This is the marked version corresponding to the standard Emperor deck, produced by Penguin Magic,
and inspired by the famous emperor penguin. I love the "performer penguin" on the tuck box, and the
delightful backs, which have a classically styled design with ornate scrollwork, snowflakes, and
even a line of tiny emperor penguins about to slide down the ice. The custom Ace of Spades and
custom Jokers are also very well done.
The marked deck is basically the same as the
standard deck, but has secret markings that enable you to identify the card just by looking at the
card-backs. It's a coded system rather than a reader system, which means that it relies on small
marks that have to be decoded as part of an easy-to-learn system, and this also ensures that it's
almost certain to go undetected. The markings are quite small, so you'll need good eyesight to use
it.
Both decks have been printed in Taiwan by Expert Playing Card Company in their popular
Classic finish. These have a slightly different feel than a typical USPCC deck, but EPCC is an
industry leader renowned for printing high quality playing cards with precise registration and
extremely durable card-stock.