33:17 AM

I'm very new to the whole card collecting thing. Unfortunately I have a few decks, not that I regret getting, but probably would not have gotten knowing what I know now. I know that makes no sense. The short story- I found KS by accident about 4 months ago. There was all these cards. I didn't even know this could be done. So I had to have almost everything. So 13 successful projects out of 19. The damnedest thing is, I've only received 1 deck so far. To be fare, the rest are on schedule. At this point I am being much more selective. I have ordered a few other decks outside of KS, but mostly for research. I play a lot of poker. So I will bring out the new decks for a few rounds, then back to the Copags.

Since you did most of your "ordering" through Kickstarter, you're now caught in the holding pattern that is waiting for fulfillment. Many of us got started the "old fashioned" way by discovering one of the card companies online, with Ellusionist often being the one that pops out highest on a Google search for "custom playing cards".

kdklown · « **Reply #14 on:** June 27, 2013, 02:53:05 PM »

My only regret to this point is that I don't have enough display space. I got started by learning magic tricks online and wondering where all these crazy decks I've never heard of came from. Now I'm addicted. I'm sure I'll regret some of them at some point but I'm good so far.

Utterfool · « **Reply #15 on:** June 27, 2013, 08:49:35 PM »

It's got to be the Gold Crown deck for me.
The Black Crown deck was one of the First Custom decks I got.
I say this as custom as for the playing card collector vs. just a regular collector I had been collecting interesting souvenir decks for some years prior to starting as a custom playing card collector.
Any way moving on.

I thought the Black crown was very Slick (and still do)
The slick black tuck case with the foil embossed silver crown felt stylish and definitely screamed custom.

When the Gold Crown craze hit, I bought in. I was devastated when I missed the free give away of the special Crown deck box with the Gold Crown deck.
Thank fully I didn't Jump on Ebay and pay the $450 - $600 people were asking for them.
I was elated to see "the second" chance offer that HOPC was given its customers especially when they were being given with the ornate deck, a deck I was planning on buying anyway.
When my first Gold Crown arrived it honestly felt like holding a brick of gold in my hand, I was so excited.
Then came the offer of HOPC to sell them... I felt let down a bit as it certainly didn't feel as special to have one. But since it was a "super special mailing list only" deal I felt it was still ok and "Hey I can get a couple more" I always like to have at least 2 of a deck in my collection.

Now, however, that the hype has died down on the deck. I don't find it nearly as exciting. It has truthfully lost it's luster as when I look at the box with honest eyes I can see that the gold is really more of a tan brass with a gold foil crown that gets lost in the tuck case. The deck is not nearly as slick as the Black Crown.
I am glad I never paid more than HOPCs asking price for this deck and also glad that I could sell most of the ones I had purchased at a bit of a profit.
I am still keeping 2 for my collection (as I am a collector) but would not conside owning any others.

Don Boyer · « **Reply #16 on:** June 27, 2013, 11:24:29 PM »

Quote from: Utterfool on June 27, 2013, 08:49:35 PM

It's got to be the Gold Crown deck for me.
The Black Crown deck was one of the First Custom decks I got.
I say this as custom as for the playing card collector vs. just a regular collector I had been collecting interesting souvenir decks for some years prior to starting as a custom playing card collector.
Any way moving on.

I thought the Black crown was very Slick (and still do)
The slick black tuck case with the foil embossed silver crown felt stylish and definitely screamed custom.

When the Gold Crown craze hit, I bought in. I was devastated when I missed the free give away of the special Crown deck box with the Gold Crown deck.
Thank fully I didn't Jump on Ebay and pay the $450 - $600 people were asking for them.
I was elated to see "the second" chance offer that HOPC was given its customers especially when they were being given with the ornate deck, a deck I was planning on buying anyway.
When my first Gold Crown arrived it honestly felt like holding a brick of gold in my hand, I was so excited.
Then came the offer of HOPC to sell them... I felt let down a bit as it certainly didn't feel as special to have one. But since it was a "super special mailing list only" deal I felt it was still ok and "Hey I can get a couple more" I always like to have at least 2 of a deck in my collection.

Now, however, that the hype has died down on the deck. I don't find it nearly as exciting. It has truthfully lost it's luster as when I look at the box with honest eyes I can see that the gold is really more of a tan brass with a gold foil crown that gets lost in the tuck case. The deck is not nearly as slick as the Black Crown.
I am glad I never paid more than HOPCs asking price for this deck and also glad that I could sell most of the ones I had purchased at a bit of a profit.
I am still keeping 2 for my collection (as I am a collector) but would not conside owning any others.

Did ANYONE actually pay those prices for the Gold Crown deck? Insane...

Utterfool · « **Reply #17 on:** June 27, 2013, 11:38:41 PM »

Quote from: Don Boyer on June 27, 2013, 11:24:29 PM

Quote from: Utterfool on June 27, 2013, 08:49:35 PM
It's got to be the Gold Crown deck for me.
The Black Crown deck was one of the First Custom decks I got.
I say this as custom as for the playing card collector vs. just a regular collector I had been collecting interesting souvenir decks for some years prior to starting as a custom playing card collector.
Any way moving on.

I thought the Black crown was very Slick (and still do)
The slick black tuck case with the foil embossed silver crown felt stylish and definitely screamed custom.

When the Gold Crown craze hit, I bought in. I was devastated when I missed the free give away of the special Crown deck box with the Gold Crown deck.
Thank fully I didn't Jump on Ebay and pay the $450 - $600 people were asking for them.
I was elated to see "the second" chance offer that HOPC was given its customers especially when they were being given with the ornate deck, a deck I was planning on buying anyway.
When my first Gold Crown arrived it honestly felt like holding a brick of gold in my hand, I was so excited.
Then came the offer of HOPC to sell them... I felt let down a bit as it certainly didn't feel as special to have one. But since it was a "super special mailing list only" deal I felt it was still ok and "Hey I can get a couple more" I always like to have at least 2 of a deck in my collection.

Now, however, that the hype has died down on the deck. I don't find it nearly as exciting. It has truthfully lost it's luster as when I look at the box with honest eyes I can see that the gold is really more of a tan brass with a gold foil crown that gets lost in the tuck case. The deck is not nearly as slick as the Black Crown.
I am glad I never paid more than HOPCs asking price for this deck and also glad that I could sell most of the ones I had purchased at a bit of a profit.
I am still keeping 2 for my collection (as I am a collector) but would not conside owning any others.

Did ANYONE actually pay those prices for the Gold Crown deck? Insane...

For the special Crown deck box with all the 1st edition crown decks and the gold crown. I assume they paid that, unless the sales didn't go through. I know they were marked as sold on Ebay at the time.
and yeah ... pretty insane

Card Player · « **Reply #18 on:** June 28, 2013, 09:21:27 AM »

I was extremely lucky or wise, however you want to look at it getting the 2012 Gift Box.. I bought another 12 decks after that 17.95 a deck thinking I could keep 6 and sell 6 basically paying for the order. That never worked out the way I thought it would. I was lucky to get retail price for the 4 I sold and had to bundle 2 of them with other decks because they were slightly less then perfect. I don't regret buying them. It's not the TBC's problem, right? As long as the TBC made money, why should they care about the customers investment just because GC's were sold as collectors decks. Yes, at 17.95 a deck, that's who the TBC is targeting, the collector and the reseller. The Gift Boxes were Great, what happened after that could have been done better and more selectively.

I do remember ebay auctions sold for $400 - $500. How many actually paid is another question.

Don Boyer · « **Reply #19 on:** June 28, 2013, 10:34:27 AM »

Quote from: Legacy on June 28, 2013, 09:21:27 AM

I was extremely lucky or wise, however you want to look at it getting the 2012 Gift Box.. I bought another 12 decks after that 17.95 a deck thinking I could keep 6 and sell 6 basically paying for the order. That never worked out the way I thought it would. I was lucky to get retail price for the 4 I sold and had to bundle 2 of them with other decks because they were slightly less then perfect. I don't regret buying them. It's not the TBC's problem, right? As long as the TBC made money, why should they care about the customers investment just because GC's were sold as collectors decks. Yes, at 17.95 a deck, that's who the TBC is targeting, the collector and the reseller. The Gift Boxes were Great, what happened after that could have been done better and more selectively.

I do remember ebay auctions sold for $400 - $500. How many actually paid is another question.

The moment I hear someone referring to a deck of cards as an "investment", I'm reminded of all the other investment markets that popped up (and crashed): tech stocks, comic books, real estate, baseball memorabilia... How many people bought up huge quantities of "The Death of Superman" comic thinking the future value would skyrocket? Today I doubt you could get much more than the cover price, if that.

It's not an investment - it's a PACK OF CARDS. Buy them for pleasure, not for what you think you can get for them later.

As far as TBC selling them later - they were actually giving in to the demand of their customers. People kept begging and pleading to buy the gold decks. Any business that ignores customer demand, especially when they're in a position to fill that demand, is planning to fail. The collectors freaked out, but one should never, ever assume a future collectible value on something sold in such a niche market. I think at the time, USPC's minimum print run was still 5,000 - there's no way you can assume the, what was it, maybe 150 or so packs that went out in the five-deck sets were all there were, especially since TBC made no claims of that nature.

Card Player · « **Reply #20 on:** June 28, 2013, 11:05:23 AM »

Quote

It's not an investment - it's a PACK OF CARDS. Buy them for pleasure, not for what you think you can get for them later.

Anything you spend currency or time on is an investment. It could be an investment of services, a relationship or new & depreciable assets. Especially for small businesses who buy brick upon brick of playing cards. Protecting customer investment effects how much product the buyer might want to purchase from a particular retailer in the future. Wholesale prices to small businesses don't help if customers no longer see value in what they are paying for.

Don Boyer · « **Reply #21 on:** June 28, 2013, 11:29:16 AM »

Quote from: Legacy on June 28, 2013, 11:05:23 AM

Quote
It's not an investment - it's a PACK OF CARDS. Buy them for pleasure, not for what you think you can get for them later.

Anything you spend currency on is an investment. It could be an investment of time or services. It could also be an investment of new or depreciable assets. Especially for small businesses who buy brick upon brick of playing cards. Protecting customer investment effects how much product the buyer might want to purchase from a particular business in the future. Wholesale prices to businesses don't help if customers no longer see value in what they are paying for.

Technically, yes, whatever you spend on is an investment of some kind. Hell, I invested in a movie ticket, a bag of popcorn, a diet cola and a hot dog yesterday... What I'm referring to, however, is something that's bought and held for potential future value. Only the most special of movie tickets become worth something after the showtime has passed (used or unused), and neither a bag of popcorn, a fountain soda, nor a hot dog (new mint in box AND complete with bun accessory!) would be worth much if I save it for even as "long" as next week to sell at a profit... Certain "investments" hold value well, others don't. For every rare, valuable deck out there, vintage or otherwise, in the hands of a consumer rather than a commercial reseller, there's hundreds of decks worth nothing more than their weight as recycling material, even if they are still sealed in the box.

Utterfool · « **Reply #22 on:** June 28, 2013, 11:38:52 AM »

The investment opportunity was never my point here.
The topic was about Decks that seemed like they would be amazing due to hype or design and then just did not hold their luster.

The Gold Crown fits that so well for me.
As I said , I bought into the Hype fully, and had to have these.

The pricing I was talking about was more that I feel lucky that I never bought one for the insane pricing that they were going for at one time and that when the gold fadded to a polished brass on the deck I was able to get rid of the couple that I never was going to use at a bit of a profit (just a bit)

Of course I have to admit to buying a deck or two with the belief I would make a profit ( I am sure all new collectors have)
but once you get bit you hopefully learn your lesson and reel in your habit to an acceptable 2 or 3 decks a release (accept for ones youplan on using of course)

For me my mistake was the Blue Tune deck.
The furor over the deck on the discussion boards made me think that this was going to be "the" deck and when they offered a special white one with 2 bricks I thought to myself "real no brainer."
It certainly was.
Not worth the paper they were printed on now.

ah well
something about a fool and his money.... what does that say about an utter fool

RandyButterfield · « **Reply #23 on:** June 28, 2013, 11:58:51 AM »

Yeah, I never bought any of the Blue Tune Decks. I didn't see what the big fuss was about those - at all!

The only Decks I bought and regret are for completely separate reasons. I pledged for the Steampunk Deck from Reagan (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1762124010/steampunk-playing-cards?ref=live) to checkout the quality of Bhrama's printing. They're horrible looking! I only got 1 Deck. My daughter (4 years old at the time) liked it so I gave it to her. Who knows where those cards are today!!

The other regret is getting 3 of the Pedale Deck. I got suckered in by his KS Video of being a poor designer barely making enough for a crappy car..... Once I got the cards I realized the style with the big noses and odd faces was something I hate. The Back Design and Tuck Box were each pretty boring in person.

thanks, Randy

Card Player · « **Reply #24 on:** June 28, 2013, 11:59:09 AM »

Quote from: Utterfool on June 28, 2013, 11:38:52 AM

The investment opportunity was never my point here.
The topic was about Decks that seemed like they would be amazing due to hype or design and then just did not hold their luster.

The Gold Crown fits that so well for me.
As I said , I bought into the Hype fully, and had to have these.

The pricing I was talking about was more that I feel lucky that I never bought one for the insane pricing that they were going for at one time and that when the gold fadded to a polished brass on the deck I was able to get rid of the couple that I never was going to use at a bit of a profit (just a bit)

Of course I have to admit to buying a deck or two with the belief I would make a profit ( I am sure all new collectors have)
but once you get bit you hopefully learn your lesson and reel in your habit to an acceptable 2 or 3 decks a release (accept for ones youplan on using of course)

For me my mistake was the Blue Tune deck.
The furor over the deck on the discussion boards made me think that this was going to be "the" deck and when they offered a special white one with 2 bricks I thought to myself "real no brainer."
It certainly was.
Not worth the paper they were printed on now.

ah well
something about a fool and his money.... what does that say about an utter fool

Staying on topic, I think the original crown decks are absolulty beautiful. Simplistic, Elegant & Functional. The Blue Crown is chasing a ghost when it comes to living up to the The Crown Deck. That's NOT an insult to other decks TBC produced since. It just says something about how incredible the crown deck was. Crown Deck sellout records speak for themselves.