The ROME: Antony and Caesar pair of Decks will be printed by Legends Playing Cards Co. and focuses on the time periods of the First and Second Triumvirates of Rome's history. The First Triumvirate ended when Julius Caesar defeated Pompey the Great and became Dictator, before his assassination by members of the Senate. The Second Triumvirate ended when Octavian defeated Mark Antony & Cleopatra, and eventually became the first Emperor of Rome (and given the name Augustus).

The ROME Tuck Boxes have Red and Blue textured background images, and are accented with GOLD FOIL designs. Caesar's Tuck features an imperial Eagle and a customary Roman border design. Antony's Tuck features a majestic Lion and a border design with hints of Egyptian styling (symbolizing Antony's final years in Egypt, with Cleopatra). Both Tucks include the Roman banner, Laurel Wreath and SPQR elements on the Back. The Top of Caesar's Tuck has the words "ALEA IACTA EST and VENI VIDI VICI" - Latin for "The die is cast" and "I came, I saw, I conquered". The Top of Antony's Tuck has the words "TARUM ET CLAMA DIMIT CANIBUS QUATIT" - Latin for "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war".
TUCK FEATURES: Printed on Matte Premium Paper Stock

• EXTERIOR - 4-Color Process + GOLD FOIL + Embossing
• INTERIOR - 4-Color Process (Map and Courts' full names)

The Back Cards for the Antony and Caesar Decks are truly two of the most unique Back Cards in the world of Playing Cards! The imagery for the Back Cards depict the deaths of Julius Caesar (Red) and Mark Antony (Blue). They are inspired by two public domain paintings and recreated in my personal style ("The Death of Julius Caesar" and "Cleopatra Captured by Roman Soldiers after the Death of Mark Antony").

The Red and Blue center banners are at the inverse angle of the Face Cards' banners. This, and the feature of making all banner edges the same Black CMYK color value (30C, 30M, 30Y, 100K), allows for seamless designs on the edge of a full Deck. These features remove the chance of having any marked Cards from the edges.

The Cards for both Decks share the same Face Cards and will utilize Legends' awesome Classic Finish, which is a softer and slicker paper. It's more comparable to a vintage Bicycle Deck. This will be my third time printing with Legends Playing Cards. They do an amazing job!!

The Court Cards for the ROME Decks depict twelve of the most influential men and women from the end of the Roman Republic. The list of characters include Cicero, Cleopatra, Mark Antony,Marcus Brutus, Servilia Caepionis, Julius Caesar, Cassius, Octavia Minor, Pompey the Great,Marcus Agrippa, Livia Drusilla and Augustus. I wanted to include rich and vibrant colors in each figure. Colors that are associated with Ancient Rome. The Black edges and detail lines add to the readability for such small sizes of printed artwork. Additional features for the Court Cards are listed in the "ANATOMY OF THE FACE CARDS" section seen above.

The Numbers Cards for the ROME Decks are designed to look similar to an Ancient Roman Shield in the center, and opposing soldiers positioned on each side (the large PIPS). Additional features for the Number Cards are listed in the "ANATOMY OF THE FACE CARDS" section seen above.

The Aces each contain a large Spade, Diamond, Heart or Club PIP in the center and are wrapped by a Laurel Wreath. They also feature a different "engraving" to go with each. LEG XIII refers to Julius Caesar's 13th Twin Legion. It was one of his key legions in the Gaul and Civil Wars, and it was the Legion with which he famously crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC. LEG III refers to Mark Antony's Cyrenean Third Legion. They fought for Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium.

The Jokers are inspired from two of my favorite statues from the Ancient Roman era. They depict Julius Caesar and his great-nephew Augustus (who was the first Emperor of Rome).