Buy this! This is what great magic looks like. What could be better than a surprise ending, great misdirection and easy moves to completely fool anyone. This is as creative and well conceived as magic gets. Wonderful.

The best part of this video (just under 12 minutes) is in working out the sudden visual change. If you've worked in cards for a long time, you've probably come across something like this before. If not, you'll enjoy practicing the slight—it's actually kind of fun to do in front of a mirror. Just be aware it's a little knacky. As Mr. Stone points out, everyone's hands are a little bit different in size, so you really have to put in some practice to make it work for you.

A strong positive here is that this is indeed an impromptu effect and can be done with a borrowed deck. (So long as no one complains about your tearing their cards up!) You may want to do just the slightest of set up to move a joker into the right place, as in the trailer video, but in fact it need not be the joker at all. (How you might do so under cover is not discussed.) This is the "wrong" card you present, and it can be any card; doesn't have to be the joker. The joker serves as a nice punch-line (as in: the magician is the joker). The joker also provides some visual cover (if the joker has a busy design) that other cards might not.

If you watch the trailer you will note Mr. Stone has an accent. Do you have difficulty understanding him? I didn't find it to be a problem at all; his English is very good. That said, he teaches as though he's in a rush. I take it to mean he is excited to share his effect, but things move very quickly here. The video appears to have been filmed on the fly behind a curtain at a magic expo. There's not the usual care and pacing you are probably used to. As I say, it all appears rushed to me.

My biggest issue is the plot and the ad copy. The true plot on offer here is that the "wrong" card is visibly torn in front of the spectator. Then there's an instant, visual transpo to the "right" card — the spectator's chosen, signed card. How does that corner tear manage to fit the selected card when the wrong card was visibly torn? And how did the "right" torn corner end up there when it was the "wrong" card that was torn? That's the effect.

The problem is we are ALL conditioned to expect a torn card be restored — both magicians and lay people. In fact, the ad copy says as much. It reads: "David Stone's walkaround opener, a startling torn an restored card with a surprise ending that destroys audiences." NO, NOT SO. The card is never restored, and that leaves the whole thing anticlimactic, in my opinion. The spectator gets to keep a torn card, probably a little confused and wondering when will the rest of the effect (the "restored" part) be done. You may or may not care about this restoration not happening, but you certainly want the ad copy to be accurate. It is not.

This is a great trick. Although he says he uses it as an opener, it doesn't have to be.
The trailer is completely honest. This is an entirely impromptu trick that can be done with a borrowed shuffled deck (as long as the deck owner doesn't mind you tearing cards.)
This trick uses just two moves. One we all know. The other I was not familiar with and am eager to try as it doesn't look very hard.
I like the way he has thought out all aspects of this trick to make it easier for us to perform, including when to give and take back the pen, and how to tear the card.
If you don't mind tearing cards, this is great trick to have in your arsenal.
(And you don't have to use a Joker. Any card can become their signed card!)

To me, this is what magic is all about... Combinations of illusion and skill... Is this difficult? Not if you practice. That is magic right?

David has given us a hammer of an illusion.. This could be the best download of 2020.

The trick is taught pretty quickly, but well. You might have to dust off your old school magic hands, but worth it.

This is dynamite.

This is freaking amazing and is it real not trick photography CGI. How could this be? When I watched the trailer I knew I wanted to learn this one. It blew me away and I’m sure you too and will do so to any spectator you perform this for. And you can do it with a borrowed deck???? YES if you want but better to use your own. Make sure if it’s borrowed, they know there will be some damage that will ensue. You will learn the technique of how to do this in under 9 minutes. There is no arts and crafts needed - nothing to make but you will need to learn a couple of little somethings. One of them you, all of your already know - it’s a basic and standard sleight. For the other one, those experienced card workers out there will probably already use this or know how to do it. For the newbies, what an amazing opportunity to learn this move and perform this incredible effect.

David does add for very nice flourishes to better sell this effect but not necessary to create the dynamic finale that will blow your spectators away. David does an amazing job of teaching every move and nuance you will need to pull this off. Strat clean and end clean.

Any time that you can leave your spectator with a take away souvenir of your magic, it will be memory they will not forget every time they show someone or look at this keepsake. This is a veery nice, visual and deceptive effect you want to add to your repertoire, well worth the time you will invest to learn it. A reputation make … possible. Thanks for sharing David!

Sometimes the beauty of an effect lies within its simplicity, and sometimes simple-seeming effects are the hardest to pull off. This effect by David Stone is a novel combination of classic card magic principles used to create a new effect, and I love how elegant it is. I think beginner magicians will get a lot from this, and experienced performers will be pleasantly delighted at David’s new perspective on combining techniques they are likely already familiar with, resulting in them being able to add a fun new effect to their arsenal in a matter of minutes.

Ok - time to be very honest. I will likely NEVER be able to perform Damaged with anything close to the casual precision that David Stone does here, but a guy can dream. Can't I?

This routine is brazen and full of things that will rattle a spectator - and even KNOWING how this was done does not - in any way - mitigate the enjoyment of the how-to vid, because Stone is on his game here.

No gimmicks. No arts/crafts. This is really, really impressive stuff utilizing - at its core - something most of already are at the very least familiar with (whether you use it or not). Stone makes this all look like simple and all that much more mind-blowing.

Even if I NEVER get to the point where I can perform anywhere near Stone's level is a story to ponder at another time. What I will say is that Damaged is a trip.

Wow....

The "3" stars is for me, not for David. This is for workers, not for occasional tricksters like me. It's not just the move, it's the smoothness. I think I can do the move with some practice and maybe use it to enhance a trick or two Thai do now. But there are subtle parts to David's handling that make this a killer that take a confidence and familiarity with a deck of cards that I just don't have.

If you have a few years in close-up card work, you can probably get this in a few quick hours, and it will look exactly like the demo. No foolin' - nothing has been left out. If you're new to magic or don't perform regularly then maybe you could skip this one. Or maybe like I am doing, work on ehe "move" to work into your other tricks.

David Stone has created another miracle with this effect. Yes, you will destroy cards when performing this, but it's totally worth it to destroy MINDS! David teaches you everything you need to know to completely astound your audience.

If you like the demo video, you're gonna LOVE this! Highly recommended!

David Stone has created Damaged and it is a very artful presentation.
Some Magi may desire to change the overall patter to fit their style. The artful moves in the presentation are graceful and smooth.

Now, It will take some doing for non-card magicians,)like me), lol. Though I know enough basic card slights to have figured out the effect, I am not a card guy. You will want to practice this, oh yes,... go thru a few decks,... use new decks according to David.

As David states in the instructions he uses Damaged as his opener, I can see that. It is an effect that gets their attention.

David goes the extra mile and explains his handling and a few different bits as well as how to practice the key moves he has incorporated into his handling for his effect - Damaged is a good bit of magic that will serve you well to learn and will get positive reactions when you perform it.