Despite delaying its release to fix manufacturing issues, it seems the DnD Deck of Many Things has still reached fans in a less-than-desirable state. Claims of defective products can be found in a slew of Amazon reviews posted from January 7 onwards. The newly received decks seem to suffer from the same problems that got the product recalled in the first place – namely, warping and card damage.
This particular DnD Deck of Many Things is an expanded version of the famous 5e magic item, printed and sold along with the Book of Many Things as part of a bundle. Both were originally set to release on November 14, 2023.
However, Wizards of the Coast delayed the bundle’s physical launch. At the time, the tabletop RPG publisher said: “After an internal review we found the product didn’t meet our manufacturing standards”. An update announced that the new release date would be January 5, 2024.
When we originally reviewed the Deck of Many Things, we experienced some of the issues that caused the delays. Cards bent in different directions, art was misaligned, and one card was missing entirely. Recent reviews appear to show customers experiencing similar problems.
“Mine came with missing cards, and every single card had manufacturing defects”, writes Amazon user ‘B’ on January 10. Similarly, ‘Steve’ claims “Cards came in warped and a few spots on the case are torn from some kind of wear”. “Poorest quality item I’ve ever received from WotC.”
‘ATown’ also writes: “Waited the extra two months and the product is damaged, box ripped and cards warped”. “Not sure if I want to reorder.” “Cards were cut extremely wrong”, echoes Amazon user ‘Kevin’.
According to some reviews, some copies of the deck come in plastic wrapping, while others are held together by paper bands. Typically, those without plastic wrapping seem to experience warping – leading some fans to theorize that older, problematic versions of the deck are being sold alongside the newer, pristine copies.
An updated review from ‘Lobo’ reads: “I decided to go to my local game shop and buy the alt-cover version”. “This version came plastic-wrapped, and the cards are uniform and perfect with no flaws.”
“At first, I was hesitant to believe that they would ship the defective products for the same price as the improved ones”, they add. “But seeing firsthand what they should look like, I have to say I was wrong and the product shouldn’t be in such an unacceptable condition.”
Wargamer contacted Wizards of the Coast for comment on these reviews, but at this time has not received a reply.
For more on DnD books, here’s how we ranked the books released in 2023 by Wizards of the Coast. Or, if you’re looking to game, here are some guides to DnD classes and DnD races.