Your first deck

[badpete69]

Hello

This past week a friend asked me how long had it been since I started collecting playing cards and off hand I wasn't sure exactly. So I went to check in my old ebay emails as I remembered what it was but not sure when it was.

That got me thinking that it would be cool to have a thread on what was the first deck that got you into this hobby.

Basically for me I have been collecting stuff for over 35 years at least , from stamps to comic books then to Sports cards. I bought my first deck from our old friend Mike Ferrante from BMPokerworld on October 20th 2011 on ebay and it was the following Karnival Deck. i guess the skeleton on the deck made it look cool as I had no clue at the time that collecting decks was even a hobby. It was only down hill from there hehehe. can't believe it will always be five years now that I am collecting (probably nothing compare to some of you)

So now your turn... Which deck was your first??

[Justin O.]

What an awesome thread! I can't wait to see everyone's entries.

For me it's T11's Artisan deck, and it is still one of my favorite decks to date.

I was actually going to their website to purchase a Monarch deck after seeing it in a 52Kards tutorial, not realizing I was about to fall down the rabbit hole of time and money and elation and heartbreak that is collecting, but I saw the Artisans while looking for the Monarchs and now I have over 400 decks, no money and get in arguments on here every day.

[CBJ]

Great idea for a thread!

Here are the actual first 2 decks I bought!! (I talk about it in my featured collector thread)
They're still in pretty good shape.

P1010318_zpsf86c0e86.jpg (35.03 KiB) Viewed 3059 times

Looking forward to seeing other collectors firsts


Jay

[DelMagic]

The Olympic deck is probably my oldest. I bought both the blue and red version back in 1984. The blue I opened and used more than any other deck in my possession. It still spreads well but the cards are so soft that I don't use them anymore. I never opened the red deck. At the time, these were not premium collector cards - they were similar in price to regular Bikes. The 84 Olympic decks do have some value these days. They were crazy high a few years ago but they have dropped in price.

The Guardians deck is the first one I bought that I thought was too high for a deck of cards but I went and bought one anyway. Seriously, my heart was pumping at paying so much (about $5) for a deck of cards. I bought this one 5-6 years ago and went a little crazy since then. I'm sure you all know what I mean.

Olympic + Guardians reduced.jpg (181.22 KiB) Viewed 3036 times

[shermjack]

My first deck was Bicycle Emperor Playing Cards by Joanne Lin, though it was not the deck that sent me down the proverbial rabbit hole, it is still one of my most favorite decks. At the time, I had just discovered Kickstarter and was so fascinated with it...I was checking the site for new projects multiple times a day. When I saw the Emperor Playing Cards project, I was immediately drawn to the artwork of the courts and being Chinese, I appreciated the deck even more.

I ended up backing for two red decks. It's funny because I remember looking at the tiers and thinking, 'why would anyone want to buy 6-12 decks of the same cards?'...now I am saying, 'why didn't I buy that brick of blue Emperor's?'

[gotmagic]

First deck of mine was bicycle jumbo index. My first custom deck was ellusionist's 1800s vintage deck. I was the type of person that would treat those cards as if they were gold, now I don't. lol

[Bikefanatic]

Buying the decks in the USPCC shop that was open to public back in 2006, I got the white Bicycle Ghost deck. One of the first decks I seen that was different than norm with the pips, white backs, etc. Another deck I got at the same time was the Bicycle deck that's faded with brown and sky blue. So it was one of the two.

[cherrynukacola]

I only started collecting relatively recently, so my first decks were Pagan and the Ultimate deck. I think it was seeing all those beautiful decks on Kickstarter that got me thinking about getting into collecting.

[Calypso]

I've always had cards growing up, but I only found out about custom cards a couple years ago. Needless to say, I've been building my collection since then. The first deck(s) I ever bought for that purpose were Divine (still one of my favorites all time), Oblivion, Club Tattoo and Pyromaniac Fire and Ice.



Mmm.

[flashcards]

December 25, 2014. Shadow Masters.





I hadn't messed with cards since I did magic as a teenager over 40 years ago. I couldn't believe someone was making a black deck of cards. Then I found the Elusionist site. The videos were so cool and most of the decks were around $7 or $8 bucks. I thought, "I can collect those". After my first purchase of 4 decks I realized that I needed something to store them in. So I went and bought a slick brushed aluminum kid's lunch box. I could get maybe 20 decks in there. I figured that would last me a long time. I had it filled up in a month...

[montecarlojoe]

My first that really inspired playing regularly were the Cartamundi Casino Royale movie tie-in decks.

After that I found a deck (again inspired by a movie I liked at the time) that opened up the world of collecting to me - Grid 1.0.
My first deck as a "Collector" was Revision One

[vasta41]

Spring of 2006- Ellusionist Black Tiger (with the red pips to be specific). Almost 1,000 decks later and still going strong. I've recently been selling some off because my wife and I just bought a house (priorities ) but I'll never give it up completely!

[RichK]

JR's Fed 52. I had no idea about the Bicycle branded/unbranded "desire" or anything about cards. I just loved the idea and look. I told him in one of his Google hangouts well after Fed 52 that it was his fault I got into collecting and he laughed.

[MRHickey]

Grabbed a Fathom deck to add some magic to my balloon animal act. What was about a 2 years ago. Thanks to my buddy Paul steering me in the right direction I have collected around 400 decks. But due to some medical issues and baby number 3 on the way I have been forced to sell a good amount of them, but i just keep buying more with the money i get from them. its a viscous cycle

[vasta41]

...and baby number 3 on the way...

THIS is how you tell me!?

[Sparkz]

Anne Stokes

[rousselle]

...and baby number 3 on the way...

THIS is how you tell me!?

He didn't give you a heads upon the sale, either? Sheesh.

[Justin O.]

First deck of mine was bicycle jumbo index. My first custom deck was ellusionist's 1800s vintage deck. I was the type of person that would treat those cards as if they were gold, now I don't. lol

Man, I still love the Bike 1800's, that one one of my very early decks, and I remember that one, more than most, was one I was really excited to show to my friends.

[CostlyAxis]

Besides regular Bicycle decks, it would be have to be the Bicycle Silver edition. That was probably 6-7 years ago. However, my first custom deck was the Density Playing card deck on Kickstarter. I only really collected for a year or two (amassing some 200+ decks in the process), but quit actively purchasing at the start of this year. It just got too expensive for me to justify given I was saving for a house (now in the process of being built!).

[Trungbreezy]

My first deck would easily be bicycle, but everyone has those so I went to check my email and my first order for cards was a big order. What really got me collecting from this point was the Bicycle Golden Luxe.

1025459 Archangels Playing Cards (Single Deck) 2 $11.98
1020181 Bicycle® Guardians (Single Deck) 2 $9.98
1029149 Nightshade Deck 2 $15.98
138261 Club 808 Rider Back Poster 1 $10.00
143160 Nightshade Uncut Sheet 1 $20.00
1005016 807 Rider Back (Single Deck) 5 $19.95
1030989 Bicycle® Golden Luxe 2 $60.00

[Sher]

Mine was the Black Book of Cards by Uncommon Beat, from Kickstarter. I was obsessed with Kickstarter just like Shermjack, and it eventually turned into a playing card addiction. Well, former addiction... Hopefully. Lol.

[jsantafe]

Just like GotMagic, my first deck was Bicycle 1800s, non marked, from a local magic shop in Madrid.

But to be true, the first deck that grabbed my attention was Muertos from Steve Minty. Funny thing, never bought and now I would to have one.

The addiction started, so, before purchasing: I just had my first baby (1,5 years ago) and in those late sleepless night I started visiting T11, E, CartesMagie, CPC, etc.

So when I decided to buy, I was somewhat informed (still a n00b, now I know!) and got, form AoP:
- Fultons Casino Orange (still my preferred faux casino),
- Artisans White,
- Contraband (favorito T11 so far)
- and the, at that time, cherry on the cake: Green Gatorbacks.

I still love those decks and sometimes cringe when I see how badly I opened the seals...

[ecNate]

Like others here, I started with a number of more unique decks to just play around with, including Shadow Masters and Guardians, but didn't really think of it as a collection.

Apparently the deck that started it all was the Haunted deck which opened my eyes to fully custom decks with custom courts. The details are fuzzy as to what my actual first received deck was because I quickly found the Fed 52 (especially Reserve Note), Mr. Mead Dark Suits and Ultimate Deck, which also became my first uncut. Those first few weeks/months I got a lot of shipments!

[decibelhz]

I started collecting in 2013 because of Jackson and his Fed 52's. Then I became obsessed with custom playing cards and had to get my hands on as many decks as possible regardless of whether or not I actually liked them which was stupid and how I ended up with over 2k decks in my collection. I know better now and haven't been as active only buying cards that I really like. Most of my friends think I'm crazy and I totally agree with them.

[Levent Suberk]

My first deck was printed in Austria, I do not remember manufacturer's name. It is bridge size and courts are printed as V D R. I bought it in mid 1970s. Worn within time then I throw it.

[Siege]

First fully custom deck to reignite my passion in playing cards was Lorenzo Gaggiotti's Requiem deck (Autumn version). Which I still think is peerless today. Still regularly use it.

(Looks wistfully into the distance) I love that deck...

[Justin O.]

First fully custom deck to reignite my passion in playing cards was Lorenzo Gaggiotti's Requiem deck (Autumn version). Which I still think is peerless today. Still regularly use it.

(Looks wistfully into the distance) I love that deck...

Requiem... So good... I wish Requiem was my first deck, that's super cool

[Fes]

Fun thread, really a great idea. I decided to take these out and grab a couple snaps to share. At the time I wouldn't call it collecting at all. It was more of a just keeping decks that weren't the typical brand of playing cards I'd been used to playing with at the time. This was my first deck that fit into that category and later became a part of my collection. They were given to me by a friend of mine after we'd used some for friendly poker in mid 05, the deck itself was printed in 04. While it's nothing like what we see now a days, these two are special decks to me. I can't say how many hands of friendly blackjack and poker I've played with that red deck over the years but there it is in all it's very used glory. These two decks now live in the "Bloody Stump" area of my collection along side a copy of some of my favorite decks of all time.

[lms_jam]

I have been collecting many things since I was young my first deck of cards was probably Jurassic Park from the early 1990's I don't think I really got into collecting playing cards until about 5 years ago. My first KS deck was JR's Fed 52.

[52JokesandCounting]

Mine first deck will be Red Aristocrat I bought from T11 in 2009, but that didn't get me collecting. It was Lorenzo Gaggiotti's Heretic Lux that get me serious into collecting.

Still love it till this moment, and I do agree Requiem is 1 of the beast!!