Backtracking

[Anthony]

So with any new hobby/collection your point of reference is when you begin, I'm noticing, just like anything else, there are these so called "Must Have" decks out there that people mention. Now I'm not one who has to have everything, or willing to pay anything, but I am one who likes to at least know what those must haves are just in case a deal of a lifetime drops in my lap or I see one on some random retailers shelf. This is part of my research, I hate just buying for the sake of buying.

I know there are a lot of decks and I know its largely based on ones personal preference, but I was wondering if you all could tell me what YOUR favorite/must haves from the past, lets say, 5 years, what would they be? Not a top 10 or anything long and drawn out, but tell me what your top 3 of the last 5 years would be. I'll use the stranded on a desert island analogy...if you were stranded and could ONLY take 3 decks with you, which ones would they be?

I do appreciate the information and being around here for just a short time I've been introduced to some amazing decks that I probably would have never come across on my own, I'm trying not to be THAT new guy asking "What should I buy", just trying to see what WAS out there in the recent past that might be of interest.

There is a method to my madness and I hope I'm not recycling information that was already discussed...I did check as best I could 

[kdklown]

Ok, I'll give you 2 different top 3 lists and here's why.  I don't open the vast majority of my decks.  They stay sealed on display.  For this reason Most of what drives my interest in a deck is the tuck design.  I do look at the cards online and open some stuff I have duplicates of for the purposes of practicing or performing magic. 

Tuck Design top 3 in no particular order...
Monarchs
Royal Optik (either color)
Federal 52 series (Preferably Unbranded, I don't have these yet but I don't need to to realize the magnificence)
***There is a good chance the Decos from Encarded will bump the Monarchs off this list when I receive them.

Cards Design top 3 in no particular order...
Curator
Ultimate deck
Fed 52 (see above)

This list is obviously fluid, could be different this evening or if I walked into my poker room and looked at my displays!   

[Joker and the Thief]

I tend to use my cards rather than have them on display. My collection is more of a stockpile.

So in terms of handling my top 3 would have to be:

Monarchs
Smoke and Mirrors V6
Tally - Ho

There are many other decks that I love handling wise but these would have to be my go to decks.

[crazyfandecks]

Tally ho circle back, virtuoso & dealers Madison. Fit for flourish and magic lol

[xela]

Let's back track to the decks that really started it all, the decks that were the bee's knees when they were released/discovered:

- Ellusionist Black Ghost v1
- Ellusionist White Ghost v1
- Ellusionist Shadow Masters
- Ellusionist Arcanes
- Theory11 Sentinels
- Theory11 DeckOne v1
- D&D SMv1-6
- Absolut Vodka
- Fournier 605
- Virginia Slims
- Brown/Red/Blue Wynns
- Tally Ho Split Spades
- RJRTC "Watermelon" Bees
- Massas
- Jerry's Nuggets
- Erdnase EATC Bees v1
- Masters Rider Backs
- Vortex Deck (Seriously this is the greatest deck ever, whoever made this deck is easily the most brilliant person in the world, no seriously I love that guy)

With the exception of maybe the last one, I believe all these decks are must-haves for any collector.

[Rob Wright]

For me there is no must haves. I'm not going to pay a fortune for a deck, just to say I have it. I just buy the decks I like. I don't use cards for magic or cardistry, so the handling is not a big deal. I can play a hand of poker with a $1 crap deck just as easy as I can with a $6 custom deck.

[Don Boyer]

Best decks I've owned - they're utterly as non-custom as it gets.  The three "desert island" decks.

1. Gold Seal Bicycle Rider Backs by Richard Turner.  Standard Rider Backs made on Bee stock and traditionally cut.

2. Bee Diamond Backs - but not any Bee deck; I'm talking about the casino sample decks I got from Bill Schildman at USPC.  These are on the thicker casino stock and also traditionally cut.

3. Tally-Ho.  At one time in history, I would have said only the Circle Backs, but ever since I discovered the one-way mark on them, I've stuck with Fan Backs.

And they would all have to be blue.  I prefer blue decks over red!

Between the three of these decks, they'd probably last long enough for me to get rescued, as long as I took care to keep them from getting wet.

BUT...

If the situation was genuinely more a case of survival...more like "Cast Away" than "Fantasy Island"...

I'd settle for two decks - the red and blue Bicycle Prestige decks, in the original plastic cases.  I can get those as wet as I want and they'll still hold up.  Not much use for cardistry, but I'm not much of a cardist, so that works out in the end...  As long as I didn't throw them or slam them, they'd last possibly longer than I would.

[jmrock]

I can say that the following, in no particular order, are some of my favorites and I consider extremely important parts of my modern collection:
1. OriginalFake
2. New Fan Back
3. BAPE 1st Edition
4. Black Tiger
5. Monarchs
6. Bee Coterie
7. Federal 52
8. S&M V.1
9. Seasons
10. Cupid Back Test Decks

[Don Boyer]

I can say that the following, in no particular order, are some of my favorites and I consider extremely important parts of my modern collection:
1. OriginalFake
2. New Fan Back
3. BAPE 1st Edition
4. Black Tiger
5. Monarchs
6. Bee Coterie
7. Federal 52
8. S&M V.1
9. Seasons
10. Cupid Back Test Decks

Well, are their any differentiations in there?  For example, there's been at least three New Fan Back reprints in the past handful of years that I'm aware of - did you have a preference?  Same goes for Black Tiger, Monarchs, Federal 52, S&M v1 and Seasons, in terms of printings or color/design differences.  For Federal 52 alone there's TEN different decks in the mix - some are only different for the box design, but they still are different.

[atsquare]

I, like many others, believe there is no "must-have" deck. I simply purchase decks based on its design.

In no particular order, my top three would include:
1. Magic-Con v2
2. Smoke and Mirrors v5
3. Red Artifice

[Joker and the Thief]

One deck that I've always liked is the David Blaine Split Spades Lions. Love me some of them.