In this episode we take a look at one of my favorite decks of 2018 in more detail, give
you a chance to win both variants of that deck and announce the winner of the IZO Playing
Cards.
All that coming up next.
[MUSIC]
One of the things that makes collecting playing cards so cool is the wide variety of themes they explore.
There are decks that satisfy function over form; those built specifically for magic or
cardistry for instance.
There are decks that emphasize form over function; luxury decks built for collectors to proudly
display.
And then there are decks that are expressly created to explore a given theme to its fullest
and most satisfying end.
The deck I’m reviewing today is one of those;
the Outlaw Deck from Kings and Crooks
A exceptional exploration of the biker culture with clever iteration worthy of being called
a great riff.
Excuse the pun.
Welcome back, I’m the Gentleman Wake and you’re watching the go-to channel for playing
cards content.
If you are new here we hope this great episode will compel you to like, subscribe and hit
that notification bell so you’ll be alerted every time we post a new video.
Stay tuned to the end of the video for a chance to win a pair of Outlaw decks from me.
Let’s get into it.
These are the Outlaw decks from Australian designer Lee McKenzie and the Kings and Crooks
playing card company.
Originally a Kickstarter project launched in early 2018, the campaign opened with only
the standard black and white deck.
Soon thereafter stretch goals added the red backed, Hellriders edition.
More on that one a bit later.
The original Outlaw deck comes in an attractive silver metallic ink embossed tuck case printed
on high quality black matte cardstock.
The design is fantastic and features artwork made to mimic the motorclub style patches
traditionally found on biker jackets.
The central figure is a modern riff on the pirate-flag mainstay: the traditional jolly
roger skull-n-bones..
It’s a bearded skull with a lightning bolt shaped crack in the dome of the skull.
He’s also wearing a necklace made from the links of a thick motorcycle chain.
The biker club’s motto reads LIVE and RIDE which is as simple and evocative as it gets.
The tuck also announces that it’s custom built.
The sides and bottom of the tuck box reiterate the designer, producer and that deck was printed
in the USA.
Printing was of course handled by the United States Playing Card Co.
The back of the tuck case is a near accurate representation of the card backs.
More on the differences later.
The tuck flap is held closed by a custom black and silver foil seal.
Opening the deck reveals a very cool and convincing tire tread pattern printed on the inside.
The back design is of course a well-thought out continuation of the motiff.
There are more thunderclap skull heads this time with wrenches crossed behind them instead
of bones.
There’s a front facing silhouette of a motor engine, the deck’s name and another ring
of of motor chains.
The deck includes some copy that actually makes the back design one way.
Reading Live Free in one orientation and Ride Hard in the other.
The sides also include some spade pip-like forms with a skeletal hand and more one-way
copy; the words Rise and Defy.
The Outlaw decks were successfully funded via kickstarter in January of 2018 with the
decks finally arriving in the hands of backers in late November/early December, although
they had originally been slated for a May fulfillment.
The long delay had to do with several issues including USPCC delays out of McKenzie’s
control.
One other interesting reason adding to the delay was a bit of controversy surrounding
artwork that the USPCC deemed to be ‘objectionable or offensive.’
Specifically the inclusion of a bird.
Not the avian kind if you catch my meaning.
The original Joker card had the Biker King flipping off an unseen spectator as he revved
his chopper away.
Additionally the original back design of the cards was altered as well.
The tuck box--which was printed by San Diego based Clove St. Press and therefore not subject
to censorship--includes the original unaltered design, which shows a couple of skeletal hands
with extended middle fingers.
Designer Lee McKenzie recovered from the censorship set back well enough, offering his backers
some options to vote on and eventually replacing the gesture in question with a closed fist
swinging a chain ghost-rider style.
Just to be sure fans and backers of the deck still got to witness the orignal Biker King
in his full bird-flipping glory, McKenzie included a large die-cut sticker of the unaltered
artwork with qualifying orders.
Aside from the two identical jokers, which of course pay homage to the standard jokers
found in traditional Bicycle Riderback decks, the deck also includes a kings and crooks
ad card.
The ad card depicts a grungy image of red vertical stripes reminiscent of the american
flag layered over a black and white picture of a biker gang rumbling down a desert road.
The copy reads ‘when Freedom is outlawed, only Outlaws will be free.’
Also included is a doublebacker.
These cards are completely custom.
The chunky pips and font indices continue the rough and gritty treatment of the deck
and include small dust-like grime and imperfections within them to further sell the rough aesthetic.
The ace of spades once again features the biker patch design seen on the box.
It’s one of my favorite Ace of Spades in recent memory--AND worthy of a spot on a top
ten ace list.
Let me know in a comment below if you’d like to see a video covering that.
The court cards however are my absolute favorite aspect of the deck.
Rough and tumble biker gang versions of the bicycle standard courts we have all grown
accustomed too.
Swords are replaced with machetes and bowie knives.
Staffs removed in favor or sickles and spiked baseball bats.
Some of my absolute favorite choices include the wilting rose on the queen of hearts, the
queen of clubs signing the devil horns with her hand, the jack of spades sparking a cigar
and my favorite, a reinterpretation of the suicide king, the King of Hearts might actually
be threatening to pull the trigger.
I love the red bandana and tattoo forearm details.
The hellrider edition of the deck includes most of the original artwork with some very
notably changes.
The tuck box is embossed black ink on premium cardstock.
The backgound has been treated to appear weathered and worn.
The back of the box includes the back design in red a promise of the contents.
The inside features an american flag pattern instead of the tread.
The deck itself has a soft red to crimson gradient on the back design and once again
features heavy yellowing and grunge effects that give the deck a worn look.
Every card in the deck includes a different weathering and staining pattern which I typically
like, but I must say that the overall effect is a bit too pronounced in my opinion.
I think it could have been 30 to 40% less weathering and still just as effective.
As it is they give more of a western vibe, anachronistic to the biker motiff, than a
vintage feel.
The jokers are a bit different, they swap out the chain wielding king for a skull faced
rider flashing devil horns.
The ad cards are included here as well except the ad card promotes a web link that hints
to a secret functionality of the Hellrider deck; a marking system.
The kickstarter campaign originally claimed the markings were hard to decipher yet easy
to read once the secret was uncovered--claiming that they were easily seen from dealing distance.
However I found the markings to be a little labor intensive.
Especially to anyone with less than stellar vision.
Like myself.
I’m also not a huge fan of the placement of the markings.
There’s another issue as well, the deck is so weathered and so highly customized that
I have to question the usefulness of having a marking system on it at all--spectators
might grow suspicious of such a departure from standard cards.
The deck are printed by the USPCC and thusly handle great and as expected.
They are traditionally cut although they can be faro’ed from both sides.
The higher contrast black back with white poker border is especially eye-catching and
the standard edition is one of my favorite decks of 2018.
All in all a great deck for players and collectors and fans of the open road.
There was also a pretty cool dealer coin that I added to my collection.
In fact let me know in a comment if you guys are interested in seeing my dealer coin and
cardguard collection.
Both Outlaw decks are still available at Kingsandcrooks.com but if you want a chance to win a set of both
the standard and hellrider editions of the Outlaw Deck 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 what motif or theme you’d like to see explored on a deck
of cards.
Also a big thanks to Lee McKenzie and KingandCrooks for sending me these decks to give away to
you.
Congrats to Elijah Myers on winning the IZO playing cards, contact me Elijah to claim
your prize.
A warm thanks to all of my Patrons for their gracious contributions and a warm thanks to
you for watching!
I’ve been the Gentleman Wake, to see another deck with a theme I love click here, and don’t
forget to click here to subscribe if you haven’t already.
See you next time!