Kickstarter: AGNI Playing Cardshttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oriondecks/agni-playing-cards-deckA deck of fiery cards from Orion Playing Cards and KingstarProject ends: Sat, 16 December 2023
This project is the result of a collaboration between Abundant Art Gallery (Orion Playing Cards) and Old Gravity (Bivas Bhattacharjee), and is being manufactured by KingStar.
AGNI is the Sanskrit word for fire, which is the inspiration and theme for this deck. The ancients already considered fire to be one of the base elements of the cosmos, and certainly our fiery sun is an essential force that we rely on for heat, light, and life.
There are two editions of this luxury deck:
Ash Edition: This is a premium Kickstarter exclusive numbered edition with a die-cut tuck case and other special features. It has red-foiled cards, with holographic edge gilding.
The Ash Edition tuck case is particularly spectacular, with a hot red foil and an ash pattern that gives the impression of it being partially burned by fire. It has artwork designed around Prometheus, who is depicted holding a flame in the darkness, thus providing humanity with fire.
Ignited Edition: This is the "standard" edition, although this is available as gilded or non-gilded version. it has gold-foiled cards, with gold-orange edge gilding as an option.
The Ignited Edition tuck case is still very impressive, with similar artwork, but in shiny gold and matt-red foil.
Everything about the deck is fully custom, including fire-shaped pips, and fire-inspired artwork.
A lovely touch is that each card has foil along the edges, with a torn pattern that emphasizes the theme of fire. The cards of the Ignited Edition are gold-foiled instead of red-foiled, with the artwork and graphic design otherwise matching the Ash Edition.
The card backs are an abstract design inspired by the yin-yang symbol, but with a symmetry that avoids a one-way design. Like the card faces they evoke the idea of burning embers.
The four suits represent four aspects of
AGNI in history: Natural Fire (Clubs), Discovered Fire (Diamonds), Mythical Fire (Spades), and Passionate Fire (Hearts).
For example, the King of the Clubs is an old African king holding a torch up to the sky; the the Queen of Clubs is an ancient Indian lady holding a candle up to her face, the Jack of Clubs is an old Chinese monk with a lantern.
The King of Diamonds depicts Robert J Oppenheimer, a leading figure in the development of the atom bomb, while the Queen of Diamonds depicts Lise Meitner, one of the scientists who first discovered nuclear fission.
The pips have foiling that really make the number cards look gorgeous, with the hearts and diamonds being foil with dark outlines, and the spades and clubs being dark with foil outlines.
The four aces feature oversized versions of the four custom-designed fiery pips, along with thematic fiery motifs like a fire-breathing dragon and flaming quills.
The two jokers of the AGNI deck depict two different sides of fire: one being its creative and regenerative side, the other its destructive side.
I really can't say enough about how magnificent these decks promise to be, and you need to head to the Kickstarter page to see a full collection of beautiful pictures that showcase what you can expect.
Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oriondecks/agni-playing-cards-deck
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