Smith-Waite Tarot: Borderless Edition

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 BONUS PRICE - 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.

Excellent classical deck with a small caveat. Same classic look but borderless, with a subtle brownish/gray cast over the entire face of each card, giving a very subtle oldish look, which I really like.This allow your subconscious to concentrate on the symbology of the cards, without getting distracted with bright coloring and borders. The overall presentation of the cards is very nice. The color scheme is also well balanced, the black lines that conform the image don't look annoying like in the original with borders, which I find very unpleasant. I don't know if this is because of the poor rendition of the original drawing by the printing press, raw materials or a particularity of the original. I do have an issue, and that is the card stock. The stock chosen for this deck is not something to cheer about : The cards are very rigid, the edges look and feel like edges of stranded board sheets, that tells me, they will not last very long with heavy use, as they will lose rigidity at very fast rate with the edges going first, resembling the edges of a banana peel. at that point you are going to have to find the most appropriate shuffling technique or buy another one. Even with this issue it is worth to have this deck. I find this deck very easy to connect with, you get drawn to it giving you a very nice feel. To me, this is best rendition of the classic deck that stays true to the original drawing This is not the most beautiful deck out there, if that is what you are looking for, get the magnificent Russian tarot deck of Saint Petersburg., each card is truly a work of art.and you would not want to touch it with you bare hands. This reviewed deck is made in China. Cheers

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.

This truly feels like it was created by people who know, respect, and love Tarot! I have owned more than 30 tarot decks over the past dozen years or so (all kinds of Rider-Waite, Crowley and Marseille styles) BUT this one feels like the penultimate, and I wish it had been the first. And I did get the bordered Commemorative edition when that first came out - this is way better and exactly what I’ve been hoping for! But onto this deck: First, the treatment of the artwork is exquisite; wholly respectful of Pamela-Colman Smith’s original work without garish re-coloring or technological re-working/editing, the artistic “patina” of age given the coloring just enhances the timelessness of the deck. Without borders I also feel an immediate connection and relatability to the content - as well as relationships between cards. Next, the card stock feels Excellent without being overly thick or flimsy. It’s not super glossy like other decks and I’m excited to see how time weathers this baby. Card size (2 7/8” x 4 3/4”) is just fine by me, but I have medium-large men’s hands. If i had one gripe it’s the backside of the cards, which is a matter of personal taste. Though I appreciate they put the copy right on opposite corners so you can’t tell if a card is reversed. On the whole I much prefer it to (for instance) a muddy blue and white plaid pattern or a checkered floral design - and the deep sage green gives it more life and an improvement to the soft blue of the first centennial batch...I’m fine with it - I don’t mind it - BUT the placement of Smith’s signature initials bug me, that’s it. Wish it were centered instead. [Because it doesn’t feel like it’s part of the design and more like someone’s stamp on my deck. If it were centered in line with the rose it’d feel more subtle. But as it stands it distracts me from seeing the cards as standalone tools and feels like someone else’s ownership of something I’m allowed to buy. I know it’s the Smith-Waite deck (we all do) - and maybe I’m just over sensitive about it - but in general I don’t like Seeing Labels (like Chanel sunglasses with big C’s, or Louis Vuitton patterns with LV everywhere, etc.). I love seeing her initials on the art side of each card in the artwork itself, and I believe in giving credit where credit is due, but on it’s own on the reverse of the deck it just distracts me - like when you have closed captioning on tv even though you can hear the words perfectly fine - you can’t help but read anyway. ] That very small thing aside, getting the cards out of the plastic wrap felt like welcoming a new friend to a new home. I’m noticing details I haven’t before, or connections and associations I didn’t have before even though I’ve been familiar with the imagery for years. I have a lot of beautiful decks I love but this is exactly the deck my tarot journey has been searching for, and of all the Rider-Waite-Smith decks I’ve had, I’ve never felt a connection to them as much as with this one.

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.

Fantastic view of the all time classic artwork of the wonderful Pamela Colman Smith. You can't go wrong with this. The borderless cards make this the ideal size to use and appreciate the art. The colour treatment is just right and done with care. It isn't just a harsh texture set on multiply. It also makes the yellows much more nicer to look at. It's thick and elegant. My one caveat is that the cards are very stiff, so they're hard to shuffle. I have big hands and even I struggle. It is however, a minor thing. This is the best edition of the RWS out there, hands down.

I really love this deck because this borderless edition is so much more interesting. However, I have to be honest and not give the product five stars. The issue is not the art, but the small flaws in printing, which cannot occur at all. Two cards have white spots on the back and I had to buy a special pencil to camouflage the defect. This is called a lack of quality control and USGAMES needs to demand more efficiency from Chinese manufacturers. If you look at the reviews here on the site, some people complain about similar flaws and therefore it is not an isolated opinion here. As I managed to alleviate the problem and it is one of my favorite decks, I will give it 4 stars, but I hope that the defect will be corrected in the future, because the cards are marked and we’ll always know what that card is.

O Deck é lindo e de alta qualidade! Recomendo!

Splendide, intuitif et unique ! Mon préféré de très loin. Il est complet, facile à interpréter et très intuitif.

Un pequeño resumen de pros y contras: -La calidad del cartoncillo, muy buena, no es un material plastico, es más bien un cartoncillo, como baraja antigua, se ve resistente y durable :) -la impresión, es muuuy buena, da placer ver las ilustraciones, que sea borderless lo hace lucir bellísimo, es en verdad muy hermoso, de los mas lindos que tengo. -Al tacto es suave, se siente como barnizado pero no plastico, es una carta gruesa y grande, un placer barajarlo :) - El reverso de la carta es un verde esmeralda como avegentado, con una rosa blanca y la firma de la ilustradora, son reversibles. Contras: - La caja no es ideal, fue difícil abrirla sin romperla, recomendando no usarla si no la quieres maltratar, yo inmediatamente cambié el deck a una bolsa de terciopelo y dejé la cajita con el panfleto y las cartas extras (pinturas de la ilustradora, muy bonitas también, dan ganas de enmarcarlas) En resumen: Todo lo que se ahorraron en package, se lo dejaron en la calidad del deck, hermoso, sin igual, en verdad es bellísimo, y es muy honorable que le den su merecido crédito a la autora de las ilustraciones :) el tarot tiene una energía muy bella y suave.

Beautiful deck, good quality and its perfect for everyone from beginner to pros

My favourite of the RWS tarot cards. I’m a big “no border” person when it comes to tarot and despite owning lots of decks the RWS is always my favourite for its easy to read artwork, lots of symbolism and read colours. Great card stock. Nice back card art. (FYI the come looking pristine - mines are just very worn from lots of use.)