i reckon it would've been cool if all the pips on all th cards were in his design, would've made th deck all that better .. I agree I say "I heart you" aloud much more than I say in a txt 
Ah, but this is Theory11 we're talking about here. They're released exactly one full-custom deck of their own design, the Sentinels. The first printing sucked because the finish crapped out, but the second printing performs admirably. But back to the point - aside from touching up the colors, they don't generally alter the courts or the spot cards all that much.
Many magicians prefer this because the audience will more readily identify with the deck if it's something they recognize and use at home. That's not to say that custom decks don't have a place in magic, but when you're aiming for the broadest possible audience, a magician's better off using what the most people will be familiar with. It's why Zenneth Kok's decks never had custom faces, only recolorings at most - and he takes it a step further by using classic backs (tweaked to his liking, of course) instead of creating one of his own. I understand completely.
One of my favorite performing decks is the Bicycle Guardians - either of the two current versions will do, since all three are essentially the same. (T11 made two versions and they let USPC use the design for a third version sold under their own name - the current T11 version has a matte-finish box while the USPC version has an "international" box, written in French and English.) They have faces that are easy to identify with just a tweak to the coloring to make the reds deeper, and the back design, while all custom and cool, is itself reminiscent of the classic Bicycle Rider Back.
Do I know how to write a tangent or what!
