This is a sick deck of cards. Not a single value on any card, but the most intense neon colors that function as a strobe animation when you riffle through the deck. There is something superbly special about this deck and you realize it the second they slide out of the box.
There are 49 cards with a rotating diamond in diamond pattern, al in different bright neon colors. They look amazing when they are fanned, or spread or riffles. They are amazing in your hands. In a way, they remind me of pulsing disco lights. There is something very hypnotic about them. The cards come in a certain order that makes the riffle pulsing uniform so if you shuffle them they will present a different pulsing effect.
Also included are 5 art cards with unique pictures on them that contain the same diamond in diamond back. There is a magicencarta ad card and a XQ card that states “Over 7 undecillion 363 decillion 615 nonillion 666 octillion possible colour patterns.”
The tuck box is mostly black. On the front and back there are 7 small different color boxes in the middle (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and violet). On the box edges there 3-d box diagrams and on the top of the flap there is a multi color “XQ forty-nine” text. The bottom of the box reveals that the cards were produced by Magic Encarta and designed by Thorsten Schmitt. They were manufactured by the USPCC and handle well.
The ad copy states:
“The XQ Forty-Nine Deck is coming alive after nearly 2 years in the works as one of the most colorful decks ever in the history of cardistry. Countless different color variations, permutations and combinations are possible with this deck, which will make your cardistry flourishes look fresh and unique every time!!! Magic Encarta in collaboration with award-winning Digital Artist Thorsten Schmitt is proud to present the XQ Forty-Nine cardistry cards. This deck is a celebration of cardistry and creativity. We hope this deck can change your perception on cardistry with one of a kind concept and hope it sparks your creativity to the next level. Start your cardistry journey with the XQ Forty-Nine cardistry cards.
POSSIBILITIES OF COMBINATIONS:
Create over 7 undecillion 363 decillion 615 nonillion 666 octillion different color patterns with the XQ Forty-Nine cardistry cards. Create stunning color patterns in your fans, spreads and your flourishes. Discover and create a new pattern everyday for the rest of your life. In fact you can create a new pattern every second and it will never end. Beautiful fans, stunning spreads and all kind of flourishes, packet cuts, cardistry moves come to life with vibrant display with the XQ Forty-Nine deck, which will change your perception on cardistry.
KEY DETAILS:
49 XQ forty-nine cardistry cards
2 Autostereogram-cards
1 Phenakistoscope-card
1 Artwork-card
1 Magic Encarta XQ49 style logo card
1 Possibilities count card
1 Ad card with the 7 colored theme blocks
Poker sized cards
Printed by The United States Playing Card Company
Printed on crushed stock
Air cushion finish
Printed in the USA
Print run of 1800 decks
WHAT IS THE PHENAKISTOSCOPE CARD:
The Phenakistoscope uses the persistence of motion principle to create an illusion of motion. Although this principle had been recognized by the Greek mathematician Euclid and later in experiments by Newton, it was not until 1829 that this principle became firmly established by Joseph Plateau.
In order to see the animation on the card you need:
– The Phenakistoscope card of the XQ forty-nine deck
– A spinning movement of the card, for example use the card spin flourish
– A mobile phone to film. View the rotating card through a camera phone or any other camera with a digital display shooting at 30FPS and watch the card spring to life.
– Bright light. The brighter the light, the clearer the animation will appear.
WHAT IS THE AUTOSTEREOGRAM CARD:
An autostereogram is a single-image stereogram (SIS), designed to create the visual illusion of a three-dimensional (3D) scene from a two-dimensional image. In order to perceive 3D shapes in these autostereograms, one must overcome the normally automatic coordination between accommodation (focus) and horizontal vergence (angle of one’s eyes). The illusion is one of depth perception and involves stereopsis: depth perception arising from the different perspective each eye has of a three-dimensional scene, called binocular parallax.
How to see the autostereogram:
– Relax your vision and unfocus your eyes. Look through the card, as if your eyes are focusing on a point behind the card.
– Keep looking at it this way until your focus adjusts and the hidden 3D object becomes sharp and recognizable.”
There are only 1800 of these decks so I would run over to any Murphy’s Magic dealer and pick on up – before they are gone. $16 bucks a pop. Of course, thanks to Murphys for asking me to give you my honest review of this deck!