I received my new 2016 (Iskander) 5th edition today! It's lovely.
I will think of it as the polished and elegant sibling of the 1st edition I have.
I love the more even borders, a consistent color quality on the card backs (no help with telling which is which!), and rounded corners. The cardstock is pleasant and seems durable, and I won't be afraid to take this deck with me to gatherings with friends. The box is wonderful, and the card back design is pretty. The background card color is still that nice aged beige shade that I have come to strongly prefer over white. I will always find the size of your decks to be perfect as "full-sized" for me. Smaller and narrower than the average tarot, but not as small as a pocket deck.
All in all, it's a very professional edition of the deck, and I'm so pleased to own it and add it to my collection!! My Marsella Robledo 1st Edition and the small Dodal reproduction are my two favorite historical decks to read, so it will be in good company. Thank you so much for continuing to produce your decks.
This new one does have slightly more muted colors than the others. The coloring is subtly shaded and very attractive, but I must admit to having a soft spot for the incredibly bold and lively printing of my 1st edition! (The Dodal is quite bold as well.) So now like a crazy person I'm drawn to ask a few questions about how the 2016 compares to the edition before it, which I missed.
--How do you refer to it? Was it the 2nd or 3rd edition? Or by year? (ETA: just realized it must have been the 4th Ed, since this new one is the 5th!)
--Is it sold out, or still available somewhere?
--That one had rounded corners also, correct? Did both the 3rd and 4th?
--Is the cardstock the same as the 1st edition (or Dodal), or different?
--Are the colors similar in saturation to the 1st and Dodal?
--Are the line drawings more similar to the 1st or the 2016?
Thank you, and sorry for so many questions!
I have attached a few pictures comparing the 1st Edition (top rows) and the 2016 edition (bottom rows), for anyone interested.