Something Wicked This Way Comes!

[Cbkimble]

I think chach has a point. Mike never said it was a deck of cards and continues to refer to 'these'.

[Mike Ratledge]

OK, I'm happy to announce that someone has won the first "hidden contest" here on UC -
for members only, because you can't win if you can't post, and you can't post unless you are a member
and membership is free, just like it always has been. To participate in the future, you need to register.

And the winner(s) are: "Undisclosed" (for now)... So sorry, we're not quite ready to tell everybody exactly what is going on yet, but it will be soon. I'm going to do this again in the future, and the thing is it will be done in much the same manner: a contest without announcing that there is a contest. The winner(s) have won a total retail value of $400 worth of decks, plus shipping - to wherever they are in the world. And that's the way it will work in the future as well.

Of course - I can't do this myself. Our friend and assistant conspiracy-maker is Lotrek for this one: he provided the 'secret', and he also provided the prizes. For that, I want to personally thank him and hope that each of you remembers this in the future: not only did he pull the proverbial rabbit out of his hat for the zero-lead-time UC2014 First Annual decks "Grotesque", but as a follow-up he provided the membership here with the opportunity to play a little game (albeit a tease) with me doing the taunting, and also to provide the reward for the person that guessed exactly what he was up to. Everybody here owes him a big "Thank you!" and also owes him a debt of gratitude and support for all of his future endeavors, as well! Dark Venexiana decks have already been announced without showing too much, and once he does these 200 decks - which are NOT Dark Venexiana - he'll be doing those on Kickstarter, also. That requires that the Grotesque decks are at least shipping from the fulfillment center first, because I've listened to everybody here and nothing makes you more angry than somebody running another KS project before they fulfill the rewards for the one that they already have your money in their pocket because you backed them with not only your faith in their ability and artistic design, you pulled out your wallet and backed them with your hard-earned money as well.

That being said, that's not the end of the whole project here: out of those 200 decks that will be available worldwide, UC members will have the "first right of refusal" for the initial 100 decks. To be fair, the odd numbered decks will be pre-sold here using a method that I haven't really perfected yet, but somehow you will be able to express your interest in them and reserve up to TWO decks (MAXIMUM per person or household) at the price of $90 for Lotrek + $10 for "Friends of UC" to help support your favorite place go talk about "All Things Playing Cards", your source for news and discussion about Cardistry, Magic and Playing Card Collection. If you buy one of these decks your name will also go onto the "Wall of Heroes" here on UC as a contributor in the "one-time" section. I'm obviously going to have to separate the list into those that have made a monthly financial commitment and those that made a 1-time donation. The 1-time donations will be dated from now on and "age out" after one full year of being on the UC "Wall of Heroes". Those of you that have or will make a monthly commitment will be on the "UC Supporters/Sustainers and everybody will have my eternal gratitude from taking this place from what it was before I bought it in mid-December last year to a whole other dimension!

A big "Thank you!" to each and every one of you that participated in my first attempt at making UC "THE PLACE TO BE FOR ALL THINGS PLAYING CARDS!"

When Lotrek announces precisely what he is doing, I will come back and announce who the winner(s) of the $400 in prizes are.

[Mike Ratledge]

OK, I thought about it, and it really didn't make sense to lock this topic. Feel free to comment and critique my methodology. "You ain't seen nothing yet!", that I can assure you! There are some exciting times ahead, folks - and you're sitting in a front-row seat. I can guarantee each and every one of you that not only you sitting in the best seats in the house if you're already a member, you're also going to be able to take advantage of deals like this one and exclusive offers that are only going to be made to UC members in the near future and ongoing. UC is NOT goinig to become a retail marketplace! It is NOT going to become just another reseller store-front, it's going to be just like it has been for the past nearly 5 months since I bought it: except it's going to have even more to offer.

Nothing to see here (just yet): carry on...

[Eoghann]

Haha wow that's insane. You guys sure had us fooled! We (at least most of us) thought it was a simple "guess what I'm hiding" deal.

This is incredibly exciting.

[Mike Ratledge]

Haha wow that's insane. You guys sure had us fooled! We (at least most of us) thought it was a simple "guess what I'm hiding" deal.

This is incredibly exciting.

Well, I was trying something new: a "hidden contest" where only people that are registered users can participate. Simply put, I've really been digging deep for something that really encourages registration for all of the lurkers. If I can do this once a month or even every couple of months, it's enough incentive for people to be able to WRITE instead of being read-only here. Without even knowing it, every single time all of you made guesses, you were entering a contest, and the fact is that everybody enjoyed the heck out of it as far as I can tell! If they knew they could win a prize it might have changed the 'color' of the whole thing, and as it is nobody knew there was even a prize involved, but - here we are, and now we have (I'll go ahead and say) TWO lucky winners that each won $200 worth of decks that aren't going to be available anywhere but on UC until the first half of the project is sold. Now, that's an incentive to be a member!

[Eoghann]

I understand you can't say the what just yet, but can you say the who? Who is the incredibly lucky pair of winners?

And that sounds like a heck of a prize. Virtually ANYTHING from Lotrek is worth double it's weight in gold.

[chach]

Wow, that's awesome to say the least. Guess I should've been more constructive with my posts and actually guessed something more than just once.

[rousselle]

And... I'll just note that I'm interested in having a chance to buy one or two of the upcoming decks.

I don't think I ended up posting on this thread, or if I did, it was probably not quite on topic, but I've been following the thread with interest and am pleasantly surprised at this twisty turn of events.

Well played, Mike. Well played.

(And, as always, a tip of the hat to Lotrek.)

[hikeeba]

unitedcardists: where winners post and posters win!!

[Jock1971]

I Hope its the deck with the Glitter ball built in That montecarlojoe guessed.

That would be SWEET

[Cbkimble]

prize or no prize, it was fun but dangit I wanna know the answer. lol

[volantangel]

IT MUST BR THAT HOLY WATER POST, WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE ??

[wahl0108]

Is it guess the name now.....................I Guess ....Brigid

Indeed! So which projects are you waiting on?

prize or no prize, it was fun but dangit I wanna know the answer. lol

Or at least a more of a timeframe...

[mmiikk]

did anyone mention 3D images on cards. now that would look amazing.

[Cbkimble]

did anyone mention 3D images on cards. now that would look amazing.

Yes, it was mentioned a few times.

[Godzillian]

Thanks for the opportunity Mike. It was a fun contest, prize or no prize, as Cbkimble put it.

I"ll definitely be picking at least 2 of these newfangled playing cards. I'm addicted to Lotrek's work anyway :\

EDIT: Ah, max qty is 2 decks per person.

[Mike Ratledge]

OK, I thought I already made this clear, but there are 200 decks being made ever. It's going to be squeezed in between now and Dark Venexiana, and the first 100 decks are going to be sold here only to members by pre-order. Cost is shown above, everybody else will pay $100 plus shipping, for "us" I'm going to eat the shipping even for international buyers, everybody else pays actual (full fare). Mods check your inbox.

[lolo]

Thank you Mike !
[EDIT]
Thank you Lotrek !
How could I forget Lotrek ?

You rock !

buddy_christ.jpg (31.28 KiB) Viewed 1480 times

[Jock1971]

I second that...thanks Mike

[cosmicsecret]

WOW!
Nice one

[Mike Ratledge]

Thanks, I thought it was a cool "get" to do half of them for members only. Lotrek will announce the exact details here about the first week of June when he's actually ready to do it, and we have the Grotesque decks at least ready to ship, if not already being fulfilled.

[Mike Ratledge]

Mike R: So Lotrek what do you want to do tonight?
Lotrek: The same thing we do every night, Mikey - try to take over the world
NARRFFFFFF!!!! NARRFFFFFF!!!!

We've already got that on the drawing board as well - stay tuned!

Just remember: it's something that is truly going to be both different, make playing card history and set a new precedent for the hobby & collecting as well! Good guesses, really! Keep 'em coming...

But is it going to be iconic?

Seriously, this much hype better be worth it or you'll be worse than Madison man.

I think we're safe, chach!

I've got it! Individually drawn and inked playing cards by Lotrek. Limited Edition of 100. Tuck has 10 levels of embossing and rainbow foils and a seal stuck on with super glue.

So, what if I said that the seals were optional and you _could_ put it on if and when you want? (or not)

I remember when I was younger heat pics were popular. not really sure if that's what it was really called. you had to heat the area up in order to reveal the pic underneath. Could it be something like that?

Interesting: so we make a card that tells your opponent what kind of mood you are in - i.e. whether you are bluffing or not? *smh*

In my best Jesse Pinkman voice, "Magnets, bitch."

Lordy - we both ARE taking notes, you know?

well, with only 200 decks, it seems like these will be done by hand. Since he stated "they said it couldn't be done" was possibly b/c it can't be done with a printer but could be done by hand.

Very good, actually. The answer is back there somewhere, and the MODs know who but they are sworn to secrecy.

Eoghann - if I told you who won then everybody wouldn't have to wait on Lotrek to announce exactly what he's doing, right? I can't do that, it's not my deck to announce. I'd say give him about one month and they not only will be announced, they will be available for pre-sale ONLY HERE and ONLY if you are a member, as I've already stated.

[Cbkimble]

So, what if I said that the seals were optional and you _could_ put it on if and when you want? (or not)

I like that idea. gives a chance to preview the cards.

[Mike Ratledge]

So, what if I said that the seals were optional and you _could_ put it on if and when you want? (or not)

I like that idea. gives a chance to preview the cards.

Which is exactly the point Lotrek is making and I will reveal that this one aspect is in fact true. The seal comes with the deck. Whether or not you use it is up to you.

[Maddest Hammer]

seals? We don't need no stinkin' seals. I know the designers work hard on them, but good lord are they annoying.

[Eoghann]

Personally I prefer no seal. After all, it's not like I'm reselling them. Lorenzo gave me the option with his prototype deck and sent me an extra seal. I took the original seal off to peek at the cards and sealed it back on with the new one. Boy do I regret doing that. The tuck is too fragile to remove the seal cleanly now.

[sinjin7]

So let me get this straight: You and Lotrek are producing a limited run of 200 decks, and each deck is going to cost $100.00??? This must be quite a deck! And given the limited run, I'm assuming this is going to be made by the EPCC and not the USPCC? Normally, I'd be very skeptical, but since I know Lotrek is involved, I'm giving this the benefit of the doubt. I like the idea of the optional deck seal. Personally, I have no use for them no matter how pretty and remove them completely when I open a deck.

I'm glad you made it clear that its only 200 ever made, not 200 made available...with another 4,800 waiting to be discovered in a magical attic/warehouse at some point in the future

[Mike Ratledge]

Personally I prefer no seal. After all, it's not like I'm reselling them. Lorenzo gave me the option with his prototype deck and sent me an extra seal. I took the original seal off to peek at the cards and sealed it back on with the new one. Boy do I regret doing that. The tuck is too fragile to remove the seal cleanly now.

Those prototype seals are crap anyway: mine sprung open between Stockholm and Charleston without hopping out of the shipping container.

[Mike Ratledge]

So let me get this straight: You and Lotrek are producing a limited run of 200 decks, and each deck is going to cost $100.00??? This must be quite a deck! And given the limited run, I'm assuming this is going to be made by the EPCC and not the USPCC? Normally, I'd be very skeptical, but since I know Lotrek is involved, I'm giving this the benefit of the doubt. I like the idea of the optional deck seal. Personally, I have no use for them no matter how pretty and remove them completely when I open a deck.

I'm glad you made it clear that its only 200 ever made, not 200 made available...with another 4,800 waiting to be discovered in a magical attic/warehouse at some point in the future

Never assume anything. They aren't being made by either, that's all I can say for now. I've already mentioned that it involved (a lot!) of old world craftsmanship and I'll have to leave it there for about a month. It's a pretty simple decision: if you don't think they are worth $100, you vote with your wallet, just like we always have. In my mind he could be asking more, without even getting the blink of an eye.

And no - it's absolutely a one-shot deal because of just how difficult it is to do: 200 is all that there ever will be period. You get one of these or you won't ever have an example of the first - and potentially the only - playing card deck to (ooo - I almost let it out)...

[OnTheGrind]

you vote with your wallet, just like we always have.