Magic Tricks

I picked up this set with the most recent 'Choose 5' deal, and was not disappointed. I'd heard a fair bit about the Phoenix marked decks, and the fact that they are quick and easy to "read". What surprised me about these though was not the marking of the cards, but the total quality and feel.

The nearly 2 hour-long DVD that comes with this set offers an insight from Cardshark (the creator of the Phoenix Deck) into his design process and refinement, and watching this reveals just what a treasure these decks are. They are printed by USPCC, although for reasons explained on the DVD, they surpass the standard Bicycle decks in quality of card stock, printing and cutting. After hearing the creator explain his vision and the process that he has gone through to create these cards, I can see myself adopting the Phoenix as my regular deck.

I want to be honest in my review, though: In my opinion, I must disagree with the other reviews here that praise the deck markings. The coding on the marked decks is great for easy reading. But that means there is the inherent problem of being easily noticed. If you're performing correctly, that shouldn't be an issue - your spectators should never even think about the deck being marked. But if you're likely to have people snatch your cards and be annoying, please know that these will not pass the "riffle test" anywhere near as nicely as, say, the Boris Wild marked deck.

Nevertheless, the markings ARE subtle, and in this set you get two marked and two plain decks. If you're a card worker, you might be reluctant to give up the versatility of Bicycles, but I'd encourage you to give the Phoenix deck a try and see the quality. I was surprised. You might be too. And if you rely on your gaffs, the DVD in this set will explain how to go about obtaining them on Phoenix backs.