Thoth 2005 by Urania Verlag

[fyreflye]

Originally Posted by closrapexa

I've read the entire thread, and I must admit I am very confused. Does anyone actually have the new German "laser" Thoth? How does it compare to the regular edition? Are the changes that dramatic that it is a must، although it is in German? I've been waiting for this for years, but even this thread seems lukewarm towards it (unless, as I said I'm confused, and it hasn't come out yet).

This thread is long and perhaps unfocused, and rightly so, but maybe somebody could sum it up, and say whether it is released or not, and if so, if it is worth getting?

Please? (:

Yes, it's released. There are two versions; one released by Konigsfurt in standard and pocket editions, the other by Urania in standard and large. The Konigsfurt looks like the one I linked to in pocket size for LeFanu, described here by those who have it as slightly wider than previous editions and somewhat fuzzier in the printing. The Urania looks like all the previous German printings except maybe sharper, but I'm not so sure. Both cards and lwb are in German. The US Games version currently in print is an English language printing of the Urania version and is probably as good a printing as you can get in English.

If you're not a collector the US Games edition should be good enough for your needs. If you're a collector the Urania versions are nicely printed and boxed. I haven't seen the Konigsfurt so I don't know if it's worth buying; I didn't think so.

Since I'm doing this from memory I've probably got some of it wrong, so let others add corrections and revisions as they see fit.

[Le Fanu]

what does the Konigsfurt box look like? Maybe I have it...

Is it the one in the red box with the World on the front? I have this. If I'm honest, I think it's the AG Muller deck. It might even have the AG Muller copyright on it, but in a Konigsfurt box

[closrapexa]

So it is not radically different from the regular version? I'm not a collector, so I don't care about boxes and things like that. From the years of fanfare this deck has been preceded with, it seems kind of a letdown. The comparison scans look nice, but not more, certainly not enough to replace my existing deck. I was expecting a digital reprint to look, frankly, amazing, but that`s not the vibe I'm getting.

[fyreflye]

Originally Posted by Le Fanu

what does the Konigsfurt box look like? Maybe I have it..

Um...it looks like this: http://tinyurl.com/8eqtblc

[fyreflye]

Originally Posted by closrapexa

So it is not radically different from the regular version? I'm not a collector, so I don't care about boxes and things like that. From the years of fanfare this deck has been preceded with, it seems kind of a letdown. The comparison scans look nice, but not more, certainly not enough to replace my existing deck. I was expecting a digital reprint to look, frankly, amazing, but that`s not the vibe I'm getting.

The long delay had nothing to do with the actual preparation and printing of the deck. It had everything to do with a legal battle initiated by the O.T.O. to gain sole legal copyright to the deck. If you're interested in a one-sided version of that story see James Wasserman's book that I posted about in a thread below.

[Le Fanu]

Originally Posted by closrapexa

So it is not radically different from the regular version? I'm not a collector, so I don't care about boxes and things like that. From the years of fanfare this deck has been preceded with, it seems kind of a letdown. The comparison scans look nice, but not more, certainly not enough to replace my existing deck. I was expecting a digital reprint to look, frankly, amazing, but that`s not the vibe I'm getting.

I like the Urania Verlag version a lot. The colours are softer, more nuanced, the images feel like proper watercolours. In terms of colouring it is my preferred edition but I still use the AG Muller edition simply because I prefer the size and as I use the 3 Magus edition it, these editions don't have my favourite Magus (the 8-armed one). But I have the pocket version in my drawer at work and it really is lovely... I haven't seen extensive online scans so I don't know if they are representative.

[Grigori]

I prefer the images on the standard versions, as they are richer in colour. But the Verlag is very nice, soft colours and gilt edges and a nice size. And a nice package in general. I use mine for non-reading work as have a large trimmed version that is my main reading deck. It seems a little longer proportionally, compared to the standard which seems a little squatter somehow.