What was your first deck of playing cards?

[xela]

What's the first deck you ever bought?
Why did you buy it?

We're talking about specialty decks here of course, not brand name Bicycle decks from stores.

For me it was a Shadow Masters from Ellusionist. While looking up magic on YouTube, I realized I couldn't do things like fans and faro shuffles because of my deck (it was a cheap souvenir deck). I looked up playing cards for magic and found some awful review on the Shadow Masters and Black Tigers deck. I shat myself - a black deck?! I had never seen anything like it and despite its high price I bought one... then I bought another two... then I bought half of the decks that Ellusionist sells and discovered CardsRFun shortly thereafter. He gave a glowing review for the Texan Palmettos, and I had recently been enjoying a trick that required edge reading. I thought the Palmettos were perfect for this from the review but my god, they were terrible, both handling wise and for edge reading.

After that, I got an Absolut Vodka deck and some Virginia Slims and a Fournier 605 deck from Lee Asher.

And then I binged and bought hundreds of decks.

So that's my story - what's yours?

[alexdsz]

Well... I started learning magic from YouTube and ended up buying a deck of plastic cards to do it. After getting more into it I discovered Ellusionist and bought me a deck of white ghosts.
I remember not being used to how the cards would glide on eachother (due to my expericence with the plastic cards) and first thing that happened was that the cards just squirted out of my hands and went all over the floor. I felt embarassed...

[iK9mod9]

:O What are you talking about? The Shadow Masters look great and handle fantastically! Although I have never been much of a fan of the Black Deck Tigers, I agree with you on that. Anyways my first deck of cards was the Bicycle White Ghost. It was the first one I opened and it came in a package with three other decks from Ellusionist. After extensive use with the White Ghost I decided to get more decks and went on Ellusionist's website to order the Black Ghost, and the Tally-Ho Viper. Then got myself four decks of Blue Artifices (v1) about two or three weeks after they came out. My Ghost deck is pretty much useless now. :/

[xela]

:O What are you talking about? The Shadow Masters look great and handle fantastically! Although I have never been much of a fan of the Black Deck Tigers, I agree with you on that. Anyways my first deck of cards was the Bicycle White Ghost. It was the first one I opened and it came in a package with three other decks from Ellusionist. After extensive use with the White Ghost I decided to get more decks and went on Ellusionist's website to order the Black Ghost, and the Tally-Ho Viper. Then got myself four decks of Blue Artifices (v1) about two or three weeks after they came out. My Ghost deck is pretty much useless now. :/

I meant the review itself was awful, but it was very positive. I personally love the SM's.

I usually give away my old decks to my younger sister who has a collection of her own (she's 10). Like you, I used the heck out of my Ghost deck. She now has a wide variety of E decks that I used too much and she loves them.

It sure beats tossing them out in the trash I think!

[redtank151]

I first bought a white arcane deck. I from then on was very obsessed with cards, I practiced trick after trick and technique after technique until it was so worn out. The only way it would fan was with a rather large amount of fanning powder. So now it's only useful for flourishing.

I bought it because I saw it in a store and that same day my friends bought me and Artifice V1 blue for no apparent reason.

Seemingly alot of our 1st custom decks come from Ellusionist.

[Aaron]

My first deck was actually 2 decks, a set of white and black ghost decks from Ellusionist. I had bought some decks from the dollar store and some bikes and a pink bike but I dont count those.

[Don Boyer]

As a kid, I mostly used whatever was bought for me; Bikes, Bees, Hoyles, etc.  I did have a "Marshall Brodien's 'TV Magic' Deck", but with little skill to figure out anything more than simple "Is this your card?" tricks.  Same thing for the two stripper decks I owned at two different stages of my life; young childhood and late 20s.  I did sometimes get cool airline decks, thanks to a godfather who worked at an international airport.


In my mid-30s, Texas Hold 'Em Poker was becoming a big deal.  My family started a semi-regular Sunday night game.  We bought Bikes by the brick (not knowing they were bricks, since we got them in retail display sleeves) and the most adventurous we got with deck selection was Jumbo Index, since my dad's eyesight wasn't was it used to be.


Around mid-2010, I thought it would be great to revive the old poker game, perhaps with some of my buddies from my early 20s, but I thought it would be cool to get something more unique - I'd seen an ad for one of the poker shows (or it might have been for a website) that had players using black cards and I thought they looked cool.  I did a Google search for custom playing cards, and Ellusionist was near the top of the list.  I looked and WOW - the cards were so cool, not like anything I played with before.  I hemmed and hawed, since the cards were also priced unlike anything I'd played with before (!), popping in on the website now and then, window-shopping without buying anything.


By Christmas, though, I had some extra cash, "semi-disposable" income, and decided to take the plunge.  I went for pretty much every deck they had available at the time, and over the course of two shipments, I had half bricks of the decks that they had gaff decks for (plus the gaff decks), some DVDs, etc.  Got the first shipment on Christmas Eve and took it to work.  By Christmas morning, I was already performing some convincing tricks.  Within a week, I placed that second order, and by the time I was done, I had a Gold Arcane and a Black Ghost 1st Edition in the Lucite case.


The rest is history...


I find it interesting how an Ellusionist deck is the "gateway deck" for quite a few deck collectors... 

[authorXD]

The first deck of cards I ordered was an Arcane, but Ellusionist sent me a Shadow Masters. I got to keep both, but I guess technically it was the Shadow Masters.

[KPopFever605]

For me, my first specialty deck would have to be a White Ghost 1st Edition (I know, right!). After getting tired of standard bikes, I researched, and found a whole underground network of custom playing cards. This "underground network" is what we call Ellusionist and theory11 at this point. Because I didn't have a credit card to purchase a deck from Ellusionist, I phoned a friend to buy me a Ghost deck on Ebay. At that point, I had no idea there were two editions of White Ghosts in circulation, so, I just randomly selected a listing and he brought me my deck once it arrived. I opened it at school, and *viola* I still proudly have that deck sitting in my collection today.

[xela]

For me, my first specialty deck would have to be a White Ghost 1st Edition (I know, right!). After getting tired of standard bikes, I researched, and found a whole underground network of custom playing cards. This "underground network" is what we call Ellusionist and theory11 at this point. Because I didn't have a credit card to purchase a deck from Ellusionist, I phoned a friend to buy me a Ghost deck on Ebay. At that point, I had no idea there were two editions of White Ghosts in circulation, so, I just randomly selected a listing and he brought me my deck once it arrived. I opened it at school, and *viola* I still proudly have that deck sitting in my collection today.

That first edition white cost is by far the best modern USPCC deck I've ever handled. I still have several sealed up, but only one with those grey boxes on the sides (the true v1).

I feel bad for Ellusionist. They had some of the best products around, but now everything they sell handles like everything else on the market.

[Don Boyer]

I feel bad for Ellusionist. They had some of the best products around, but now everything they sell handles like everything else on the market.

That may mean a slight decrease in E's quality - but remember, many companies have raised the bar a little in the handling department, thanks to Magic Finish.  I think it's as much "the others improved" as it is "E declined".  And I don't think they declined all that much, since now ALL of their decks are Magic Finish.

[SeanWhelan]

Ahh I love these topics. My first deck was the Black Tiger deck from E. My friend showed it to me back when I was in 9th grade (22 now). Since I was a kid I always collected decks on every vacation I went too. Nothing major just the novelty stuff you get in gift shops. But once I saw that deck made I didn't know there was a side like that. I went home and ordered a few along with the gaff deck. Best purchased I ever made : D

[DelMagic]

My first upscale deck was the Bicycle Guardians. I wasn't quite as adventurous as some of you. I bought them from Amazon and probably got a few other things to get the free shipping.

I remember my first foray into really premium decks: I bought the brown, violet and red Wynn trio on Ebay for $70. Insanity had crept in. Just a few months before that I couldn't have conceived of spending that kind of money for 3 decks - maybe for 3-dozen.

[xela]

My first upscale deck was the Bicycle Guardians. I wasn't quite as adventurous as some of you. I bought them from Amazon and probably got a few other things to get the free shipping.

I remember my first foray into really premium decks: I bought the brown, violet and red Wynn trio on Ebay for $70. Insanity had crept in. Just a few months before that I couldn't have conceived of spending that kind of money for 3 decks - maybe for 3-dozen.

Looking back, it's scary what that insanity feels like after you get your first really rare deck. At one point I was buying a dozen decks a week.

I tell you though, nothing feels better than trimming down a collection to the bare essentials.

[Evan]

One of my friends got me started into magic and he showed me some awesome looking decks that I had never seen before, like the Ghost deck, Shadow Masters, etc.
Once I learned a couple tricks, I ordered a few things from Ellusionist and one of them was a Black Ghost second edition and it came with a doubled seal! It's crazy to think that I went from 1 to 300 in such a short time.

[Jin Jian]

A couple of years ago .. my friend show me a card fan with his shadow masters deck .. then i ask him where did he buy it , after that i went to purchase a deck of white arcane then i went on to youtube and learn a couple of magic trick ..

[DeckReview]

My first deck was the black tiger red pips. When I first got into magic, I wondered why my fans were bad and eventually blamed the cards. I then learnt of ellusionist and saw the tiger deck. I had fantasies of owning the deck because I really wanted it. I practiced fanning with mavericks(because that's all I could find at the time) and yugioh cards while I dreamed of owning the tiger deck. So I worked at the school cafeteria and then bought the deck. I mastered card fanning before my deck arrived but it was really cool to see the difference between a standard deck versus a custom deck.

Then I bought a bunch of red masters because some crap reviewer told me they felt like the tiger deck. I shouldn't have listened because the guy handled the cards badly. Then I made a parody deck review with my newly learnt le paul spread. My vid was a hit so I bought more cards and decided to roll with the review thing.

[Siegismyname]

My first deck was the black tiger red pips. When I first got into magic, I wondered why my fans were bad and eventually blamed the cards. I then learnt of ellusionist and saw the tiger deck. I had fantasies of owning the deck because I really wanted it. I practiced fanning with mavericks(because that's all I could find at the time) and yugioh cards while I dreamed of owning the tiger deck. So I worked at the school cafeteria and then bought the deck. I mastered card fanning before my deck arrived but it was really cool to see the difference between a standard deck versus a custom deck.

Then I bought a bunch of red masters because some crap reviewer told me they felt like the tiger deck. I shouldn't have listened because the guy handled the cards badly. Then I made a parody deck review with my newly learnt le paul spread. My vid was a hit so I bought more cards and decided to roll with the review thing.

Mine were the Black Tigers too and the split spades lions black. Where can we see that video?

[Utterfool]

I guess for me, it really depends on what you mean by "specialty" deck.

I would say it was , for me, back in 84' I got an Olympic deck set, At the time I thought the mascot was awesome (let's here it for forcing nationalism down children's throats) and I was asking for anything that had the stupid eagle on it.So when I saw this set of cards in a special collectors box, I just had to have it. Much like every other piece of that short lived obsession, I didn't really "have to have it" for that long and sold it in a garage sale a couple years later.

my first "specialty" deck, along the lines that seem to be going on in this thread, was the Tendril deck.
It was truly the most unique and colorful (without being gaudy) deck I had seen at that time, and the tentacle theme reminded me of both my love for the Cthulhu mythos and my time spent in Japan (don't think about that last part too hard.)

As I have said before, missing that deck on kickstarter was an entrance way into the true card collecting community (not the farce of my old collection)
Be it a curse (to my bank account for sure) or a blessing (I would be stretching if I came up with something here)

[redtank151]

So we can all thank Ellusionist for forever cursing us to be bound by the chains of card collecting, sacrificing other worldly needs for decks of cards. Also I blame Alex because I am now a proud owner of a vortex deck, WOO!

I guess we all got E decks as our first mainly because they are one of the most readily available and most reasonably priced and you cannot deny that E decks are very nice looking.

[NathanCanadas]

Well I guess I'm an exception. I had a deck of Bridge-sized bikes and did some tricks of mismag822's channel: the easy and self-working ones. Then I met someone who was a magician, and he incited me to go to a magic shop. So I commuted for an hour, got there, and bought a tally-ho, a standard red riderback, and a turquoise deck as well as a medium-sized magic mat and a Mark Wilson's complete course in magic, an awesome magic book. However I returned the following day to exchange the mat for a bigger one (twice the size), and I also bought magic maker's black deck. Little did I know it was from magic makers. Later I saw whatistheory11, theory11's channel on youtube, and explored their site. Then insanity hit, and I bought one of each of their products, costing me almost 100$. From that moment on I dreamed and dreamed I owned every custom deck that exists on this planet, putting them all in my cart, but, of course, never checking out. I joined Aether Cards, learned a lot, and insanity hit me again seeing all the discounted prices of sellers on these forums. From that moment, I went from 1 to 350 in about 2 weeks. However I realized how unreasonable spending so much money was, so I resold many and decided I wouldn't buy any more decks in at least a year. I removed my pledge on Tendril, Spectrum, Galvanic etc...  And since I am trading only for new decks.
My most recent decks are actually from E.

[Paul Carpenter]

Deck One from Theory11. I honestly had no idea that custom decks existed until I saw those mentioned on a general design blog. I got a few other decks from them and then started looking around more and more, finding all the "big names."

My collection is still small in comparison to many, as I am picky and generally only buy 1-2 of any particular deck.

I hope to be adding Aurum to my own collection in the not too distant future.

[Cardist888]

My first deck was actually the ghost deck from ellusionist . Once i got it i was like holy crap! This deck is insane. But then once i saw the smoke and mirrors i completly xhanged my mind

[zaganh]

i remember i wanted to start learning magic tricks and i did a Google search to see what the magicians on tv was using they was bikes i saw some videos however of black ones and custom ones and i ended up on E haha but as shipping was a lot i went on amazon and ordered i think it was a black tiger and artifice and was blown away i was showing them to everyone and amazed how they glided and the fans then i was looking through amazon every day watching reviews picking cards then i ended up paying those high shipping fees many many times ^^

[ruicorreia]

   My story is very similar to some of the stories I've read: I've started with card magic and as I was learning more, it became obvious hat the decks that I was using were not good, so I´ve bought some Bicycle standard decks and they were fantastic.
   One day, the online magic shop announced a special and beautiful deck: Black Tiger deck from E. When I've received it, I was amazed and started to search if there were other decks like that. It was then I've discovered this amazing world.

[NathanCanadas]

   My story is very similar to some of the stories I've read: I've started with card magic and as I was learning more, it became obvious hat the decks that I was using were not good, so I´ve bought some Bicycle standard decks and they were fantastic.
   One day, the online magic shop announced a special and beautiful deck: Black Tiger deck from E. When I've received it, I was amazed and started to search if there were other decks like that. It was then I've discovered this amazing world.

How long ago was this? When the black tiger first appeared on the market or more recently?

[ruicorreia]

   My story is very similar to some of the stories I've read: I've started with card magic and as I was learning more, it became obvious hat the decks that I was using were not good, so I´ve bought some Bicycle standard decks and they were fantastic.
   One day, the online magic shop announced a special and beautiful deck: Black Tiger deck from E. When I've received it, I was amazed and started to search if there were other decks like that. It was then I've discovered this amazing world.

How long ago was this? When the black tiger first appeared on the market or more recently?

One year ago!
In my country, Portugal, decks are not very known and selled. And the biggest magic shop online had it for the first time only one year ago!

[Noobmachine]

My first deck was the Monarchs from T11, I saw them online and somehow found a deck in a small shop in my local mall. I was looking up quality decks for performing magic tricks and stumbled upon T11 and Ellusionist, and after I bought the Monarchs, the 'insanity' as you guys call it, hit and I splurged on a huge load of playing cards!!!

[donkamelon]

I buddy got me into cardistry and card magic so like many others, I started out with a deck of Bicycles. I never realized how many specialized cards were created until I came into the card world.

The first specialized, and also limited deck that I bought was Ellusionist's Red Artifice deck.