I plan on buying Sentinels, Shadow Masters, and Arrco Tahoe Limited Editions but for now I only only afford 4 decks. I know that the Arrco Tahoes are in limited supply and want to get those, but I also really want to try out the shadow masters and sentinels. Could anyone recommend a combination of them? (the Arrco's come in 2's, the rest can be single). I have a budget of around $20-25 w/o shipping and right now im looking at 1 set of Arrco's and either 1 of the other decks or saving up to get the other decks later.
Which would you recommend me buying first?
- Thread starter CAndrew
- Start date
Get four Sentinels. Shadowmasters are dark and quite... ugly as hell. And there's no point in buying overpriced limited editions of random decks either, because they are never going to become some sort of Jerry's hillbillie cousin.
The Sentinels are stylish, different and their quality is simply outstanding.
The Sentinels are stylish, different and their quality is simply outstanding.
Tough call here but I'll throw in my two cents. I have Shadow Master's and Sents and I love the feel of both of them. The Shadow Masters have a thicker stock and feel to them. The only complaint I have is that if you are in a bar or a dimly lit room the spectators have a hard time viewing the pips due to how dark the cards look. The Sentinels are a tad thinner, look great, but the pips are very tiny and I've had older (people in their 60's and 70's) say they are way too tiny to read. Both are great cards. I use both.
Andrew,
I recommend that you don't just go with one or the other. Go ahead and try each of them. I'm going to assume that your a beginner so here's my advice.
Before I bought a good couple of bricks of cards I learned which kinds of cards suit me. For example, Ellusionist decks are thick; Bee Decks are very smooth and thin etc. Try and figure out which kind of finish and thickness works for yourself! Right now I'm using the Masters, Bee's, and Sentinels. Mostly because, the Masters last a longer time and look plain; the Bee's look very classy and simple; the Sentinels have a thin stock and look very unique.
If you don't want to go with my advice, I'd go ahead an pick the Sentinels. Elderly folk, and even teens, have a hard time making out what the cards say because of how dim they are on the Shadow Masters. Sentinels on the other-hand, have a unique back, and are very easy to see. They also have a thinner stock than the Ellusionist decks, so it might feel better for you!
As for the Arrcos, I'm yet to try some!
Mehar
I recommend that you don't just go with one or the other. Go ahead and try each of them. I'm going to assume that your a beginner so here's my advice.
Before I bought a good couple of bricks of cards I learned which kinds of cards suit me. For example, Ellusionist decks are thick; Bee Decks are very smooth and thin etc. Try and figure out which kind of finish and thickness works for yourself! Right now I'm using the Masters, Bee's, and Sentinels. Mostly because, the Masters last a longer time and look plain; the Bee's look very classy and simple; the Sentinels have a thin stock and look very unique.
If you don't want to go with my advice, I'd go ahead an pick the Sentinels. Elderly folk, and even teens, have a hard time making out what the cards say because of how dim they are on the Shadow Masters. Sentinels on the other-hand, have a unique back, and are very easy to see. They also have a thinner stock than the Ellusionist decks, so it might feel better for you!
As for the Arrcos, I'm yet to try some!
Mehar
Bees aren't thin. In fact, they're thicker than bikes if you're comparing 52 to 52. Also, those E masters decks are no different from regular bikes, save for the Ace of Spades and box...
I highly recommend you try the bicycle 809 mandolins. Traditionally cut, slightly stiffer and longer-lasting than regular bikes, and quite a few of the commonplace USPCC gaffs out already. I'd try searching for them on penguin magic, cheapest store I've seen carrying them so far.
I highly recommend you try the bicycle 809 mandolins. Traditionally cut, slightly stiffer and longer-lasting than regular bikes, and quite a few of the commonplace USPCC gaffs out already. I'd try searching for them on penguin magic, cheapest store I've seen carrying them so far.
Im pretty sure I'm going to try one or the other eventually, but for now Im going to purchase some sentinels first.
The masters aren't any different than the regular bikes?! If you're talking looks, then you're spot on. But in feel, thickness, durability, you're wrong.
The masters have a much thicker feel to them, and if I'm not mistaken, are thicker than regular bikes. They also are much more durable because of that thickness.
Alright, fine. They feel the exact same. Sorry to break it to you, but UV500 air-flow and air-cushion may be different words, but that doesn't mean they're not the same thing. I can call a chair a table, but that doesn't make it a table - it's still a chair. They are slightly thicker, but not thick enough to make a huge difference to the durability. Plus the price is outrageous, you could get 2 regular bikes cheaper and they will last much longer.
Maybe to you they feel the same. To me, I think that they feel much more stiff and thick. They seem to also un-bend (can't think of the right word) better if you're trying to take out a crimp. The Masters also don't let dirt stick to them. I've dropped the same deck on a downtown sidewalk, on a bus, and on the floor multiple times. It still fanned perfectly and did everything flawlessly. With a deck of Bikes, I find that they attract dirt a lot more. Any deck from E will last me a good month, if not more. A deck of bikes will last me... a week and a half....two maybe?
A reg. deck of bikes costs me somewhere around $1.50, a deck of masters costs me about $4. They feel stiffer, last longer, un-bend better, fan better, to me.
Heh, it's all psychological. You just feel special because you're a big enough of an idiot to waste $5 on a pack of cards that sucks more than regular bikes. Trust me, the masters don't have some secret ingredient that repels dirt. They're ****ing cards, use your head...
Hm... psychological, eh? So when I line up the decks and the E deck is thicker, my eyes are playing tricks on me?
When I grab two new decks of each kind and do the exact same things with them and the E deck performs differently compared to the bikes, it must be psychological.
I think the secret ingredient is happiness.
Chill dude. It is proven that the Masters ARE different than the bikes but they LOOK the same - that is why people like them so much. They ARE thicker and maybe do fan better...I have only owned one pack, about 3 years ago so I'm not totally sure. Maybe they DO last longer...then again, that depends on the performer.
But seriously, it isn't worth cursing or calling someone an idiot over...
I'm with R.K. on this one. It doesn't really matter. If mehar wants to spend more money on higher-quality cards, let him. I do not own masters or plan on getting them, because for me, regular bikes work perfectly.