Great minds like Leonardo designed incredible machines that alas never took to the skies. But our desire unrequited, we paced on, trying to conquer the infallible.

Though finally, we built mechanical marvels to traverse the heavens and beyond, our ancestors dreamt big in their minds and spun great tales of mighty heroes who made air their companion as we do thoughts.

Alis Luminis or "Wings of Light" is a hand-drawn playing card deck in celebration of these mighty heroes from yesteryears.

Wings inspired the tuck box, with the magical, gentle butterfly adorning the back and the mighty Peryton reigning the front. The artist illustrated this beautiful hand-drawn deck, over a period of one and a half years, meticulously crafting it with her dedication and love.

KickStarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oldgravity/alis-luminis-playing-card-deck

The work on the design and art of this deck took almost a year. The idea of ​​making a deck dedicated to the Amazons arised a long time ago because these women warriors were a real historical fact. When creating the heroines, I did not try to strictly adhere to any rigorous historical reconstructions and costumes, but tried to imagine how beautiful these ancient warriors could have been. However, the characters' costumes and weapons are almost authentic. I made every effort to get really high quality cards and boxes, the most meticulous detailing and decoration. Found my true inspiration in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Art History Museum) near the Amazons Sarcophagus.

The tuck box has its own insignia - it has the symbols of the shield and the spear, the minimal architectural components, as well as the Latin expressions of that era.

This deck will be the first in series of female Amazons. So far, the next two decks will be dedicated to Amazons Samurais and Amazons Vikings. This deck has 2 editions - Ephebes and Ephoros. Ephoros edition is the stretch goal - when unlocked you can choose any edition in your pledges.

KickStarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2115236027/amazons-spartans-playing-cards-0 Full Deck Scan: https://cardscans.piwigo.com/index?/category/290-spartans_amazons

The back design features blue metallic ink with symbols that represent a hospital. Every single card in the deck is filled with doctors and nurses with different operations; from Monitoring X-Rays, working with surgical tools, to offering large pills and needles.

The Ambulance Playing Cards are Limited to 2500 Decks. Designed by Andris Sarapovs. Manufactured by the United States Playing Card Company with their Premium Bee Stock.

Kings Wild Project September 2019 Subscriber Limited Edition deck.

Full deck scan here: https://cardscans.piwigo.com/index?/category/469-ascension_golden_lions

With a certain personally beloved series broadcasting its final season this year, I was inspired to create these decks as an homage while giving it a spin in my style and interpretation. To me, the aspect I wanted to focus on were the diverse "families" depicted in the series as opposed to individual heroes, villains and so forth. Each house has their own agendas and values that they live (or die, a lot) by and I couldn't help but find that intriguing. I thought to myself, how could I represent each family visually and voila, "Ascension Playing Cards" came into existence.

KickStarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/steveminty/ascension-playing-cards

Full Deck Scan: https://cardscans.piwigo.com/index?/category/968-tales_wicked

Full Deck Scan: https://cardscans.piwigo.com/index?/category/976-tales_heroic

The “Weathered” Edition is far more than just a color change. All the artwork has been completely redrawn with an innovative new method of digital texturing that promises to produce the most realistic wear and tear out there. Speaking of which, you’ve never seen a box with stock quite like this. The “color ravine” paper is durable and highly textured to give it an impasto effect that brings to mind the stucco and stone views of enduring Greek, French, and Italian shorelines. This requires us to employ highly accurate printing techniques to perfectly lay down the ink in those sunny Amalfi colors, also a staple of some of Riffle Shuffle’s most popular decks. The art of this edition is also unique, most prominently on the back, where the four gods of the ordinal winds (NW, NE, SW, SE) respectively push, challenge, guide, and welcome your seafaring vessel. Because, for “weathering” the storm, you deserve a little extra! Full Deck Scan: https://cardscans.piwigo.com/index?/category/362-sirocco_weathered

Egoism Rust is the official deck of Thirdway Industries.

Also available in a white version which was released later (May 2013), this deck from Theory 11 was released near the end of 2012, was illustrated by hand in South Africa and designed by Simon Frouws. They featured elegant gold foil stamped onto ultra-lux black paper derived from sustainable forests. Produced by USPCC, the stock is from FSC-certified papers derived from sustainable forests, vegetable-based inks and starch-based laminates. Sealed with a red tax-stamp, vintage sticker seal marked with the exact month and year of print. Containing largely standard face cards, the emphasis is on the premium foil tuck, card back artwork and stock quality that also was environmentally conscious.

2020 DOTY Award Nominee: 'Best Rookie Deck'

KickStarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/riffleshuffle/sirocco-playing-cards