Talkmagic.co.uk

The Last Deck on the Left

Hi all,

Well my Ghost Bicycle Cards came the other day. For those not in the know, they are from Ellusionist:

http://www.ellusionist.com/order/ghost/Ghost-Deck-Ellusionist.php

Cost = $4.99

What are they? - Bicycle cards - printed in the negative on the back. All faces are black and white - except the small pips on the red cards. See website for details. They also feature new designs on the Ace of Spades and Jokers.

I must say that I really quite like this design - but I wonder if it will suffer the same fate as my Black Tiger decks - never used because people think they are "dodgy" cards! I hope they don't as I do like the look of them.

They handle very well - thanks to Ellusionists TM UV500 AirFlow Finish TM perhaps? Wink

My only problem is that some of the backs are printed off centre (length ways) See attached jpeg. A friend of mine spotted it straight away and said they were a "marked deck".

Here are two questions for you all.

a) Do you think that this kind of printing is acceptable and
b) is this response from Ellusionist acceptable?

"I went through my decks and found some that were along the same ines. I would have simply replied "no deck of cards is perfectly printed - anyone who has done printing before knows that it's impossible."

They did offer a full refund / exchange if I sent my deck back - and were very friendly in the emails - but I'm just a little disappointed.

PS - Been away for a while with a new job - It's good to be back! Very Happy

Demitri · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 9:45 pm Post subject:

Mine haven't come yet, but they should get here by tomorrow. I think they might get the same backlash as the tigers and vipers, but the face that it's white may keep it slightly ahead of the others.

The biggest problem I had with the others, was the cards themselves. Tigers looked frayed after very little use, and the vipers were greasy and didn't handle well. The white cards solve the tiger problem, hopefully the finish will solve the other.

However, seeing your jpeg makes me less optimistic.

That printing slip is REALLY bad. I've seen quite a few misprints in my profession, so this is something I know about. Most slips aren't anywhere near that obvious - so you should definitely get a refund or full exchange. There's not much else you can or should expect from them, so their response was fine.

Sym · Senior Member Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 351 Location: UK

I used to do litho printing too (which is how I assume these are done). Thing is, we used to have to line up MULTIPLE colours on one piece of paper! I find it hard to believe they couldn't even line up one! Heh..

Guess it's just down to mass production, innit =o/

~Sym~

MagicAL · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 6:48 am Post subject:

Its actually the cutting of the cards that is out, a common problem with Bikes of any kind in my experience, to the point that I now have migrated to Tally's. I guess if you have been offfered an exchange thats all they can do though. Still, they look cool.

Demitri · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 7:33 am Post subject:

I thought the offset cut on traditional bikes is intentional. Perhaps I was wrong.

And yes, I should have clarified that this was a cutting error and not printing error, sorry about that.

i1011i · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 10:43 am Post subject:

I have the same problem with my bikes. That is why I cant use them to do a certain card trick that requires tearing and the repairing a card.

Steve Dela · Full Member Joined: 25 Jun 2005 Posts: 51 Location: UK

They look really nice, shame about the cutting/printing mistake.

Quality is slipping further and further with the USPCC, i now often use Copag or Gemaco cards now.

The finish on the vipers is horrible, if it is the same i shall not be getting any! it is gressy and the cards didn't last very long.

Steve Dela

FlipBack · Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 5:24 pm Post subject:

Personally I hate the Ghost Deck, as there is no colour on it. People think there is something wrong with the cards or that the deck is photocopied. I will not buy this deck.

trickyricky · Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 6:54 pm Post subject:

I got my Ghost deck just 4 days after ordering them, which surprised me! I really like them! I think they would be quite boring but i think the little bit of red that they have just sets them off slightly! Also, i love the design on the AoS and the UV finish looks sweet under a black light, not that im going to perform under a black light very often! I hadnt noticed the misprint/mis-cutting problem until you mentioned it, and nobody else had actually! Maybe they do it themselves.....how spooky would that be? A haunted Ghost deck! Well thats enough of my craziness for one day!

Demitri · Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 8:55 pm Post subject:

Ok, mine came and I've had a bit of time to handle them and get a feel for the cards.

Look -

I like the design. I think they could have done a better job with the "shadow" effect on the back - but it looks pretty good.

I haven't noticed a problem like Last Deck had - which I'm thankful for. Yes, the cutting isn't perfectly centered, but they aren't centered on normal rider backs, either - so it doesn't really become a factor for me.

The Ace of Spades does look incredible. The detail of it does make it more a work of art than a pip, but I can't help but feel this isn't exactly going to tip the scales all that much. Yes, it looks incredible - but will anyone really notice it? No. Not to mention that unless you're in a well-lit room, you can't make out all of the detail in the card. It looks great, but I think this kind of novelty will wear off quickly.

Also, I'm not wild about the indices on the AoS. This minor addition alone makes the card look like it's from a different deck. I appreciate that they wanted to make the AoS special - but I think that effort came at the cost of making the card look out of place in the deck.

I wasn't too wild about the black pips on the red cards when I first saw it, but it's growing on me. The indices on the red cards is pretty cool. The red is a nice color and the black outline gives it a nice little punch.

Finish -

It looks like Ellusionist might have finally found the right finish for their cards. These handled nicely. They fan well (I'm not the best at fanning, so I would think an expert would have no trouble). Overall, they're MUCH better than the tigers and the vipers.

Overall, they're nice. They look cool and aren't as obtrusive as the black decks. I think someone would have less of a problem using these out on the streets - but I'm sure it will still be met with a bit of skepticism.

I will have to see how durable they are and how long they'll hold up, but so far, I think it's safe to say that Ellusionist finally found the quality they've been chasing after.

Mandrake · . Joined: 20 Apr 2003 Posts: 19000 Location: UK (62:AH)

C.U.P.S.Alert!!!
These are available from http://www.cards4magic.co.uk/acatalog/NEW_LINES_JUST_IN.html along with the New Bicycle Clear Playing Cards and the Bicycle Elephant Decks - scroll down to items 8, 9 and 10.

ouch-kabibble · Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 6:16 pm Post subject:

WOW! Check out the elephant deck! I think the ghost deck has a new competitor!!!

Demitri · Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:06 pm Post subject:

I'm not too sure about the Elephant deck. I saw these a while back on ebay, and the pictures didn't really make them look that good. The drab green looks like split pea soup, and I can't recall a time ANYONE thought that was a really cool color.

The elephant is neat looking, but I would probably rank this below the black tiger.

Steve Dela · Full Member Joined: 25 Jun 2005 Posts: 51 Location: UK

OK, well i have recieved my pack of ghost cards, cause i wanted to see what they were like.

They fan nicely.
The printing is off slightly.
They have started to warp... (I have saved them thanks to a porper clip)
I like the idea of the Joker, and one having a card under him, that is a nice thing for a revelation! Very Happy

The back is one way...subtle and no i don't mean the misprint. Rolling Eyes

They are very sexy cards. and look cool.
They are too damn thick! (thiner cards are better for magicians! u wud have thought they would have known this and chose a better stock!) so they need to be broken in quite a bit.

Apart from the, the fact that they are sexy means I will use them every now and again, the thickness of them for me means I can't be bothered to work with them. Sad

Steve Dela

u02ai · New User Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 8

how long did it take for your cards to come guys? I ordered mine with the standard air delivery tariff one week ago and they still aint here