Black Roses Altrosa deck

The Black Roses Playing Cards series commenced in 2014, and is the handiwork of designer Daniel Schneider.  The latest deck in this series is the Black Roses Altrosa deck.  Daniel is also the creator behind the very popular series of Orbit Playing Cards, which has proved a real hit with cardists, and is currently in its seventh iteration.



What does altrosa mean?  It is apparently German in origin, and one definition I found was this: "having a pink color that is slightly darkened and discolored with blue or grey tones".  In view of that, it's no surprise that the Black Roses Altrosa deck comes in a fashionable dusty pink colour for an instantly modern look.

Two signature roses greet us on the front of the tuck box, while the back features the white-bordered design of the card backs.  These have an intricate and stylish pattern that includes numerous rosebuds.

Daniel prides himself on producing original face cards with every Black Roses deck, so don't expect a mere recolouring of what you've seen before.  Even so, there is some real overlap in the design with previous decks in the series, particularly with the customized card faces, and these will look quite familiar if you've seen any of the other Black Roses decks.



The colour scheme is entirely custom, however.  The dusty pink returns on the card faces, and is used for the colours of the hearts and diamonds instead of the traditional red.  The black used for the colour of the spades and clubs is somewhat muted instead of the traditional jet black.

Other customization occurs where expected, including a giant Ace of Spades pip, and two Jokers which both feature two black roses.  There are also two gaff cards: a 0 of Diamonds, and a pink/blue double-backer.

Like some of his other decks, Daniel has opted to go with the magician-preferred traditional cut, and printing by USPCC with their standard air cushion finish.  The stock is thin-crush paper, which makes these cards very thin and soft, so that they handle very pleasantly and easily.



So where can you get decks like the one featured here?  Any reputable online retailer that sells custom playing cards should have these available.  If they don't, send them to Murphy's Magic, a magic wholesaler with an enormous range of custom playing cards that they sell in bulk quantities to dealers and retailers around the world.  To learn more, check out the Murphy's Magic product page for this deck here: Black Roses Altrosa Playing Cards