Magic Tricks

Fantastic, gorgeous historic style and detail. Here I compare the marking system to others. Most visible: Ted Lesley DIY, with blocky letters; 2nd, Bicycle's PRICEY UMD. I find the heart icons too tiny, and hard to spot, yet the letters are quite clear and overall they’re the most readable common deck (but that price – ouch, and I’d worry about the marks being spotted).
Next group, easy to read, although a bit less so than UMD. Subtle and harder to see for spectators: Cohort Ghost, followed by Pioneer. They are both excellent systems, reasonably readable, but well hidden, and the Pioneers moreso, in particular their C and D icons (which are almost too similar but with a bit of use I think they’ll be fine). Then come the 1900’s, a radical break in method. They require a few hours of training to read but they are diabolically designed, undetectable, cryptic, and beautifully weathered. Love ‘em.
So, all in all Pioneer does VERY well in my lineup – not quite as quickly legible as UMD, nearer to Ghost, very hard for others to spot, still readable, and a gorgeous historical art deck, a real winner. I’d use them when I’ll have an extra second to look; for a faster reading situation, I’d go with Ghost Cohort. For something bold and easy to read in a flash, UMD’s best. For historical style and retro art, Pioneer wins. For ghostly cards for Halloween with a tale about how they were kept locked in a chest due to being cursed, followed by a ghost card act or two, 1900s would be killers (and the 1800s, although I got the old corner marked ones and had to re-mark them).
And for a gorgeous deck to just play cards with, the Pioneers get top marks!