Hive 2 - Kings Wild Project

[Cbkimble]

When I see people like GW putting out well designed, fully custom decks with blinged out tucks at just $6.00, I find Jackson's $15.00+ Kings Wild decks becoming quickly irrelevant for me.

While I agree it is nice to see the decks becoming less expensive, I believe it's due to printing numbers. I don't know for sure, and this is pure speculation, but GW could be printing 5, 10, 15 thousand decks which would decrease the price per deck and therefor they could pass the savings to the KS pledgers and then charge $10 or more on their site. Whereas, Jackson, limits his prints to far less than that so his price per deck is higher. He is, no doubt, charging more premium for his artistic work than GW who, I assume, plan on making more of their profits from future sales on their site/store. While Jackson definitely has his loyal followers, he too will have to change his pricing in order to stay competitive. 2014 was a major year in the playing card industry and I just can't see 2015 having the same stats. Decks will have to be better with lower costs.

Again though, I'll jump in on the Hive 2 for at least 1 deck and wait for the overstock on ToM if I want more.

[Marcus]

As for Brendan, I didn't appreciate the snide backhanded comments he made on the other site about UC when he was promoting his first Hive deck.

Let's look at it for just a second here.

The only comment at all from Brendan that could even be considered to be aimed at UC was "I do appreciate an neutral place to answer these questions so thanks for the Discourse board for that.", and if you consider that a snide backhanded comment and something worth holding a grudge over for months, I don't know what to say. I've always appreciated your posts on here, John - it's usually honest and any opinions are backed up with your reasoning behind it - but for the last few months it's not been pretty.

Read through the old Hive thread over here and tell me that this place was even remotely neutral. Talk about snide comments, eh. It wasn't a pretty sight, and it wasn't deserved either. Not even close.

As for all of us:
Can we stop with this whole Kings Wild grudge thing and focus on the playing cards instead? Brendan's artwork both for the first Hive decks and this one is among the best I've seen in cards for a long time. So if you like them, get them. If you don't like them, don't get them. If you like them but don't like whatever price tag they'll have, don't get them. And please, let's try and have a civil approach here instead of giving in to raw emotions, mob mentality or just us having a bad day. I'm all for people having the right to express their opinion, but damn it people - it doesn't have to be done in the worst way possible, and you don't have to pile on just because everyone else is doing so. Saying "These are priced way too high for me, I'm out" will in the end get you a lot further than accusations, conspiracy theories and guesses that is pulled from your...Alvus, to tie up this topic nice and neatly.

[badpete69]

Well said Marcus

[sinjin7]

I've always appreciated your posts on here, John - it's usually honest and any opinions are backed up with your reasoning behind it - but for the last few months it's not been pretty.

And please, let's try and have a civil approach here instead of giving in to raw emotions, mob mentality or just us having a bad day. I'm all for people having the right to express their opinion, but damn it people - it doesn't have to be done in the worst way possible, and you don't have to pile on just because everyone else is doing so. Saying "These are priced way too high for me, I'm out" will in the end get you a lot further than accusations, conspiracy theories and guesses that is pulled from your...Alvus, to tie up this topic nice and neatly.

I can't speak about other people's posts about KW or Jackson, but as for my comments about KW/Jackson, I've always tried to be civil, professional, and well-reasoned. I honestly don't see how my posts here in this thread, or any other thread have "not been pretty" over the last few months. So I called Jackson arrogant, and that was only in the context of SpecialK's response to my post: I didn't use profanity, didn't reference his mother or sister, didn't accuse or propose a conspiracy theory. If you consider that raw emotion or not pretty or spoken in the worst way possible, then I don't know what to say.

I never knock Jackson about his talent or art (which is all subjective anyways) and give him credit and even defended him in that regards here at UC. I've said on multiple occasions that I think the Hive was a very nice deck, and I rank Brendan's court cards as the third best courts produced in 2014 in a year where there were many wonderful court cards produced. Since this is the thread for the Hive 2, I can't understand why it is so wrong to discuss the marketing debacle that happened with the original Hive deck, because it could be very relevant to how the Hive 2 could be marketed and priced.

Marcus, I have a lot of respect for your contributions to UC and your perspective based upon your experience in this industry, but I'm going to have to politely disagree with you here and stand by every comment and post made in this thread. I have my reasons to have the opinion I have of Jackson and Brendan (and yes, that is exactly the post I was referencing about Brendan's snide comment) and I'll be more than happy to further discuss this by PM so we don't clutter and hijack this thread any more than we need to.

[vasta41]

I would say that the company who produces the cards and the cards themselves are one-in-the-same and BOTH deserve to be discussed on this forum. History repeats itself and especially after what happened with the original Hives, I for one will have my guard up about these too. FACT: They were originally sold for an above average price. FACT: Many ended up on ToM for far less then they were originally sold for. FACT: anyone who waited to buy these decks paid less then those who didn't wait. The rest is opinion but I personally believe there is reason to speculate. One could argue the first group of people that bought these at the higher price were loyal fans who really wanted this deck and didn't want to wait. So they bought them and supported KW ASAP. Those are the people KW should care about- those people should be rewarded for their devotion and loyalty (much like EBs on KS perhaps). But instead, two months later they see the very same decks sold at a fraction of the price on another site. Boy would I be bitter about that!

This design looks even better than the first one and I'd love to own one. But I'm going to hold off initially based on what happened last time. And by doing so, I don't see how that's a knock on KW. But let's see how it's handled this time around.

[SpecialK]

Limited Edition decks - gold? orange?. Like the look of these. Very interested in pricing, as I'm sure others are.

[PrincessTrouble]

Limited Edition decks - gold? orange?

I'm thinking bumble bee yellow.

[Marcus]

[...]and I'll be more than happy to further discuss this by PM so we don't clutter and hijack this thread any more than we need to.

Yes, let's do that instead! I don't want to see this derail any more than it already has.

Back to topic, I'm very happy to see the Hive concept in green and yellow - the upbeat style of the courts will work great with "happy" colors on the backs like this.

[Eoghann]

The coloring style reminds me of Jackson's Holmes Edition deck. Adorable! Bzzz.

Wonder what the 84 means. Hong's date of birth perhaps?

[Fes]

I did NOT see a Golden color coming at all even though it makes perfect sense, haha. That's really a pleasant surprise! Looking forward to these more.

[doobybrain]

Just saw the images Jackson posted to his Facebook page and I gotta say, these look splendid. The only thing now is to see where these are priced... If it's reasonable (at least relative to other custom decks) then I'm in on these.

[volantangel]

The more i look at the images, the more these look like jackson's work over Brenden's, i think Jackson has had a huge influence over him. Whether thats a good thing or not, who knows ? I still love the illustrations of the courts =)

[Bikefanatic]

Looks like I got my wish with the yellow/orange back.

[volantangel]

Looks like I got my wish with the yellow/orange back.

Hope your wallet is prepared, its limited to 750 decks.

[Eoghann]

Black and foil seems to be the Limited Edition for nearly everything nowadays.

I mean don't get me wrong that combination is sexy as hell and I like it. Just a mere observation.

Ornate v2, Golden Spike, Empire v2, Hive v2, Imps super LE, Innovations, Venexiana Dark, Venexiana Gold, Grotesque (well, dark grey and dark brown but close enough), Gamesters, Mana, Army Black Ops, Coat of Arms Dark Ages...just the ones off the top of my head.

[Marcus]

Here's the box for the limited edition people are talking about (do I have to do everything here, folks? )

The color scheme for it makes perfect sense - black and gold (and yellow) - bees!

[vasta41]

AWESOME!! But only 750? These will be wicked expensive...

[Eoghann]

AWESOME!! But only 750? These will be wicked expensive...

You'd be surprised. Found the project in Sandbox Mode. Those queens are gorgeous!

https://kingswildfunded.tilt.com/hive-2 ... endan-hong" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Edit: Looks like it's been taken down. I still have the page open so here are some pics to whet your appetite.

Standard:








Limited:

[runit]

Was it just me or the courts of both limited and standard are alike? With limited being lighter?

[Sher]

Dan, do you remember the prices for each?

[Eoghann]

@runit: Yeah courts are the same, just different palette.

Hive 2 Standard Edition.

Unlimited print run to match the demand needed for this campaign
Matte stock tuckcase embellished with foil and interior artwork
Full 54 custom cards
Unique custom court cards
Unique Ace of Spades
Unique Jokers (with one Joker reveal)
Unique pips and indices

Hive 2 Limited Edition

Print run of 750 decks with 695 only available during this campaign (the rest will be kept as back up in case any issues such as shipping or what not pop up)
Premium black matte stock with foil and interior foil artwork
Individually numbered seals
Metallic ink custom back design
Full 54 custom cards:
Fully Illustrated Aces (Diamond, Club and Hearts)
Unique Ace of Spade different from standard edition
Unique jokers different from standard edition
Unique palette different from standard edition

@Sher: one sec, I have to screenshot the tiers.

Edit: Ok, tentatively those should be the prices they'll go for.

[nECr0MaNCeD]

@Eoghann... Thanks dude. At least I know what to expect. Sorry if this has been asked and answered but is there a drop date for this?

[vasta41]

$30 for both isn't as bad as I thought. In fact, that's doable for me! Thanks!

[Marcus]

@Eoghann... Thanks dude. At least I know what to expect. Sorry if this has been asked and answered but is there a drop date for this?

It's launching today at 12pm CT if I haven't misunderstood things.

[nECr0MaNCeD]

@Eoghann... Thanks dude. At least I know what to expect. Sorry if this has been asked and answered but is there a drop date for this?

It's launching today at 12pm CT if I haven't misunderstood things.

Thank you good sir.....

[SpecialK]

So those are pretty reasonable prices I think. Definitely in for this.

[Marcus]

The more i look at the images, the more these look like jackson's work over Brenden's, i think Jackson has had a huge influence over him. Whether thats a good thing or not, who knows ? I still love the illustrations of the courts =)

I actually think this is more a case of Brendan surprising you. The black and gold is very unexpected, but looking at the design style of this it's very clear in my eyes that this is Brendan and not Jackson.

I thought I already was excited enough about this project before, but with that matte black and gold foil tuck on the limited I'm now dangerously close to using a Rebecca Black "we so excited" gif. Apologies in advance if that happens.

[Fes]

I thought I already was excited enough about this project before, but with that matte black and gold foil tuck on the limited I'm now dangerously close to using a Rebecca Black "we so excited" gif. Apologies in advance if that happens.

I'm right there with you. I was plenty exited about the delicious minty green deck. Then what happens? Kapow! Black and Gold LE gets dropped on us out of no where. One of those "did that just happen?" 'That just happened!' moments, haha. I'd like to have them instantly turned into, I must haz nao!

[Eoghann]

The prices are pretty on par with what we've come to expect from a typical Kickstarter project.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.

[Eoghann]

GO GO GO!