by katrielalex » Aug 10th, '05, 00:41
Hrm...I'd say that you don't need to go for this kind of deck.
My recommendation is that you order Born To Perform and a deck or 2 of Bikes. That should be plenty to start with.
There are two reasons that you shouldn't, IMO, start with gimmick decks. One is that knowing some basic grips and flourishes makes it look like you know what you're doing - e.g. not to be boastful, but I think there's a difference in the way I handle the nudist deck to the way my brother does it. If you look like you know what you're doing the audience is more impressed and also see you as a magician instead of a kid with cards.
The other is that if you rely on gaff decks to do magic, you'll often have to make excuses if somebody gets you a deck of cards. It doesn't sound like it happens a lot but I've had 2 or 3 people realize that I do card magic and give me an old deck of theirs to do something with. If I do, say, the Biddle trick, it impresses them ever so much more because they know I did it with their deck! Note: this is why I'm feebly trying (and failing) to do coin magic - I want to be able to do something roughly magical if there are no cards about...
You can always pick up Born To Perform and then get a gaff deck or 2 later.
One thing to note is that if you are going to get a gaff deck, I wouldn't recommend the Svengali (or hence the Mirage). The reason is that these are sort of one-trick ponies, and also nowhere near examinable. One good one to get would be the Wizard/Stripper deck - I'm not going to tip the gaff but in essence it allows the spectator to put their card in the deck, shuffle (risky but more impressive) then you can find their card instantly, with one cut. Very useful.
I can't speak for any other gaff decks as I don't use them, except to say that the ID has saved my neck several times when I mess up a control...
I've gone on long enough...
Kati
In hibernation but half awake - will stick my nose in every so often!