This was the second deck of cards I bought from this brand, and despite my disappointment from the first deck – a Mandalorian themed one – I decided I couldn't judge an entire brand based on one product.
Now, it might just be me having the worst luck, picking the only two decks that features the same issue, but I don't think I'll be spending my money on a third deck just to confirm my hypothesis.
The design on the face of the deck is perfectly fine. Numbers 2-10 features a selection of comic book covers featuring the superhero assigned to that suit. The J-K and Aces features (for the most part) larger images of the heroes themselves, their villains, and/or their love interests. So far so good. I particularly enjoyed seeing Iron Man assigned the Hearts suit – very thematically appropriate.
My issue with the deck, which was the same issue I had with the Mandalorian one, is the backs of the cards. I did try to see if I could discern the design before I bought the deck, but alas, as the deck was wrapped in plastic inside the box, and an ad card had been placed at the end of the deck, I didn't get the opportunity. I wish I had.
Compared to the neat design of the faces, the backs are 1) boring, 2) obnoxious, and 3) dare I say, almost ugly. It's a black square with Waddingtons logo, a GIANT version of the "Number 1" part of said logo – seriously, it takes up at least 1/3 of the height of the card – and a big Marvel Comics-logo. NONE of those things are what I want to be looking at when playing cards, or playing solitaire. It really does take the enjoyment out of the deck as a whole.
My impression so far of the Waddingtons Number 1 decks is that they could have been one of my favorites – it really seems like they have good, neat ideas for designs of the card faces on themed decks – if only they'd just put some effort at all in making the backs enjoyable to look at. Because so far, the ones I've seen have been the opposite. Trying to play with these honestly just makes me feel sad and annoyed.
