CORONA Playing Cards by BombMagic / KS

[Decknowledgy]

This is live! Edited the title post:

[theCapraAegagrus]

Back design looks decent.

[Harvonsgard]

Intriguing, but not that intriguing. Definetly going to wait to see more on the Kickstarter campaign.
The Corona lettering gives me too much of a Bicycle branded vibe...

[Decknowledgy]

I've got the prototype for the cold foil promo by TWPCC, and the registration is just crazy precise

Having seen foil printing by USPCC, Cartamundi, NPCC, and WJPC, this is the first time I've seen a cold foil print with such precision, shine, and acuracy that no line work is lost or smudged on the tuck. In fact, looking closely one will see that some of the spacing between the foiled lineworks are less than 0.3mm.....

[Decknowledgy]

BombMagic just contacted me to ask for permission to use my review on their pre-launch page.
So here it is, and you can read all about the new printing technique TWPCC is using and the background of the design (Vietnamese based design house): https://project.bombmagic.tw/corona-playing-cards

[Decknowledgy]

This campaign is live, see title post for more photos:

[RWPPFFShuffle]

Ooph, yet another KS this week that's pretty tempting. Love the back design and really interested in seeing how the TW cold foiling process turns out. The monochromatic court cards are kind of "meh" though.

[sinjin7]

I want to like these, because there's some good stuff here: cold foil, nice back design, fully custom courts, nice tuck. But one of the advantages of cold foil is that you can do multiple colors, and the monochromatic courts are a bit boring. I'm not thrilled with the price including shipping, either. If these came out a year or two ago, I would be much more excited, but not enough to get me over the hump, especially since I have no idea what the handling will be like.

[Decknowledgy]

especially since I have no idea what the handling will be like.

If you've handled cards that come from Taiwan no matter Expert, Legends, TWPCC (Bomb Magic), or Hanson-Chien, you'll know that the quality and durability are high. I have the prototype deck of this one which is printed by TWPCC themselves, and they handle like butter with smoother edges than USPCC or Cartamundi. Both feeling for Cartamundi and USPCC cards are most to the papery touch while TWPCC is snappier but glides just as well. To rank it:

Stiffness: Expert > TWPCC > USPCC > Cartamundi (Copag)
Glidiness: Cartamundi > USPCC = TWPCC > Expert
Edge Smoothness: TWPCC > Cartamundi > Expert > USPCC
Durability: Expert > TWPCC > USPCC > Cartamundi

If I have time to shoot a video, I'll handle the prototype and the Hidden King deck from Bomb Magic for reference.

[Harvonsgard]

Stiffness: Expert > TWPCC > USPCC > Cartamundi (Copag)
Glidiness: Cartamundi > USPCC = TWPCC > Expert
Edge Smoothness: TWPCC > Cartamundi > Expert > USPCC
Durability: Expert > TWPCC > USPCC > Cartamundi

I would second this.
I didn't know though, that TWPCC is another printer. Do you know for sure? I always assumed that they use the same factory as Legends and Experts. I only own two decks from TWPCC: the highly underappreciated Fujin and Raijin decks from Fionn Jordan. They handle awesome and are my favorite Taiwan deck handlingwise so far.
Since you have the 2018 TMA Magic Convention deck; are they similar stockwise? I always think about adding one edition of them to my collection.

[guru]

especially since I have no idea what the handling will be like.

If you've handled cards that come from Taiwan no matter Expert, Legends, TWPCC (Bomb Magic), or Hanson-Chien, you'll know that the quality and durability are high. I have the prototype deck of this one which is printed by TWPCC themselves, and they handle like butter with smoother edges than USPCC or Cartamundi. Both feeling for Cartamundi and USPCC cards are most to the papery touch while TWPCC is snappier but glides just as well. To rank it:

Stiffness: Expert > TWPCC > USPCC > Cartamundi (Copag)
Glidiness: Cartamundi > USPCC = TWPCC > Expert
Edge Smoothness: TWPCC > Cartamundi > Expert > USPCC
Durability: Expert > TWPCC > USPCC > Cartamundi

If I have time to shoot a video, I'll handle the prototype and the Hidden King deck from Bomb Magic for reference.

It is Kuo Kau, right? Expert & Legends both use this printer and TWPCC is its alternative (but not official) name.
The finish is better and cards look sturdier comapred to Cartamundi produced Cold foil decks. You might want to shoot a video or some close up pics @Decknowledgy...

[sinjin7]

If you've handled cards that come from Taiwan no matter Expert, Legends, TWPCC (Bomb Magic), or Hanson-Chien, you'll know that the quality and durability are high. I have the prototype deck of this one which is printed by TWPCC themselves, and they handle like butter with smoother edges than USPCC or Cartamundi. Both feeling for Cartamundi and USPCC cards are most to the papery touch while TWPCC is snappier but glides just as well. To rank it:

Stiffness: Expert > TWPCC > USPCC > Cartamundi (Copag)
Glidiness: Cartamundi > USPCC = TWPCC > Expert
Edge Smoothness: TWPCC > Cartamundi > Expert > USPCC
Durability: Expert > TWPCC > USPCC > Cartamundi

I own and have handled most decks from the Taiwanese printer that EPCC/LPCC, TWPCC, and Hanson Chien use, but never one that's been cold foiled, so I don't have a point of reference for how their cold foiling process affects handling. I would rank the decks a bit differently from how you did:

Stiffness - USPCC casino grade Bee stock (especially from Ohio) > Taiwanese decks > USPCC standard stock > CartaMundi
Slip - USPCC > CartaMundi > Taiwanese decks. For foiled decks the order is CartaMundi > USPCC > Taiwanese decks.
Edge Smoothness - completely irrelevant for any practical purposes
Short term Durability - USPCC = Taiwanese decks > CartaMundi (if you factor in warping, then knock down Taiwanese decks a spot)
Long term Durability - The Taiwanese decks are at most only 6 years old, so jury is still out. We know 40+ year old USPCC vintage casino decks hold up very well and can still be very good even after decades. I only have a few vintage decks from CartaMundi, as well as a few decks from over 15 years ago, and while the stock is still good, the finish has deteriorated and the cards are very clumpy. But it is a small sample size.

You also have to keep in mind there are many variants of stock and finish from the Taiwanese factory over the past 6 years given all the experimenting EPCC/LPCC has done, as well as the many different stocks from USPCC when they were in Ohio, so its admittedly somewhat simplistic to clump all the variants into monolithic USPCC or Taiwanese categories.

As for how the CORONA deck handles, I would've guessed they would handle decently, given how the cold foiling process has minimal impact on handling as opposed to hot-stamped foiling. I certainly can't imagine cold foiling would make Taiwanese deck handle even better. I don't have any of the Taiwanese decks on par with the USPCC in terms of finish, slip, and overall handling, so it's hard for me to imagine the CORONA deck handling like butter. Now if we're talking Ohio produced Shadow Master decks from E or Q1 Ohio Tally Hos, that is certified grade A butter. Maybe I'll pick up a CORONA deck after the campaign just to see for myself how they handle since you've piqued my curiosity, plus I'm a sucker for foiled decks anyways.

[Decknowledgy]

I own and have handled most decks from the Taiwanese printer that EPCC/LPCC, TWPCC, and Hanson Chien use, but never one that's been cold foiled, so I don't have a point of reference for how their cold foiling process affects handling.
//
Maybe I'll pick up a CORONA deck after the campaign just to see for myself how they handle since you've piqued my curiosity, plus I'm a sucker for foiled decks anyways.

Just to clarify, and I should mention this to Bomb Magic, the cold foil that they're referring to is only the tuck and not the cards, although it seems that cold foil on the cards are a potential stretch goal. The gold on the cards themselves are metallic ink, at least that's how the prototype is. Last time they did foil on cards was the Hidden King Copper Edition haha.

Anyways, I'll let them know that this clarification is crucial.

In terms of printing facility, TWPCC is run by Bomb Magic now so they are related businesses. On the one hand, folks are right that the printing facility change around, but on the other hand, because Bomb Magic is building TWPCC into an individual brand, they're narrowing down the variety among different decks. As far as I know, TWPCC quality control is top notch. EPCC/LPCC are more alike in experimenting different stocks and finishes as well as using the similar printing facility, but to be honest, Taiwan is a huge location of many printing facilities. I think it might be better to think of TWPCC as Uber, the quality controller of the cabs under the Uber business, but they require the cars (the printing factories) to meet the requested standards of theirs. So it's right that USPCC is better at maintaining a decent quality having their own printing facilities, and Taiwanese card stocks depend on the respective qualities that the production houses asks for (EPCC/LPCC/TWPCC/Hanson-Chien). In my experience of handling Taiwanese produced decks, EPCC and LPCC are basically the same, just name changes. TWPCC and HC, however, are different in the card's touch. To say that all of these brands fall under the generalized umbrella of "Taiwanese printed feeling" is an understatement. EPCC/LPCC is one category, TWPCC is another, and Hanson-Chien is the third, all respectively different.

[guru]

I own and have handled most decks from the Taiwanese printer that EPCC/LPCC, TWPCC, and Hanson Chien use, but never one that's been cold foiled, so I don't have a point of reference for how their cold foiling process affects handling.
//
Maybe I'll pick up a CORONA deck after the campaign just to see for myself how they handle since you've piqued my curiosity, plus I'm a sucker for foiled decks anyways.

Just to clarify, and I'll be mentioning this to Bomb Magic, the cold foil that their referring to is only the tuck and not the cards, although it seems that cold foil on the cards are a potential stretch goal. The gold on the cards themselves are metallic ink, at least that's how the prototype is. Last time they did foil on cards was the Hidden King Copper Edition haha.

Anyways, I'll let them know that this clarification is important!

If that is the case then the title is misleading on kickstarter. The price per deck is quite high for a non foiled deck.

[Decknowledgy]

If that is the case then the title is misleading on kickstarter. The price per deck is quite high for a non foiled deck.

Just realized, someone did ask where the foil is for the deck and this is how the creator responded:

First to say we can't thank you enough for the supporting! You're right, the prototype edition decks only the cold foil on the tuck. The printing developed process is a really big challenge to us. It was more difficult coz the playing card paper comes with the pattern. They're also different production lines! We separated and broke each part to re-combine.

However, it present perfectly on the tuck already and we've keep trying to make it also great on the playing cards. If we have good news, we will announce and also upgrade the cards to completely foil to the backers. In any case, we care the quality and the handling, so it will at least like the prototype. If the production line can not make the playing cards slippery or handle better. We still have to make the original decision later in the near future.

Throwback we signed the agreement with artists in 2017. This process is taking too long to make the artistic works can not public to everyone. The original idea is just respect the design details that we can not use it for hot foil printing. It will be failed. The decision make us start develop, test and cost more until now, the artists are sill waiting. We're really sorry to them, but we can not stick their dream there. It's the time to out, but we've never stop to make it better!

My perspective on the price being high for some folks is that the card community has been too comfy with the low prices that USPCC provides. But it's the same with all innovations: while people praise the innovation of foil stamping and printing at 52 Plus Joker without regarding the steep prices for those decks, Bomb Magic is doing the same trying the cold foil on the tuck, testing their version of cold foil precision stamping in their local area (Taiwan). Everything from the cards to the tuck is being done with minimal outsourcing so that they could continue to compete and provide service on the International ground while using local services in the future. It's kind of like the same price complaints that Lotrek get for doing everything in-house and sourcing printing from his regional circles. Can't say that I'm not biased since I'm a Taiwanese, but in this comparison, I see no reason why people who are doing intensive research for innovation in the business should be viewed with different standards.

Note: I'm not trying to defend them for not clarifying that the foil is only on the tuck.

[badpete69]

Postman stopped by today with a small package

'

[rousselle]

Sorry to hear your postman has a small package. I'm pretty sure he's still the father.

[Decknowledgy]

Sorry to hear your postman has a small package. I'm pretty sure he's still the father.

[Harvonsgard]

Sorry to hear your postman has a small package. I'm pretty sure he's still the father.

[theCapraAegagrus]

Sorry to hear your postman has a small package. I'm pretty sure he's still the father.

This is why he's the best.

[PrincessTrouble]

Oh, the postman brought you a virus. Yikes.