The Skull deck is now available in the UK at Cards4Magic for £6/pack (although MagicNevin, Prudhoe and MagicBox were already stocking this so they seem a bit slow of the mark here).
They also have the new 809 Mandolins for £3/pack (although, Alakazam, Magic Shop and Prudhoe all have them at £2.50/pack).
Here at Bicycle-Cards.co.uk we’re still wondering whether these will become the new card of choice, or how the Phoenix deck will do. Any thoughts?…
Although these haven’t officially hit the UK yet (official release date has shifted back a week to 9th August), my man at BBM slipped me a couple of decks to have a look at – what a gent! And I have to say I think they’re gorgeous. Gold and dragons. Nice!
But I’m conflicted.
Let me come clean about a few things. I have had this nagging suspicion with some of the other Karnival decks that they might not appeal to every audience. This is probably a sign that I’m not cool enough – and I guess with any special design like this you are going to find some people who won’t like it. But the dragon design on the Ryujins seems to me a bit more classy and more widely appealing.
On the other hand, the rather tastefully designed new Joker is not going to suit some people. It is elegantly done, and in no sense explicit, but it does feature nudity. So that will put some people off. Although it must be said that most of the magic I do with cards could be done without any Jokers in the pack – so you could always remove them if you were bothered by this.
The ace of spades is very striking with intertwined dragons and the rather classy gold ink used for the back design. You also get the apparently obligatory ‘prediction’ card (‘you will choose the 5 of diamonds’) – which I feel is rather spoiled by the advertising on the back of it. Rather nicer is the 9 of hearts ’spiked’ under the sword of one of the Jokers. There’s also a barcode reveal on the tuck case if you like that kind of thing. A matching blank-faced card is also supplied which is always useful.
The Ryujins are printed on regular USPCC stock and so handle as well as you would expect them to. There does seem to be quite a lot of ‘border’ on the back design, and on my deck these are slightly unbalanced leaving a pronounced ‘one way’ effect. I am not sure if this is intentional or is just a USPCC printing problem – you see it on normal Bicycle Decks from time to time. However, I don’t think a layperson would notice.
Ed note: having checked with BBM – there is a subtle one-way effect in the actual design; the off-centre printing is a bonus!
Bottom line – this is a nice and visually striking deck which handles well. But pick your audience carefully…
BBM are still doing their pre-order deal (buy 3 or more decks and get a free Renegade chucked in) – head over to their pre-order page for more details.
I got a flyer today about the new deck from Diavoli Productions – the Bicycle Tattoo Deck.
They officially launch on 12th August. Here is the tuck case:
This is the latest pack designed by Steve Rooks. They say:
The BICYCLE Tattoo Deck represent a totally new look for a Bicycle Deck, incorporating beautiful tattoo styled imagery and 6 color print. With a brand new, eye catching back design… new Ace Of Spades, new Jokers, new case and bonus cards.
I say: I’ll wait and see what they look like in the flesh. Probably not really my style, but striking nonetheless. Watch this space for more info…
MagicNevin are the exclusive UK stockist of this striking new design from the USPCC. It is a modern twist on an old design, created by artist Brett A. Jones. The colourful backs will provide great displays when fanning, and of course, they are printed on classic Bicycle 808 card stock so handle beautifully.
Whilst you are there, you will discover MagicNevin have a truly impressive range of Bicycle Cards – in addition to all the usual decks, they have the Gold Standard Deck, the White Raider Deck, Rainbow Backs, Red Dragon, Raider, all the Karnival decks, Black Scorpion and Black Spider decks, The Vintage series decks, the Limited Edition Decks, the Pastel Decks, and some ‘fashion’ decks I’ve not seen before – the ‘Bungalow’, ‘Flirtatious’ and ‘Twilight’ (pictured below) decks. Phew!
With a launch date of 9th August, and a tasty pre-order offer (free Karnival Renegade deck with pre-order of 3 or more Ryujin Decks) it is worth a little look at the BBM website.
This is a very different look for the Karnival Deck – more oriental in style and with metallic gold ink. We’ll do a proper review when we get our hands on some. Watch this space… (to make that easier, why not follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook page?)
MagicBox have got a new website, and we noticed they are stocking Green Back Bicycle Cards for only £1/pack. Also – to celebrate their new website, you can use the code “NEWLAUNCH” to get 10% off until Monday.
Two days ago Murphy’s Magic in the US announced a new Bicycle Deck. The Mandolin Deck has new artwork (see below) – but it looks a lot like the Bicycle design at a glance. Murphy’s will be making it their standard design for all products using gaff cards in the future – will this mark the end of Bicycle Cards as we know them?
You can read Murphy’s full announcement here. As usual we will let you know when we see them starting to hit the UK.
It will be interesting to see how this affects the magic world – and also whether the Phoenix Deck becomes more or less significant as a result. Watch this space…
Update – 16/8/10 – now available at MagicShop.co.uk for £2.50 – Bicycle Mandolin Deck (they also stock Invisible Decks and Stripper Decks in Mandolin backs).
The Raiders are available in Black or White, and for my money have a little bit of the look of the Karnival Deck. I’ve not handled a pack so can’t comment on their performance.
Both now in stock at Card Collection but the Raiders are cheaper at MagicTao (only £3.99).
Here are two new Bicycle Decks now in the UK with the folk at TheCardCollection.
The Bicycle Dragon Deck is a bit like the old Red Deck, but using high contrast yellow. The Bicycle Rainbow Deck has an attractive back which would make for some pretty fans. It also comes with 52-on one card and a matching blank faced card.
Bicycle Cards are produced by the United States Playing Card Company.
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