Renaissance Fantasy Tarot - RWS tarot cards in Renaissance fantasy style
Most tarot cards pick a direction: historical or fantastical, grounded or dreamlike. The Renaissance Fantasy Tarot goes both ways. The setting draws clearly from the Italian Renaissance, with marble floors, arched colonnades and palace gardens filling the backgrounds, but the figures carry something harder to place. There is an atmosphere of lost kingdoms throughout.
The cards were designed by A-Fei under the artistic direction of the Vermilion team, and are part of the Vermilion Collection by FairyPle Studio. AI assistance was used in the illustration process. The set contains 80 cards rather than the standard 78, with the two additional cards designed specifically for this fantasy world.
What you see on the cards
The colour palette runs to royal blue, deep red and strong gold tones throughout. The effect is stately, almost theatrical. Compositions follow the Rider-Waite-Smith system but are more densely detailed than the original: the backgrounds carry their own narrative.
Production quality is high. Cards are printed on 350 gsm art paper with a smooth, silky finish. Spot-UV accents make details such as jewellery and magical effects catch the light when the card moves. The edges are finished in matte gold foil. English card titles appear at the bottom in a classical typeface.
The box
The cards come in a rigid hinged-lid magnetic box with embossed and gold-foil stamped exterior. As a physical object, the whole thing holds up well. Reviewers consistently describe this as one of the more serious-looking decks in the Vermilion Collection, less playful than other titles in the range.
The architectural backgrounds are unusually detailed. If you are used to cards with plain or minimal backgrounds, there is a lot to read in the space around the figures here.
Guidebook
No physical guidebook is included with the cards. The guidebook is available online in Chinese and English. Anyone already familiar with RWS meanings will find the imagery offers enough to work with directly.
Specifications
- Number of cards: 80 (78 standard plus 2 bonus cards)
- System: Rider-Waite-Smith
- Language on cards: English
- Guidebook: available online in Chinese and English, no physical booklet included
- Card stock: 350 gsm art paper, silky finish
- Finish: spot-UV accents, matte gold edges
- Card size: 70 x 120 mm
- Packaging: rigid magnetic hinged-lid box, embossed with gold-foil stamping
- Designer: A-Fei (Vermilion Collection)
- Studio: FairyPle Studio
- ISBN: not applicable (independent release)
Questions we often get
Does a guidebook come with the cards?
No physical guidebook is included. The guidebook is available online in Chinese and English. Anyone who already knows the RWS system can work directly from the imagery.
What are the two extra cards?
The set includes 78 standard tarot cards plus 2 bonus cards designed specifically for this fantasy world. How you use them is up to you.
