Posts under ‘Cards’

Monte Cristo Deck by CardMaker – review

Dec 20th, 2010
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I don’t know much about the magic scene in Germany, but they seem to have more specialist card companies than most. I have known of the work of Card-Shark.de for some time, but today we are talking about the latest Monte Cristo Deck from CardMaker.

CardMakerCardMaker is a German company specialising in custom printing on Bicycle stock. Thankfully (for us) their website is also in English. They also sell a number of refills for some common packet tricks, a nice ESP deck, and a number of special decks including the Monte Cristo Deck.

What do you get?
A lovely Bicycle 808 deck gaffed in a very clever way. This is CardMaker’s ‘Series 3’ deck which has been made directly by USPCC and so quality is top notch. Written instructions are available to download (with the password supplied with the deck).

Lest there is any confusion (and I have certainly seen some on the forums) this is the same kind of deck as the Mastermind Deck – it is not a new principle. But it is a very clever one. It means you can freely shuffle and handle the deck and yet have complete control of the card a spectator picks, without any sleight of hand.

The instructions come with a load of ideas to start you off, including a dead-easy Ambitious Card routine and a Koran style prediction effect. Tantalisingly the ACAAN effect has not been translated into English yet, and so is not available in the instructions (as you know it is one of my favourite effects) – but it doesn’t require an enormous amount of thought to work out how you might achieve this.

Nice additions with this particular version of the deck are 2 extra cards. The first is a blank-backed version of the force card, the second is a force card with a large question mark printed on its blank back. Both lend themselves to predictions and more magical revelations of the force card. A nice touch.

What do we think?
I love this deck. For me, magic which is easy to do and powerful in effect is what I am looking for – and with the right presentation this has that. One friend of mine closes his act with this. These cards handle beautifully and I think that the extra cards are a useful addition. So they come highly recommended.

Where can you get them?
CardMaker are doing a special deal for readers of this site. If you quote the code ‘BCCUK2010’ they will give you 25% off the regular price i.e. EURO 24.50 (roughly £21) instead of EURO 32.50 (NB + EURO 4 for p&p). This is only available direct with CardMaker and not via other dealers. You will need to email CardMaker directly to take advantage of this deal.

Otherwise, MagicTao will be stocking them shortly, as will DudeThatsCoolMagic – we will update pricing etc. as soon as it is available.

Bicycle Zodiac and Bicycle Gong Cards

Nov 24th, 2010
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USPCC announced these earlier in the month – so on the one hand this is late news. However, as I am still not aware that they have made it to the UK yet – we are actually still ahead of the game!

They are both ‘Chinese’ themed decks. Here’s the Zodiac case:

Cards Bicycle Zodiac by USPCC - Trick

It features a red and yellow version of the standard rider back and various zodiac elements on the faces – more details when they hit the UK.

Here’s the Gong case:

Cards Bicycle Gong Xi Fa Cai by USPCC - Trick

It was released in celebration of the Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit. Full title – the Gong Xi Fa Cai deck – which I understand translates to ‘Wishing you prosperity’. This new deck features a Metallic Gold Tuck Case, Metallic Gold Rider Back Design with Special Ace’s.

I don’t know how broad the appeal of these decks will be in the UK – but if they make it here we’ll let you know…

Update! I’ve just spotted that Merchant of Magic are listing these – though I imagine they may be ’special order’ – Bicycle Zodiac Deck £4.95
Bicycle Gong Xi Fa Cai £4.95

Update to David Blaine cards – and get them cheap!

Nov 22nd, 2010
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Although in our last post I referred to the new David Blaine range as Bicycle Cards, this is a bit misleading. Though they are printed by USPCC and carry the ‘Bicycle’ brand, they are actually Blaine’s Split Spades back design. See below:
David Blaine Split Spades

The good news is that MA Pro magic are stocking them, and they have just tipped me off that they are running a 10% off everything sale for one week starting this Friday (26th November). But to get the coupon code you will need to sign up their email (or check back here…)

That will make these new David Blaine cards £4.50 a deck, or the rather nice Raider Deck a mere £3.06.

David Blaine and Bicycle Cards go Popular

Nov 17th, 2010
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David Blaine in conjunction with the USPCC has released a range of ‘popular’ magic which includes a Stripper Deck, a Svengali Deck and a Marked Deck. Whilst some magicians get quite het up about these kinds of products, my observation is that they have little overall effect on the public’s attitude to magic generally.

David Blaine Bicycle Deck

Since David Blaine is such an ambiguous figure – especially in the UK (I think he may be rather more popular in the US) it will be interesting to see how these fare and whether they make it into the high street.

Ironically several ‘proper’ UK magic suppliers are stocking them. Alakazam seem to be the cheapest at the moment. And at only £4.99/deck they probably come in cheaper than a USPCC factory prepared equivalent. Might make a great Christmas present for a child wanting to get into magic? But we haven’t looked at a deck in person yet so can’t comment on the quality. Do let us know if you see them first.

Bicycle Karnival Dead Eye – First Impressions

Nov 3rd, 2010
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Although the first 4 Karnival Decks had a clear family resemblance, each recent new incarnation has departed from that. In the summer the Ryujins arrived. And we rather liked them. A much less ‘dark’ feel to the whole project. But with the Dead Eyes we return to the gore – and then some!

Karnival Dead Eyes - Spot Cards

I love the fact that each face has been individually drawn – with unique blood splotches. Everything looks dirty and old (or ‘aged’ and ‘distressed’ in marketing speak!). I particularly like the big bold aces – again splattered with blood.

Karnival Dead Eyes Aces

Karnival Dead Eyes SpreadThe court cards have their eyes blacked out – very cool. And again everything is aged and blood splattered.

Each card also has its value printed on the edge of the card so it is visible in a ribbon spread. I had mixed views on this. The font style used here seems a bit out of keeping with the ‘age’ of the rest of the design. But its quirky – and certainly novel.

Extras include a blank-faced card (the blood’s real subtle here!) and an ‘advertising card’ which includes a 5D reveal in words and pictures on a modified version of the back design. There’s a two of spades barcode reveal on the tuck box and a discrete 10S reveal in the middle of the ‘brain’ on one of the Jokers.

And there are no nasty sticky seals on the packs – and since I’ve never found a neat way of opening sealed packs without a knife that makes me happy!

Karnival Dead Eyes Court Cards

But for me there are two things which hold me back. The back designs (and probably the jokers) are just a little too gory for my taste. Stylised skeletons are one thing – but this is a bit too close to the bone (pun not really intended) for me. That’s a very personal thing – so may not hold you back – but I tell it how I see it on this site.

Karnival Dead Eyes Montage

Also, although the cards handle well, they feel slightly thinner than normal Bicycle stock for me. I still can’t decide if this is psychological or really is the case – on one card you’d barely notice it, but I did some comparisons with a normal rider back deck, and they did feel to be ever so slightly thinner. What impact this would have over longer use I don’t know, but for me they just felt a bit too thin.

There’s definitely a market for these. It’s a shame they officially hit the UK on Nov 15th because it means the Halloween opportunity has been missed. But these are certainly a work of art, probably collectable, and in the right sort of routine or setting they’ll be killers!

Availability
Direct from BBM – £4.99/deck + £1 p&p – reducing for larger orders.

PS for Halloween – Karnival Dead Eyes…

Oct 6th, 2010
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As far as I can tell these won’t be in the UK in time for Halloween this year, but coming soon from BBM is the Karnival Dead Eyes deck. More information as soon as it is available…

Karnival Dead Eyes Deck

UPDATE – release date 15th November…

Cards for Halloween Special – Bicycle Tattoo, Alchemist X and more…

Oct 4th, 2010
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I have recently been sent three new decks which all have a somewhat ‘alternative’ feel so thought it was time to briefly review them and consider the options for any Halloween gigs you might have coming up…

Bicycle Tattoo, Phoenix and Alchemist X decks

So first the new decks. They are limited edition Bicycle decks produced by Diavoli Productions (see below for UK buying options).

The Phoenix deck is a rather elegant gold-backed design – featuring, as its name suggests, a pair of phoenixes. Don’t confuse this with the Phoenix Deck Project which Card-Shark.de are involved with – this is a different, limited edition deck.

The gold colour (or metallic copper as they would have it!) is picked up on the various features of the court cards (see photo for example) and also on the flamboyant winged ace of spades. The joker features a double headed phoenix with the suits on its wings, and a subtle fan effect in the background (also on the ace of spades) which recalls the background of the Karnival Ryujin.

Bicycle Phoenix deck faces

A couple of extra cards are included – a ‘falling 3 of clubs’ and a ‘half and half split card’. I don’t know why these particular cards have been chosen – to me a double back or a blank face or something like that would have been more useful, but there it is. The card case flaps feature a 7C reveal, and the bar code a 3S reveal. Does anyone ever use these? Card stock is usual high quality USPCC ‘Bicycle’ stock and handles extremely well.

Both the Phoenix Deck and the Alchemist X deck have been designed by Stephen Rooks. Whilst I know why he wants to have his name on the box, it slightly smacks to me of ‘magic cards’ – which is never a good thing for the spectator. But then, they probably won’t be handling the box much. However, I notice his name isn’t included on the Tattoo deck which is another of his.

The original Alchemist deck sold out, and I’m sure the new Alchemist X one will too. This time we have a black and gold back design covered in suitably mystical symbols, with a number of subtle one-way features built in. The faces are also black with red and white ink for the suits and additional gold trim on the court cards. Words slightly fail me as I try to describe the joker – so just have a look at the picture. The Ace of Spades is more obviously a skull, but I wonder why the words ‘The Alchemist’ needed to be added to the face? I suppose we do see that on an ordinary Bicycle deck too.

Bicycle Alchemist X deck faces

The extra cards here are a ‘blank’ card – but with a large white ‘fingerprint’ on it, and a double-backer. These seem more useful than those with the Phoenix deck. The tuck-case reveals are 6/9S on the flaps and 6S on the bar code. I wonder why they didn’t chose a different value for the bar code reveal? This one has to be high on the list for a suitable Halloween Deck, and as ever they handle well.

Bicycle Alchemist X deck special cards

I can’t quite decide what I think about the Tattoo deck. The back design includes skulls, flames and a modified ‘Ying/Yang’ design. It definitely sets out to be a bit hard (as its name suggests it is tattoo style imagery), but for me the colours of the cards almost make it childish. Each suit has its own colour – Clubs are blue, Hearts are yellow, Spades are pink and Diamonds are green. The Ace of Spades is colourful and bold whilst the Joker picks up the skull/cross theme.

Bicycle Tattoo deck faces

The extra cards here are a two-way 6/4C and an advertising card for Stephen Rooks. The tuck-case flaps reveal 5C and the bard code 3S. I’m not the target market for this deck by any means, and I know nothing about the world of tattoos. So this might be the best thing since sliced bread if that’s you, but they were my least favourite deck of the trio.

Bicycle Tattoo, Phoenix and Alechemist X decks

Of these three, I reckon the Alchemist X might be the most suitable for Halloween. For a more sophisticated setting the Phoenix might work, and in certain places the Tattoo would be ok.

Bicycle Karnival deck

I would also consider either of the original Karnival Decks (the Karnival or the Karnival Midnight) – the later decks are a bit more ‘gangster’ than Halloween.

Tragic Royalty Bicycle Playing Cards USPCC

There is also the USPCC marketed Tragic Royalty deck (with luminescent ink) which would be great if you had a setting with UV light.

Where and how much?

Magic Nevin have all the Stephen Rooks decks (including the original Alchemist deck) at £6.99. The Karnivals are all available at £4.99 a deck, as is the Tragic Royalty Deck.

Cards 4 Magic have the Phoenix and Alchemist Decks at £6.50 (or miniature versions for £5.50)

MA Pro magic have the cheapest price on Tragic Royalty at only £3.70. They also stock another Halloween alternative, the Alchemy deck at £4.99. Not to be confused with the Alechemist deck, I’ve not seen them in person yet, but they have more of a gothic feel. Here’s a picture:

Bicycle Alchemy Deck

Or, you can always try winning one in our competition…

Have a magical, Bicycle card filled Halloween!

Cheapest Bicycle Raiders

Sep 20th, 2010
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Bicycle RaidersI was just updating our Cheapest Bicycle Card Finder (which deals with regular Bicycle Poker size decks) and I noticed that MA Pro Magic have got a very good price on  Bicycle Raiders. At only £3.10 a deck that is about the cheapest I have seen them in the UK. The Raiders are certainly a very striking design. Check out MA Pro’s full range of Bicycle Cards.

Bicycle Skulls and Mandolins Ahoy…

Aug 21st, 2010
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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).
Bicycle Skull Deck
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?…

Bicycle Karnival Ryujin – First Impressions!

Aug 2nd, 2010
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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!

Bicycle Karnival Ryujin case

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.

Bicycle Karnival Ryujin special cards

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.

Bicycle Karnival Ryujin Spread

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.

Bicycle Karnival Ryujin case

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