I like the idea, but I'm on the fence about this one. With only $5,000 goal, someone must have some deep pockets.
I wouldn't waste my money. This project creator is out to make a deck that's "collectable" (that's the British spelling, even though he appears to be American) from the start. Calling his company "Collectable Playing Cards" is kind of a giveaway.
But the thing it, that itself wouldn't be enough to turn me off. What is enough is how lazy the design work is. His "3 custom courts" will end up repeated for all four suits probably because he couldn't pay an artist to do all of them custom. The "5 of hearts" reveal card has the pips on the card screwed up - one is practically falling off the edge of the card! His "custom pips" aren't very attractive - if I asked a classroom of five-year-olds to draw pips for me, there's a good chance at least some of them will look like the ones on this deck. I guess "haunted" translates to "sloppy" where he's from. The "dirty parchment" background is getting tired by now - does anyone have a more original idea? This isn't even an "old" deck, unless "haunted" also means "old". (Pretty versatile word, that "haunted"...) And his "custom seal" - I am no designer, and I could have made that using a simple paint program, or even MS Word! "Limited Edition 1st Run" - that's a little disingenuous considering it's probably the only run that will see the light of day. I produce Limited Edition 1st Run "products" each time I visit the bathroom - it doesn't make them "collectable".
The one thing I'd like to give him credit for is that the back, while appearing two-way, is actually one-way. But I can't, since I don't think he did that intentionally. If he did, he'd be promoting it as another feature of his deck.
It's a lazy, unimaginative, derivative design not worth the price he's asking.
As far as the goal for his project - it's one of two things. Either he's a fool and didn't work out the exact costs, or he's supporting the project with his own funds. In his video he's wearing a t-shirt for a magic shop - odds are that's his business and he'll use it to sell any left-over decks. Even so, I'm a little wary, since this is his first KS project and he backed none, as he doesn't appear to have been around long enough to have do so. It's JAIMOTMC - Just Another Idiot Out To Make Cash. Those whopper six-figure projects were a blessing and a curse to the community, since they're attracting new "designers" like flies in a honey factory.
My kingdom for more designers who put art and design as higher priorities over making a buck. You make something well and promote the hell out of it, the dollars will come. I guarantee you none of the designers in the "$50,000-plus club" went into their projects knowing that they'd be huge successes, especially not the record breakers.
Side note: I think his project's going to hit a hard brick wall. He's offering quantities of decks as large as a gross in the rewards - that hasn't been allowed for a long time. (In case you're new to this, deck projects can offer not more than a single brick [one dozen] of the object the project was created to make - all other projects are limited to not more than ten such objects. Unless, of course, KS repealed that rule.)
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