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The Mana Deck Review

1/30/2012

 
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We all know that most of the decks of recent months have focused on the finish. Nowadays, opening a brand new deck comes out slippery and smooth and many reviews will stop right there. But what happens when you break it in?

In my opinion, the only way to truly give a fair review of the performance of a deck is after a couple of weeks of breaking it in. That means springs, pressure fans, Le Pauls, thumb fans, dribbles etc. and then doing everything 'deck up' - DAILY! This also includes proper care for a deck as well. That means, keeping it in a cool dry place and stored with a Porper clip. This is how you protect and maintain the quality of a deck of cards.

Believe it or not after two weeks of breaking in a deck, the true test to finish and quality is a simple spring followed by a proper thumb fan. By proper thumb fan, I mean moving ONLY your thumb in a circular motion and not the rest of your hand (common mistake by a lot of people). This allows the deck to flow on its own without too much pressure and control by the hands. This simple test has proven to be the best gauge as to the quality of finish and performance for any deck of cards for me.

After over two weeks breaking in the Mana deck I'm happy and proud to say that the finish and handling is absolutely beautiful!! I'm not just saying this either! This is my honest review of the Mana deck. The deck fans out smoothly and evenly all the way around. The stock maintains its crispness, but is soft to the spring. Pressure fans are a breeze and because of the cut, anacondas dribbles are perfect. 

The cut of the Mana deck is from back to face. According to USPCC, this is the traditional cut, but others will say it is the reverse to Richard Turners traditional cut of "face to back". Either way, you can tell the cut of a deck by slightly beveling the deck with the bottom protruding a little and running your thumb on the side from top to bottom. If the side is smooth from top to bottom, then it was cut back to face. Most decks nowadays are cut in this fashion.

For me, I prefer the back to face cut, because it allows for beautiful straight dribbles, perfect single hand faros and table faros, not to mention more accurate riffles, pinky counts and thumb counts. The Mana deck passes in all categories. 

Everything else about the Mana deck you already know and have seen. And while you've all seen only pictures of this deck, I promise you that this deck is nothing short of magical when its in your hands. This is truly a beautiful deck which I am proud of and confident that you will love as well. Exciting times ahead of us my friends! Thank you for all your support! 

-EM
Ioannis
1/31/2012 12:20:09 am

You've just taught me a couple of things about decks review :), I do sometimes review decks based on my very first impressions but your totally right in that it's really only fair to review a deck once you've had some time with it. Looking forward to getting these, it's been a long time since the joker was first revealed and so I'm very happy the wait is nearly over. Cheers

EM
2/4/2012 09:11:07 am

Thanks John! I appreciate it! Cheers! :)


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    production info...

    V1 Oracle Edition (Silver)
    Print Run: 5000 decks
    Public Release: 4000 decks
    Uncut Sheets: 100 sheets
    Completion Date: Dec.13/11
    Target Release Date: 
    To Be Announced - 2012

    Quality & Finish:
    Q1 Quality
    325 Premium Card Stock 
    High Embossed Magic Finish
    5 Metallic Ink Colors
    Metallic inks on faces, backs and box.

    Designed by:
    Esez Campaña & Erik Mana

    Produced by:
    Cutting Edge

    Marketing by:
    The Legerdemain Group

    Distributed by:
    Cutting Edge
    The Legerdemain Group

    Shipping Origin:
    Manila, Philippines

    Manufactured by:
    The United States Playing Card Company. Made in USA.

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