Battle 9: Fantastique vs. Mechanic Deck

[Don Boyer]

And our next challengers are...

NAME	DESIGNER	PRODUCER
Fantastique	Sveta Dorosheva	Dan and Dave
Mechanic Deck	Jimmy K/Mechanic Industries	House of Playing Cards

They're both very different, but also similar in that they're the only two custom decks in recent history that have backs that aren't the same, and when flipped, reveal an animation.  The one for the Mechanic Deck could be used to determine a card's suit, but not its value, while a careful observer could use the Fantastique deck as a marked deck - very obviously marked, and not so easy to read!

Hey - they look cool, and that's all we care about in this one, right, gang?

Voting closes sometime Tuesday night.  People who comment on their vote get entered in a drawing for free board "swag".  See the "How to Play" topic for more info.

[MrMollusk]

Fantastique. 110%.
It was kind of the first custom deck with animation incorporated into it's design. Sure, there were trick decks, but none really had the full animation back the Fantastique had. Plus, it had a lot more going for it. There were more animations: The eyes of the bird, the tree out of the hat, the bicycle, the band members, the pulleys, and the moving halves of the woman. The Mechanic deck was just... gears.

Plus, let's not forget the overall design as a whole. The artwork on the jokers, ace of spades, and box for the Fantastique was phenomenal. The silver tied in the deck's design together, and gave the deck an awesome shine when you fanned it in the light. It seems the Mechanic deck had much less thought put into it. The theme of the Fantastique was also a lot more original, interesting, and inspired than a Machine themed deck.

[Don Boyer]

I'm going Mechanic on this one.  I really like both decks, but Mechanic is more practical and I love what they did with the details in the pips - there's a pattern in them if you look close under good light.  I think Fantastique is gorgeous, but since I'm not a cardist, my only real use for the deck is playing solitaire.  Gorgeous is great, but gorgeous and impractical?  Not so much.

[sway]

What?? I didn't even...

This is some serious news to me. I thought the Mechanic Deck was a regular deck - a regular 'meh' deck for me. Didn't know there was something special hidden on that back.

Although I don't own the Mechanic and can't really make a fair comparison here, I'll vote for Fantastique anyway. It's too awesome not to vote and I doubt the other contestant could top it

Seriously though, I really like the Fantastique's surrealist vibe. It's back remind me of an Escher painting and the jokers have a kind of Hieronymus Bosch-like feel to it. Great design.

[Don Boyer]

What?? I didn't even...

This is some serious news to me. I thought the Mechanic Deck was a regular deck - a regular 'meh' deck for me. Didn't know there was something special hidden on that back.

When you have the deck in new deck order, an animation appears on the back while riffling the deck, making the gears appear to be turning.  Further examination reveals that the pattern cycles once through each suit, and that cards of the same values in all suits will have identical backs.  It's difficult to "read" the backs and tell them apart with precision, but you can at least determine that a card is of a high, mid or low value.

[Nurul]

Mechanic FTW - love the animation of the deck, ima sucker for that stuff

[Curt]

I had to vote Fantastique in this case. Remembering back to when it was released and how unique the animation design was made it a very easy purchase. I also like the general art style of the deck over the mechanics

[Don Boyer]

OK, voting's closed - Mechanic Deck by a nose!

The comment winner is.....

[drumroll]..............................................[/drumroll]

Poster number FIVE, a.k.a. Curt!  Check with John about your prize!

New topic coming shortly.

...and here it is!  http://aethercards.com/discourse/deck-battles-(alpha)/battle-10/