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The Great Maester Rick Davidson is working on is next deck on the Origins series, this time is called Shadows of History and will have some nice colors added to it.

I'm getting in touch to let you know development is now underway on a new deck in the Origins Playing Cards series. As a subscriber you get a first preview of the Teaser video and early concept art below.

16th century playing cards evolved to become the standard art we know today. The Shadows of History art draws directly from details and colours in these rare historic originals to create a vibrant new deck.

The Shadows of History deck will be printed on the highest quality stock and encased in premium quality card, embossed and embellished with metallic foil. The cards will feature full colour art, updating and refining the art from the first successful Origins decks.

WOW! That looks awesome! Am looking forward to this deck already!

The back of that tuck is gonna be something else if it's embossed like the previous ones. . Well the whole deck.

Bikefanatic wrote:The back of that tuck is gonna be something else if it's embossed like the previous ones. . Well the whole deck.

My thoughts exactly. I can already see myself about a year from now, holding these in my hand and rubbing that back up and down

Looks great, looking forward to this one!

I've been waiting a long time to see Rick's follow up to his 2014 U.C. Deck of the Year.

Good... Good!

I love it, especially that red interior printing!

Räpylätassu wrote:Good... Good!

I love it, especially that red interior printing!

Agree, the black/gold on the outside, the gothic imagery with the angels and filigree, and the rich red on the inside is a beautiful combination, makes me think of Symphony of the Night:

sinjin7 wrote:I've been waiting a long time to see Rick's follow up to his 2014 U.C. Deck of the Year.

+1 to this. The Origins deck is one of my favorites, in the top 3 of all time without a doubt and the only time I've bought a print from a campaign (that Queen of Clubs man, freaking beautiful). I do hope he's able to get this one out before 2017 though, considering how long we were teased with Origins before its campaign started. But perfection takes time.

Justin O. wrote:

Räpylätassu wrote:Good... Good!

I love it, especially that red interior printing!

Agree, the black/gold on the outside, the gothic imagery with the angels and filigree, and the rich red on the inside is a beautiful combination, makes me think of Symphony of the Night:

duuuude, totally. I get the same vibe. I would love to see a castlevania deck too!

This is so phenomenal. I love the idea of using the original cards the inspired the ones we know today. And, that Queen of Clubs is a really nice representation.

I hate to say it, but I kind of prefer the some things on the brown sample on the left, to the finished one on the right. The center is more interesting, being filled, and the colors are simpler. It's easier to look at than heavy gradients.
Regardless, I will be supporting this deck FOR SURE.

Well Artistic License has its place, but I'm sure the Kiwi in him will avoid the Forests of Ruritania.

These are playing card crack. No way to say no. No more bricks for me but I will be in for one of each for sure.

GregorKlingman wrote:I hate to say it, but I kind of prefer the some things on the brown sample on the left, to the finished one on the right. The center is more interesting, being filled, and the colors are simpler. It's easier to look at than heavy gradients

If you mean this image below, you should be aware the brown image on the left is from his 2014 completed deck and you should pick that up if you can! I do prefer the originals as well, but this is a very nice round 2 and is different enough to make it worth picking up as well. I also agree it's one of my all time favorite decks, everything about it is amazing! Expect to be much of the same.

Can't wait for this one

There may be another deck along with this too.

Hi there! A little progress update on the face card artwork for the Shadows of History deck. All of the cards are getting 'facelifts', some more drastic than others. Line weights are being adjusted for impact, new details more accurate to the historic originals are being applied. Here is a working draft for the King of Clubs, next to the original First Edition king.

Damn these look nice! Now I have to get the first decks.

RichK wrote:Damn these look nice! Now I have to get the first decks.

The original, even if it's the regular version, should be in every card collectors inventory. It's one of those decks where everything works.

I actually really don't like his courts at all, but I absolutely love everything else about the deck and can't wait for this next one!

Justin O. wrote:I actually really don't like his courts at all, but I absolutely love everything else about the deck and can't wait for this next one!

Dude...

AWWW That cat rocks!

I go back to using the Grail Edition pretty frequently - a brilliant all rounder..

The Shadows backs remind me a lot of the Bicycle Legacy black deck, but done, eh, well...

Hi everyone, hope it's been a good year for you so far. Thanks for the initial feedback here, always appreciate it. Thought I'd drop a quick progress report and preview of the latest concepts.

So here is a look at the art in the Shadows deck at this stage - always under refinement. Happy to hear your thoughts. I've completed solid drafts of most of the artwork and I'm now into the business end of things - campaign planning etc. Slow going getting quotes, but the goal is a deck of the same high quality as the first Origins decks - premium tuck stock, embossed, foiled, high end card stock. I don't have the info I need to throw out dates, but when I have more detail, I'll let you know. Cheers guys!

Looking good buddy

Man this deck looks good. Will go nicely with the first ones I bought finally.

I've cut back lately, but Origins is still one of my favorites and this is right up there. I'm in, looks great! Date???

Ya know, a nice copper gilding like UUSI did on some of their decks would look incredible with this deck. Something to look into for an ultra limited edition. I'd auction off naming right for my first born for something like that.

Yes a small limited edition run is something I'd love to do. The USPCC were pretty inflexible on quantities for the original Origins decks and cost for the standard deck specs already isn't cheap. But there are other options. Dates - I'm waiting on quotes and production times which is dragging on a little. Hope to have things nailed down in the next couple of weeks. End of year is rapidly approaching.

What's the general feeling on gilding? And here's a question for you, outside of the USPCC how do you rate the competition? Have a personal favourite for quality?

Currently experimenting with shading options - flat colour / shaded.

I say USPCC and gilding all the way. Go big or go home! On second thought, don't gild all of them- maybe do a small amount of gilding for a higher price. And I love both courts but the shaded one seems to catch my eye a bit more.