Here's a summary of what I discovered:
Confirmed: Propaganda is coming in a v2, date unknown.
Confirmed: Monarchs use a variant of Aristocrat stock.
Rumored: blue Bee Stingers aren't out of the question.
Confirmed, though sort of obvious in retrospect: T11 produces all their own magic material, so a book from them is unlikely unless they find something new and good from someone who approaches them - no classic of magic in any format. Since fewer people are making books than DVDs these days, the odds are long.
How did I learn this, you may ask? I left this email on T11's website early this morning (or late last night, depending on your point of view):
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1) I noticed in the holiday contest that the "ultimate brick" of playing cards had a deck described as "Propaganda v1". Was there more than one version of this deck? If not, does this mean a new version is imminent?
2) Are there any plans to release the Bee Stingers in more colors, or perhaps in a Titanium Edition? A few people I've chatted with in card forums were hoping for blue Stingers...
3) What, precisely, is the difference between the early-release "Gold Monarchs" and the standard-issue Monarch decks? What stock was used to make this deck?
4) Why don't you guys carry any magic books? Some of the best material out there isn't found on a video screen... I've been getting more into reading classics like "Expert at the Card Table" and "Royal Road to Card Magic". I'll grant you there's a lot of good info in videos and you can see the tricks and their details described live before your eyes, but with all the videos I've purchased here and elsewhere, I still felt I needed more of a foundation to work from. Books tend to give that solid foundation. (And if you should ever plan a video which teaches "Expert at the Card Table" from cover to cover, word for word, I think you'd make a mint on it!)
5) This one isn't a question - it's a "thank you" for taking the time to help me with your answers and for putting out some great products.-
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Lyle at T11 left me this reply a few hours later - a thorough and thoughtful answer at that:
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Don,
For simplicity, I will answer your questions the same way you asked.
1. While not released, we are working on a V.2 Propaganda deck. This has no release date, and as far I know is still in the design process. It will have new tweaks, but the the general look will be the same.
2. Blue Stingers certainly would rock. Especially Titanium Blue Stingers. While I don't know of any plans for these decks (JB keeps that information VERY closely guarded until the decks are in production) I would not be surprised to see Blue Stingers in the future. No official information from me, just speculation.
3. The first printing of Monarchs used a metallic gold ink on the back design instead of the white you see today. When the first decks of the final print (not prototypes anymore, but part of the actual printing) we realized that the gold ink did not stand out like we had hoped for it to. The backs looked dull. We had already had a single shipment of 12 bricks (144 cards) rushed to us and sent out to pre-order customers, reviewers, and our team. We made the call to have the rest of the multiple thousand cards destroyed (recycled, rather) to preserve the integrity of our high standards. The newest printing uses white on the navy blue background. There is not a single other difference. The cards are printed on a variation of Aristocrat stock that currently is not named.
4. Books are always a fantastic investment for magicians. We are always interested, but we have yet to find a new book that meets our standards to produce. We, as you can see, produce our material in house. Other than a small handful of playing cards, everything we release we produce. This is one of the reasons we don't sell other magic books that otherwise might meet our criteria.
5. You are more than welcome! Thank you for your support! We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for awesome people like you!
Keep on being amazing! Have a great night!
/ Lyle
/ www.theory11.com
/ www.facebook.com/theory11----
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As they say, "knowing is half the battle!"