Kudos to Robert though. His online following is nothing to scoff at, and they love his work.
I'm betting that it's his online following that's making this deck the success that it is.
Honestly, it's not like I think the deck is so terrible. But it's expensive, and for something like a pack of playing cards, minimalist designs can suck some of the fun out of the game. Where's the man with the axe, the bedpost Queen, the one-eyed Jacks? Where's the interesting pip patterns? It's too sterile for my tastes.
I agree that the tuck looks nice but it's not compelling enough for me to spend $19 on a single deck. Honestly, I don't like minimal designs and I hope this trend will soon end. Not a single one of these minimalist designs have appealed to me, but I guess that's no surprise, since I tend to lean towards decks full of detail and/or color.
I can't blame you for that. BTW, I really like the new avatar photo - looks great!
OK, I finally have to chime in here. First of all, I like this deck - just to be clear. If that makes me an idiot, so be it.
Before anybody else jumps on the laziness bandwagon, go and read the text on Kickstarter about his design process. You'll see all the designs he tried and discarded. It's interesting.......he says he was incredibly nervous about going with this design.
It's fine and certainly understandable if you don't like it. But it's not the result of laziness. Craziness, maybe yes a little. I don't mind that 
I don't care how terrible a deck is in my opinion - if you think it's something worth having, that does NOT make you an idiot or anything of the sort. You're entitled to your opinions and tastes just as much as I am, and not every design will appeal to every person. That I would defend with my dying breath. Just because you differ from the consensus around here, that doesn't make your opinion invalid in any way. It's important in a truly free society for people to be able to express contrary opinions freely and fearlessly, for to do otherwise would be the path to cultural stagnation and the end of intellectual growth. So please, be as contrary as you like and know that we still count you as a member in good standing!
You make a valid point about the behind-the-scenes work - yes, there was some degree of effort that went into the thought processes behind this deck.
I think what bothers so many of the collectors here is that we're so used to seeing beautiful designs the type of which we could never have imagined. Color, style, flair, etc. This is playing cards stripped down to the bones. In fact, I actually saw a Chinese deck once of the same general design - indices only, totally pipless and courtless. I think that one, however, was done on a background color that would match common cardboard boxes. There was absolutely no fanfare around that deck, while this one's attracting a parade. Eh, such is life, I suppose.
