Favorite Artifice Deck?

[RobotsEatCookies]

Just curious and taking a vote.

[Curt]

The red v1 will always have a soft spot in my heart because it was one of my first major efforts to purchase limited edition cards. The excitement I had after waiting for over 9 hours to finally make it to the checkout screen will be something I will always remember when I look at the deck. Colour wise, I don't really have a preference and I like the borderless versions, so all in all the red v1 does it for me.

[Don Boyer]

I like the v2 decks the best - I chose the green over the blue because it was a more original choice.

[RobotsEatCookies]

Don, I recently spent $50 with a $10 discount on 7 decks of cards: the Arcane, Artisan, Ghost, Monarchs, Rounders, Sultan Republic, and Guardians as a deck that I can use without worrying that I accidentally threw it away because its cheap.

However, the whole time I was requesting help and advice my eyes were set on one deck I particularly liked: the Artifice. Coincidentally however, my favorite colors were Black, White, Blue, Purple, and Green, which just happen to be the color schemes offered with the Artifice. I'm down to the Tundra, Blue V2 and Green V2 as I have eliminated the ones with black borders because they chip. I don't know what to pick ATM ._.

[Don Boyer]

Don, I recently spent $50 with a $10 discount on 7 decks of cards: the Arcane, Artisan, Ghost, Monarchs, Rounders, Sultan Republic, and Guardians as a deck that I can use without worrying that I accidentally threw it away because its cheap.

However, the whole time I was requesting help and advice my eyes were set on one deck I particularly liked: the Artifice. Coincidentally however, my favorite colors were Black, White, Blue, Purple, and Green, which just happen to be the color schemes offered with the Artifice. I'm down to the Tundra, Blue V2 and Green V2 as I have eliminated the ones with black borders because they chip. I don't know what to pick ATM ._.

First, I'll start by mentioning that any deck which costs (before shipping costs) as much as six packs of Bicycles from a big-box retailer ISN'T CHEAP by any stretch of the imagination.  (A brick of Rider Backs has been reported as cheap as about $14 by one of the members here.)  "Relatively cheap" when compared to other custom decks would be a better term, but they are not cheap.  I wouldn't be crying over the loss of such a deck, but I wouldn't be happy about it either.  Of all the ones you listed, Guardians are probably the cheapest - I pay locally about $4+ at a local pharmacy chain store for a pack of Rider Backs, so the Guardians are only a buck more.  (I actually go to a local 24-hour fruit-and-vegetable shop near me for Tally Ho decks at $3 a pop!)

To me, the Tundra is a gimmick - a combination of the unique aspect of the Bicycle Ghost deck slapped onto the Artifice template.  But to a new collector like you, it's probably a fresh new idea.  If you wanted just one Artifice deck, that would work fine, as would any of the three you're considering.

But if you wanted to actually use these cards for something other than magic or cardistry, you're better off with the blue and green decks.  They're meant to be a "poker pair".  The only advantage to getting an Artifice Tundra to match up with one of the two colored decks would be if you wanted to produce a stunning color change, showing a radically different card, back and (if you choose a red card for the trick) front.

[RobotsEatCookies]

Don, I recently spent $50 with a $10 discount on 7 decks of cards: the Arcane, Artisan, Ghost, Monarchs, Rounders, Sultan Republic, and Guardians as a deck that I can use without worrying that I accidentally threw it away because its cheap.

However, the whole time I was requesting help and advice my eyes were set on one deck I particularly liked: the Artifice. Coincidentally however, my favorite colors were Black, White, Blue, Purple, and Green, which just happen to be the color schemes offered with the Artifice. I'm down to the Tundra, Blue V2 and Green V2 as I have eliminated the ones with black borders because they chip. I don't know what to pick ATM ._.

First, I'll start by mentioning that any deck which costs (before shipping costs) as much as six packs of Bicycles from a big-box retailer ISN'T CHEAP by any stretch of the imagination.  (A brick of Rider Backs has been reported as cheap as about $14 by one of the members here.)  "Relatively cheap" when compared to other custom decks would be a better term, but they are not cheap.  I wouldn't be crying over the loss of such a deck, but I wouldn't be happy about it either.  Of all the ones you listed, Guardians are probably the cheapest - I pay locally about $4+ at a local pharmacy chain store for a pack of Rider Backs, so the Guardians are only a buck more.  (I actually go to a local 24-hour fruit-and-vegetable shop near me for Tally Ho decks at $3 a pop!)

To me, the Tundra is a gimmick - a combination of the unique aspect of the Bicycle Ghost deck slapped onto the Artifice template.  But to a new collector like you, it's probably a fresh new idea.  If you wanted just one Artifice deck, that would work fine, as would any of the three you're considering.

But if you wanted to actually use these cards for something other than magic or cardistry, you're better off with the blue and green decks.  They're meant to be a "poker pair".  The only advantage to getting an Artifice Tundra to match up with one of the two colored decks would be if you wanted to produce a stunning color change, showing a radically different card, back and (if you choose a red card for the trick) front.

I actually got the Bicycle Guardians with the shipping for <$5. I'm using them as poker decks because I don't want my friends to mess with my Arcanes or Sultans. I might also use the Rounders by Madison as a poker deck.

I like the style of Tundra because its back design gives me the option to have a border but no border at the same time, and its Ace of Spades is nice. However, I didn't like the pips on the Tundra and the lack of color on the face cards. So I'm not sure which deck I want to pick. ._.

[Don Boyer]

I actually got the Bicycle Guardians with the shipping for <$5. I'm using them as poker decks because I don't want my friends to mess with my Arcanes or Sultans. I might also use the Rounders by Madison as a poker deck.

I like the style of Tundra because its back design gives me the option to have a border but no border at the same time, and its Ace of Spades is nice. However, I didn't like the pips on the Tundra and the lack of color on the face cards. So I'm not sure which deck I want to pick. ._.

That's a good price on Guardians.  But wouldn't you want a matched pair for poker?  One deck in play while the other's being prepped for the next hand?  Two different-colored designs of the same back, so you can't get them mixed without being colorblind?

Aladdins in bulk make a good poker deck and not too costly.  Stick to the red and blue ones.  Best price I've seen so far was at http://the1eyedjack.com.  So do garden-variety Bicycle Rider Backs in the "Standard" tuck box.  Aviators would also fit the bill, as would US-made or Spanish-made Streamlines - the Chinese ones are crap; you can see through them even in weak light.

Regarding Artifice, it sounds like you don't actually like the Tundra.  This leaves you two black-bordered (a.k.a. "borderless") decks and two white-bordered decks.  The two borderless designs are as different as cheese and peanut butter.  The Purple has a terrible color scheme for the pips - they're purple-&-black and...black-&-purple?  The Black Club deck costs you a membership ($147) for the first deck, $18 each for the second and third, and you can't get more than three.  This leaves blue v2 and green - unless you want to hunt down the (out-of-print) blue v1 borderless and the (out-of-print and rare) red borderless.

[RobotsEatCookies]

Well I was originally going to purchase a Green Artifice Deck, but the company messed up and mailed me a Purple Artifice. I'm not going to return them anytime soon, I quite like them actually.

I just wished Black Borders didn't chip.

Pics coming soon.

[malcomteo]

Althought all artifice are very good looking.However the red artifice stands out as being the first ever limited edition deck by ellusionist!

[Curt]

Althought all artifice are very good looking.However the red artifice stands out as being the first ever limited edition deck by ellusionist!

There were other "rare" decks from ellusionist previous to the red artifice. Black ghost v1 and gold arcane come to mind pretty quickly, both of those were put out to the public in limited amounts.

[Magic_Orthodoxy]

Red and Blue decks will always win out for me over every other color - just since they are the most recognizable and familiar. That said my favorite is Tundra