Well I think it's about time there was a review for these cards.
I'll start with the Smoke deck.
The box:
The artwork on the front is phenomenal. It reads "Playing Cards" in very abstract art with the word "Smoke" in the middle. The back has Dan and Dave's logo. The top reads "Poker - Aristocrat" and the bottom reads "Smoke." The Sides read "The D&D Playing Card Co. Hollywood, CA 90028" and "Dan and Dave - Illustrated by Si Scott"
One subtlety that I like about the box is that there is no sticker seal to deal with. It only has cellophane. There's no mess to deal with when opening them
The backs:
These decks look MUCH better in person than they do online. The DD looks perfect with the artwork. The design around the borders make fans (especially giant cans) and spreads look amazing. There is so much detail in the artwork. Si Scott did a fantastic job. The name fits them perfectly because the backs really do give off a smokey look.
The faces:
There are two differences between these faces and normal faces. First is the red pips. They are darker and look just like Guardians and Centurions. And then the face cards. These are dull and plain. I personally like the normal face cards better, but this just adds to the uniqueness of the deck.
The Ace of spades is probably the coolest one I've ever seen. It has the same Si Scott flare as the backs of the cards and the box.
The feel:
Okay this is what mostly everyone wants to know about.
When you first take them out the edges feel kind of rough. Kind of like bicycles. But that goes away in time.
I have never felt a deck that holds together well, fans perfectly, and faros perfectly all at the same time.... Now I have...
This deck does it all! These cards are very thin yet very snappy. The fact that these cards are slippery AND hold together well, makes them perfect for magic AND flourishing. You can perform a backpack cut and a DB Spin change with the same deck!
The finish on these cards is close to perfect. It's much smoother than on bikes or tallyhos. (Or any deck for that matter)
After they're broken in, the fans clump up slightly, but spreads don't. So if you can do a pressure fan, these cards will last a long time.
There's only one little downside about the feel, and that's the fact that the edges get dirty pretty easily. They turn a kind of off white when they are broken in. But after that they take a long time to turn brown (I've been playing with my mirror deck for about 4 hours straight and they are still in great condition).
As far as I know these cards do not warp. none of my decks have the slightest warp in them.
So down and dirty... These cards feel awesome!
Now to Mirrors...
The only thing I'm going to describe for Mirrors is the back design. That is the only difference between Smoke Mirrors.
The backs:
This is probably the coolest back I've ever seen. I like these more than I like the Smoke backs. (And I love the Smoke backs) These backs are pretty much a reverse of the Smoke backs. These are black with white on them and Smokes are white with black on them. They have the same fantastic artwork as Smokes.
Pretty much all I can say about the backs is look at them for yourselves online, and then decide which one you like better
So now I'll add a couple little things...
The jokers in both of these decks are pretty cool. They look like magicians! They have a D instead of a J for joker. I don't mind this because in my opinion, the jokers are supposed to be different and these ones are truly unique with the Ds
Both decks come with an add card with D&Ds logo and a double backer. They're nice little additions
______
So that pretty much wraps it up. I hope you guys find this review helpful.
I'd like to say that these cards definitely lived up to the hype. A lot of people do not like the back designs and were turned off... well... too bad for you if you don't like these cards because you are missing out. I myself was even a little skeptical about these cards but I am glad that I bought them because I have come to love the back design.
peace
-Kevin
I'll start with the Smoke deck.
The box:
The artwork on the front is phenomenal. It reads "Playing Cards" in very abstract art with the word "Smoke" in the middle. The back has Dan and Dave's logo. The top reads "Poker - Aristocrat" and the bottom reads "Smoke." The Sides read "The D&D Playing Card Co. Hollywood, CA 90028" and "Dan and Dave - Illustrated by Si Scott"
One subtlety that I like about the box is that there is no sticker seal to deal with. It only has cellophane. There's no mess to deal with when opening them
The backs:
These decks look MUCH better in person than they do online. The DD looks perfect with the artwork. The design around the borders make fans (especially giant cans) and spreads look amazing. There is so much detail in the artwork. Si Scott did a fantastic job. The name fits them perfectly because the backs really do give off a smokey look.
The faces:
There are two differences between these faces and normal faces. First is the red pips. They are darker and look just like Guardians and Centurions. And then the face cards. These are dull and plain. I personally like the normal face cards better, but this just adds to the uniqueness of the deck.
The Ace of spades is probably the coolest one I've ever seen. It has the same Si Scott flare as the backs of the cards and the box.
The feel:
Okay this is what mostly everyone wants to know about.
When you first take them out the edges feel kind of rough. Kind of like bicycles. But that goes away in time.
I have never felt a deck that holds together well, fans perfectly, and faros perfectly all at the same time.... Now I have...
This deck does it all! These cards are very thin yet very snappy. The fact that these cards are slippery AND hold together well, makes them perfect for magic AND flourishing. You can perform a backpack cut and a DB Spin change with the same deck!
The finish on these cards is close to perfect. It's much smoother than on bikes or tallyhos. (Or any deck for that matter)
After they're broken in, the fans clump up slightly, but spreads don't. So if you can do a pressure fan, these cards will last a long time.
There's only one little downside about the feel, and that's the fact that the edges get dirty pretty easily. They turn a kind of off white when they are broken in. But after that they take a long time to turn brown (I've been playing with my mirror deck for about 4 hours straight and they are still in great condition).
As far as I know these cards do not warp. none of my decks have the slightest warp in them.
So down and dirty... These cards feel awesome!
Now to Mirrors...
The only thing I'm going to describe for Mirrors is the back design. That is the only difference between Smoke Mirrors.
The backs:
This is probably the coolest back I've ever seen. I like these more than I like the Smoke backs. (And I love the Smoke backs) These backs are pretty much a reverse of the Smoke backs. These are black with white on them and Smokes are white with black on them. They have the same fantastic artwork as Smokes.
Pretty much all I can say about the backs is look at them for yourselves online, and then decide which one you like better
So now I'll add a couple little things...
The jokers in both of these decks are pretty cool. They look like magicians! They have a D instead of a J for joker. I don't mind this because in my opinion, the jokers are supposed to be different and these ones are truly unique with the Ds
Both decks come with an add card with D&Ds logo and a double backer. They're nice little additions
______
So that pretty much wraps it up. I hope you guys find this review helpful.
I'd like to say that these cards definitely lived up to the hype. A lot of people do not like the back designs and were turned off... well... too bad for you if you don't like these cards because you are missing out. I myself was even a little skeptical about these cards but I am glad that I bought them because I have come to love the back design.
peace
-Kevin
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