Too-large decks are a problem for me ...although they can sometimes be altered by trimming ...which I don't hesitate to do! I've created quite a few usable decks out of ones I was unable to handle before. I have never mastered the hand to hand shuffle. I always use a gentle riffle shuffle and/or the face down smear method ...or a combination of the two, in order to get random reversals. So ...what I can't work with are card stocks that are thick and cardboard-y or—worse yet—cling together while shuffling. Unfortunately these include several decks that I really love otherwise. (The most irritating one is The Everyday Enchantment Tarot by Poppy Palin. I LOVE that deck, but find it very very hard to shuffle—size, cardboard-y stock AND clingy surface—so I don't use it as often as I want to. It's my dream that some day it will be re-issued in more usable card stock.) I am not keen on horizontal decks, although the only one I had I DID get rid of...but for other reasons. However, I found the horizonal layout a bit strange to use. I wouldn't have got rid of it for that reason alone, though.

I think that tarot, like all things witch-ish and spirit-ish and magic-ish and pagan-ish, has become commodified. And many people no longer really care about learning the "language", or doing the actual thing authentically… What matters is looking witchy for the camera, reviewing a huge their collection of decks (which they get for free from the publisher to generate content), and preaching to others that "ACKSHUALLY Death isn't AKCSHUAL death you know…". And it makes sense that people who have an aesthetic connection to the idea of tarot (or witchcraft, or paganism) will prefer decks that are just about the aesthetic. Generated, not created. Especially since they can be generated to match one's very particular taste, so if your online self is, I don't know, a Goth House Cthonic Witch who likes Cats you may actually find a Gothic Cat Hecate deck just for you. <shrugs> Aside from the absolute soullessness of these decks, what also saddens me a bit is that there's no more trying to engage with the artists' imagination, by trying to imagine why they chose to portray a certain card like this and not like that… It meant opening yourself to another's unique creative vision, while somehow also making it your own so that you could read the deck in your own special way. All in all, I think it boils down to what @Misterei said - it's all meant to look cool for your online avatar, or for you to join the hype and be part of the conversation. I don't have many issues with the size, if I happen to really like the deck! I have tiny hands, so many decks end up being a bit big for me… Thankfully, 25 years of deck shuffling have helped keep my hands flexible so most of the time it's not an issue. I think I only had two or three decks I found hard to use due to size, but size alone would not make me give up on a deck. Lamination, on the other hand… I'm VERY annoyed by sticky lamination! Thank goodness it's not as common anymore as it used to be. And I get hung up on decks that are too thin, papery and fragile, because I feel like they will bend or get dog-eared if I shuffle them properly. I like to riffle shuffle, so uncoated/non-laminated decks are a bit of no-no in my collection.

I think some of the AI deck popularity is driven by social media and cosmetic surgery. There is a youtube tarot reader I watch from time to time. Sometimes just to visually absorb her style and set. She used an oracle deck that looked awesome in her videos. Like a copycat, I bought the deck on etsy--only to realize it is AI art with all pretty people. Natural human faces are no longer good enough. Witness the explosion of cosmetic surgery amongst younger people who want to have an instagrammable face. Can we be surprised that real art showing real people might not appeal to this younger cosmetically enhanced demographic? [not trying to single out young people. Older women of a certain type always got facelifts. Likewise a certain type of younger women always got breast augmentation. But it is a new phenomenon that 18 year olds are getting facial procedures and breast implants aren't just for strippers and actresses] I used to think that yoga gals would avoid surgical enhancements as unnatural. Yet modern yoga influencers have breast augmentation and facial procedures. It's normalized amongst the modern yoga demographic. Likewise when tarot was the provence of hippies, weirdos, and historical art nerds. Now? That influencer with the fake breasts and fake face wants a fake tarot deck to align with her brand aesthetic. I was pretty horrifed with the AI deck but couldn't return it. And learnt something about getting influenced by influencers. This youtuber made it all look so good. *sigh* I definitely prefer smaller decks as large decks are difficult for my hands. But unlike the size of the male member--the size of a tarot deck is something I'm willing to overlook. I have big decks which I hate shuffling but love the art. I have a couple tiny decks which are so small I can barely read them--but they are great for travel or small spaces. The decks I use most often--my daily drivers--are definitely moderate size. Not too big not too small. I hate the crap cardstock on a couple of my favorite decks [I'm looking at YOU Legacy of the Devine and Devine Deco] but I overlook the crappy cardstock and still consider these 2 of my favorite decks.