deck(s) with best or worst cardstock?

which deck(s) in your collection has the best or worst cardstock?

Name the deck -- where printed if you know -- decribe the cardstock and why you love/hate it.

Not so much best/worst - but I HATE the card stock of Deirdre of the Sorrows. I don't want my cards to look like linen....

Lo Scarabeo decks in general have excellent card stock. Llewellyn tend to be flimsy. Many USGames decks are very heavily laminated (opinions differ on whether this is nice or not) - but those printed in China are better.

I think perhaps one of my VERY best is my Muller Thoth. In all its sizes.

USGames in general is the best, Llewelyn and Lo Scarabeo - though the latter is better, both have way too many warping issues for me, and the cards tend to be thinner - though I did just get the Buddha Tarot published by Llewellyn and the cardstock is excellent (I wonder if the artists have anything to do with that?)

The smaller size Enchanted Tarot is the worst when it comes to thin flimsy card stock, but then I have another deck from St Martins Press that has thicker sturdy cards - so some companies differ from deck to deck. Also, there are other publishers whose cardstock I like, but since I may only have one deck from them, I will stick to the publishers I have more experience with.

I will add that most of my warped decks have been Llewellyn...just had a string of really bad luck with decks from them. Lo Scarabeo, I must say, I have had ONE warped deck from them - so it is unfair for me to include them in my above statement.

gregory said:

Not so much best/worst - but I HATE the card stock of Deirdre of the Sorrows. I don't want my cards to look like linen....

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I love that cardstock!

Sometimes it is the size of the cards that changes how the cardstock works for shuffling. I've had big flimsy decks that were like trying to shuffle skin turn into beautiful shufflers just by trimming.

I think the OP is asking 'how long is a piece of string?'

AJ said:

I love that cardstock!

Sometimes it is the size of the cards that changes how the cardstock works for shuffling. I've had big flimsy decks that were like trying to shuffle skin turn into beautiful shufflers just by trimming.

I think the OP is asking 'how long is a piece of string?'

Click to expand...

Exactly !

Bhavana said:

USGames in general is the best, Llewelyn and Lo Scarabeo - though the latter is better, both have way too many warping issues for me, and the cards tend to be thinner, more flimsy, and don't hold up as well after some use

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LOL. I disagree with every single statement in this post^!

- U.S Games cardstock in general isn't the best
- Lo Scarabeo decks never warp
- cards are not more flimsy and do hold up to use.

Worst btw is that Liz Dean (?) Golden Tarot. There was also the Boltcutter decks but I forgave them that because the cards were so beautiful!

But it all goes to show none of us will agree on anything.

I give thanks to the Lord evey day that the Thoth is still being printed by AG Muller and that U.S Games haven't started meddling with its production yet.

The card stock for the revised Wm Blake Tarot is by far the worst I have dealt with.

Of all my decks, I like the card stock of my greenie Thoth the best.

The worst I've run across yet is the one Abrams used for the Heart of Faerie oracle. Cheap feeling and the cards arrived very badly warped. Lots of people here had the same warping issues with this deck, so I believe it's cardstock and manufacturer based.

My favorite is the first edition Tarot of Prague. Beautiful, silky cardstock with a matte finish. Second place is my vintage RWS -- yes, it's U.S. Games, but from before they started befouling their decks with plastic cardstock and plastic finishes.

The best I've found are older MRP decks (Victorian Romantic, Victorian Flower Oracle) they're flexible yet extremely strong. The newest Bohemian Gothic has much sturdier card stock but it's also very stiff to me. Nevertheless, I know that any MRP deck will hold up. They put quality in everything.

US Games have the next best, but sometimes a bit hard to shuffle. Still very sturdy and well laminated.

Lo Scarabeo's cardstock has the most consistency with their cardstock and it's sturdy and will last.

Llewellyn is hit or miss. Usually decks are on the thin side and they usually do warp some.

But that's just my personal opinion/tastes

gregory said:

Not so much best/worst - but I HATE the card stock of Deirdre of the Sorrows. I don't want my cards to look like linen....

Lo Scarabeo decks in general have excellent card stock. Llewellyn tend to be flimsy. Many USGames decks are very heavily laminated (opinions differ on whether this is nice or not) - but those printed in China are better.

I think perhaps one of my VERY best is my Muller Thoth. In all its sizes.

Click to expand...

I second the AGM Thoth. I chose the Spanish Muller Thoth instead of the USGames version because of the difference in quality. No, I speak no Spanish, but it was that much better.

I've been uniformly disappointed with the cheap and flimsy quality of Llewellyn decks. Until I hear differently I won't buy any deck they produce.