Magic Tricks

I really really wanted to like this deck. I love color changing deck routines, especially with a rainbow deck finish. I was excited to add this to my arsenal, but I am now returning it to Penguin.

First, the pros. The routining is killer. Joshua has built a great routine that includes several tricks, all of which serve to build strong conviction for the audience that the deck is normal. Thus, when the change to a rainbow deck happens, its extremely magical. Joshua has also combined the color-changing deck effect with a four ace production and triumph effect, which makes the effect into a great closer. This is as strong as card magic gets. The instruction, as expected, is excellent.

The LOOK of the deck is great too. For years, I have wanted a rainbow deck that looks like this, with a combination of regular backs, casino backs, tourist and dollar store type backs, etc. The design of the backs is really great looking. And some of the backs are useful for doing other tricks.

Now, the cons. According to the manufacturer, the Phoenix Deck is available in two finishes - a "professional" quality, which is on bicycle stock with an air-cushion finish, and a "traditional" quality, which is on a proprietary stock with a smooth glide finish. For some reason I can't understand, the Prism deck was printed on a "traditional" quality Phoenix deck. This deck is of noticeably lower quality than a bicycle deck. Handling the deck for sleight of hand is significantly harder, and the deck is more likely to warp and buckle. In my case, the Prism deck I purchased buckled almost immediately after opening, so the deck "clicks" when I bend it up and down. Having used other decks with a "smooth glide" finish before, I also know that these decks become sticky and hard to handle more quickly that better quality decks.

In addition, the Prism deck does not include all of the cards necessary to do the effect advertised. If you want to do the effect with aces, you will need at least one other Phoenix deck. Actually, two more Phoenix decks, so you have the right number of jokers. You can, technically, add cards from non-Phoenix decks. However, if you add cards from non-Phoenix decks, you will not be able to use the aces, and the handling may be tougher, because you will be using cards with two different finishes. There's also a chance that a perceptive spectator may feel the difference between the cards.

Joshua refers to the color-changing deck effect with four aces his "core routine." The decision to use a low-quality card stock is perplexing, but the decision not to include all the necessary cards to do the core routine is in my opinion unacceptable. I expect that if I'm buying an effect, I'll receive the necessary props to perform that effect.

It's a shame, because I love the color-changing deck effect, and I really wanted to like this version. If you don't know a color changing deck effect, this might be worth buying to gain access to Joshua's routining for the effect. For me, however, I'll be returning this to Penguin for a refund.