The first image to take shape, which eventually played a major role in the Black Dragon Series of playing cards, was the "Black Koi" (featured as the Joker in this deck series). It was created by Marine Loup back in 2014 after she felt inspired by a legend about a group of Koi fish. The legend goes that through determination and perseverance, a single black koi was able to swim upstream to reach the top of a waterfall against all odds. It overcame demons that laughed at and mocked its efforts and who had also heightened the waterfall out of malice. According to legend, after reaching the top of the waterfall, the gods who had witnessed the koi's efforts turned the black koi into a Golden Dragon, the image of power and strength. This deck draws its inspiration from this legend and from Marine Loup and her Turning Japanese illustrations, and represents the determination and perseverance demonstrated by the black koi, battling against all odds to succeed. The black Koi, then, is the Joker, indicating that the demons made fun of its efforts to swim upstream.

Full deck scan by macstrat @ https://cardscans.piwigo.com/index?/category/330-black_dragon

We are proud to present to you the first playing cards designed by the popular cardist and youtuber Red Dragon. The back of the cards is inspired by the symbol of the Tao representing the path, the becoming of all things, and that is realized with a movement that oscillates between two extremes: whenever one of them is reached, a force pushes in the opposite direction and so on. The two halves in which the circular symbol is divided thus represent two opposite and complementary principles at the same time: for example, feminine and masculine, cold and warm, dark and light. All this is represented in this artwork of the deck, by two opposing dragons, one red and one black. The backs have a thin edge that enhances their beauty. The faces of the cards are standard to give the deck a great recognizability so the deck can be used not only for cardistry but also for your favorite card routines. The only exception being the aces that have been pleasantly enlarged. The box with the stylized image of a dragon and its red and black color is very elegant and mysterious. It was deliberately decided not to apply any seal to the tuck, so as not to ruin the aesthetic perfection of the case when it was broken. Particular mention must be made of the quality of this deck ... it is simply spectacular! The cards, printed by the USPCC (the Factory famous for Bicycle playing cards), have undergone extra processing compared to the normal Bicycles which made them slightly thinner ("crushed stock"). When you hold the deck of 52 cards in your hand, you seem to have only 47 or 48! The cards flow well and the magicians will be happy to be able to make really invisible double lifts, like never before. The manipulation of this deck is simply fantastic, and it will be a pleasure to use them for cardistry or magic. An must have deck for your performances, or for your collection of decks!