Decks that surprise you

Hidden Realm.
I was changing my opinion between "meh" and "oooh, nice" and ah, no" but was ultimately not going to buy it. Then I bought a used one beside 2 other decks so I could get discount.
At first, I was mostly meh towards it.
Now, lately, I've been picking it up more and more often! I'm surprised how good the readings are.

Silhouettes! I looked at it SO many times. Somehow I was fascinated, I love silhouette animated films, the colours looked great - but those creatures! Too cute, too naff, too toy-like, too childish! How could I read with that?

But the deck didn't leave me. I hesitated, dithered and thought about it sat on that old fence until it broke and bought the deck!

I will always remember the day it arrived. I went to the post office, caught the post lady, had the deck and then took my evening round with the deck in my hand. Happy expectation! And I was not disappointed. The deck surprises me time after time with precise, honest, clear messages. The toy-like creatures seem to live a life of their own, I'm sure they move around in the deck when I don't watch. They speak to me.

I found that decks with a deceptively simple imagery (Housewives, Fey, Dreaming Way) can trigger my intuition beautifully.

Pagan Otherworlds.

Honestly I bought it due to the gushing comments on card stock and never thought it would be my prime reading deck, just one for the queue.

It is the one I use primarily now- honestly I rarely get out the others. It satisfies me so much that I don't even look for new ones. It reads remarkably well. I have posted more on this in the thread about the deck- but suffice it to say that I haven't had one like this hit me before and I'm happy that I made what I considered at the time as a bit of a frivolous purchase.

Shining Tribe Tarot. I gave it a wide berth for years and now all of a sudden we click. I'm loving the naive art, the basic colors and shapes, use of line and squiggle. It kind of bypasses the analytical mind to speak to a different, more primal, though no less intelligent, level of awareness.

Deviant Moon. I love most dark decks, but this one felt like a disappointment when I first had it in my hands. Too weird, too sad, too off-putting, and I simply knew I'd never be able to read with it. When I began working with it, I was humbly and pleasantly surprised to find how immediately I connected with it, how easily I read with it, and how deeply emotional and poignant I found many of the cards to be. I also enjoyed discovering the Deviant Moon's sense of humor. It loves nothing more than to poke fun at the folly and foibles of my life, but in a way that makes me laugh out loud. Never thought this would be one of my go-to decks, but I wouldn't dream of parting with it.

Tarot of the Sidhe
I got it in a trade, I heard so many people raving about it that I thought I'd give it a chance and trade it on, I don't keep decks I don't read with.
I was blown away, it's quite the powerhouse. I was physically vibrating while handling it, that hasn't happened to me since I first started reading 20 years ago. It's a lot more insightful than I expected.

Barleywine said:

The Voyager Tarot. Its colorful but at first blush not-very-nuanced collage art seemed impenetrable (I likened it to "fruit salad"), but the more I use it the more it resembles a continuously-unfolding flower.

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No THAT was a surprise !!! You are also a fan of the funky slightly psychodelic Voyager ? It was my very first deck and I still love it. I "learned" how to not get lost in the confusion in a book by letting the eye muscles choose one point to concentrate on. And yes, fruit salad is a beautiful metaphor for it .

My surprise tarot was the Golden Rider. Ugly as hell but it reads like a dream.

mercuryempress said:

My Phantasmagorical Theater..I bought it just because I had to have and quickly put it to the side. One day it just started calling me and it really help me when I needed it.

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I have rarely used my Phantasmagorical Theater deck. It was an impulsive gift from my boyfriend who saw it at a used bookstore. I'm going to pull it out soon based on your suggestion!

Ghost and Spirits surprised me. I wanted it because I am a huge Lisa Hunt fan, but I didn't expect to truly connect with it. I received it for Christmas this year and connected with it very quickly. It is one of my default decks for others because I understand it so well.