Smith-Waite® Tarot Borderless Edition Cards – August 11, 2017

My GO TO deck is the US Games Smith Waite Centennial. I had hesitated getting this deck for some time, but after looking at some vids online, decided I really wanted it.HERE'S why I gave FIVE STARS:CARDSTOCK - ok, yep, this is a biggie. I really like cardstock a lot. Nice heft. My preference would have been more of a linen texture, but NOT worth taking off even half a point.BORDERLESS - Love how the borderless makes it pop. Yep, the Smith Waite Centennial still my fav, but this is a close second. I also love how the borders are rounded so nicely.COLORS - I compared with Radiant Borderless and JUST prefer this one because it feels more authentic. I like the vintage coloring and it has stayed pretty darn true to the Centennial. Yes, some images are expanded more, but the colors, the faces, look pretty spot on. The Radiant, and I GET why some prefer it, the colors do pop more, just feel like a knock off of the original, which it is. The really deal breaker why I won't get that one is aside from the colors, they have changed some of the images, the faces. That makes it NOT a Pixie deck to me. But that's a PREFERENCE thing. My suggestion is watch a YouTube vid COMPARING the two, side by side, card by card.BACKS - Yes, I prefer the color of the backs of the Centennial, but GLAD they're not exactly alike. I like they changed the color of the backs. Makes it more it's own deck.EXTRA PIXIE CARDS WITH DRAWINGS! GREAT BONUSPRICE - Got this for about 20 bucks and for the quality, VERY HAPPY. Actually, would have gladly paid more.BOTTOMLINE: If you liked the Centennial, you may wish to check this one out. YouTube vids will tell you if it's one you need in your collection.

The stock is sturdy and the cards are not glossy, they have what I call a mat finish. The colors are muted and pleasing to the eye. There were 4 extra cards showing the artist's other styles of artwork. To me I see the elements in these 4 and I think that I will use them as a representation of the person I am reading for. The cards and box came in good condition, the box is very sturdy. There is a little book with them of course. The book is a different story, it is well made and the paper is of a good quality. The text is a good size and easy to read. Those things are good and somewhat important, but the bad is a problem. The meanings are just too black and white, they seem matter of fact. In my opinion they are as if they looked the word up in the dictionary. As an example, the Death card " End, mortality, destruction, corruption." and that is the positive! I always look for the meaning of the Death card because it is the most misleading of the Major Arcana to me. It is transformation, resurrection, the end of self. It is not just about the end of the physical body. It is the end of a pattern of behavior or thought process that needs to end in order to begin again. Anyway, this is why I do not use the little books. This is a nice deck to add to a collection just because of Pamela Colman Smith.

The color is right. I love that there is no border. I'm so over the SUPER BRIGHT Rider Waite decks, this one is soft and natural feeling. Old school. The other versions always feel like a game, and tarot is not a game to me. I live a natural life, I read daily, and these cards reflect my lifestyle. I am so glad I bought these. They feel nice too. Not too slippery. Just the right size. Perfect.

I have no idea what's taken me so long to pick up this deck. I own around 20 decks and this is simply the best one for me. Here's what I love about it (some of these things may be negatives for you, it's all personal preference):1) The cardstock is sturdy US Games stock, but thinner than other decks I've purchased from US Games. (I'm thinking right now of the Spiral Tarot which has such thick cardstock that it sometimes gives me cuts from shuffling.) I don't imagine there will be chipping anytime soon. This is such a big difference from some other companies whose decks feel like they fall apart if you use them a lot, and start chipping basically the first day.2) The price. I'm not one to spend $50 on a deck, but I am used to spending $20-$30. Under $15 is SUCH a good price for a quality deck, even knock offs go for more sometimes.3) There are a million YouTube videos comparing the coloring of this edition to other RWS editions. This is my fave. Not too vintage or muted (although it is vintage and muted), and not too garish or bright. The blacks and the blues are particularly evocative and beautiful.4) I get a lot of fliers with this deck, some decks just don't do that for me.5) I appreciate that it comes with a few tarot-sized prints of Pixie's non-tarot work. I didn't expect to care, but I enjoy having them.6) The US Games copyright stamp isn't on the image side. It's on the card back, but not the side with the actual tarot images. I really hate when companies put their copyright on the image side, and sometimes US Games does this. I find it so distracting.7) The images themselves are nice and large but even without borders they still feel "complete." Some decks with borders really hem in the image, and with some borderless decks it feels like the images are just floating when you lay them in a spread.There's nothing about this deck I don't like. For the money it's an excellent choice.