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Here's a review for a nice transformation effect by the Japanese Kreis Magic company. ( http://kreis-magic.com )

The Effect

A card is selected by the spectator, remembered and lost in the pack. Another card is taken by the performer, and put face up in the middle of the deck. As this card is pushed through the deck, it changes into the card that was previously selected. The transformed card is taken out and handed to the spectator.

Two more effects are described on the Kreis website, but I think they're not nearly as strong as the first one.

Available, for example, from: http://www.alakazam.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_new.tpl&product_id=4498&category_id=67&keyword=kreis&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=14



Cost

It is available for about $ 21.


Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

I'd give this a 3. If you know any basic sleights, this should be a breeze.

Review

The gimmick can be bought in both red and blue Bicycle backs. It's well crafted, slim, and very fun to use: when doing the transformation from one card to another, I can't help but smile. Your spectator can choose any card from the deck, and even sign it, so the surprise is even bigger. The fact that you can pull or push out the selected card at the end only adds to it (of course, not being able to do this would be kinda lame).

The package comes with a leaflet in English and Japanese, with clear instructions, albeit in broken English. There's also a website link with a password provided, for viewing three explanations on their website. These come in handy because the leaflet isn't too well written.

The effect itself, as stated before, comes as a surprise to your spectators. It starts out as a basic routine, but the moment the second card starts to change into the selection, mouths tend to fall open, especially because you can do it both very slow and really quick. After the trick, ditching the gimmick isn't too hard.



Overall
I can recommend this to anyone who doesn't bother having a(nother) card gimmick in his/her deck. The visual impact is worth it![/i]

I don't own any Kreis Magic effects, but some of their stuff looks quite interesting. Rather Tenyo-ish, if you will.

I think Kreis feels more rigid than Tenyo. I don't own any other Kreis items (yet) but I like the way this particular trick is made. It looks more professional than the couple of Tenyo tricks I've got (not trying to diss Tenyo though!).

I converted mine ( no pun intended) to a sword stab routine using two small cards on a king.
Fun and something your spectators will not see everyday.