TheOctagon
Two Pair
I'm picking up a pattern here, and I know I've mentioned it before. There are obvious reasons for this kind of thing, but it will always result in a less-than-stellar chip set if it goes too far. Know what I'm talking about?
Overuse of edge spot colors.
The Majestics are not the worst offenders in the realm of budget chips. Not by a long shot. However, they do present a few missed opportunities, especially at the low denominations on which I'm focusing these reviews. It seems to me that manufacturers want to keep costs down by limiting the overall number of colors they use in a line. That really makes sense and is likely part of why the budget sets come out so affordable, but you sacrifice great colors for lower cost in a lot of situations. Be that as it may, let's get started.
Colors
Majestics follow the standard denomination colors straight down the line (or, up, I guess if we're going low-to-high) with the exception of the fracs which don't necessarily have any across-the-board rules and that works in their favor in this case. They don't feature any progressive edge spots, but that's not common for china clays and other lower cost chip sets (Pharaohs: sit tight fellas).
$0.25 and $0.50
Start it off with a bang, Majestics. The $0.25 chip is the hands-down winner of the set in my book. This juicy melon pink combined with lime and sage edge spots is eye-popping. The contrast between the colors is outstanding and then when considered with the stark black label, wow, it goes to a whole new level. A+ for this. I want racks and racks and racks of this gem to shove around felt (I think it'd look pretty sweet on black speed cloth).
As you know, I find the $0.50 chip kind of unplayable in most formats, so it's a crying shame that this actually clocks in at #2 on my list of greatness in the set. One might argue that the tangerine shocker with cream and black edge spots is too close in shade to the $0.25 base color, and they'd be right. As pressed, in play this could get a little touchy, but in isolation it's a tiger of a chip. Pun intended.
$1 and $5
And so begins the humdrum portion of the Majestic line. Fortunately, that's where it ends. The dollar piece doesn't jump out at me, but neither is it particularly offensive. White is a great standard choice, and the base white of this line is really a clear and bright shade. Some whites run into dull or eggshell territory, and that just doesn't do it for me. I need a crisp, cool white. This is the ticket. But, then! Oh, my. Then we double down on blue edge spots. Two shades' worth. Could we have gotten a canary? Orange? Even a plumb might say a little more on this combo than two shades of blue. They're not even exciting shades - we have a low contrast almost grey tone with a royal fixture. Ditch the drab and light this up and you have a winner. So far, 2 for 3 ain't bad.
Then we get to the fiver. The red is brilliant, if safe. Then we fall back on a white. Okay, high contrast, works with the lettering on the inlay. I get it. But, the real sad move here is the black. The combo takes the high power red down to a muddy, flat crimson when it should be screaming with energy. You want to slam a stack of these maniacs into your opponents bluffing grin! Instead, they warrant a sheepish shove across the betting line. Missed opportunity.
$10
The smooth ocean blue base is a good start, but then they go ahead and nip the same blues from the $1! Three blues on a chip?! What's the story here? It's good that this chip won't see a ton of play, because it's not really interesting. I would make the case for using it as a $1 relabeled because in isolation it kind of falls flat, but combined with the fantastic pink and orange numbers I think it has some legs. I've posted in other threads about a pink/blue/orange combo for $0.25/$1/$5 and I stand by it. That set would be excellent (and if you want to get real nuts, you throw in the yellow as a relabeled $20 or pick up the Majestic yellow $20 jeton if that's more your speed).
Extensibility
The higher denom chips in the Majestic line are very much above average if not good to great in some respects (the $100 comes in at #3 for this set for me). You'd be happy if you had to play a tournament with the standard high numbered racks of Majestics.
$25 and up
Smart colors with the quarter here. It's that fun lime that I'm a big fan of, and the lemon pips take it up a notch. It's like a juicy limeade with a lemon twist. I think this is a case of where a darker shade of green doesn't do the poor guy justice. It's a solid B+ of a chip, but it's not a set-seller. I think many would disagree as this set is overall a pretty well-loved set, so YMMV. I would always opt for a yellow $20 over a green $25 in this set if we're talking lower stakes anyway.
I love the $100, but I won't spend a ton of time on it. It starts to resemble some of the better Paulson hundos with their color choices (I'm referring to the Le Paulson Noir line's $100 specifically). Obviously, the edge spots don't share the same brilliance with the Paulson, but it's a nice tribute. Same goes for the $1000 number (though, again, they shoot themselves in the foot by copping the dark green and blues from the earlier denoms instead of the hot green and orange that Paulson goes with). I realize it's not fair to compare china clays to the Paulsons, but in terms of contrast and excitement, they would do well to reuse the right edge spot colors instead of the exceptionally boring ones. That's my main point about overuse of edge spot colors. I'm fine with good progression through a set, but only if those colors make sense where they're implemented and that they're not too well represented throughout so as to provide samey stacks. Cost reduction is critical at this price range, but good design is still possible given the colors at hand. Of course, I don't know the details about their process or availability of dyes, etc. so all of this bellyaching could be for naught.
Ideal Breakdown
I don't think there's an ideal breakdown with the current way these are set up at the low stakes end of the spectrum. I think they're ripe for a relabeling project, and I've seen some compelling renditions on the forums, so I know it's possible. I'll refer to a relabeled set that I find the most useful and visually interesting for a low stakes game:
100x - $0.25 (Pink - stock)
150x - $1 (Blue - relabeled)
100x - $5 (Orange - relabeled)
10x - $20 (Yellow - relabeled)
OR
10x $20 (Yellow Jeton - stock)
Overuse of edge spot colors.
The Majestics are not the worst offenders in the realm of budget chips. Not by a long shot. However, they do present a few missed opportunities, especially at the low denominations on which I'm focusing these reviews. It seems to me that manufacturers want to keep costs down by limiting the overall number of colors they use in a line. That really makes sense and is likely part of why the budget sets come out so affordable, but you sacrifice great colors for lower cost in a lot of situations. Be that as it may, let's get started.
Colors
Majestics follow the standard denomination colors straight down the line (or, up, I guess if we're going low-to-high) with the exception of the fracs which don't necessarily have any across-the-board rules and that works in their favor in this case. They don't feature any progressive edge spots, but that's not common for china clays and other lower cost chip sets (Pharaohs: sit tight fellas).
$0.25 and $0.50
Start it off with a bang, Majestics. The $0.25 chip is the hands-down winner of the set in my book. This juicy melon pink combined with lime and sage edge spots is eye-popping. The contrast between the colors is outstanding and then when considered with the stark black label, wow, it goes to a whole new level. A+ for this. I want racks and racks and racks of this gem to shove around felt (I think it'd look pretty sweet on black speed cloth).
As you know, I find the $0.50 chip kind of unplayable in most formats, so it's a crying shame that this actually clocks in at #2 on my list of greatness in the set. One might argue that the tangerine shocker with cream and black edge spots is too close in shade to the $0.25 base color, and they'd be right. As pressed, in play this could get a little touchy, but in isolation it's a tiger of a chip. Pun intended.
$1 and $5
And so begins the humdrum portion of the Majestic line. Fortunately, that's where it ends. The dollar piece doesn't jump out at me, but neither is it particularly offensive. White is a great standard choice, and the base white of this line is really a clear and bright shade. Some whites run into dull or eggshell territory, and that just doesn't do it for me. I need a crisp, cool white. This is the ticket. But, then! Oh, my. Then we double down on blue edge spots. Two shades' worth. Could we have gotten a canary? Orange? Even a plumb might say a little more on this combo than two shades of blue. They're not even exciting shades - we have a low contrast almost grey tone with a royal fixture. Ditch the drab and light this up and you have a winner. So far, 2 for 3 ain't bad.
Then we get to the fiver. The red is brilliant, if safe. Then we fall back on a white. Okay, high contrast, works with the lettering on the inlay. I get it. But, the real sad move here is the black. The combo takes the high power red down to a muddy, flat crimson when it should be screaming with energy. You want to slam a stack of these maniacs into your opponents bluffing grin! Instead, they warrant a sheepish shove across the betting line. Missed opportunity.
$10
The smooth ocean blue base is a good start, but then they go ahead and nip the same blues from the $1! Three blues on a chip?! What's the story here? It's good that this chip won't see a ton of play, because it's not really interesting. I would make the case for using it as a $1 relabeled because in isolation it kind of falls flat, but combined with the fantastic pink and orange numbers I think it has some legs. I've posted in other threads about a pink/blue/orange combo for $0.25/$1/$5 and I stand by it. That set would be excellent (and if you want to get real nuts, you throw in the yellow as a relabeled $20 or pick up the Majestic yellow $20 jeton if that's more your speed).
Extensibility
The higher denom chips in the Majestic line are very much above average if not good to great in some respects (the $100 comes in at #3 for this set for me). You'd be happy if you had to play a tournament with the standard high numbered racks of Majestics.
$25 and up
Smart colors with the quarter here. It's that fun lime that I'm a big fan of, and the lemon pips take it up a notch. It's like a juicy limeade with a lemon twist. I think this is a case of where a darker shade of green doesn't do the poor guy justice. It's a solid B+ of a chip, but it's not a set-seller. I think many would disagree as this set is overall a pretty well-loved set, so YMMV. I would always opt for a yellow $20 over a green $25 in this set if we're talking lower stakes anyway.
I love the $100, but I won't spend a ton of time on it. It starts to resemble some of the better Paulson hundos with their color choices (I'm referring to the Le Paulson Noir line's $100 specifically). Obviously, the edge spots don't share the same brilliance with the Paulson, but it's a nice tribute. Same goes for the $1000 number (though, again, they shoot themselves in the foot by copping the dark green and blues from the earlier denoms instead of the hot green and orange that Paulson goes with). I realize it's not fair to compare china clays to the Paulsons, but in terms of contrast and excitement, they would do well to reuse the right edge spot colors instead of the exceptionally boring ones. That's my main point about overuse of edge spot colors. I'm fine with good progression through a set, but only if those colors make sense where they're implemented and that they're not too well represented throughout so as to provide samey stacks. Cost reduction is critical at this price range, but good design is still possible given the colors at hand. Of course, I don't know the details about their process or availability of dyes, etc. so all of this bellyaching could be for naught.
Ideal Breakdown
I don't think there's an ideal breakdown with the current way these are set up at the low stakes end of the spectrum. I think they're ripe for a relabeling project, and I've seen some compelling renditions on the forums, so I know it's possible. I'll refer to a relabeled set that I find the most useful and visually interesting for a low stakes game:
100x - $0.25 (Pink - stock)
150x - $1 (Blue - relabeled)
100x - $5 (Orange - relabeled)
10x - $20 (Yellow - relabeled)
OR
10x $20 (Yellow Jeton - stock)
That isn't to imply that the Majestic line is in any way wrong, just that for my particular tastes, and the focus of the review, it doesn't hit all the marks.
