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I am surprised this has not been posted yet... Side gig from Gio

I think because we have no idea of when/where it will be available to the public yet, unless I've missed some details. I bet those backs will look fantastic in person.

Yeah I have not seen anything announced.. I only have 1 and it was quite pricey since they only made 500 ... I know they sold out fast at the convention I wonder how many will be made available for sale

Didn't post this because Expert said it will only be released during Black Friday sales. Before then, no sale info is available.

Looking forward getting my hands on this one during Black Friday! How much was this at the convention??

I believe they sold for $40.

So ... the only artwork contributed by Gio is the jokers? How [meow] disappointing. I'd rather pay a premium for a full custom deck.

I guess a little in that regard, but it was pretty interesting hear the amount of labor that had to go into crafting these decks. Adding Gio to the project was just icing on the cake for me.

In terms of Expert branded decks, I consider that already a boatload of customization (Gio Jokers, Gio+Expert AoS, recolored courts, triple foiled back).

As per EPCC's IG post, each card was individually hand foiled three times and then collated into full decks...they were 40 at the convention, but I expect them to be higher when they go on sale on Black Friday

Sure the back design, Jokers and AoS look awesome, but to my eyes they don't mesh with the standard courst (even though they are recolored). Doesn't work like a unit to me, more like a franken deck.

Even though it sounds like a lot of labor went into making these cards I don't know if they look like they're worth $40 to me.

What I'm trying to say is I'm not sure how significant the difference is between cheaper machine foiling or expensive, time-consuming hand foiling. $40 (or higher) justifies the price of the work that went into this deck and I'm sure the rarity has something to do with it. But this is a hard maybe for me.

vasta41 wrote:Even though it sounds like a lot of labor went into making these cards I don't know if they look like they're worth $40 to me.

What I'm trying to say is I'm not sure how significant the difference is between cheaper machine foiling or expensive, time-consuming hand foiling. $40 (or higher) justifies the price of the work that went into this deck and I'm sure the rarity has something to do with it. But this is a hard maybe for me.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. Plus, with foiling being the hot (or cold) thing these days, its development seems to be advancing rather quickly. I still regret buying the Exquisite Bold when it came out.

MagikFingerz wrote:I still regret buying the Exquisite Bold when it came out.

Side note: Urgh the star on the back is off center .

I'm on this with vasta and Magik. This deck is a cool experiment and if you are into that, go grab'em. But from a visual aesthetical stance... I can't see past these ugly court cards. I don't mind standard courts, if they look good; e.g. KWP standards, Lorenzo's standards; hell, I even made my peace with Arcco standards which I despised, the first time seeing them. The Experts though aren't to my taste. The back design is designed too simple for my taste aswell, therefore an easy pass.

I respect what went into crafting the deck from a distance, but will never open my wallet for it.

The only thing I like about this deck is the tuck box... Can't care less what foil technique they use if the deck itself is not good enough lol

what?? potentially more than 40 per deck?? Can't be easier for me to pass...

Side as opposed to top tuck flap (albeit expected from an Exquisite deck) and standard courts - easy pass (and no jokers from Gio can outweigh that).

I get the criticisms, but I am in main agreement with Spectre. I am speculating that the reason these had to be foiled one card at a time manually was to achieve the precise registration required for each foil color (actually, I think that is what Bill said during his presentation). I am certain this was not an experiment to see how much money Bill could lose producing this deck! If anything, Bill has a much better appreciation of Lotrek’s ability to achieve such precision in registration on an entire sheet, making his decks economically feasible.

Bradius wrote:I get the criticisms, but I am in main agreement with Spectre. I am speculating that the reason these had to be foiled one card at a time manually was to achieve the precise registration required for each foil color (actually, I think that is what Bill said during his presentation). I am certain this was not an experiment to see how much money Bill could lose producing this deck! If anything, Bill has a much better appreciation of Lotrek’s ability to achieve such precision in registration on an entire sheet, making his decks marginally economically feasible.

I second this. I can't vouch that everyone will accept the art choices of this deck and the courts are obviously a let-down considering Expert sought collab with Gio, but the trial and error of printing innovation is what make this deck special for me, and that was explained during the presentation live stream.

Decknowledgy wrote:

Bradius wrote:I get the criticisms, but I am in main agreement with Spectre. I am speculating that the reason these had to be foiled one card at a time manually was to achieve the precise registration required for each foil color (actually, I think that is what Bill said during his presentation). I am certain this was not an experiment to see how much money Bill could lose producing this deck! If anything, Bill has a much better appreciation of Lotrek’s ability to achieve such precision in registration on an entire sheet, making his decks marginally economically feasible.

I second this. I can't vouch that everyone will accept the art choices of this deck and the courts are obviously a let-down considering Expert sought collab with Gio, but the trial and error of printing innovation is what make this deck special for me, and that was explained during the presentation live stream.

I agree with all of this. But at this price-point it's just not for me. To be fair I've also passed up on many Lotrek decks recently as well due to the price. But it doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the work. If anything it just makes me want a raise

I have purchased many CARC decks even though there weren't a lot of unique features (you know the drill; most of their decks have standard courts, and only one real technological change at a time) and have felt just fine about it because I was helping to advance the craft. Early adopters help pave the way for continued experimentation, and sometimes that experimentation pays off, and sometimes it doesn't. It's true, the original Exquisite Bold is hardly all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips, but I'm totally fine with the two or three I picked up, because it did lead to further experimentation with foiling, which in turn led to more interesting cards down the road. The fact that, if I wanted to, I can show the evolution of foiling at EPCC/LPCC via my string of decks from Exquisite Bold and on up makes for a cool exhibit, as well.

The first deck that Lotrek produced at the $100 price point... yeah, that pales in comparison to the work he's doing today -- even though it was breathtaking at the time. But, if we hadn't backed that project then, would he have continued that kind of wild experimentation? Would Oath have ever happend? Or Arabesque?

Don't get me wrong, I haven't been happy with *all* such purchases, but for some producers, I will still go in for a modest amount because I know they are trying to advance the craft. Bill at CARC has taken a very methodical approach to working with card manufacturers to experiment and improve.

This deck is a bit of an odd duck. I'm not sure where he's planning to go with this. But, I'm tempted to see. I expect I'll be buying one or two.

Harvonsgard wrote:I respect what went into crafting the deck from a distance, but will never open my wallet for it.

I was perhaps a little harsh, but this was a far more tactful representation of what I was trying to say.

In addition to my original statement; what rouselle wrote is an even better representation of my own fellings towards this deck. His Paragraph is the long version of what I meant with respecting the deck. That for example was a reason why I got a VXD Vegas Diffractor deck. The novelty. The trying something new or different. Not so much the deck itself.
If I had funds laying around, which I'm far from; I would buy this deck eventually, but there are other itches to fix first; even if my budget would be bigger. Therefore it is pretty unlikely that this deck will land in my collection ever. But for what it is - a semi custom deck with a technical experiment - it is great.

I'm in a state of completionism for the Exquisite series - so I'll need these.

theCapraAegagrus wrote:I'm in a state of completionism for the Exquisite series - so I'll need these.

Yeah, that, too for me.

Since I've got one and have already uploaded its profile onto P52, might as well share here to get people ready for Gio's Black Friday drop















The arch of the cards is due to the three-layer hot foil stamp on the back design, which is crazy shiny... Definitely a collector's item.

This is probably his first standard deck, anyways I want it.

Not really, the Ace of Spades & joker cards is his go-to style.

I'm sure if he created the rest of the court cards they'd all look the same as Eva, Sins, Dedalo, Monolith, Lunatica, Pantheon decks.

So Decknowledgy... Alzheimer hit you hard? why start a second thread hehehehe

Topics merged

badpete69 wrote:So Decknowledgy... Alzheimer hit you hard? why start a second thread hehehehe

Topics merged

Thanks Pierre
Been too overwhelmed with decks recently hahaha, just finished a review for Spade Gate

It's all good my friend just having a little fun.... I like how your pic makes the deck look bright blue I thought for a second another deck was coming