Star Wars Dark Side (RED) Playing Cards by theory11

As expected by Theory11 there is fine attention to detail In the artwork of every card. For more info on the card characters themselves, please see other online reviews. The choice of characters is not ideal for most Star Wars fans, and it would have been better to see more characters. But you now have a top-quality deck for magic rather than a collectable set of cards that aren’t. As with other cards, I prefer the red backed dark side cards over the blue, but now there are more tones available.

Great to have a themed deck. You don’t need to go to trouble creating patter for a trick, and spectators can easily identify card faces. No more boring 52 cards. But the theme is probably not the best one for most lady spectators, unless you know they like sci fi.

I have had a blue deck for a weeks and the handling is still perfect. These cards are the crispest I have handled, and light too. The backs absorb less sweat than any other deck I have used - no swear detected at all so far - which makes them similar to T11 Navigators, where my original deck still works after 6 months - just slowly. But the Star Wars deck has a different back texture, unlike any deck tried.

For sleights, these are the best. Double lifts are easier though may depend on your technique. But after some handling of first deck, I found I could double lift and triple lift single handed - something I hadn’t ever done before. Not well, but the crisp cards made this possible, and a I’m no expert at sleights. And flipping a face-up double is easier than with any other deck tried.

Not interested in fancy embossing styles of T11 card backs or tuck cases - still great here - but more into deck quality. You can still do sleights with a cheap deck, but if you like therapeutic card handling and deck longevity, it’s worth the price for these more expensive decks. Just be prepared for insomnia.

I need to test the decks longer to know their longevity, but if similar to T11 Navigators, they could last half a year or more, while still good for ambitious card, etc, when they finally do drag.

Same downside with most new decent decks: a double can split depending on your technique. I use a safe method that keeps the cards aligned, so opening a new deck is no problem. A. Vernon-style method can easily split your double, even a simplified version of his handling.

I like crisp cards so I can do do safe card buckles or pinky Pulldowns - in real time - which can be almost impossible with decks fine for everything else but quickly get sweat soaked backs that mess up these moves.

These cards are exactly what they look like. Good quality and good design. I bought 2 of each so that I could open one to gum upand show off and leave one sealed because I collect things.