Surprising Disappointments

feynrir

Le Fanu said:
But one that surprised me because I expected them to sing and they didn't;

Chrysalis - too Noah's Ark-y - it just feels like everything has been tossed in there for fear that civilization might end. So I tend to question the vibe of the whole world spread thinly.

HA!! I just read this. You really hit the nail on the head Le Fanu

Weirdly though I freaking SUPER LOVE the Chrysalis, way more than I thought I would. I had your kind of "Noah's Ark" thoughts when I first bought the deck, but I was really feeling the artwork at the time and it became an impulse buy. Now, I love everything about it. I think I love the Courts (er sorry, the Troupe members?) the most; they're really different from the way I've thought about the Courts in any other deck and I find them really fresh. Don't exactly like thinking of them as a unit though. It's weird and I haven't warmed up to that, nor do I feel the need.

I'm so sad now that I've been enabled by some of you posters to trim it though. I love the gold borders...maybe I'll have to buy a second copy to deborder.

Madrigal

I know it's heresy here but my initial impressions of the Sevenfold Mystery deck by Place are not favourable. Granted I've not used this deck other then to go through and briefly take in each card so I may yet change my mind once I start using it. But I was disappointed that I didn't feel the kind of resonance folks spoke of here. I did like the images online and on my app but somehow they didn't translate. In person there's a remoteness to them and I find they're hard to access. I've got the Alchemical Fourth on the horizon, too, so hmm.

WolfSpirit

Thoughtful said:
l'm with others about the Wild Unkown, such a pity, l adore animals specially when they are depicted in a real life way. The mages l saw online really drew me to this deck. Once l had it in my hands l was so happy but it just did not speak to me. When l tried to read with the deck it was like so sterile and stilted, such a huge disappointment and l really tried to work with it. In fact in the end l sold the deck then regretted it and bought another. Still no response!
Some decks like this and my Kat Black Golden seem to just clam up, but l tried.

My sentiments too - sterile and stilted is the right expression for it. I am still hopeful I will connect to it one day. I do think it is pretty...
I was not influenced by the hipster-comments, I only heard about those later.

Alta said:
The other one is Sacred Isle. Not nearly as disappointed but I saw a special edition printed before the deck was even offered (Solandia was visiting me, they had sent her a copy for publicity purposes). Enchanting jewel tones, so much depth. So I bought the deck when it came out and again, what happened? Anyway, they brought out another edition and since I am clearly an idiot, I bought that in hopes they would have gone back to the original scheme. Well, it was different, again (!) but still nothing like that first pass.

Good to know, that one is on my wish list, but that was from the time that it was majors only and I thought it looked lovely. I thought the full deck lost some of its charm - but that was just from seeing it online. I'll re-think this one.

The Bohemian Gothic is a deck that I anticipated, waited for the publication date, but when I got it I realised it is just not me. I don't connect with it all. I should get rid of the copies I still have, someone will probably appreciate them better than I do!

urbandryad

Tarot Art Nouveau was that for me. I loved the beautiful artwork, it was so beautiful, but I didn't really 'feel' the deck when I got it in my hands. It is beautiful though...

Emily

Ludy Lescot

The Ludy Lescot was also a bit of a disappointment for me, I hadn't seen all the cards but the ones I had seen, I liked. I knew the deck was different and hoped it would be a challenge but I didn't realise just how much of a challenge they would be. I still like the artwork but the deck is completely unreadable for me. I don't relate to it at all.

Dark Victory '39

Madrigal said:
I know it's heresy here but my initial impressions of the Sevenfold Mystery deck by Place are not favourable. I did like the images online and on my app but somehow they didn't translate. In person there's a remoteness to them and I find they're hard to access. I've got the Alchemical Fourth on the horizon, too, so hmm.

I hear you Madrigal; Over the years i've had both the 7fold and alchemical renewed, and while i used them for quite a while, ultimately i kept chuckling at what someone once said in thread, 'gee all the people in his decks look kind of dead.' However, the good news is his books are fabulous and i learned a lot working w/ the decks. While i would like to embrace what is truly that classical and classy 'remote' style-- i havn't really felt i connected w/ those particular decks. That hasnt stopped me from being close to buying the newest pastel alchemical, which i love the look, but i'm afraid it would languish. So far i'm staying away: good job, Dark Victory.

But maybe it does take time. I was intending to post here about the Mary-el; a deck i followed the creation of, adored online, and then spent several years badmouthing the cardstock, and believing i couldn't work w/ the images. Lo and behold, i had a breakthrough w/ the Mary-el last month. I needed a deck to brainstorm with for a weekend, and for whatever reason i really wanted to use it, and something clicked. It was like magic. I even spent a couple hours going through the companion book (that i had also badmouthed as an 'everything but the kitchen sink' sort of uselessness) w/ a pink hilighter to pull out the few instances she references what is actually going on in the picture, and i found it helpful. And that cardstock everyone complains of? Well, the good news is it can really take a beating. I did lots and lots of laying down cards, rapid, haphazard shuffling; and knew because they're like Schiffer teflon i'd be able to hang out w/ my coffecup and notebook hanging every which way over it while i worked. I am so sorry i ever said anything negative about that deck.

Citrin

Shadowscapes and the Paulina Tarot.

It still saddens me, because they're both sooo gorgeous, and I thought the art style would just embrace me when I opened the box lol...

But the Shadowscapes felt empty and overly detailed at the same time! So weird, but yeah, the images have so many things in them but at the same time I feel like all the people are just kind of standing there with flowing hair and to me that's just like "What are you trying to tell me just standing there?!". Yeah it's a weird deck to me, being too busy and too still at the same time.

The Paulina felt too brown/beige and cluttered. Still beautiful, but couldn't connect with it. Really odd because I followed her work with this deck for a long time and loved looking at the images online, but when I opened it... No love.

Ugh.

Madrigal

Dark Victory '39 said:
I hear you Madrigal; Over the years i've had both the 7fold and alchemical renewed, and while i used them for quite a while, ultimately i kept chuckling at what someone once said in thread, 'gee all the people in his decks look kind of dead.' However, the good news is his books are fabulous and i learned a lot working w/ the decks. While i would like to embrace what is truly that classical and classy 'remote' style-- i havn't really felt i connected w/ those particular decks. That hasnt stopped me from being close to buying the newest pastel alchemical, which i love the look, but i'm afraid it would languish. So far i'm staying away: good job, Dark Victory.

Well, there are at least two of us, then

I'm encouraged by your trajectory with it. I also have had the experience of certain moods inspiring the need for certain decks. I don't know what mood would inspire using this deck but I'm sure there is one

I don't have the book, just the deck (Sevenfold) and it doesn't look like there is a companion book to go with it though it appears he's written a few books. Is there one in particular you recommend? I backed the kickstarter for Alchemical 4th and I think there's a book included with that.

swedishfish612

It's not so much that I found "the one" and it turned out not to be. What's more common for me is thinking I'll love a deck and then feeling just so-so about it, or even cold once I get it in my hands. There have been so many like this- the Golden by Kat Black, Jolanda, Gilded, Archaeon, pretty much every Witch deck I've tried, the Aquarian.

I've also been surprised by what I've loved and what reads well for me, but I guess that's for another thread! lol

Simple

I want a loyal deck so much so my surprises (unpleasant one!) came with time.
Anna K: LOVE colors. Love art. but the imbalance in some cards (purely negative or purely positive) bothers me more that now the deck just gives me opposite or nonsense answer.

Sun and Moon: Love the simple art. I didn't see the whole deck online though. Just bought it on the whim. Disliked emperor and lovers too much. Can't really connect with

Steampunk: Great deck. The card stock is flimsy though! Already have wear on the borders and I sometimes avoid it because I know which cards are those just from the worn backs! And sometimes, when I have bad days, the cards are too brown for me.

Still looking for my THE ONE!

Surprising Disappointments

feynrir

Madrigal

WolfSpirit

urbandryad

Emily

Dark Victory '39

Citrin

Madrigal

swedishfish612

Simple