theory11 NoMad Playing Cards , Black, 3.5 x 2.6 x 0.7"

The box for this one is outstanding! It ranks up there with Theory 11's Artisan deck for beauty. The box is made from a black card stock, that is then printed with opaque white and gray inks, which really stand out. To finish it off, Theory 11 also used some gold foil stamping and some sharp embossing to really set this off. The back design is actually on the front of the box, while the label is on the back. The inside of the box is also printed with a repeating pattern of the Nomad logo in gray ink. The box is sealed with a rather long sticker that has the seal of NY on it twice. Since the box is made with uncoated stock, it's more susceptible to moisture damage, so take care.There are 56 cards in this deck, with two nearly identical Jokers. Nearly identical, meaning the artwork is identical but the faux foxing on the cards is heavier on one than the other, making them different. There are two additional black ad cards for The Nomad Hotel, which this deck was designed for.All the cards have a foxing texture on the background, on both front and back, to varying degrees. There are several patterns to this and if you look for it, you can find the same pattern on different cards. The artwork is traditional, but using a very dark red for the red suits and a golden tan for the yellow in the face cards, which utilize only the dark red, tan and black colors; there are no blues used. The Ace of Spade is entirely custom and even uses a different font for the value.The backs have the design that appears on the front of the box, but in black line art, over the foxing pattern. Without that foxing, the backs would probably much less appealing.The cards are Bicycle stock, printed by the USPCC, and are high quality. Interestingly, this is the first deck of cards I've run into that had defective cards in it; five cards have creases down the faces - 7H, AC, 2D, 9C and 10D. There's no sign of this on their backs, so I wonder, given the overall stained nature of the designs, if this was intentional, as there's no sign the cards were actually bent; the creases are only on the face, like it happened when the paper was glued together to make the card stock. If so, kudos on that!This is a nice deck in one of the most beautiful boxes I've seen. In fact, I would love to have a poster of that box front.

Probably my favorite deck of cards that I own right now. The finish on these things is great. The card stock is super nice and the colors are sleek and clean. The tuck case is intricate and sturdy and there seems to always be something to look at. They shuffle like a dream and handle so smoothly. I love taking these out at my desk and just holding them and shuffling them while I do stuff on the computer.

This is an awesome deck of cards. I understand that from a practical game play standpoint, a lavish card face could become a distraction, but for a beautiful custom deck such as this one you're probably not buying it with the intentions of playing too many card games. (If you are, I still highly recommend because these cards look amazing.) All that being said, these cards have a stunning back design and are paired with equally awesome face designs especially on the aces and also on the royalty cards.

It is a nice deck of cards; but the pictures in the listing had me thinking all the cards had unique art/designs. When in fact only the two Jokers and the Ace of spades are unique. All the rest of the cards are just plain standard playing cards. The box is the nicest piece to the whole set. Doesn't even pay any tribute to its namesake of the deck the Hudson hotel.

Theory11 has the best quality and most elegant cards you could ask for. Starting with the beautiful embossed box. The Ace of spades is the only unique pip. Now all the face cards have a beautiful shine to them. I recommend this to anyone looking for a high end deck of traditional style cards.

I love the embossing on these cards, theory 11 definitely knows what they are doing

These cards are BEAUTIFUL. The pattern and color choice are superb!!The Ace of Spades and Jokers have exceptionally pretty art,The outside packaging is stunning and they feel great in the hands. They also shuffle really well.If you're in the mood to feel super fancy while playing cards get these!!

Easy to read and feel great in the hand.These are easy to shuffle and deal