Lunatica is a new series of playing cards by Thirdway Industries, designed by the Italian designer Giovanni Meroni and printed by USPCC.
Lunatica’s style is colorful, modern, sharp and fun.

There are four decks in the Lunatica Series.

Lunatica Equinox – Yellow and blue tuck box – unlimited*
Lunatica Solstice – Orange and violet tuck box – unlimited*
Lunatica Chimera – Limited to max 1500 units*, same cards as Lunatica Equinox – Holographic and Green foil on blue paper – with custom seal
Lunatica Phoenix – Limited to max 1500 units*, same cards as Lunatica Solstice – with custom seal – Holographic and Orange foil on violet paper – with custom seal

* Unlimited editions are usually printed in 2500 units and won’t be reprinted again. Chimera and Phoenix versions might be less (but no more) than 1500 units.

Card backs

Lunatica’s backs are perfectly symmetric, with a solid neon background.

Equinox and Solstice backs are similar, but there are subtle differences in the details, such as the flowers, eyes, skulls and wings.

NEON INKS

Lunatica cards will use a lot of different Pantone® Neon Inks, both on faces and on backs. Those inks are very bright and unique and can not be obtained through CYMK printing.

LUNATICA EQUINOX

The beginning, balance and life. Equinox is the symbol of the crescent Moon.

Lunatica Equinox is the first deck of the Lunatica series and uses 3 neon colors on the front (yellow, green, pink) and one on the back (yellow).

Spades are the symbol of static negativity:

The Selfish Magican, the Queen of Lies and the King of the Indifference.

Hearts are the symbol of positive passion:

The Knight of Valor, the Queen of Love and the King of the Sacrifice.

Clubs are the symbol of static positivity.

The Good Guardian, the Chaste Angel and the Benevolent King

Diamonds are the symbol of negative passion:

The Furious Soldier, the Queen of Malice and the Hateful Tyrant.

Equinox Jokers are the Lone Angel and the Lady of Charm.

Pips are simple and geometric.

LUNATICA SOLSTICE

The end, disproportion and death. Solstice is the symbol of the waning Moon.

The Spades are the symbol of the cold, clever evil:

The Dark Knight, the Queen of Solitude and the King of Evil.

The Hearts are the symbol of passion:

The Thief or Hearts, the Queen of Seduction and the King of Pleasure.

The Clubs are the symbol of righteous good:

The Paladin, the Peaceful Lady and the Righteous Ruler.

The Diamonds are the symbol of evil fury:

The Shocked Guard, the Envious Countess and the Hate Preacher.

The Jokers are the symbol of the Dogma and Chaos: the Archbishop and the Charming Witch.

LUNATICA CHIMERA

Lunatica Chimera is the limited version of Lunatica Equinox – Chimera is the symbol of the dreams, the beginning and youth.

Lunatica Chimera will be limited to max 1500 decks and won’t be reprinted again. Lunatica Chimera will have 2 layers of foil (Green and Holographic) on a premium blue paper. It will include a custom seal.

LUNATICA PHOENIX

Lunatica Phoenix is the limited version of Lunatica Solstice – Phoenix is the symbol of rebirth after death.

Lunatica Phoenix will be limited to max 1500 decks and won’t be reprinted again. Lunatica Phoenix will have 2 layers of foil (Orange and Holographic) on a premium violet paper. It will include a custom seal.

LUNATICA LORE

Lunatica’s main theme is, of course, the Moon – but this theme has two faces. The most obvious is the mythologycal and astral aspect of the Earth’s satellite.

The hidden face is the psychologic aspect: the Moon is also the symbol of the mercurial human emotion, that can change from sadness to happiness in a blink of an eye.

Equinox

Equinox, in astronomy, is the event when the Sun can be observed to be directly above the equator. Occurs twice each year, around 20 March and 23 September. On an equinox, day and night are of approximately equal duration all over the planet. In Lunatica, Equinox is the symbol of balance, the beginning and Life.

Solstice

The Solstice occurs twice each year, around June 21 and December 22 – The day of the solstice has either the most sunlight of the year (summer solstice) or the least sunlight of the year (winter solstice) for any place other than the equator. In Lunatica, Solstice is the symbol of the extreme unbalance, the end and Death.

Chimera

Chimera is a mythologic, monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature, composed of the parts of more than one animal. The term “Chimera” is used, both in italian and english, to describe anything is percieved as imaginative, implausible, or dazzling.

Lunatica’s Chimera has the soul of a monster, but it’s the symbol of the Crescent Moon…young, crazy, full of life and hope.

Chimera is also the symbol of the impossible dreams: the ones we love to hunt, but that are hard to reach.

Phoenix

Phoenix is a mythologic bird that cyclically dies and is reborn. After a Phoenix die in a show of flames and combustion, a new Phoenix arise from the ashes of its predecessor.

Usually Phoenix is associated with the Sun, but in Lunatica, it is a dying version of the Goddess of the Night – the Waning Moon.

The Phoenix is also the symbol of the human capability to recover after a trauma.

Phoenix is dying – and she’s sad. But she’s also filled with hope, since she knows that she’ll be reborn as a Chimera after a few days.

For cardistry, collecting and play

Lunatica is the first cardistry oriented project of Thirdway Industries: it’s focused on cards in terms of design, ink, materials and handling – the tuck box of Equinox and Solstice will be relatively simple, compared to my other projects.

Anyway, I also love to design premium tuck boxes as well, so I wanted to offer two special collector’s versions of the unlimited decks: Chimera and Phoenix.