Firstly be gentle this is my first review
The Effect
From the site
Have the ability to locate ANY named card instantly and with no memory work! This new system from the mind of Marc Oberon takes all of the time and effort out of learning to use a memorized stack.
Cost
£25 for deck + DVD
£35 for deck + DVD + book with extra tricks
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 say 3 for difficulty as for the main effect of cutting to a named card obviously only cutting the deck is needed, however for maximum effect other sleights need to be used.
Review
After seeing Marc's performances on youtube my first thought was "wow i need to be able to produce any named card like that". Then at a recent magic day Marc lectured at i discovered it was the master deck, so i snapped one up.
Firstly the deck is great once you've taken the time to practice and familiarized yourself with the system the deck uses. It uses no doubt well used principles but as far as I'm aware is a slight improvement over similar decks in the past. The deck cant be examined but used as an opener in the way Marc does (get spectators to call out cards and near instantly cut/colour change/flourish to named card) most of the time its straight onto another trick with a different deck. It can be quickly fanned and flashed to emphasize all the cards are different but i wouldnt let them stare for too long at risk of exposure (Marc does however include ideas using a principle similar to the ID which eliminates the brief flash issue, and lets you have the cards on show slightly longer).
The book is clear and concise and well illustrated and the DVD is a great starter for setting the deck up, they contain enough information to get started including details of a few sleights Marc uses for reveals in his performance.
Overall
8/10
All in all its a great deck, personally i thought a little expensive (although i did get mine discounted at a lecture price). However the material contained within the book and DVD are great and he does encourage people to find other uses for the deck. I'm sure they're are lots of tricks that can be improved simply by quickly but discreetly knowing the location of said card. (At the moment I'm playing around with a sort of ID type routine)
http://www.marcoberon-magictricks.co.uk ... 260&page=1
