Produced in 2011, Erik Mana’s own personal deck of playing cards Version 1 of the Mana Deck is called The Oracle Edition. It was a collaboration between artist Esez Campaña and Erik himself – putting together elements of esoteric symbols and beautiful artwork, combined with an elegant mix of metallic colours. Praised by prestigious communities including the Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York, the Mana deck is still one of the most sought after playing cards in the world.
The deck possesses beautiful artwork, but also includes elements with deep and enigmatic meanings - only a few of which were to be publicly revealed! For example, the tuck box has a 3 of hearts card reveal on the side flaps, while the box lid has the Latin words Magus Per Mens Et Manus, which means something like "magician by mind and hand".
Card Back
As Erik describes it: "The back exhibits a combination of ornate flourish designs as a reflection of all three art forms with its flowing swirls and organic movement. This deck reveals elements of circles to represent focus and unity and the number 3 is incorporated into the design as it represents growth and good fortune. "
Especially noteworthy, however, is that the design has a stunning 3D type effect, which makes it look as if the card back has layers that can be touched and felt! The 3D look is a remarkable and convincing illusion - suggestive of the other mysteries that this deck contains.
The original design of this deck was blue, but this was later changed to silver to reflect the fact that the deck was produced in limited numbers (a total of 5000 were produced), and thus was intended to make the deck look more exclusive and rare. Five metallic ink colours were used on the faces, backs, and box.
Court cards
While the traditional court card designs were retained, each suit was given its own colour: Spades = purple; Hearts = red; Clubs = green; Diamonds = silver.
Along with the addition of gold accents, this helps give each suit its own spirit and character.
Number cards
The number cards also have a traditional design. Meanwhile the Ace of Spades features flourishing swirls, and elements of three are present in its design (just as was the case with the back designs).
Aces
In many other decks the other Aces are neglected or overlooked, so to compensate for that, in this deck all four Aces have been given their own special framing.
Furthermore, all the red pips in this deck have been given more vibrance and energy than normal, by being printed in a metallic red.
Jokers
Erik considers the "Oracle" edition of the Mana Deck to pay homage to three related art forms: magic, mentalism, and cardistry.
These influences are immediately apparent when looking at the Joker, which was designed in honour of cardists. It pictures a visual display of the Oracle Cut, which is Erik's variation of the Sybil cut with an `Angel' display.
Quality
This deck was designed by graphic artist Esez Campaña, in collaboration with Erik Mana. It was produced by Manila based Cutting Edge, which is sole distributor of USPCC products and several magic brands (e.g. Ellusionist and Theory11) in the Philippines.
Campana and Mana worked together in order to capture something of the spirit of a performer. In their words: "Both magician and artist worked together to develop a unique deck that would transcend time and would embody the true spirit of the performer. What they conjured was a fusion of old world elegance with modern day artistic flare to symbolize the new era of magic & cardistry with the respect and foundation of the magic of the past." The design process took over 10 months, and the result was a deck of cards with the beautiful artwork seen in the accompanying photos.
The deck was printed by USPCC, on 325 card stock with their usual "Magic Finish", which is preferred by many for the smooth fans and flourishes it enables. It has the usual modern cut (back to face) used by USPCC, which Erik prefers 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 finish and handling was exactly what was hoped for, with the deck fanning smoothly and evening, and the stock being crisp and yet springing well.
The deck was so successful that it was sold out within a week of its launch! It is now considered a collector's item, and typically goes for high prices on the secondary market.
