I was very excited when i bought these cards, however i was disappointed upon opening the box. The cards are made out of a slightly thicker stock which normally would be great, but the entire deck was not cut properly. The cards had very rough edges and some had extra paper along what should be a perfectly smooth deck edge. This is not hugely noticeable, but as a magician for 9 years, it is proving to make lifts and other handlings more difficult.

i was also a bit disappointed at the resolution of the images on the back. i really expected a crystal clear guardian backing to these cards, but it is a disappointing quality since the artwork from which it came was much better quality.

not bad cards, but i had higher expectations.

cards arrived extremely quickly which i was very pleased about.

These cards look cool, it's true. But for card tricks and flourishes they really miss the mark. The cards are a bit thicker than ordinary Rider Backs. The edges are rough (making it difficult to do a standard waterfall shuffle, for example). If you buy these cards, I suggest buying one deck just to see how you like them before you invest your money in a bunch of these. From my perspective, Tally Ho's are the best cards for tricks and flourishes, and you can buy them for a lot less than what you'll pay for Guardians.

I really dig this deck, it's a perfect compromise between the classic look of bicycle cards, and the edgy dark look that modern magicians prefer. The artwork is great on the backs, as well as the ace of spade and joker cards. The royals are pretty much the same as a normal deck, but they've dropped the yellow color, which despite being a small change, gives the cards a dark feel that echoes the rest of the deck.

The handling is wonderful right out the box, fans and spreads are effortless with this deck, the only thing holding it back in this category is the rough cut edges, though I suspect that they might smooth out with use.

This deck will definitely find it's way into my performances, and keeping in mind that this is a performance deck, not a practice deck, I should say it will last for some time.