EMPIRE Playing Cards - Now available again on Kings & Crooks

[Eoghann]

Well, all three of mine came with dinged corners. I opened one coz I couldn't help myself. Lee said he'd send me replacements. If dinged corners isn't much of a drawback, I'd probably have a pair to sell or trade if anyone is interested.

[Mike Ratledge]

Well, all three of mine came with dinged corners. I opened one coz I couldn't help myself. Lee said he'd send me replacements. If dinged corners isn't much of a drawback, I'd probably have a pair to sell or trade if anyone is interested.

I'm expecting mine tomorrow or Tuesday, I'll report back what I find. Hopefully the half brick will be a little better protected?

[cosmicsecret]

i´m also looking for 1-2 decks - i´m located in germany

[Widdee]

Got mine yesterday, they are sweet! One of those decks that look even better up close and personal. Crisp detail, very professional job. First class, Lee!

[Sharpie]

I forgot how many I ordered.
I have a problem.

[UtterFool]

Got mine in today.
Ordered 6 decks and an uncut.
Everything was packed well and all my decks were in good condition.
Rubber band around the uncut scared me, but it didn't do any damage.

[Mike Ratledge]

Got mine in today.
Ordered 6 decks and an uncut.
Everything was packed well and all my decks were in good condition.
Rubber band around the uncut scared me, but it didn't do any damage.

Got mine today, also. The half brick was well-packed inside a double container, outside was a large shipping box. No damage at all here:

They having been here 4 hours, 4 of them are packed up in pairs for shipping tomorrow, one to Texas and one to Singapore pending payment. I got two left for me. I really should have gotten a brick!

[Ryric]

Received mine a few days ago, great looking deck. My only complaint is that the lack of borders on the court indices means the deck is effectively marked which limits use.

[samwisethegray]

Received my uncut and decks a few days ago. Just opened one deck up and they are definitely my favorite deck, there are couple weird things that maybe could of just been a weird print on my deck, or maybe other people notice them too:

1. Tuck box. Some of the gold was a little weird with some not filling the whole line. Could be just the design. The corners are dinged. The seal was messed up and crumbled in the middle by the deck opening.

2. Inside the tuck box, some if the red wasn't full and had some weird white patches on the flap and by the decks.

3. Pip layout. The only one that was weird to me is four card. The two center pips should not be the same layout to make the card more 2-way. I don't know why one of the center pips is not flipped around.

4. Pip ink. I could tell that on the pips, the line density and even the darkness of some pips vary through out the deck. It seems that the pips on the top and bottom of the cards are darker than others in the middle of the card. It almost seems like the printer was having a harder time printing the middle of the deck than the top and bottom.

Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but these are the things I saw when I opened and looked through the deck. Let me know if any of you guys found these details in your decks as well. I'll try to take some pictures too.

[Mike Ratledge]

Received mine a few days ago, great looking deck. My only complaint is that the lack of borders on the court indices means the deck is effectively marked which limits use.

Well, that's true, and an unintended extension of the design of the courts. Lee made notes, I remember seeing him say so in the comment section of "Empire" on kickstarter. Fabulous looking deck, from all angles. Even the precision of the cellophane overlay so that the red bar matches up perfectly with the bottom flap with the "Kings and Crooks" logo and verbiage on it.

[volantangel]

Received my uncut and decks a few days ago. Just opened one deck up and they are definitely my favorite deck, there are couple weird things that maybe could of just been a weird print on my deck, or maybe other people notice them too:

1. Tuck box. Some of the gold was a little weird with some not filling the whole line. Could be just the design. The corners are dinged. The seal was messed up and crumbled in the middle by the deck opening.

2. Inside the tuck box, some if the red wasn't full and had some weird white patches on the flap and by the decks.

3. Pip layout. The only one that was weird to me is four card. The two center pips should not be the same layout to make the card more 2-way. I don't know why one of the center pips is not flipped around.

4. Pip ink. I could tell that on the pips, the line density and even the darkness of some pips vary through out the deck. It seems that the pips on the top and bottom of the cards are darker than others in the middle of the card. It almost seems like the printer was having a harder time printing the middle of the deck than the top and bottom.

Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but these are the things I saw when I opened and looked through the deck. Let me know if any of you guys found these details in your decks as well. I'll try to take some pictures too.

On a slightly separate note, i was quite disappointed with the fed 52 part 1 tuck boxes. It seemed oversized and hence was squashed and not aligned properly. It feels like a bee tuckbox with bike cards inside. And one of mine came unglued which made things worse.

[sinjin7]

Received my uncut and decks a few days ago. Just opened one deck up and they are definitely my favorite deck, there are couple weird things that maybe could of just been a weird print on my deck, or maybe other people notice them too:

1. Tuck box. Some of the gold was a little weird with some not filling the whole line. Could be just the design. The corners are dinged. The seal was messed up and crumbled in the middle by the deck opening.

2. Inside the tuck box, some if the red wasn't full and had some weird white patches on the flap and by the decks.

3. Pip layout. The only one that was weird to me is four card. The two center pips should not be the same layout to make the card more 2-way. I don't know why one of the center pips is not flipped around.

4. Pip ink. I could tell that on the pips, the line density and even the darkness of some pips vary through out the deck. It seems that the pips on the top and bottom of the cards are darker than others in the middle of the card. It almost seems like the printer was having a harder time printing the middle of the deck than the top and bottom.

Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but these are the things I saw when I opened and looked through the deck. Let me know if any of you guys found these details in your decks as well. I'll try to take some pictures too.

I had some of the same issues. My 4 decks were packed very well with bubble wrap, but 2 of the boxes were slightly dinged in the corners anyways. The red printing on the inside of the tuck on my decks were also patchy. Despite these minor issues, I think Lee ran a pretty tight and successful KS campaign and I'm very happy with my Empire decks. My only regret is that I wish I got more than 4 decks. Lee passed my test and he's now elevated into the group of deck designers that are trustworthy.

[charlie81dbz]

Regarding the 'patchy' color on the inside of the tuck flap, Lee stated somewhere (I looked but can't seem to find where I read it) that that was deliberate. They are supposed to look a bit battle worn or ancient. So I guess they did a great job printing it, because it really does, lol. If you notice, other areas on the tuck are a bit 'worn' looking as well, most noticeably to me is the red on the middle towards the edges. Anyway, just thought you guys might like to know it wasn't shoddy printing.

charlie

[Mike Ratledge]

Just a note for those of you that want one: JP will be putting one dozen of them up for sale at a reasonable price sometime tomorrow, limit one per customer because he only has 12. Shipping won't be trivial, but it's likely the only chance you will a see - and only because he backed the project. As Lee noted, Empire will not be distributed to retailers.

playingcardz (http://www.cartesmagie.com) will also have 36 decks at a reasonable price sometime soon - no limit. He backed the project, also. The ones Paul has are probably already gone, but I haven't looked.

[Eoghann]

Anyone own an uncut of the first deck? I have a question about it. Please send me a PM.

Edit: problem solved! Thanks!

[Sher]

I got a warrior clip so mine will probably arrive much later. Still excited.

[nECr0MaNCeD]

Got mine a couple days ago. 4 of each including the ltd black. One of the Blue decks came with a dinged corner. (Wish I had noticed it before I opened one of each as I would have opened that one) The finish on the black ltd deck was very nice indeed. Even better than Heretic. I'll be posting pics, sealed and open, soon in my Collector of the month thread.

[ecNate]

Please note this thread is for the original empire deck from 2013, not the new blue one.

[Bikefanatic]

Ha, people are talking about the EMPIRE BLOODLINES which I still waiting for the warrior case too. As for this thread topic, the original, I would be a millionaire if back then I would've got a brick. By comparing the original red to the new blue and green, I'm sure it's not just a color change.....or is it?

[badpete69]

Lee has relaunched his website with 100 Empire decks available at cheaper prices then recent ebay prices but still a good chunk of cash. If you missed out here's your chance

https://www.kingsandcrooks.com/products ... ying-cards

[Bikefanatic]

They're sold out but $50 isn't bad. I got it for $35 back then before it became a rarity.

[Mike Ratledge]

They're sold out but $50 isn't bad. I got it for $35 back then before it became a rarity.

Well, those have been waiting for 3 1/2 years (they came out in late 2013) and he's getting a total of $5000 for those 100 decks. I have no problem with that at all, and frankly I think it's just smart business. Lee has always been totally up front with us all, especially about the issues with the Warrior Armour (card clip) - which is likely going to beat him now that the production facilities are insisting that he has to make five times as many as he wants (and needs) to get them to market.

Not his fault, the original maker was just fine with doing 1000 of them. Of course you can argue that he has let it slide too long, the problem I have there is that it's still not his fault - at all. He went by the OG maker's quote, willingness and capabilities - and now he's got a mess. Unfortunately he's "caught between a rock and a hard spot", since it's way too late for him to refund purchases. Lee is a good man, always has been, and he - like many other artists - depend on these manufacturers to shoot him straight.

[Bikefanatic]

They're sold out but $50 isn't bad. I got it for $35 back then before it became a rarity.

Well, those have been waiting for 3 1/2 years (they came out in late 2013) and he's getting a total of $5000 for those 100 decks. I have no problem with that at all, and frankly I think it's just smart business. Lee has always been totally up front with us all, especially about the issues with the Warrior Armour (card clip) - which is likely going to beat him now that the production facilities are insisting that he has to make five times as many as he wants (and needs) to get them to market.

Not his fault, the original maker was just fine with doing 1000 of them. Of course you can argue that he has let it slide too long, the problem I have there is that it's still not his fault - at all. He went by the OG maker's quote, willingness and capabilities - and now he's got a mess. Unfortunately he's "caught between a rock and a hard spot", since it's way too late for him to refund purchases. Lee is a good man, always has been, and he - like many other artists - depend on these manufacturers to shoot him straight.

I think he always offered a refund or an equivalent of the Warrior clip. I got two Black decks instead. I would've got the Warrior clip anyway if produced in the future.

[Mike Ratledge]

Well, those have been waiting for 3 1/2 years (they came out in late 2013) and he's getting a total of $5000 for those 100 decks. I have no problem with that at all, and frankly I think it's just smart business. Lee has always been totally up front with us all, especially about the issues with the Warrior Armour (card clip) - which is likely going to beat him now that the production facilities are insisting that he has to make five times as many as he wants (and needs) to get them to market.

Not his fault, the original maker was just fine with doing 1000 of them. Of course you can argue that he has let it slide too long, the problem I have there is that it's still not his fault - at all. He went by the OG maker's quote, willingness and capabilities - and now he's got a mess. Unfortunately he's "caught between a rock and a hard spot", since it's way too late for him to refund purchases. Lee is a good man, always has been, and he - like many other artists - depend on these manufacturers to shoot him straight.

I think he always offered a refund or an equivalent of the Warrior clip. I got two Black decks instead. I would've got the Warrior clip anyway if produced in the future.

True, he has - I failed to point that out, and he has consistently allowed people to take that type deal instead (replacing the amount paid for Armour with decks instead of waiting). All around handled very well, in spite of the fact that he has been knocked down at every turn.

[Pablo393]

Lee has relaunched his website with 100 Empire decks available at cheaper prices then recent ebay prices but still a good chunk of cash. If you missed out here's your chance

https://www.kingsandcrooks.com/products ... ying-cards

Lee just put up another 100 decks from his private reserve. $50 each. Cheaper than ebay if you missed out on these and have been looking to add them to your collection.

[vasta41]

The cheapest one on ebay is around $100 and Lee is selling them for $50. Good for him but I can't pull the trigger.

[Bradius]

I was reading the first comments on this thread when the deck was first on sale for $15-$13 per deck. “Love the deck, but too expensive. Pass.” Lol. I wonder what you all think of them now at $50? I have an opened deck, so picked up an unopened deck.

69 decks left.

[Decknowledgy]

Beyond the timeline before I was into cards, so is this worth the $50 or is it a bit overpriced?

[Bradius]

I am not sure, but here is the only one I could find on ebay right now for $159, which is probably over-priced. 36 still available or 29 hours, whichever comes first. tick..tick...tick Not cheap, that is for sure.

[Decknowledgy]

I am not sure, but here is the only one I could find on ebay right now for $159, which is probably over-priced. 36 still available or 29 hours, whichever comes first. tick..tick...tick Not cheap, that is for sure.

Pretty likely a pass for me anyways