Hello aether cards,
As my first review I would like to address the smoke and mirrors v7 boxset, recently released by Dan and Dave with reprints of v3 to v6 with slight variations and it contains a new deck "the v7 carbon edition"
The box that the cards are housed in is very well made, sturdy and a great display piece, it houses the modified D&D logo on either side, the same logo which as a whole is the largest change to each box of the cards.
When you open the box there is a signed certificate of authenticity which states the date they were printed, and also the individual number of your boxset.
The actual decks themselves are exquisite, albeit somewhat different from the original decks, the boxes on the front have the new D&D smoke and mirrors circle logo and the same fancy words "playing cards". The boxes are of a matte finish and depending on which deck the inside is styled to fit, the mirror deck is a reflective silver and the carbon edition has a musty black gloss interior. The backs on the boxes have no border and this creates a neat, clean look.
I will not review each deck individually for this is already a long review but I shall talk about them collectively.
Firstly the handling:
All 6 decks feature a brilliant finish and only took a minute or so to break in, I must say that that was something I rarely see. The cards don't clump after use because I've been using the Carbon edition deck for everything and they still handle like new. They fan extremely well and Faro shuffle unlike any other deck, you don't have to work at it they just weave together. For springs and dribbles the cards are fine and rigid, they work well for the anaconda.
Handling 5/5
Design:
Each of the smoke and Mirror decks have a really nice back design, although the recolouring didn't seem like much effort these really are beautiful in spreads, fans and flourishes. The v3 Smoke and the mirror deck have not had the back designs altered at all whereas the colour editions had the small circles above and below the middle removed to make for a cleaner look. The faces are pretty standard with recolouring to suit the deck and the face cards are recoloured standard ones. The ace of spades is recoloured but is the same ace in each deck, same with the jokers.
All in all the designs are extremely nice but the faces could have been the simplified ones.
Design 4/5
Performing with them:
These cards are excellent for magic. They really do handle well for all sorts of moves, double lifts, top controls, Erdnase changes and passes. I have performed nearly all my tricks but signed ones with them and they really do live up to what I expected off of Dan and Dave. Flourishing with them is the same, I covered it earlier in "handling".They have a great stock and finish to them to give them a great combination for flourishes, springs look vibrant, even charlier cuts look brilliant.
Performing quality 5/5
Overall these decks are excellent, they all have the same stock and finish, they have beautiful designs and handle perfectly. The only downside are the faces but since I marked them down on one they can only receive:
**** Four stars, nearly perfect but reprints are reprints
Thank you for reading
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