Nexus by Penguin Magic (ill. Max Bondarchuk)

[hsbc]

EDIT: Removed second image, which is from another deck

[vasta41]

Pretty. Can't wait to see the low price.

[Reylek]

Very excited about Nexus, launching this Friday, July 8th!

[shunterino]

One pic of the tuck a day before it's available for sale doesn't feel like the most proactive marketing strategy.

[Reylek]

Here are a few more photos, and some additional info:

The Blue Nexus will go on sale at PenguinMagic.com on Friday the 8th. MSRP is $10, and we will also do discounted 6-packs in half-brick collector boxes.

The Blue deck has 100% custom artwork, with a matte blue paper tuck with silver foil.

We also have a very limited Black & Gold deck, only 500 printed. The Black deck has gold foil on the card backs, and the tuck is made from black paper with gold foil.

The Black & Gold decks will be a TGIF gift. Any shippable order of $100 or more (does not have to include Blue decks) will receive the Black & Gold deck for free through Thurs the 14th, or while supplies last.

Both decks are printed on our UltraLux™ Finish with AquaFlow™ Coating.

And of course, free worldwide shipping with no minimum order.

[kevork]

Tired of these $100 requirements to get a particular deck from them, especially with how often they're doing it now. It seems to reward retailers as most people won't be spending $100+ every month on cards.

I get that they are a business though.

[Harvonsgard]

Still looking to get something sophisticated from Penguin. Some of their recent releases where alright but none was truely interesting for me. I hate GWPs as well but I love what they are doing on the positive site: free worldwide shipping, decks for $10. I wonder why other brands only manage to charge a multitude of $10 for a deck and then charge extra for shipping...
Oh Penguin... I just need you to match my taste, haha.

[STLBluesNut]

it is full custom which is nice but the style is just not for me.

[Reylek]

The TGIF promo items are not acquired by retailers, unless they are paying full retail. Most retailers purchase through our wholesale program, which does not qualify for the TGIF bonus items.

I understand the mixed feelings on a GWP item. It's a double-edged sword. Gift items that are rare & exclusive are often more desirable. Generally we have been alternating weeks where the gift is a for-sale deck and a not-for-sale deck so that we can try to have a certain amount of balance.

This is just another way for us to add value and thank our customers for their ongoing support.

There really isn't a one-size-fits-all solution that can make every single person happy, especially with the mix of magicians, collectors, cardists, etc. That goes for any custom deck, not just a GWP.

As mentioned, we already have fantastic pricing and an unbeatable free shipping policy.

I've been playing with the Nexus decks for the past few weeks. This is a great debut deck from Max Bondarchuk. I hope folks will like them as much as I do!

[vasta41]

EDIT: Removed second image, which is from another deck

...so what was that other deck? I really liked the gilding.

[Reylek]

EDIT: Removed second image, which is from another deck

...so what was that other deck? I really liked the gilding.

That one's for August

Small adjustment on the Nexus release - they’ll be launching on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

[jerichoholic]

I was going to ask what happened to it?

Also I agree with the previous comment about being tired of the gift decks for people who spend $100. It's good for some but not for most. It's no different to me than we Ellusionist or Conjuring Arts offered special decks if you bought a brick. Didn't like it then, don't like it now.

To be clear, I don't mind people getting something free for spending a bunch of money, I just think others should have the opportunity to buy it if they want. No reason to make them so limited either.

[Reylek]

The Nexus decks are now live!

https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/17493

As mentioned, the Black & Gold are launching simultaneously with the Blue, and will be automatically added to shippable orders with a subtotal of $100 or more, while supplies last.

[hsbc]

[Tal]

I dont often get excited with new design, but the blues are amazing, getting those for sure

made a 50$ purchase, so I dont get the black one, wish you guys could reward something for 50$ purchases aswell, the 100$ is pretty high, but cant complain with the free world wide shipping, thats unbeatable, also with the fair prices and great customer service, penguin magic is a real magic

[Reylek]

Thanks for your support!

We actually do a free gift on $50 orders as well - the Penguin Magic Monthly Magazine. I don't really mention it here because it's definitely something that's more geared to magicians than card collectors.

Each issue teaches some magic tricks, and always includes some sort of prop/gimmick as well.

So your order will definitely have that!

[EndersGame]

The black & gold deck looks particularly classy, with the gold foil on all the cards.





















Today is the last day these are available for free with orders from Penguin over $100.

Some of the ad copy:

"This is a special, ultra-limited edition of the Nexus playing cards. Limited to only 500 individually-numbered decks, the Black edition cards use black ink and gold foil on the card backs for an extra pop of elegance and shine.

The Black edition is currently available only through special promotions and giveaways and is not available for purchase.

Nexus can refer to a connection between ideas, objects, or places. It can also be the central, most important place or idea. Nexus playing cards explore the duality of this concept.

Designed by Max Bondarchuk, the Nexus deck has 100% custom artwork. The back design appears simple & traditional from a distance, but more details emerge when viewed up-close.

The linked circles in the design, astral elements, and other symbolism invite routines & presentations about connection, mysticism, and more - making this an ideal tool for mind-reading, mentalism, and cold-reading routines.

The faces use custom fonts, new pip designs & layouts on the number cards, and custom court card designs. Despite the customization, the faces maintain enough familiarity to be suitable for all tricks and games.

The box is made from a premium matte black paper with all of the design work stamped in luxurious gold foil inside and out. The box is sealed with an individually-numbered foil stamp."

[EndersGame]

The special offer for the free black & gold deck (gold foil on the card backs, limited edition of 500) originally expired on 15 July. But Penguin Magic has now extended this to 21 July. You get it as a freebie with orders of $100 or more.

Naturally the standard deck with blue tuck box and blue backed cards is still readily available, and is priced as $10.

[Reylek]

Thanks Ender!

Because of our extended 4th of July promo, the Black Nexus were offered for TGIF alongside the Blue release on a Monday, giving them less than a week on the roster. Rather than swap out on Friday for a for-sale deck, we thought it would be better to extend the Black deck to ensure that it got at least a full week like the other TGIF decks. It will wind up having just under 2 weeks of "live" time, or while supplies last.

If all decks are claimed before Thurs, we will change the TGIF offer to another deck - the offer won't go away completely.

As of now it looks like there are about 75 left of the Black decks.

[Maxwell_PCC]

These have been around since 2020. Are the Penguin ones printed by Cartamundi?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcYwUbSrtiV ... _copy_link

[Reylek]

Hi Maxwell. Thanks for bringing these to our attention. I can promise that before your post, nobody at Penguin had been aware of your deck or brand, so this is most definitely a case of independent creation.

Our decks are not printed by Cartamundi.

[Maxwell_PCC]

I don't doubt that it was independent...Actually one of Chris Ramsay's decks "Memento Mori" had the sub_Brand NXS (Nexus) long before this. Mine are not widely available, but a 2nd printing was in the works with USPCC.

What does this mean though, are Penguin and myself in the clear to market them independently?

[Reylek]

Hi Maxwell. Yes, after my reply I did some Googling. I tried a handful of searches: "Nexus playing cards", "Maxwell playing card co", "Maxwell nexus playing cards", and a few others and was unable to find your deck through those searches. I also searched for Maxwell Playing Cards on Instagram in hopes of following you, but also didn't turn up any results. I did see your IG link after the fact - I had overlooked it when I first viewed your post.

Are your decks available for sale? Where might I buy one?

I've been in this biz a long time, producing since 2009 and collecting since the mid-90s. I've seen a TON of cases of independent creation in that time.

Yes, generally as long as the designs are different and no trademarks or copyrights are being infringed, it's very much usually a "live and let live" kind of thing when items get the same name. Much as there are sometimes several movies with the same one-word or two-word title, even though they are not related.

We had something similar with our coffee-themed Roasters Deck. Penguin and OPC each submitted our designs to USPCC within a short timeframe of each other. Penguin submitted our artwork first, but OPC released their deck to the market first. It was as clear-cut a case of independent creation as I've ever seen. Cam and I both agreed that even though the decks shared a theme and had similar names (Roasters Coffee Shop and Roasters House Blend) that there was no reason they couldn't happily co-exist.

We strive to always be as unique as possible with our themes and names, but in the expanding field of custom cards it's natural that there are only so many themes, design elements, names, etc for people to come up with. In my book, it's the individual execution of each deck that counts.

Definitely no problem on our end with your upcoming USPCC reprint - the designs of our Nexus decks are quite different.

[Maxwell_PCC]

Hi Kevin, I am on instagram under the name Maxwell_PCC (Gared Crawford) Some teaser shots of the cards on my account go back to 2020.

The first run was small. And only really shared among friends. Going forward, Jason Ladanye and Michael Vincent are on board for doing promos for the USPCC prints. The Pandemic really put a damper on getting them to market.

I have no problem with it either...glad we are on the same page. The designs are different for sure...but there are some coincidental similarities...like the slanted Logo on the face of the box and the general geometric style of the back design.

I will admit though my heart sank a bit when I saw these, only because right before my first run was going to be printed (under the name "Vision" Playing Cards), another designer launched a kickstarter campaign for a deck of the same name. I then scrapped my box design and AoS and had to go through the process of rebranding the deck. In the end, it was a blessing in disguise because the finished product ended up being much better than my original design.

So much for a unique name...it is just a word after all.

[Reylek]

Hey Gared - yep, once I realized you had posted an IG link I followed you from my personal account and the PenguinCards account.

I hear you on the pandemic being really difficult for getting things done - the printing industry was majorly affected, and of course everyone's personal lives as well.

For sure, I've seen some decks that are just loosely similar to each other, and some where the similarities are incredibly close.

I understand the heart-sinking feeling 1000%. I have been keeping a list of deck ideas since 2009. Some ideas are themes, some are names, some are both. It's always disappointing when I see a deck pop up on the market or on Kickstarter where someone else beats me to the punch. It's happened to me more times than I can count. The one nice thing though is that even when it's an idea that I love - I still always manage to come up with something else, and sometimes I like the new thing even more.

Interesting story - back when I was working for HOPC, we were working with Lorenzo Gaggiotti on releasing his first deck, which would eventually become the Heretic deck. While we had it in the works, it had a different name. A campaign launched for a deck with the same name, so Lorenzo changed it to Heretic. Ultimately he wound up self-producing and releasing the deck. While the name change was disappointing at the time, I don't think it ultimately hurt the deck, and certainly not his career!

We have no plans to reprint our Nexus deck. I'd think that a fair amount of time will separate our respective Nexus decks. If people love your design, the fact that another deck exists with the same name certainly won't discourage anyone from backing, I'd think.

[Harvonsgard]

If people love your design, the fact that another deck exists with the same name certainly won't discourage anyone from backing, I'd think.

I can % vouch for this. I couldn't care less if there're 1000 decks named Nexus out there. If the name fits the theme and the design is great/to my liking, I'm going to buy it.

And from the pictures you've posted I'd be interested to see more @Maxwell btw. Who did the first print? Are there still some left? What do the courts look like?

Wasn't Heretic even renamed twice? Alchemist (or something similar) to Oracle to Heretic?

[Maxwell_PCC]

Hi Harvonsgard,
I can start a new thread for my deck as not to detract from the original purpose of this thread. I'll get around to doing that soon.

In the mean time feel free to look at the un-launched kickstarter Campaign I set up for them a while back...you can see all the details there:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ma ... n=fadeaa7b

Congrats to Kevin and team for bringing a nice looking deck to market!

[EndersGame]

There are plenty of decks in the playing card market that have the same name. It just adds some confusion when people search for a deck by name, so if someone is making a new deck, it's usually a good marketing idea to use a unique name.

But when things like this happen independently, that's really not a problem. I don't see any copying of ideas or artwork - that's an entirely different matter, and much more problematic. Nexus is just an English word after all, so it wouldn't be different than two people with very different projects calling their deck "Love Playing Cards", for example.

Penguin's blue Nexus deck has been my daily carry over the past week, and I'm loving the fact that they've got a higher quality tuck case than a lot of their line-up, with silver foil on the box inside and out. It's very nicely done. I only just noticed for the first time that the cards have a subtle one-way back design as well.

I would love to see a bit more detail than what the ad copy says about the background of the images and symbols, though. It say this: "Nexus can refer to a connection between ideas, objects, or places. It can also be the central, most important place or idea. Nexus playing cards explore the duality of this concept .... "

For the rest it doesn't really explain much, other than saying that "the linked circles in the design, astral elements, and other symbolism invite routines & presentations about connection, mysticism, and more - making this an ideal tool for mind-reading, mentalism, and cold-reading routines." It would be really interesting to know more about what the designer intended with the artwork, and perhaps explaining some of the specific symbols and imagery he included - it would only help appreciate the deck even more.

[hsbc]

[rousselle]

Oooh. Me likely. Kind of an off-beat version of the standards. Quirky indices without being unreadable. Stylized pips, likewise.

If there's a blue gilded version, I might have to grab one....