Theory 11 or Ellusionist?

Dec 13, 2018
15
4
What the title says. When it comes to getting magic online which is better? Also if you could explain your choice that would be good.
 

zombieripper

Elite Member
Dec 7, 2013
36
40
Theory11. Theory11 - USPCC printed cards, Jason England, wide selection of videos, forums, Saturday Night Contests, the archive/elite program. Ellusionist - Watch Daniel Madison try. Cartamundi stock isn't up to par. Gimmicky products, horrible marketing ploys. Examples: Buy a flask no one wants, to get a discount on a $25 deck of cards that should be about $4, which is a Fontaine ripoff, or more recently, "We won't show you these cards, but buy them anyway!" Basically style over substance. To be fair, they have some nice card designs. Talons are particularly nice. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't kill anyone at Theory11 to step out of their comfort zone and design cards with a little more variety!
 
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Jan 24, 2018
10
4
Theory11- quality products, they have great customer support, contests, great community
Ellusionist- we want the money, cheap quality, some decks are good
 

DominusDolorum

Elite Member
Jul 15, 2013
893
1,114
31
Canada
I order from Theory 11 and Ellusionist and I have to say, I love them both. I have never received a cheap product from either of them; if I happened to have an issue with something, the customer support for both companies were understanding and accommodating.

Cards and stock will always depend on the individual. I never thought I would use any stock other than USPC but The Red Keepers changed my mind completely. Style and art of the deck is completely subjective. I personally love the look of most Theory 11 cards; they're works of art just sitting on your shelf.

They each offer great tricks and cards alike; it's up to you where you want to spend your money. Do your research, and decide what you want before you buy.

Let's keep this conversation respectful. We are all one community.
 

zak.jezequel

Elite Member
May 6, 2016
11
8
31
Kennesaw, Georgia
I have purchased numerous effects and decks from both providers --- personally, while Ellusionist is solid and without question provides great products, I like T11 more for tricks/effects because I've found that T11 provides higher quality designs and applications to their routines as a whole. E does have great decks, however, and I am currently using one of theirs for performing. This is not to take away from the obviously beautiful T11 decks, just worth noting. Where E has T11 beat is overall product releases (at least from my perspective), simply meaning they release more content (decks/effects) more often. This, in reality, does not matter though because it is not as if every effect/deck published by one or the other is purchased by everyone. I definitely second Dominus --- "do your research and decide what you want before you buy"
 

CWhite

Elite Member
Jul 22, 2016
769
962
I like them both. As with everything in life, there are negatives and positives.
Both have and are doing great things in the magic community.

However, I find it odd you'd pit Theory11 and Ellusionist against each other on a Theory11 forum.
 
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JPS

Dec 21, 2016
75
43
Every product I've bought from T11 has always been about what I expect and a good use of money. I've been disappointed by Ellusionist multiple times.

That isn't to say ellusionist is a bad site, their older tricks (Especially stuff put out but Justin Miller) and gimmicks are stilled used by me today. I think Theory11 has a way larger focus on quality control, and for the most part has better creators.
 

Dtop

Elite Member
Jan 13, 2019
285
219
I buy don’t buy tricks from either. I usually go with the tricks from Murphy’s magic
 

zombieripper

Elite Member
Dec 7, 2013
36
40
I order from Theory 11 and Ellusionist and I have to say, I love them both. I have never received a cheap product from either of them; if I happened to have an issue with something, the customer support for both companies were understanding and accommodating.

Cards and stock will always depend on the individual. I never thought I would use any stock other than USPC but The Red Keepers changed my mind completely. Style and art of the deck is completely subjective. I personally love the look of most Theory 11 cards; they're works of art just sitting on your shelf.

They each offer great tricks and cards alike; it's up to you where you want to spend your money. Do your research, and decide what you want before you buy.

Let's keep this conversation respectful. We are all one community.
I can only speak as a long time customer. I buy from both companies. I'm not blindly loyal to either. I own a lot of Theory11 decks, but it's mostly multiples of a few designs. If you want great handling cards you can't go wrong with Theory11 custom decks. I just think several designs are to similar. I can't remember a single borderless deck for instance. Theory11 can print whatever they like, but I vote with my wallet. I've heard a lot of potential customers reflect similar sentiments about T11 decks, and since they are a business, I don't think this sort of statement is disrespectful. Subject to taste or not, I wonder how multiple decks based on buildings in New York sell compared to the rabid consumer response to a deck like Monarchs. Custom decks give people the opportunity to choose something different from Bicycles. The decks you live in fear of missing out on are what defines companies like Theory11, so maybe designs that stand clearly apart from each other is a good thing. Anyway that's my two cents.
 
Dec 1, 2017
8
19
I buy from a variety of magic websites. What I buy depends on the product, not the company. If a company has a product I like and that I will use in performance, I'll buy it. Unfortunately, neither Theory 11 or Ellusionist carries a lot of books and that is where most of my magic budget is spent.

Absolutely true! spend $30 on a single effect? Or $30 on a book with hundreds of effects?
 
Nov 9, 2010
188
1
Heh, almost a decade later and these types of threads still pop up from time to time it seems.

Theory11 and Ellusionist are like any other b2c retailers really. You could go all in on one and declare the other crap, or you can mix and match depending on what's brought out, and what tickles your fancy.

I remember these topics were even more prevalent back in 2010-ish when I worked at Ellusionist, I'm glad it seems that the opinions tend to be more nuanced nowadays. Theory11 have brought out some amazing work over the years – the Foundations series, CoinONE, the Genesis series, not to mention a bunch of beautiful premium decks. Ellusionist has brought out things like the Metal series, the Bold Project and a bunch of nice decks as well.

They've both evolved a lot over the last decade, and I can still see room for growth for both. The next few years will be a fun ride.
 
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