Simply put, they are Butterfly Playing Cards with a bordered design. This means that their back design is surrounded by a white border.
Bordered playing cards have been the favorite among magicians for many reasons. And the Butterfly Workers add a few to them.
Introduction
In 2022, we ran a Kickstarter campaign for the first edition of Butterfly Playing Cards Workers Edition. We ended up printing several color variations, with three different manufacturers (Cartamundi, USPC, and WJPCC). You can learn more about the first Workers Edition in our earlier post.
We added a white border to our Butterfly design. The original borderless Butterfly decks let you perform effects that almost no other decks can, but there are some things for which a bordered design is more suitable. It helps to conceal reversed cards in a face-down deck and hides minor imperfections during multiple card lifts.
A year after the campaign fulfilled, we sold out the core red and blue Workers decks. And because they became quite popular among magicians, we decided to bring them back in a second edition.
Printing of the Workers Edition V2
Because Cartamundi stopped producing custom playing cards in 2024, we had to find a new manufacturer for the second edition.
In 2025, we were lucky to build a strong friendship with Room One, a progressive playing card brand based in Hong Kong. They invited Ondrej to their Asia Card Convention, and to celebrate this event and the newly formed partnership, we created the Butterfly Try-All Set.
Not only does Room One design playing cards, but they also have a playing card factory at their disposal. We printed the Butterfly Try-Alls with them, both the first and second editions. It was only fitting to print the Workers Edition V2 with them as well.
We went with their 300gsm Elite stock, which won the voting based on the Try-All Set. It offers a great balance of thickness and softness. It is reminiscent of USPC's Retail stock, but slightly softer.
The cards are traditionally cut, providing smooth and easy faro shuffles straight out of the box. You will appreciate this feature mainly in table work.
The Powerful Back Design
Like most other Butterfly decks, the Workers Edition V2s are also marked. Ondrej adjusted our trademark markings to work with the bordered design.
It is easy to read, and if you have any of the first-edition Workers decks, you will find that the markings are identical. We wanted to make the system as practical and versatile as possible.
You can find the markings in all four corners of the back design. It doesn't matter how the cards are spread or oriented, or if you're right or left-handed; you will almost always find at least one corner to peek at.
The back design is one-way. There is one mark that stands out, but there is another one that is more hidden, but well visible to the trained eye. Once you know its position, you can quickly find an end-for-end reversed card in the deck.
The Extras
You will find three extra cards in each Workers Edition V2 deck. Two identical Jokers and a double backer.
Jokers are frequently used for sandwich routines, and it is often very beneficial when they look the same. Apart from the specific routines, having duplicates in the box is also a plus.
And the double backer? It is one of the most used gaff cards in card magic. There are now hundreds, possibly over a thousand, effects using it.
The Bad That Leads to the Great
We often use the one-way feature on the faces, too. However, not everything went well this time.
We made a slight mistake in the one-way face design, making it challenging to spot it on the Eight, Nine, and Ten of Hearts. If you're fond of one-way faces and would like to use that feature with this deck, we recommend removing these three cards to avoid any confusion during performance.
But, everything bad is good for something in the end. This time, it's good for you.
We decided to offer the Workers Edition V2 decks at an even lower price than we originally intended. We discounted them by 15% due to that small error in the face design. So, what are the prices?
- Single Deck - just a little over 12 EUR
- Six Decks - less than 11 EUR per deck
- Twelve Decks - less than 10 EUR per deck. Plus, we will give you a free Butterfly Workers Gaff Deck with every brick.
- And for fans and true workers, we also offer bundles of 50 decks, where the price drops below 8.5 EUR per deck.
The discount also involves Workers V2 Side Stripper Decks, which we cut by hand in our warehouse in Prague, Czech Republic. They are less than 15 EUR per deck. If you'd like to learn magic with the stripper deck, join our Butterfly Magic Club, where Ondrej released his over two-hour-long project on magic with a stripper deck.
Why should you get these?
They feel really good in the hand, are practical for magic, and are affordable for a marked deck.
But that's us telling that. You should be the judge.
If you get them, share your thoughts with us. We're grateful for any constructive feedback.