Starry Night - by EPC

[Fud]

I am so excited to announce our newest deck: Starry Night!

This launch has been much delayed due to Covid but it's finally getting off the ground:

• Website launch, no Kickstarter.

• The deck will open to the public on July 14.

• You can sign up for the Earlybird list which gets a 24 hour early access and exclusive discounts.

• We also have a few launch contests over on our Instagam page and through this link.

THE DECK

• 100% custom, hand drawn designs.

• Metallic gold accents on the fronts and backs for a beautiful shine.

• 310GSM paper, foiled & embossed tuck, printed by WJPC, shipped by GWH.

• Available in 1, 2 and 6-deck bundles. The 6-deck bundle comes with a custom half brick box and FREE USA shipping.

This is going to be a beautiful deck!

Sign up for the earlybird list to get more details, exclusive discounts and early access

See you inside!

[brownsl]

I am a van Gogh fan and will be getting these. If anyone else is a fan of van Gogh you should definitely watch Loving Vincent, a great movie.

[shkorc]

Could you please share the prices?

Thank you and good luck with the sale.

[Fud]

Could you please share the prices?

Single decks start at $11.95 with up to 20% discount for multiples (the half brick box is 20% off). But the Earlybird list and those on my email list get more discounts

I don't do $15+ decks unless justified

[irtjames14]

i'm in!

[supernova]

These look nice. I haven’t tried any cards from WJPC Any reviews, especially on how they compare with other manufacturers?

[Harvonsgard]

I like that back design a lot. Courts not so much.

WJPC is acceptable not on top of the game but they are okay.

[james001a]

Price is good for the nice looking design, but I am not sold on the WHPC quality. Is this what they made their Elephant deck cards from? My decision would be based on that.

[Fes]

Single decks start at $11.95 with up to 20% discount for multiples (the half brick box is 20% off). But the Earlybird list and those on my email list get more discounts

Hello Ben, fun stuff here so I gotta ask, is it $11.95 Aud? I like Aud, fantastic bills really! That sounds reasonable for a WJP deck. I like it! I may even like it enough for a shnazzy half brick box. Courts are a little toony for me but I think that's part of the charm. It's got the Shnazz going on in the half brick box and the tucks something very special to play slap jack with. Which they would be, since a WJP deck is finally priced more in line with quality. It marks a turning point for the better! So if it is $11.95 Aud, Good on ya Ben!

Not a WJP review just my experience with the decks I've used and the amusements I've seen.

WJP has rough edges, not quite what Liberty had/has but Liberty is it's own animal. Good for toughening up the pads of yer paws is how I look at it when I get a rough edged deck. They'll wear down to be much less noticeable after a couple hundred shuffles or so. WJP doesn't mind missing out on the little things like gluing tuck boxes properly, you know no big deal there. On occasion our friend Ben here has had to replace entire colors of a certain deck due to jacked colors, check out the wonderful world of "Cyberpunk Playing Cards". Weird smells on decks from WJP is happened too, I don't know what they were/are doing to have that happen. Ultimately WJP is a company that prints playing cards and will print custom playing cards. First used WJP playing cards when RJ Tomlinson started printing with them years ago. The last deck I used from them was better than they were back then, but only just. They'll fan just fine, the rough edges kind of help with that actually. They card stock on the decks I've used has not all been the same, sometimes it deforms quickly to banana deck sometimes it stays straight as a board and my claws get sore. That tells me they've been trying out new stuff, but I'm not a regular nor avid consumer of WJP decks. At the end of the day, you're probably buying a custom playing card deck for the artwork not the manufacturer. I mean, they're playing cards and a lot of little things play into any decks handling, humidity, temperature, use, etc. Your mileage may vary.

Price is good for the nice looking design, but I am not sold on the WHPC quality. Is this what they made their Elephant deck cards from? My decision would be based on that.

Yep, Elephant deck was originaly launched to on KS with LPCC printing but that didn't fund. Ben relaunched shortly there after with the decks being printed by WJP, which did fund.

[Decknowledgy]

The card stock of WJPC used by EPC is tolerable and ok-ish. Fans well but on the stiffer side. EPC produced WJPC cards are kinda a guarantee that you'll get a better stock and finish by WJPC.

[Fud]

Price is good for the nice looking design, but I am not sold on the WHPC quality. Is this what they made their Elephant deck cards from? My decision would be based on that.

It is the same printer that did the Elephant decks, but the original print run of those decks was on absolutely terrible card stock which has improved significantly since then. For a better reference, you would be looking at the Circuit decks or recent Cyberpunk decks - pretty good handling, great durability and nice and snappy. We are using 'butter finish' which is waaaay smoother than the old elephant decks.

Hello Ben, fun stuff here so I gotta ask, is it $11.95 Aud? I like Aud, fantastic bills really! That sounds reasonable for a WJP deck. I like it! I may even like it enough for a shnazzy half brick box. Courts are a little toony for me but I think that's part of the charm. It's got the Shnazz going on in the half brick box and the tucks something very special to play slap jack with. Which they would be, since a WJP deck is finally priced more in line with quality. It marks a turning point for the better! So if it is $11.95 Aud, Good on ya Ben!

Nope, sorry - USD. Keeping a deck with foil, embossing and metallic inks under $12 with the US-China trade war, Covid paper shortages and increasing logistics costs is tricky. That's one reason why I think we are seeing so many 'cardistry' decks with no bells and whistles rolled out for $15-$18 (that and just plain opportunism).

Keep in mind though that $11.95 will be retail. Jump into the earlybird list and you'll get 24 hours with a pretty decent discount and free US shipping for orders >$50 (i.e. a half brick box or a mixture of decks).

The card stock of WJPC used by EPC is tolerable and ok-ish. Fans well but on the stiffer side. EPC produced WJPC cards are kinda a guarantee that you'll get a better stock and finish by WJPC.

They are a stiffer deck than USPCC or Cartamundi, but these are not primarily cardistry decks. They are designed for games - they are beautiful for collectors and can be used for cardistry (I get at least a couple of videos each week from customers showing me their cardistry moves with EPC decks), but the core of our focus is to make functional decks that can be used by lots of people at an accessible price point. We can't achieve that to the same effect with a softer card stock that doesn't stand shuffling as well, or a high price point for a branded cardistry deck.

[james001a]

Thanks for the very honest answer. You could have gotten defensive as some creators do but you took the time to educate instead of attacking. That my friend sits very well for me. I'm in.

[robcan0630]

I'll be signing up for that early bird list. Thanks for sharing.

[Fud]

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick heads up that Starry Night Pre-Launch will close TONIGHT.

The Earlybird launch will start 8am Eastern tomorrow, with all Earlybird subscribers getting a 24 hour advance access to the deck (ahead of the general public) and a (pretty decent) exclusive discount.

The link to sign up for Early access is here: HERE. If you sign up you'll get an email with your access link and code tomorrow morning. It won't be on social media. It won't be on this forum. You need to sign up to get it.

I also made an error in judgement about how popular these decks would be and only printed 2,500. Based on the EB opt-ins I already have, I am quite confident that these will sell out quickly. So getting that early access plus the discount could make a difference. I don't like to use scarcity tactics like some marketers, but it's the truth.

And lastly, we are offering a custom, really cool half brick box with 6-deck purchases of Starry night, which (even when combined with the EB exclusive discount) will get free US shipping. Seriously, it's a really good deal!

Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow
Ben

[Fes]

I also made an error in judgement about how popular these decks would be and only printed 2,500. Based on the EB opt-ins I already have, I am quite confident that these will sell out quickly. So getting that early access plus the discount could make a difference. I don't like to use scarcity tactics like some marketers, but it's the truth.

I believe you about not using scarcity marketing tactics Ben. You always shoot straight with us. This is great news, love hearing about success beyond the initial projected hopes. Good stuff and if it does indeed happen, congratulations on being a sell out.

[Fud]

I believe you about not using scarcity marketing tactics Ben. You always shoot straight with us. This is great news, love hearing about success beyond the initial projected hopes. Good stuff and if it does indeed happen, congratulations on being a sell out.

Thanks, I appreciate that In my day to day I swim with an ocean of ruthless, unethical, money hungry marketers, and I just hate that mindset so much. Whenever something like this comes up that could feel like more hardcore marketing strategies I feel a need to qualify it to not fall in the same category as people who just want to take your money.

It's the world we live in though, I guess.

[redux]

Well these actually look very nice.

Edit:
Couldn't resist the early bird price and ordered one.

[OVSUB]

Got my decks, they're fun.

[EndersGame]

The card stock of WJPC used by EPC is tolerable and ok-ish. Fans well but on the stiffer side. EPC produced WJPC cards are kinda a guarantee that you'll get a better stock and finish by WJPC.

I realize this is a thread from two years ago, but I've just been reading through some older threads about decks produced by Elephant Playing Cards.

Question for Decknowledgy about his statement: "EPC produced WJPC cards are kinda a guarantee that you'll get a better stock and finish by WJPC." Can you explain what you mean by that? I think we all know that WJPC has upped their quality significantly since 2018-2019. But why can you be sure of higher standards with a WJPC produced deck if it is for EPC?

Is that because Ben has specific requirements that other creators don't, or does he use a particular stock/finish that others don't use? Or does WJPC just pull out all stops to ensure quality for EPC, given that he is a repeat customer? I'm sure others are also curious to know what the secret is here, to ensure getting the same level of kind of quality from WJPC that is typical for Elephant Playing Cards.

They are a stiffer deck than USPCC or Cartamundi, but these are not primarily cardistry decks. They are designed for games - they are beautiful for collectors and can be used for cardistry (I get at least a couple of videos each week from customers showing me their cardistry moves with EPC decks), but the core of our focus is to make functional decks that can be used by lots of people at an accessible price point. We can't achieve that to the same effect with a softer card stock that doesn't stand shuffling as well, or a high price point for a branded cardistry deck.

Question for Fud (Ben) about the above. You're obviously talking about WJPC's 310gsm card-stock here, which is slightly thicker and more durable. Have you tried printing any decks with their 300gsm card-stock? It's slightly thinner and softer, and comes closer to USPCC's crushed stock, feeling quite soft, while still remaining durable and holding the shape of the cards well.

It seems to me that the 300gsm card-stock from WJPC might be perfect for cardistry decks. If ever you wanted to go in the direction of producing a cardistry type deck, that slightly softer stock might be perfect.

[Decknowledgy]

Question for Decknowledgy about his statement: "EPC produced WJPC cards are kinda a guarantee that you'll get a better stock and finish by WJPC." Can you explain what you mean by that? I think we all know that WJPC has upped their quality significantly since 2018-2019. But why can you be sure of higher standards with a WJPC produced deck if it is for EPC?

Thanks for the follow-up question, Enders! Personally it's just the touch to the fingers, and I have several EPC decks at hand that feels quite nice, snappy and sturdy, although not as soft as USPCC ofc. In terms of the card stock, it's probably best to let Ben answer that question since I'm not an expert in the spec and tech side of the business.

[EndersGame]

In terms of the card stock, it's probably best to let Ben answer that question since I'm not an expert in the spec and tech side of the business.

You've done a great job helping Gakondo Playing Cards with this though - well done!

Mind you, I did notice that their original Gakondo deck opted to use blue core stock from WJPC, which tends to be inferior to their black core stock.

What card stock is their Dark Continents deck being produced with?