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Review: Paradigm Playing Cards (Derek Grimes)

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Review: Paradigm Playing Cards (Derek Grimes)
« on: August 14, 2019, 09:42:44 PM »
 

EndersGame

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Paradigm Playing Cards

The Paradigm deck was made by Derek Grimes, with some assistance from playing card designers Daniel Schneider and Luke Wadey.  Derek's name may sound familiar to you, because he's known for doing playing card reviews over on his great youtube channel, DisfunkshinalReviews [link].



Derek's concept for this stylish deck is captured with the word "paradigm", which represents a way of looking at something.  He was inspired by both cardistry and magic, and wanted to design a crossover deck that would have some appeal to both communities.  In other words, this is geared to be a deck that you can use to perform a fancy flourish, and immediately follow it up with a card trick.

The bold and colourful design should appeal to cardists, and is immediately apparent to the tuck box, which is full of flowing lines, shapes, and contrasting bright colours.  The circular target shape in the center of the card backs should lend itself well to twirls and spins in the hands of cardists.  There is a hint of traditional white borders, but lines burst through right to the edges, which will maximize the visual impact of spreads and fans, with a very different outcome depending on the direction of the fan.



The card faces have an immediately familiar look, as dictated by Derek's goal to provide a deck that magicians can use.  But we only need to consider the Aces to see that there is a real departure from tradition, with eye-catching over-sized pips that are deliberately tilted, to make us feel somewhat on edge.

This unique approach has also been applied to the court cards, which feature an oversized one-way design that is created by zooming in and tilting the traditional artwork.   Daniel Schneider's input is immediately evident here, with six of the courts customized with images of Derek Grimes himself (King of Hearts), Daniel Schneider (King of Diamonds), Luke Wadey (King of Spades), and Derek's son (King of Clubs), daughter (Queen of Diamonds), and wife (Queen of Hearts).  A rectangular green border helps keep an additional connection to the colours of the card backs.

Printing is by USPCC with their crushed stock, for smooth and soft handling, along with a traditional cut and a standard air cushion embossing.  The two matching Jokers take up the lined and colourful style of the cardbacks.  Two additional cards come with the deck, one of which is an ad card, and the other a duplicate Three of Hearts.  To help you take full advantage of this, the Three of Hearts is also featured as a card reveal on the King of Hearts.



This is a gorgeous deck that will especially appeal to cardists, but can be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates a fashionable and stylish design that is topped with vibrant colours.

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: Paradigm Playing Cards
« Last Edit: August 14, 2019, 11:39:43 PM by EndersGame »
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