So to be honest, I was really looking forward to this deck. A deck that harks back to Victorian times with the designs and colors? A deck that would easily be found on the set of Penny Dreadful (the amazing one with Eva Green)? A deck that has all the promise and poise of something that would be sold at the World’s Fair? Sign me the hell up! That being said, I have not been so disappointed in the quality of a product since the one time I tried to use Wish. This decks is very poorly made and it looks like the designer spent more time on the “add ons” than the deck itself.
The Customer Experience
So I purchased this deck from a shop on Etsy. The shop tends to focus more on vintage style carnival curiosities that all look really great and fun if you like that particular style. This was listed as a Pre-Order items which was a bit confusing as there were tons of reviews, so it does look like the item was not updated on the sellers page. That being said, I have waited for decks before so went ahead and ordered it. I was pleasantly surprised when the item shipped within a few days and within a week and a half of ordering, it was in my hands.
The box contained a nice sating gold bag with the 5 cent sign on it. Inside the bad was a very adorable storage box (which I LOVE for any deck) that looked like a potential prop in a movie. There were cute sayings on the side such as “Past, Present, Future” and “Ask the Cards” on the inside cover, all done in a style that is reminiscent of a carnival fortune teller and brings to mind thoughts of women in gypsy clothing, peering into a crystal ball in a tent outside of her wagon. Overall the styling, bag, and box are beautiful and of a high quality.
The Deck Itself
So this is where things started to go sideways. To be honest and fair, the designs of the cards are beautiful and the deck has a lot of potential, my main issue with them is the quality of the cards themselves. The cards are great for beginners because each card has the meanings of the card facing the reader, for both normal and reversed positions. The design is done in such a way so that the meanings and definitions become part of the art itself and does not feel like an afterthought. Additionally, this designer has no humans in the cards, and everything has a sense of something you would see in an old natural history book.
Now onto the quality. I am not sure what went wrong, but the only thing I can think of is CHEAP. The cards feel like some horrible card stock that seem like they would last a year, if that. They would definitely not survive any little bit of water or liquid that might get on them. Shuffling the cards is easy, however the edging has already gotten dinged on a few cards and one card now has a bend in the corner. I am not a robust shuffler to begin with so this only tells me the quality of the cards is simply not up to par with other decks.
Another thing that is just as distracting is that some of the cards are off center! You can see this in the photos, specifically The Hermit card is off center while The Hanged Man is not. I am not sure if there was a screw up on the production line, but to me it is very distracting and makes me feel like this is a fraudulent deck whose design was stolen and then cheaply reproduced.
Pros
Beautiful bag and storage box
Great design potential, unusual and one I have not seen before
Great for beginners
Cons
Poorly made
Low quality products that will ensure this deck will not last
Way too expensive for how cheap the deck feels and looks
In Conclusion
Man I had high hopes for this deck, I really did. I would not recommend this deck to anyone until they change their production. There are many cheaper, sturdier decks that would be good for beginners and advanced readers alike, don’t waste your money. Unless of course you like spending $50 for a nice bag and box and don’t care about the cards, but I am not that person.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Witch 