It's Monday and you know what that means... Monday Mail Call!
Each Monday (give or take), I use this feature to highlight a few of the things that have made their way in over the past week or so. Packages, purchases, and emails -- oh my!
For full transparency, it's actually Sunday right now while I'm writing this. I have a fresh cup of coffee next to me and a pile of decks on my desk. There's normally a pile of decks there, but this pile is the haul that came in this past week! I don't remember the exact order they arrived so I'm going to give them to you in an arbitrary order, based on how they're stacked on my desk.
Up first, the 1ST Holo Gilded deck by 1ST Playing Cards! When Chris Ramsay announced this one was coming out, I thought to myself "oh nice, not for me though thanks." And so when it came out, I jumped on it in the first few minutes and copped one. Ugh.
I'm not a big fan of gilded decks. They look nice and shiny, sure. But where's the practicality of them? I'm not a collector, per say, and I want to use all my decks. Gilded decks just don't handle well, and you should see the faces you get from other magicians when you try to do a faro with one!
That all aside, the 1ST Holo deck's gilding is silver and really matches the vibe of the deck. It handles unbelievably well too -- right out of the box! Given the light color of the edging, it's kind of hard to tell it's gilded unless the deck's square too. For $30 a deck, I'm not lying when I say that I have buyer's remorse. But hey, it comes with the territory, right?
Speaking of the feelings you get as a purveyor of playing cards, I received April's mystery deck from Ellusionist. What did I get when I opened the box? Republic No. 3, Lost Angelus Edition playing cards! The deck is the brain-child between Ellusionist and Jeremy Griffith (aka, @lost_angelus) and it features a green patterned borderless back.
I'm not a huge fan of borderless decks, their busy designs often hurt my eyes. This deck, however, I wanted. I looked for it last year in a few places, but I only found aftermarket sellers trying to get $50+ for it. I didn't want it that bad. When it showed up as the mystery deck that I paid only $10 for though, I was quite happy. Ellusionist just made a mystery-deck subscriber out of me for sure!
Next up, two subscription decks from Kings Wild Project. We have this month's Table Players, and would you look at that, The Iliad has made its appearance!
The two arrived together and are starkly different in every detail. This month's Table Players is in a bright, bright yellow tuck. Not quite neon, but brighter than a banana. The Iliad is in an intricately designed tuck. I actually get Latin American vibes from the tuck design itself but the name throws me to Greek origins, so we'll see what it holds inside.
Last up, and this deck actually came in yesterday, is the latest from Organic Playing Cards -- the Far-Os deck! It's chock-full-o' whole grain and gluten-free playing cards. I don't know why, but I really love the tuck designs that mimic food packaging. It's a bad habit, but I'm pretty sure I'd buy any of them that I see. I'm really glad that OPC went with a "plain" cereal design and not one of the crazier and more colorful ones too. Using a Cheerio style cereal let them really not over-power the design itself.
The only problem with decks from OPC is that being on Instagram all the time, I am blasted with their decks appearing left and right. Especially when a new one's coming out. When I first saw this one announced, I had a great photo idea of putting them in a real bowl of cereal -- I'm sure I wasn't the only one. And then, sure enough, photos started coming out with the cards in bowls! And this was before people even received theirs.
OPC, sponsor me! =P
Oh wait, there was one more item that landed in my inbox this week. Today, no less! The Hermit's May 2022 issue! I've downloaded it and scrolled through, but I haven't really looked at much. I like the cover design and layout of it (as I've said before), and with names like Giacomo Bertini, Mystic Slybaba, and Jay Sankey (to name only a few) I'm certain there's good stuff in this issue.
Unfortunately, I don't have time today to read it but I will throughout the week. After I've given it a good run-through, I'll be sure to highlight my thoughts so if you're curious, keep an eye out.
Well, I have to go organize a bunch of decks now. Seriously though, 5 new decks in one week. Who has time for all of this?!
Stay tuned for the next iteration of Monday Mail Call, there's a lot more to come!
Oh also, if you'd like to offer suggestions for books, tricks, decks or if you have questions about magic (performing, routines, sleights, etc.), just reach out here.