Price$45.00
Media TypeDVD, Gimmick(s)
CategoryNot Listed
Date AddedFeb 20, 2018
Agility
Rich Gerrish
Alakazam UK
(Based on 2 reviews)
Agility is a hard-hitting mentalism routine using a common battle card game theme (Top Trumps). The thinking and design that has gone into this deck is amazing and has truly been a labor of love for all involved. The cards are perfect in every way, and get this it allows you to perform some seriously great mentalism effects with ZERO memory work!
Phase One
Your spectator cuts the deck anywhere and deals both you and them a hand of cards. You can now accurately tell them exactly what you will beat them on with each card played, and get this -- you are not reading marks and you don't even need to look at the cards! You could have predicted every win or loss in advance if you wish!!
Phase Two
Have your spectator remove any card from the pack and, with your back turned, you can start giving them detailed information about their chosen Super Hero character including their overall star rating, strength rating and even the exact name of their character (all without memorizing a thing).
As a bonus, you can even perform a Book Test type effect with the character information included on the card.
Agility is a versatile utility deck that will add an interesting twist to your mentalism.
Points to Remember: Zero memory work required No forces Each card is totally different The backs of the cards are identical in every way Agility Comes Complete With: Full training DVD which teaches multiple effects with the deck Custom designed and printed battle card deck Custom designed and printed battle card deck tuck case
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Overview
‘Agility' is a mentalism routine that utilizes a custom deck of Battle Card Game cards featuring a Heroes and Villains theme. You engage your spectator in an interactive selection process allowing them to freely choose a card along with a few other routines. With astonishing speed and precision, you swiftly reveals multiple intricate details about the chosen card, showcasing its unique attributes and printed details. Each performance is captivating and truly memorable.Effect
Upon presenting the Battle Card Game to the spectator for examination, the Magician proceeds to shuffle the cards thoroughly. Three different phases now follow -Phase 1 - your spectator cuts the deck anywhere and you or they deals each person a hand of cards. You can now accurately tell them exactly what you will beat them on with each card played and get this - you are not reading marks and you don't even need to look at the cards! You could have predicted every win or loss in advance if you wish!!
Phase 2 - have your spectator remove any card from the pack and, with your back turned, you can start giving them detailed information about their chosen Super Hero character including their overall star rating, strength rating and even the exact name of their character (all without memorizing a thing).
Phase 3 - as a bonus, you can even perform a Book Test type effect with the character information included on the card adding another layer of intrigue and entertainment to the performance.
There is even a Prediction effect that you can easily add to all the aforementioned routines.
Method
The specially printed cards do all the work for you, the coding system is just ingenious with no obvious or even subtle markings. The card backs are all exactly the same. There are numerous layers of codes built into the cards as well as having a ‘Crib’ Card to help you out. With the different ways the routines are constructed and laid out, you will have ample time to decipher the information needed without any obvious searching. The 3 phases taught have no fancy sleights or moves are needed nor have any bad angle issues.Product Quality
You will receive a 55 minute DVD properly divided into 8 Chapters or by registering for a account with Alakazam Magic, you can enter the access Code given in the DVD to download an online version. So, a few things here - the cards are superb, printed on very high quality card stock and appear to be durable enough to last for many, many performances. Also, the card case it comes in seems very durable. The quality of the printing and color are exception however the printed details describing the characters story for use in the Book Test are very small and not that easy to read. If your spectator does not have good eyesight with/without glasses, it could present issues. I found most of the tutorials a little hard to follow and sometimes confusing as there are specific systems that you will have to learn. I did have to replay some steps a few time to ‘get it’ and still had times where I got lost.Ad Copy Integrity
I do have some issues with the ad description not being exactly accurate. 1. It says "The cards are perfect in every way” - as mentioned earlier, some of the printing is very hear to read 2. " ZERO memory work” - this is a little deceiving as there are a few systems/rules that you will have to learn and remember. On the plus side, with each performance and the more familiar you become with the cards, the easier it will become. 3. "No forces” - well sort of accurate, there is one routine taught where a very easy force is needed. As for all the other claims, all is good there.Final Thoughts
Are the routines good, unique and highly interactive - yes. Are the cards unique, colorful and fun - yes. This is a very good interactive mentalism effect but taking all the above comments into consideration, I feel that there are many other effects out there that may be a better investment for the price you will pay for this one. I was excited to lean and perform this one and after all was said and done, I was little let down.(Top ▲)
Overview
1 Deck of "battle cards", 1 DVD, 1 Dark Wizard, $45 bucks, and one Agility review. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.Effect
The mage and participant play a Pokémon style battle card game. The mentalist can predict whether he'll win or lose each round. The participant can also choose any random battle card and the wizard can (without ever looking at the card) tell the participant who the card is, what their rating is, etc. and a whole bunch more.Method
This is a very special deck that has a super clever system built into it that allows you to get the information you need. Not only that, but nobody, and I mean nobody will ever discover it. Even if you gave the deck away as a souvenir, they ain't gonna find nothin'.Product Quality
Unfortunately, here is where we have some issues. The video, mostly, is well lit, mic'd, etc. The menu is easy to navigate. It's the teaching where we have some problems, and an issue with the cards themselves.The system involved is somewhat complex, and it would appear that they (Rich Gerrish and The Dark Wizard) had not scripted how they were going to teach it. It was kind of all over the place, and much of the talking was done by Nardi rather than Gerrish (its creator). It would have been beneficial to get the real-work from the real-creator.
Because the "training" was unscripted, it was a bit tricky to figure out how the system worked.
Further, there was a whole section near the end of the video where the background music was so loud that it completely drowned out the two hosts and I couldn't hear a word they were saying.
The cards themselves are more similar in "feel" to a baseball trading card than a playing card and they kind of stick together a fair bit. Additionally, the print on the cards is extremely tiny. Even with my double magnifying reading glasses, I could not read the print on the character's blurb that tells their story.
Being able to read that is part of one of the effects possible. Oddly, the magician doesn't need to be able to read it, but the participant does. It could be a pretty awkward situation having them try to read the card only to fail even after putting on their glasses.
Also, that part of the trick, and how it works, was just glossed over without any real depth, and it left me a few questions that I would definitely need answered before performing that part of the routine.
Ad Copy Integrity
There are (if I'm being generous) some clarifications needed in the ad copy claims.Claim: "The cards are perfect in every way, and get this it allows you to perform some seriously great mentalism effects with ZERO memory work!"
This is a little questionable. While it's true there is nothing to memorize. However, there are a few, let's call them "rules" that you have to remember. It's kind of like the classic grammar rule, remembering to keep straight in your head things like "'i' before 'e', except after 'c' except in cases like 'neighbor' and 'weigh'." Is that memory work? In the magical/mentalism sense, I guess technically not, but it definitely is remembering stuff.
Claim: "Your spectator cuts the deck anywhere and deals both you and them a hand of cards. You can now accurately tell them exactly what you will beat them on with each card played, and get this -- you are not reading marks and you don't even need to look at the cards!"
This is pretty close, that I think I can give it a pass. The fact is that somewhere along the way, you have to get a quick glimpse of something. It is a super easy thing to get, and it happens in a place and time when the whole world is not looking, so close enough.
Claim: "As a bonus, you can even perform a Book Test type effect with the character information included on the card."
You cannot. The print is impossible to read.
Claim: "No forces"
Well it depends on what effect you're doing. There is an effect taught that explicitly states and requires the use of a force.
Final Thoughts
- Effect: Strong. Fun. Entertaining. Engaging.
- Method: Clever. Easy. Small Learning Curve.
- Product Quality: Teaching Issues. Some Card Issues.
- Ad Copy Integrity: Mildly Inaccurate. Overselling
Much like the above mention of "no forces" is only accurate depending on the trick, there are other claims that are similar where the ad copy says no "X" but in the video they teach an effect using "X." I think that this stems from them being unprepared in the video. Some of the things Peter sort of "threw out there" were just that, "thrown out there" and they sort of violated some of the "no memory work" or "no force", etc. claims.
Because of some of the quality issues, and the aforementioned ad copy issues . . .
Final Verdict:
2.5 stars with a Stone Status of gem with a little "g"