Malibu V2 Playing Cards
Toomas Pintson has produced many a deck of colourful playing cards, and the newest entry under his Gemini label is the Malibu V2 deck.
The original Malibu deck was produced in a limited edition print run of 3000, and has since sold out. So with a slightly more vibrant look to the colours of the original back design, this is the follow-up which brings the Malibu deck back into print.
The tuck box immediately introduces us to this deck's concept, which points us to the surf and sand of Malibu beach, with a very exuberant and colourful design that is bursting with Californian sunshine, surrounded with black and white paint splatters. The sides of the box ensure that we quickly get acclimatized to our new setting, with "Malibu" on one side and "Surf's Up" on the other.
Inside, we find cards that have a back design matching what we've already seen on the front and back of the box. The two-way design has been carefully constructed so that a fan in the usual direction will produce a sandy look of yellow along the edge, whereas a reverse fan will produce a oceanic look of blue surf along the edge.
The face cards look immediately intriguing, and although the overall design is relatively standard, the colour palette is anything but that. The Heart and Diamond suits, for example, feature a very soft pink for the pips instead of the usual garish red.
For the court cards, the Hearts and Diamonds are accompanied with a soft purple, while the court cards of the Spades and Clubs are treated to a decorative yellow - once again representing the surf (purple Hearts/Diamonds courts) and sand (yellow Spades/Clubs courts). This is a small change from the original Malibu deck, which used yellow for all the court cards.
It must be said that these colour choices complement the back design very well, and help unify the overall look of the deck, in line with the Malibu beach theme. Courtesy of quinnvdree, here's a lovely display that showcases these card backs.
Customization is also present in the form of a casual "Surf's Up" Ace of Spades, while the two Jokers remind us again that yes, in Malibu the Surf really is Up!
An ad card and a double backer bring the total number of cards up to 56, just as you'd expect with a USPCC produced deck. This is a deck that is clearly geared to cardists, and fans of Pinston's style will find much to appreciate with this new release and its fresh colour scheme.
Recommendation
So where can you get the decks featured in this review series? Any reputable online retailer that sells custom playing cards should have these available (e.g. Rare Playing Cards). If they don't, send them to Murphy's Magic, a magic wholesaler with an enormous range of products (including custom playing cards) that they sell in bulk quantities to dealers and retailers around the world. They have a huge network of contacts in the retail industry, so all of these decks should be available from any retailer that sources their decks from Murphy's Magic.
The custom playing card industry continues to boom, and produce some wonderful new decks, and the four decks featured above are fine examples of some of the great new playing cards that are appearing today.
The decks reviewed above are all available at your favourite Murphy’s Magic retailer. Want to learn more? Visit Murphy's Magic: http://www.murphysmagic.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Here are direct links for all the decks featured in this review series:
- Memento Mori NXS https://murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=62704" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
- Malibu V2: https://murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=63267" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
- Gemini Casino Orange: https://murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=63313" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
- Deceptive Arts: https://murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=62626" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
