Kickstarter Cards with Carter is our daily column about playing card Kickstarter campaigns. Remember, Kickstarter pledges are not pre-orders and results are not guaranteed.
Today’s Kickstarter Cards with Carter features fine art, teeny tiny bits of waterproof plastic, and a deck I’m told is, “built in an esoteric realm full of mysteries.” Which is Belgium, I think.
The House of the Rising Spade by Stockholm 17 (printed by USPCC and Cartamundi)
This latest pair of decks from card designer, Lorenzo “Stockholm 17” Gaggiotti (Requiem, Gemini, Heretic, etc) are densely detailed stunners, as the video above clearly demonstrates. Both the Faro and the Cartomancer variants have a touch of the tarot deck about them, but Faro takes some cues from 1800’s poker decks, with gold and white card backs printed with metallic ink, and clean yet rustic numbers that have no index whatsoever.
Cartomancer, the pricier of the two, doubles down on ye olde spooky tarot deck flavor, with a darker color scheme, true linen finish, full-bleed printing and cold-printed-gold foil all over the shop. A third deck, The Gatekeeper, will be unveiled during the Kickstarter campaign and, going by what I’ve seen thus far, will probably just be made entirely out of gold foil. The campaign has already reached its thirty grand goal and will end on April 27th. The cheapest Faro variant pledge is $18, while the cheapest Cartomancer variant pledge will run you $22. Both variants have free shipping within the US. You can add an uncut sheet for $55 world wide shipping included.
Why design your own deck when you can get one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance to do it for you, right? I admit, I’m not entirely convinced that cutting up a (beautiful) painting into a prototype jigsaw puzzle actually counts as designing a deck. The sticker-like index markers dumped in the corners and the Top Trumps style plastic box isn’t doing a lot to persuade me otherwise. Still, if this deck really births your venus, the campaign will be running until April 21st and is looking for US$4,800. There’s a limited supply of $12 plus shipping pledges that get you a deck. After those are gone, you’re looking at $18 a pop. There’s no uncut sheets, but you could always just, you know, buy a print.
Have you ever found yourself wanting to do a card trick in an air vent where, gosh darn it, there just isn’t enough space for a full-size deck of cards? Well, yeah, okay, there’s already micro decks for that. But what if the air vent was underwater? What then, smarty pants? That’s just one of the dozens of potential situations where you’d want a deck of tny² playing cards. Measuring just 1.75 inches by 1.25 inches and printed on the highest quality, uh, plastic, this diminutive deck is perfect for travel, camping, days at the beach, performing tricks for crabs, etc.
Okay, jokes aside (and I have, so, so many of them. The political gags alone would fill out a page or two), the minimalist, line art aesthetic of this deck is entirely my jam, and while I have no need for a micro-deck due to my gargantuan gorilla hands, I’d definitely buy a full-sized variant. The Kickstarter campaign is looking for US$500 and will end April 13th. The lowest tier that includes a deck is $11 and includes free shipping inside the US. Oh, and all the decks will be signed. In really small handwriting, one presumes.
If you’re planning to Kickstart your own deck, drop us a line and we’ll feature it here.