Okay, so first off I bought these cards in "Le Bon Marche" in Paris, which is basically a really upscale...um, mall. I bought these about a year ago, 4 decks which cost me about 20 Euros. So they were kind of pricey. Basically they're made by a French company called Grimaud, I suppose, but they're called Kentucky cards. Weird, I know. On the back of the maroon colored box it says "Baptiste Paul Grimaud, Maitre Cartier a Paris depuis 1848." There's also an eagle that resembles the American Eagle clutching the arrows and wreath? Weird. Anyways, to the review:
Finish
These cards have absolutely no finish at all. The sides feel okay, like a deck of bikes after you've smoothed down the edges with use, but the Faces and the backs, wow. They're horrendous. It's like touching plastic. Just..plastic.
2/10
Look
The deck's back design is kind of like, a split between Arrco US Regs and Split Spades with a white border. It's not bad looking, but it's not terribly good looking. It kind of resembles the ceiling at Versailles, or for those of you who don't know what that is--like an old, scroll type of style. Lots of curves and twists and flowery leaves and shapes. Hopefully you get the gist of it. But the weird thing is that the faces of the deck have indexes at all 4 corners! This of course looks horrendous in fans.
6/10
Magic
This deck was okay for magic. I could riffle the sides of the deck decently, so I could do pretty much anything except for a decent Tivo 2.0 or a Cardini Change. For magic you do not need really smooth cards in general. So basically the finish of the deck killed it; they're wayyy too stiff.
7/10
Flourishing
Fans=Disgusting. The finish is very platicky, so it basically fans like a deck of Wynns without powder. So I would not even attempt a fan with this deck. Other than that, the Kentuckys are hindered by the plastic finish; they do not hold together very well. But, the sides of the deck feel of decent quality and thus are good once the deck is a little more broken in and holds together. Displays look pretty good with the back design.
7/10
Overall (not an average)
6/10
Worth a look if you can get your hands on them. Mainly for collecting.
(more weird European deck reviews will follow if requested.)
Finish
These cards have absolutely no finish at all. The sides feel okay, like a deck of bikes after you've smoothed down the edges with use, but the Faces and the backs, wow. They're horrendous. It's like touching plastic. Just..plastic.
2/10
Look
The deck's back design is kind of like, a split between Arrco US Regs and Split Spades with a white border. It's not bad looking, but it's not terribly good looking. It kind of resembles the ceiling at Versailles, or for those of you who don't know what that is--like an old, scroll type of style. Lots of curves and twists and flowery leaves and shapes. Hopefully you get the gist of it. But the weird thing is that the faces of the deck have indexes at all 4 corners! This of course looks horrendous in fans.
6/10
Magic
This deck was okay for magic. I could riffle the sides of the deck decently, so I could do pretty much anything except for a decent Tivo 2.0 or a Cardini Change. For magic you do not need really smooth cards in general. So basically the finish of the deck killed it; they're wayyy too stiff.
7/10
Flourishing
Fans=Disgusting. The finish is very platicky, so it basically fans like a deck of Wynns without powder. So I would not even attempt a fan with this deck. Other than that, the Kentuckys are hindered by the plastic finish; they do not hold together very well. But, the sides of the deck feel of decent quality and thus are good once the deck is a little more broken in and holds together. Displays look pretty good with the back design.
7/10
Overall (not an average)
6/10
Worth a look if you can get your hands on them. Mainly for collecting.
(more weird European deck reviews will follow if requested.)
