To start with let’s take a look at the design, the tuck box is gorgeous with metallic gold, silver and red ink embossed upon a soft touch tuck box, with an elegant seal to finish things off which is of course also metallic ink, the detail is exquisite both on the front and the back, the more you look the more detail you’ll uncover, this deck is wonderfully intricate but then again, what else would you expect from Theory 11! Despite the fact that both the front and back designs are lovely, I have a criticism… They are very, very similar, this isn’t the end of the world by any means, just an observation that I thought I’d share, look at the pictures and come to your own conclusion! Moving onto the inside of the tuck box, it is once again patterned with metallic gold ink featuring the same circle design shown on the front continuing the luxurious aura throughout.

The back design of the Neil Patrick Harris Deck is identical to the design on the back of the tuck box, with more gold ink. I personally really like the design and all of its detailed intricacies, however, I have noticed a rather apparent flaw which may or may not surprise you, the cards have been printed by the United States Playing Card Company, the playing card enthusiasts amongst you probably know that cards by USPCC are prone to misalignment issues, annoyingly this luxury, collectable deck is no different, the borders are all over the place – this doesn’t affect the deck’s usage or novelty, it is just an annoying quality control issue that may bug some more than others, I myself accept the irritating misalignment and look past it because let’s be honest, the deck is excellent regardless.

Moving onto the face designs, the court cards are standard in appearance with a change in colour, they feature an updated red and gold colourway – this is great because it meets both the criteria for magicians, who want standard faces and collectors who want something novel. The ace of spades is wonderful, it is yet again intricately detailed in gold and black ink, take a look at the pictures – I think you’ll like it! The spot cards are all very basic, they feature a very, very slightly different pip design that card enthusiasts will notice, laypeople however will not, this once again is excellent for the magician who wants to perform with these cards yet retain the standard feel to avoid the audience’s suspicion of trick cards! I think the face designs of the cards meet the equilibrium between the collectors and performers needs, they sit in between the two making the practical advantage per individual more likely.

The Neil Patrick Harris Deck comes with a few extra cards, let’s explore them. First of all the NPH deck comes with two identical jokers, this is perfect for magicians who may wish to do routines using the two cards, a nice touch that the performers amongst you may appreciate. The next two extra cards lead me onto the amazing, unique feature of this deck. Here it comes, the moment you have all been waiting for, the deck is a puzzle! The two extra cards are the puzzle cards to get you started, one quotes the brief and the other is full of cryptic clues, I must admit I haven’t cracked the secret puzzle…yet, however, it is a fascinating challenge that creates the unique selling point of this deck, many people buy this pack just for the puzzle! Considering most magicians like to solve puzzles as well as shuffle cards, it is the perfect combination! 

Moving onto the feel of the deck. They feel great, it’s exactly what you would expect from Theory 11 and USPCC. The card stock itself is relatively standard, it sits between thick stock and crushed, this means you get the best of both worlds – smoothness and durability! The cards are very smooth to handle and shuffle with ease. 

Let’s explore the practicality of this deck. Honestly, for magicians, you are better off using a regular pack of Bicycle Cards, Bee’s, Tally Ho’s etc merely due to the fact you are going to be getting through decks like there is no tomorrow if you were to use the NPH deck for practice and performance you’ll suddenly have a very expensive habit on your hands, at the very least reserve them for special occasions! For card collectors, the deck is wonderful, the luxurious feel, the detailed design and of course the hidden puzzle. This deck should be in your collection, there is no doubt about that! Once again, I can’t speak for cardists but at the end of the day, you can use any cards for cardistry – it is simply a matter of your personal preference and style!

In conclusion, the Neil Patrick Harris Deck deck is wonderful, one of the most luxurious and novel decks in my collection, I highly recommend it due to the reasons listed above. I won’t perform with the deck, that’s not to say you can’t though, it will instead take a pride of place position in my display, it’s a gorgeous deck and deserves to be displayed accordingly! 

The deck is available worldwide here:

I sincerely hope this review has helped you and that it has provided the insight you were after. Let me know your thoughts about both the blog and the cards in the comments down below and feel free to ask any questions either on here or directly through my Instagram, @matthomermagic. 

Thank you for reading, until next time,

Matt Homer

The post Neil Patrick Harris Deck by Theory 11 – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

Starting with the design, the tuck box is undeniably stunning, the gold and electric blue create an extremely visual contrast that immediately catches the eye, both of these colours are metallic meaning they glisten in the light. The entire design, every bit of detail, is embossed upon a matte textured box, this creates a luxurious aura to the cards both visually and tactilely. 

The detail on the box is phenomenal, the more you look the more you discover, both the front and back designs of the tuck box are extremely elegant, featuring exquisite detail that you could study for hours, the right side of the box features some intriguing co-ordinates which I shall leave for you to decode, the left side features a quote which reads, “I could not rest by night or day for dreaming golden dreams”, this quote is full of insight and up to the reader to interpret.

Excluding the court cards, ace of spades and the jokers, the cards feature a standard face design with a very minimal tweak in colour to that of a regular bicycle deck. This could be viewed as a positive or negative thing depending on your area of expertise, for magicians the standard faces are perfect, card collectors and cardists may wish for something more extravagant, it merely comes down to personal taste and for magicians, performing practicality.

I mentioned that the Abandoned playing cards court cards, ace of spades and jokers are different, let’s take a look. All four suits of court cards(J-K) feature the same colourway, once again it is a metallic turquoise and gold design with the pips being untouched. The ace of spades is excellent, it is an elegant design featuring the metallic gold once again with a room contained within the ace, it continues to conform to the aesthetic of the deck and to the classical look of the ace of spades. The Jokers are two keys, they are not identical, mild differences occur such as the orientation of parts and the pip text colour, for magicians this isn’t ideal. 

There are two extra cards within the Abandoned playing cards deck, one contains a poem suggesting there is more to it than meets the eye and the other is a red and gold, what seems to be a Red Herring, literally. I will be honest in saying I have no idea what the Herring is doing here, I can only assume it is a reference to something I am unfamiliar with, nevertheless, it’s a unique card just waiting for the card collectors to discover! The magicians, and/or cardists amongst you may be disappointed with the extra cards, let’s be honest, for us these two pose no practical value – it raises the question of, would a blank card or a double backer have been better which in return raises another question, do you use these gaffs enough to care?

Moving onto the feel and quality of the cards, they are printed on a true linen B9 Slimline paper by Cartamundi. Upon testing the cards out, they handle and feel good, they are soft cards to handle and also very flexible, this could be seen as a positive by some and a negative by others, thick cards often last longer than thin cards, it depends on how much you are going to properly use these and the rate at which you practice, I would certainly lean away from these for everyday practice otherwise practice suddenly becomes very expensive! As an individual I tend to use cards printed by USPCC, however, despite how good they feel, USPCC cards are prone to alignment issues, cartamundi cards feel great and shouldn’t, fingers crossed, have so many printing errors.

In terms of practicality, it varies per individual and what you would be buying these cards for. My honest opinion is if you are a magician wanting to practice and perform with these cards, buy something cheaper like a regular deck of Bicycles, however, for card collectors you simply cannot go wrong with this deck, it is elegant, detailed, unique, they handle great, what’s not to love! I am sure cardists would love this deck too but it’s hard for me to comment, each cardist has their own personal style and design preference, that’s something only you can answer!

In conclusion, the Abandoned Playing Cards deck is wonderful and it comes with my utmost recommendation, the deck ticks all of my criteria, I won’t be performing with this deck, nothing to say you can’t, but from a collectors stance it is simply wonderful and that is my honest opinion, buy this deck – you’ll love it! it will certainly be getting pride of place on my display, how about yours? Let me know your thoughts on the review and the cards down below!

Thank you for reading and I truly hope this review provided the insight you were after,

Matt Homer 

Stockists:

Merchant of Magic Stock Abandoned Playing Cards Here

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