The tradition of portraying cards with faces dates from King Charles VII’s court in 1400s France, and many of the first face cards represented specific characters from his court, such as Charles VII, Joan as the Queen of Spades, and La Hire as the Jack of Hearts. Designed to mimic real playing cards — standard playing card size with rounded corners, and a double-ended image so the card always looks right side up (except the Joker). The reverse side of each card has our name, logo, and the year, and a short history of the character. One of the purposes of the playing cards is to help the crowd learn to recognize our characters and symbolism.  

THIS ITEM: Sets of 20 complete “collector packs” in separate fitted cello envelopes (220 total cards), each pack containing one of each of the 11 different 2024 playing cards to hand out on the route as a set, plus an overview card explaining the playing card history and the three "suits," which are Power (gold fleur de lis), Justice (purple scales), and Faith (green cross). Limit 15 sets of 20 to be sold. NEW this year:  Christine de Pizan, medieval French poet who wrote about Joan, Guillaume Manchon. the notary who gave us Joan's own words through her trial transcript, La Hire, Joan's fiercest fighter and the original Jack of Hearts, Hector de Gallard, a soldier of Joan's and the original Jack of Diamonds. New last year: A "Warrior Spirit" Joan of Arc card shows Joan in her armor on one end -- flip it upside down and it's a modern female soldier. The notes on the back celebrate all warriors who bravely choose not feel powerless but instead fight for their causes, including the REAL women soldiers who will be walking in our parade this year in our new Legacy section, the Warrior Women group from the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post! This year we are building a new giant puppet dragon (named Adversaire!), and in his honor this year's set also features the Saint Margaret playing card which explains the history of Saint Margaret and how the dragon fits in. Other cards in this year's set are: the Fool (jester carrying our birthday cake), Flaming Heretic,Joanie on the Pony, King Charles VII, Queen Yolande, and the overview card. Note that King and Queen cards are included in these sets, but are not available in single image sets since they are handed out primarily by the King and Queen.

Other options for playing cards:

• Krewe members may also purchase packages of 20 playing cards of a single design.  This is ideal for adding a relevant explanatory card to enhance your own throws, or to hand out on its own to represent your character or your battalion. (Note: not all the card designs are available for these packs)
• Included free with full membership, full members will receive ONE souvenir pack with one of each of this year’s playing cards. 
• The Keepsake Package includes ONE collector souvenir pack with one of each of this year’s playing cards.