This deck simply feels different from the get-go, and you can tell that by looking at the enticing colors on the box. Shades of purple, black, and yellow adorn the elaborate and symmetrical card backs. The card fronts have a white background but the fonts and pips on all the cards are completely custom. There are two full sized jokers, which are identical except for the coloration (the word joker appears in purple on one, and in yellow on the other. The yellow worded joker also appropriately carries more yellow tones than purple tones on the picture itself). The court cards, while symmetrical and modeled after standard courts, still manage to completely have their own look and feel. This deck manages to somehow captivate you and transport you to a French palace, sitting around an elaborate table and playing a game of Whist with royals and dignitaries. However, this deck would be just as at home while being used to play a friendly game at a sidewalk café in Paris while having a cup of coffee. I've been critical of some Bicycle decks in the past (ones that were not done by independent artists) for managing to fall short and miss something, even though everything was seemingly done right (the whole not equaling the sum of the parts). That's not the case here. Simplicity wins with this deck in the end, and there is little, if any, with which to find fault. If a half stars were possible I would have said 4.5 stars, but being forced to make a choice, 5 was an easy call.
