It appears (like so much else) the quality has been reduced while the price remains the same to increase the profit margin.
Hey George,
Thanks for reaching out! The only thing we changed between the Green and Red decks was the paper that was used to make the tuck case. Everything else is identical. In fact, the faces of your Green and Red Monarch decks may have even been printed as a part of the exact same print run! Otherwise, identical card stocks, finish, foils, inks, embossing, etc were all used by the same manufacturers. There was no reduction in quality. The NYSM2 decks were never printed in the same print run, however they also used all of the same materials and reflected the same quality.
All of the Monarchs decks use unique papers for their tuck cases. Some are really different, but they all offer their own unique feel and texture. The green deck happens to use a very unique, heavy duty paper. We specifically created this paper (it did not exist before!) in order to get the rich, deep, dark green color you see today. The feel of that paper is quite different from our other Monarch decks, but does not reflect any drop in quality.
If you have a deck that you feel was of lower quality, let our support team know at theory11.com/support/ with the details. If you received a defective deck we can take care of that for you. We value quality above all else, especially in our Monarch line of playing cards.
Have an awesome week!
// L