I've used Cartamundi Aces in plastic (regular and limited edition). The texture on them is like a freshly-powdered paper card, they faro reasonably well and the stiffness is just right. Some plastic cards (coughBICYCLEPRESTIGEcough) are a bit too springy, and the predecessor to the Prestige (plastic Bicycles with 808 Rider Backs which came in white peek-a-boo tuck boxes) actually tended to stick together, making them pretty terrible for most tricks. I never tried the New Era decks - they're hard to find and not cheap when you do find them - but supposedly they're better for magic.
From what I was able to tell in reading about the Death Heads, BBM/Karnival wants to make a plastic deck that's good enough for magic (possibly even XCM). Something with just the right texture and feel, but something that's meant to be tough and take abuse while coming back for more.