In this episode we ring in the new year by counting down my Top Ten decks of 2018, make
a very special announcement, give you the heads up on a mega giveaway, announce the
winner of the Bicycle Monster deck and more coming up next!
[Music]
About a year ago I walked into the bedroom of our apartment to tell Lady Wake about my
latest and greatest idea.
I was going to start a youtube channel and review a different deck of cards a week.
52 cards in a deck.
52 decks in 52 weeks.
It all made perfect sense!
I still remember the puzzled look on her face when she turned to me and skeptically said
“They make so many card decks?”
Ah how far we’ve come.
There may be 52 brick boxes in the closet by now and there’s seemingly no end in sight!
That’s because, thankfully, the playing card community has embraced this channel and
in 2019 we hope to continue to bring you the very best in content aimed at the playing
cards enthusiast; whether you’re a cardist or a magician, a poker player or a collector,
we hope you’ll find the added value you’re looking for--enough to like subscribe and
hit that notification bell if you please.
This video is just about the 52nd video I’ve posted.
Granted not all of them are deck reviews, but seeing as how it coincides with the end
of the year what better time to bring you a list of my top ten favorite decks of 2018.
Be sure to stay all the way to end for a couple of huge announcements!
Let’s kick things off with number 10.
The first deck on my list is one of the first decks I reviewed on his channel, way back
at the end of February, the Dead Man’s Deck by Vanishing Inc.
Looking back on that review I notice three glaring things… one how much our presentation
has evolved, two how embarrassing my cardistry skills are and frankly continue to be, and
finally what a great deck this was.
Vintage inspired and well thought out, the Dead Man’s deck celebrates the lore behind
one of the most revered figures of the American West; Wild Bill Hickok.
My two favorite aspects of the deck are, of course, the bullet hole through the deck and
the fantastic attention to detail with the individualized scorch burns and blood smears
from card to card.
To cap it off there’s even a round lead ball rolling around in the hole!
Number 9 is the Luna Moon deck by Bocopo Playing Cards.
This deck, featuring an amazing tuck case design with a fanning mechanism, was a huge
success on kickstarter and spawned a couple of subsequent reworked and recolored releases;
the Helius Sun and Ester Star decks.
My favorite however remains the Luna Moon version, the only edition of the three to
feature additional artistic flourishes, designed specifically for cardistry, on the cards themselves.
Making a deck (and box) that earns the phrase; ‘made for fanning’.
Number 8 is the National Playing Card Collection Day 2018 blue gilded deck.
I’m planning a more in depth review for these cards in early 2019 but for now I’ll
touch on the best aspects.
For one thing the tuck box design, by Alex Chin and Seasons Playing Cards, is brilliant
and features a either red or blue color tinted see-through window designed to filter out
the opposing color and change the design depending on which color the art is perceived through.
The deck is an homage to chess and prominently features chess pieces on the jokers.
Available in 6 different color tuck cases, my favorite is a blue gilded edition with
white and silver tuck case.
All 6 decks were limited to runs of 500 each.
Number 7; the Tally-Ho Olive Limited Edition by Kings Wild Project.
Didn’t take long for designer Jackson Robinson to find a design of his notched among my top
ten and spoiler alert… it won’t be the only time he appears on this list.
The Olive Tally-Ho deck is the quintessential players deck.
Easy to read.
Amazing Handling.
Enough luxury to make the deck the talk of game night.
My favorite aspects include a fantastic foil embossed tuck and court cards that should
be hanging in a museum.
Number 6.
The Cobra deck by Jp Games LTD.
This deck was the first deck I owned that featured Cartamundi’s impressive and industry
altering B9 True Linen Finish and it did not disappoint.
A premium feeling deck, featuring a cool serpent-themed design by Rick Davidson.
With standard courts perfect for magic and gameplay, the Cobra deck achieves more with
less.
The stock is smooth and a joy to handle.
Even the tuck is perfectly minimalistic.
I reached out to Jp games sometime after the deck’s initial release and was disappointed,
however, to discover that the were no plans to continue the ‘animal’ theme any further
which is a real shame.
Let me take a moment to once again thank all of the Patrons of this channel for their generous
contributions this 2018.
If you are interested in adding your name to the list of producers seen here please
visit wake.video/patreon.
Your support can help us improve the quality and frequency of our content.
We would love nothing more than to make content full time for you and that’s what this patreon
is hopefully helping to create.
Ultimately if you’re able to support us It would be a big help, but either way, don’t
worry, we’re committed to giving you the same great content--with all the value you’ve
come to expect.
Moving on, into the Top Five!
The next deck on my list is another deck getting a full-featured review in 2019 but for now
it’s worth showing you my favorite aspects.
Number 5 is the Outlaw deck by Kings and Crooks.
Designed by Lee McKenzie, the Outlaw deck features a fantastically embossed tuck case
regardless of black or red version.
My favorite is the classic black.
The biker motiff offers a great riff on the standard Bicycle playing cards.
The back design is fantastic.
The courts are fun and well thought out and the jokers features a badass king riding his
bike The deck is USPCC printed and handles great.
Number 4 is the Maduro Gold Edition Playing Cards by Kings Wild Project.
Winner of the top spot of my top ten tuck cases video, this cigar-box inspired, magnetically
clasped, case is a masterclass in design.
Add to that the tobacco brown inner tuck case with gold foil cigar band and you’ve got
a brilliantly executed motif.
The cards feature brown tobacco leaf coloration and the court cards offer many details consistent
with the deck theme while still remaining true to the design of Jackson Robinson’s
original court cards.
My only qualm?
The Expert Playing Card Co., printers of this deck, often don’t produce the best handling
decks.
Number 3; The Arabesque deck by Oath Playing Cards.
Another deck which only suffers in the handling category, the extremely limited Arabesque
deck is one of the most beautiful examples of playing card design not just this year,
but ever.
The gold foil embossed tuck case is stunningly shiny.
The cards don’t fall too behind in this category either, featuring not one but two
color foil stampings, which are in perfect registration with the deck’s gorgeous full
color arabian inspired artwork.
The spot cards feature pips printed on wonderful metallic ink fields and the court cards are
amazing arabesque interpretations of standard courts.
Number 2 on my list?
The Kings Wild Tigers LTD deck.
The third, and final appearance of designer Jackson Robinson on this year’s top ten
decks, but certainly not his least.
The matchbox inspired tuck case is probably one of the best design choices of the year.
The cards themselves are USPCC printed and handle amazing.
They feature wonderful distressed art work consistent with the look of the 19th century
ephemera Jackson was going for.
Some of my favorite court cards of the year are part of this release; colorful faro style
one-way regal tigers.
Incidentally Jackson’s consistently great and prolific output this year wins him my
Designer of the Year 2018 award, despite not ultimately winning the top spot in this particular
deck of the year category.
But guess who does have a chance to win?
You do!
I’m going to give you a chance to win a brand new sealed Tigers LTD Deck.
One of only 1000.
Here’s what you have to do…
1.
Like this video.
2.
Be a subscriber to this channel and 3.
Comment below and let me know if I introduced you to a new deck or designer this year and
if so, who or what was it?
Congrats to Justin Fincher!
Winner of the Bicycle Monster Deck.
Contact me via instagram to claim your prize Justin.
Ok, time for number 1 and stay tuned for an exciting announcement after!
My top deck of 2018 is the House of the Rising Spade Gatekeeper deck from Stockholm17.
This deck has it all.
Quite possibly an almost perfect combination of design, artwork, execution, stock, finish
and packaging.
The only drawback?
Perhaps that the tarot-style indexless deck isn’t really well suited to gameplay.
But it’s a small price to pay for such a gorgeous deck.
The tuck box is premium matte cardstock with brilliant silver foil.
There’s a die cut opening that reveals an amazing miniature resin gate.
The card backs are fantastic, and really excels at putting Cartamundi’s cold foil process
on full display.
Despite the gorgeous box and card backs, the faces of the cards is really the most beautiful
element in the deck for me.
Cohesive and well thought-out, the hand-painted style art hints to a deeper lore and really
awakens the imagination.The gold foil borders make them feel luxurious and expensive.
Yet the B9 true linen finish and stock ensures the deck handles effortlessly.
The best deck ever designed by designer Lorenzo Gaggiotti.
I was so impressed by the House of the Rising Spade Faro Variant prototype when I previewed
that deck early last year that when the time came to think about collaborating myself with
an artist I decided to reach out to Lorenzo…
What might we be collaborating on?
Well, remember that big news I was going to announce?
Well, here it is…
This is The Parlour.
The first Gentleman Wake branded deck of playing cards and it’s designed by Stockholm17.
What you’re looking at here is a very early prototype and it’s subject to change of
course, but we’re both really excited and in the coming weeks we’ll be sharing much
more information, including insight into the design and info about the launch of kickstarter
campaign for the Parlour.
It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to create a deck with the TGW brand and I’m
humbled and excited that it’s finally happening and in collaboration with artist I greatly
admire and respect!
Amazing.
Let me know if you guys are excited too!
Ok, back on topic…
Some of you might not have agreed with some of my earlier top deck choices, that’s cool
too, in fact head on over to UnitedCardists.com and take part in their Deck of the Year awards
and let the world know how you would rank them!
And the best part?
They currently have 16 different prizes up for grabs just for voting!
Vote on everything from best card backs to best decks for cardistry, magic and more.
Voting is opening up in January and runs for a month.
Click on the link in the description.
It’s pretty easy to register and take part in a great community--oh and did I mention
PRIZES?
As always, it’s been my pleasure to share with you, i’m looking forward to a fantastic
2019 making content and I hope to have you along for the ride so be sure to click here
if you haven’t subbed already.
To check out another video click here.
I’ve been the Gentleman Wake…ready?
3.
2.
1... happy new year!!!