[b]Greetings guardians, let's talk about the history of the hunter-specific exotic hand cannon: the Ace of Spades![/b] The Ace of Spades is a Hard Luck Mk. 52 hand cannon frame with a unique paint job featuring an upright white ace of spades on the barrel and an inverted upside-down ace of spades on the grip. Of note the description of the Hard Luck Mk. 52 reads:[spoiler]Marked with spades. Tuned for a fight. Ready to end any uncomfortable disputes.[/spoiler] From the Ace of Spades grimoire: [spoiler]Don't play your hand unless you're sure you have that ace in the hole. “Heeeeeeey there, Banshee!” “Whaddya want, Cayde?” “Just checking in on that thing I asked you to do.” “I told you, my smuggling days are over—” “No no shhh no not that! The other thing—” “What other thing?” “The custom piece! For—” “Oh right. Right. Course I’m doing that.” “Yeah? How's it looking?” “Did all the design myself. So it's looking good.” “Is that... an ace of spades?” “Yep.”[/spoiler] The grimoire card makes it pretty clear that Cayde commissioned a specific hand cannon from Banshee and Banshee took the liberty of adding the unique markings on the gun. Pretty straightforward, but here is where things get interesting. The Ace of spades emblem is also found on Cayde's armor thus making it seem that Banshee modeled the gun after Cayde's chosen emblem - after all Cayde is a notorious gambler. However Cayde actually wears the cloak of his fallen comrade (and close friend) Andal Brask as can be seen in the Andal Brask [url=http://www.destinypedia.com/images/thumb/3/37/Andal_Brask.jpg/300px-Andal_Brask.jpg]concept art[/url]. As you may recall Andal Brask was the former hunter vanguard who challenged Cayde with the "Vanguard Dare." After Andal was killed by the houseless fallen mercenary Taniks, the Scarred, Cayde took the position of hunter vanguard either out of respect for his lost friend or due to losing the vanguard dare. (Likely a combination of both.) Looking at the Andal concept art we can see that it says: [spoiler]Before his time. A great loss. But Cayde will carry the torch. RTL. Cayde got short stick. Stuck in-wall. Hunters hunt.[/spoiler] Upon taking the role of hunter vanguard Cayde donned Andal's cloak and the Ace of Spades emblem. The importance of this is emphasized by the item description for the Hardcase Cloak: [spoiler]If you learn nothing else, learn this: when a Hunter takes up the cloak of a dead comrade, this is a vow.[/spoiler] [b]To summarize:[/b] Cayde has taken on a vow to assume the responsibilities of his deceased friend Andal Brask and now wears his armor and sits in his position as hunter vanguard. [b]Back to the gun:[/b] It seems reasonable to conclude that Cayde commissioned Banshee to recreate Andal's hand cannon out of respect for his friend and the vow he took when he donned Andal's cape. Clearly Banshee knew that this was the case and painted it to match Andal's emblem. Although Andal is pictured with a sniper rifle in the concept art it is reasonable to assume he carried a hand cannon as his primary. Alternatively, Cayde commissioned a special hand cannon for himself and Banshee painted it to honor his deceased friend. The upright solid Ace of Spades on the barrel likely symbolizes Cayde, while the upside-down inverted Ace of Spades on the grip likely symbolizes Andal as he is now deceased. Thus, Cayde is carrying his deceased comrade into battle and perhaps every time he holds the Ace of Spades the memory of Andal is in his palm to stable his hand for that crucial unerring shot. As pointed out by RC1262Scorch, the perk "Maverick" is most likely a clever nod to the film by the same name where Bret Maverick, a card shark and con artist, pulls out an ace of spades to win a high stakes poker game against all odds. The perk "Firefly" is likely a clever nod to Cayde's voice actor, Nathan Fillion, who was the star of the Firefly tv series. Finally, it is worth noting that similar to The Last Word, The Ace of Spades also has a twirling animation in gameplay... which is neat. (Hunters always get the fancy tricks, but I prefer my dance party bubble.) [i]See you starside guardians! -MrMach[/i] [b]Interested in more weapon lore?[/b] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/163992136/0/0]Jade Rabbit[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/164993483/0/0]Fabian Strategy[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/168720150/0/0]Tlaloc and Susanoo[/url] [b]Interested in an epic lore clan?[/b] Check out The Ashen Conflux!