Master of Keys introduces the player to the world of Royal Guard as the King of the land has died, along with his Master of Keys. Rebekkah, the daughter of the Master of Keys is called upon to find the Coronation Sword, which has been hidden within an ingenius labyrinth within the castle. She is aided by the King’s personal bodyguard — the foremost of the Royal Guard.

With Sir Andrew installed upon the throne, Rebekkah and he wed, and begin their lives in the pursuit of happiness while ruling over the kingdom. She learns, however, that there is a plot against her husband, and employs her closest advisors, the King’s Guard, to protect her family, including the king.

Guzo Borboa is planned to be the illustrator for this deck, and has provided this demo illustration.

New Story Here.

This is the first installment of the BENEATH the WAVES trilogy, introducing Calypso, the Sea Witch, and the balance between light and dark spells that the deepest waters demand of her.

The deck will focus on the ingredients that go into her cauldrons and the cutting table that sits between them.

The story of a young stowaway who when shipwrecked promises her soul to Neptune for the powers of the sea. She becomes one of the most famous Witches of the Waters ever known, and while she is always limited in her gifts by the Balance of the Tides, she is cunning and often blends her magic with ironic blessings and curses alike.

There will be a puzzle in this deck related to the recipes for several spells needed in the tale.

Once Calypso has been established in her role as a witch of the high seas, she is visited by a Merchant Mariner who seeks a spell from her which will change the lives of his four sons. Within the brew, Calypso blends the balance of the seas, and it is by the broken promises of the Mariner’s sons that disaster falls upon their family.
Vast treasures are lost to the depths within the Locker.

This design is focused on presenting a really strong fan with the card backs, as well as tell a story of ships attempting to retrieve the treasure at the center of the Maelstrom (lost from The Locker).

A young man approaches Calypso and asks for her aide in reaching the treasure, where so many other ships, captains, and crew have failed.

By balancing his risk against a lack of greed, the young man sets out to conquer the maelstrom.

The beginning of a Tale of four princesses and the attempt by their mother (the queen) to establish a safe set of suitors for their future nuptuals.

Working with Karine as the Illustrator for this deck.

This has the potential of becoming a trilogy of Its own.

A deck celebrating the first 100 years of the Alma College Kiltie Marching Band.

A fun, artistic deck that focuses on the lobster fishermen of the northern Atlantic states (Maine in particular).

The backs would focus on a lobster trap (old wood style) with a pair of symmetrical lobsters within. The faces would involve highly colorful designs including pips designed around the lobster trap buoys, with courts depicting the actual fishermen and their wives and sons.

Preview image (an AI render) to give an idea of the back concept.

A highly stylized deck that focuses on the dusty, cobweb-ridden wood-framed window panes of a seclusive mansion In the forest.

The back would be a symmetrical design of window with a spiderweb in which the spider lies in wait.

The faces would incorporate spiders and other insects that might find themselves caught within the webs.

My hope is to design it in such a way that the web and accents for the design can be printed in metallic gold and/or silver.

Preview image is just a test sample for the web, spider, and fly.

Ths is an art-deco concept that plays with the notion of everything in the background of the card faces being larger than the space provided. The courts would most likely be closeups of specific facial or body features (instantly recognizable).

We all know the saying, “Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers”, and most people creatively focus on the more positive side of that balance — finders.

I’m interested in creating a set of characters or situations in which the negative side is the focal point — in a somewhat comical way.

I’m unsure of the illustrative style — I’ve considered cartoonish characters, as well as Super Villains from major publishers.

The image included is from an AI generated prompt and would be fine-tuned by an actual illustrator.

Karine has a project that never progressed beyond the artwork stage -- not sure why the original customer backed out, but now the concept is available, and she has asked me about my interest in bringing it to life.

I plan to write a story (or series of stories) about several tribes of fae (or fairies) who all live in specific mushroom species. The artwork was developed around this general concept, and in my research, I've found that in England and Ireland, circles of mushrooms grow that are referred to as Fairy Rings -- I've converted the name to a variant of the mystical name (fae), and want to focus on how the tribes of these creatures deal with one another when their realms are encroached upon by each other.

I'm not sure about the noses of the male fairies -- I may ask Karine for a slight redesign.

This deck would focus on the iconic shapes of chess pieces and how they play their part on the board. Royal courts would involve the shapes of the King, Queen, and some of the higher “order” pieces.

The deck would be released in two versions — black and white.

This would be a digitally rendered deck incorporating an environment like the interior of a highly sophisticated computer mainframe.

The primary idea behind this deck is the use of vibrant color and 3D imagery that presents the pips in a unique manner.

I really would like to render a design for a deck as a series of images that are cut from a thick sheet of metal, with dense fog in the air, and filtered light. This image is an example of how I might treat the court cards, but as it isn’t symmetrical, I understand that many might not like the overall effect.

This deck concept would focus on a maple tree (modeled after the tree in my backyard), as it evolves throughout a Michigan year. The seasons will all affect the tree, and each card in the deck will represent the first day of the 52 weeks of the year.

In Summer, the tree will have lanterns hanging from the branches, representing the pips. In Autumn, colored leaves remaining on the branches will represent the pips. In the Winter, cardinals will perch on the bare branches representing the pips. And in the Spring, nests will be positioned around the tree, amongst the budding leaves, representing the pips.

Each card will be designed with the same tree shape, but an evolving surrounding atmosphere that closely matches that time period in a Michigan back yard.

Image to come.

In an attempt to develop a more simplistic, line-art-oriented design, I started with the introduction of the pips as they were created with my logo, and then decided to introduce the colors/theme of fire & ice.
I like the look of this deck, but currently don’t know how I would develop the court cards.

This would most definitely be marketed as more of a cardistry deck than anything else.

Three decks employing line art of Twin Peaks characters and key elements/scenes from the series/movies.