Hey everyone. I'm not as new to the forums as the user implies; used to be on here as markefferent.
I’m doing a few deck reviews this summer, and I wanted to share them here for any interested. This is a not a new deck, but after seeing it in Barnes&Noble I wanted to review the Silver Steampunk deck by Bicycle and Theory11 first. My reviews will be broken down into two categories: design and performance, the former of which will usually take longer. Under the video, I have a more in depth written review
First in the design is the tuck case it comes in. This is actually one of my favorite boxes for a deck of cards for a few reasons. First off, we have this nice reflective material that really makes it shine and really stand out, fitting with the metallic aesthetic this deck seems to be going for. Second, I’m partial toward the actual design of the box as well. It’s not too intricate or complicated, which I think some of the newer deck boxes from theory11 and Ellusionist can lean toward sometimes. Last of all, it has the back design on the back of the box. Unless the look fits with the rest of the box, I don’t like it when the back design is excluded. Though you can’t use the back design on this one for any magic tricks because of the outside shimmer, I always like it when the box lets you know what the backs are going to look like. All this comes together to make this a good start for the deck.
Next in design is the backs of the cards themselves. All I can say is a slightly positive “meh.” I like black and white designs quite a lot, actually, but believe it or not, this one does not appeal too much aesthetically. It has some cool gears and bolts in it, and I like how it integrates with the border, but I think it may be the soft edges and almost photographic appearance of the cards that turn me off to them. I like the cards to look like they were actually illustrated, but that is of course, my own bent when it comes to back design. Also as a bit of a tangent, these make me think of the Empire from Star Wars more than SteamPunk really. Just saying.
Last off for design is the faces. We get a theory11 ad card, which is nothing special, so that’s value neutral. The joker is really great. It’s minimalistic, has the Bicycle joker symbol, and looks good for card spins. However, the other one’s a guarantee joker, which no matter how often Bicycle does it, I will always consider a negative. The indexes and appearances of these cards are standard Bicycle fare, the only difference being the darkened red and greying of the court cards, which we’ve seen in other theory11 playing cards. It looks nice but I don’t have much negative or positive to say about it. Last of all, the Ace of Spades really suffers from the same problem the backs do, which is its curved, boring appearance. I just get an inauthentic, produced feeling I get whenever I look at it. I know it could be just me, but even though the design elements are there, it just didn’t strike me positively as other playing card designs have done.
Last is the handling. This is a Bicycle deck, so you’re getting your standard feel here. The air pockets are there. The deck spreads and fans nicely. At the end of the day, if you like regular Bicycle playing cards you’ll get along with these.
For the verdict, I give the Bicycle Silver Steampunk deck a 7 out of 10. A good but not great deck from theory11.
I’m doing a few deck reviews this summer, and I wanted to share them here for any interested. This is a not a new deck, but after seeing it in Barnes&Noble I wanted to review the Silver Steampunk deck by Bicycle and Theory11 first. My reviews will be broken down into two categories: design and performance, the former of which will usually take longer. Under the video, I have a more in depth written review
First in the design is the tuck case it comes in. This is actually one of my favorite boxes for a deck of cards for a few reasons. First off, we have this nice reflective material that really makes it shine and really stand out, fitting with the metallic aesthetic this deck seems to be going for. Second, I’m partial toward the actual design of the box as well. It’s not too intricate or complicated, which I think some of the newer deck boxes from theory11 and Ellusionist can lean toward sometimes. Last of all, it has the back design on the back of the box. Unless the look fits with the rest of the box, I don’t like it when the back design is excluded. Though you can’t use the back design on this one for any magic tricks because of the outside shimmer, I always like it when the box lets you know what the backs are going to look like. All this comes together to make this a good start for the deck.
Next in design is the backs of the cards themselves. All I can say is a slightly positive “meh.” I like black and white designs quite a lot, actually, but believe it or not, this one does not appeal too much aesthetically. It has some cool gears and bolts in it, and I like how it integrates with the border, but I think it may be the soft edges and almost photographic appearance of the cards that turn me off to them. I like the cards to look like they were actually illustrated, but that is of course, my own bent when it comes to back design. Also as a bit of a tangent, these make me think of the Empire from Star Wars more than SteamPunk really. Just saying.
Last off for design is the faces. We get a theory11 ad card, which is nothing special, so that’s value neutral. The joker is really great. It’s minimalistic, has the Bicycle joker symbol, and looks good for card spins. However, the other one’s a guarantee joker, which no matter how often Bicycle does it, I will always consider a negative. The indexes and appearances of these cards are standard Bicycle fare, the only difference being the darkened red and greying of the court cards, which we’ve seen in other theory11 playing cards. It looks nice but I don’t have much negative or positive to say about it. Last of all, the Ace of Spades really suffers from the same problem the backs do, which is its curved, boring appearance. I just get an inauthentic, produced feeling I get whenever I look at it. I know it could be just me, but even though the design elements are there, it just didn’t strike me positively as other playing card designs have done.
Last is the handling. This is a Bicycle deck, so you’re getting your standard feel here. The air pockets are there. The deck spreads and fans nicely. At the end of the day, if you like regular Bicycle playing cards you’ll get along with these.
For the verdict, I give the Bicycle Silver Steampunk deck a 7 out of 10. A good but not great deck from theory11.
