(Quick summary for those only wishing for the straight facts: I picked up some packs of Bicycle Dragon Back decks at Target today for $2.99 each. This was the first time I have seen them anywhere.)
Hi everyone,
I was out shopping today and ended up at Target. I wasn't expecting anything new or amazing in the card section but figured I'd check it out anyways, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw that they had the (fairly new) Bicycle Dragon Back decks. My hand literally shot out and grabbed one, knocking some other products off their hooks... >_> ... I had seen / heard mixed reviews around the web and wasn't too impressed with the pictures I'd seen, but I figured I'd check out the box artwork at least. I'm very glad I did.
Anyways, the box is extremely beautiful; the pictures I've seen online don't do it justice, but, by all means, if you're not familiar with the deck, look it up. The link above is to the official page, but the picture given is terrible, and the cards look like they're Bridge size (they are, in fact, Poker / Standard size). Run a Google search if you're interested. The color on the card backs isn't quite as vibrant as that on the box (but that's the case with most cards, in my experience), but they still look amazing.
The cards themselves are essentially a standard Bike deck (right down to the face of the Ace of Spades), although there are a few notable differences between the Dragon Backs and standard backs:
1) The red used for the heart and diamond pips is a deeper, darker red than that used on standard Bikes (without doing an actual comparison, I'd estimate the color is similar to that used on certain t11 decks, like Guardians and Centurions);
2) The court cards, in theme with the back artwork, are printed in shades of green and red (and, in my opinion, look great);
3) One Joker is the usual one with the USPCC Guarantee printed on it; the other, though, is colored in - his clothes and crown use greens and reds; and
4) The deck comes with a double backer, which I've never seen in a standard deck I've picked up from the store.
The price? A cool $2.99. For comparison, a pack of Standard Bikes runs about $1.89 at this particular Target. Amazon's price for Dragon Backs is like $8.95, and I've seen them for anywhere from $2.50 to $10 elsewhere online. I picked up two decks; one to test, and one to save in my collection.
I personally love the deck: the artwork is phenomenal and I love the color scheme. I've got 2 or so open Standard decks laying around here that I'm working on breaking in for magic, but as of right now they're on the back burner. If the cards hold up well and I don't get sick of the artwork, I might stock up when they become more widely available. In my opinion, $3 is a little steep (I'm really cheap ), but the purchase was a no-brainer for me from the second I saw them. Very slick, very beautiful, very worth the money. I may post a full review of these after I work with them a bit.
Good luck finding these decks; even if you're not interested, you should check them out if you get a chance.
Hi everyone,
I was out shopping today and ended up at Target. I wasn't expecting anything new or amazing in the card section but figured I'd check it out anyways, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw that they had the (fairly new) Bicycle Dragon Back decks. My hand literally shot out and grabbed one, knocking some other products off their hooks... >_> ... I had seen / heard mixed reviews around the web and wasn't too impressed with the pictures I'd seen, but I figured I'd check out the box artwork at least. I'm very glad I did.
Anyways, the box is extremely beautiful; the pictures I've seen online don't do it justice, but, by all means, if you're not familiar with the deck, look it up. The link above is to the official page, but the picture given is terrible, and the cards look like they're Bridge size (they are, in fact, Poker / Standard size). Run a Google search if you're interested. The color on the card backs isn't quite as vibrant as that on the box (but that's the case with most cards, in my experience), but they still look amazing.
The cards themselves are essentially a standard Bike deck (right down to the face of the Ace of Spades), although there are a few notable differences between the Dragon Backs and standard backs:
1) The red used for the heart and diamond pips is a deeper, darker red than that used on standard Bikes (without doing an actual comparison, I'd estimate the color is similar to that used on certain t11 decks, like Guardians and Centurions);
2) The court cards, in theme with the back artwork, are printed in shades of green and red (and, in my opinion, look great);
3) One Joker is the usual one with the USPCC Guarantee printed on it; the other, though, is colored in - his clothes and crown use greens and reds; and
4) The deck comes with a double backer, which I've never seen in a standard deck I've picked up from the store.
The price? A cool $2.99. For comparison, a pack of Standard Bikes runs about $1.89 at this particular Target. Amazon's price for Dragon Backs is like $8.95, and I've seen them for anywhere from $2.50 to $10 elsewhere online. I picked up two decks; one to test, and one to save in my collection.
I personally love the deck: the artwork is phenomenal and I love the color scheme. I've got 2 or so open Standard decks laying around here that I'm working on breaking in for magic, but as of right now they're on the back burner. If the cards hold up well and I don't get sick of the artwork, I might stock up when they become more widely available. In my opinion, $3 is a little steep (I'm really cheap ), but the purchase was a no-brainer for me from the second I saw them. Very slick, very beautiful, very worth the money. I may post a full review of these after I work with them a bit.
Good luck finding these decks; even if you're not interested, you should check them out if you get a chance.