Online magic and High quality effects: The Good and The Bad

[Bryant_Tsu]

Okay, the two effects SubRosa and Break have been released. Here's what I think based on the trailers.

Break: looks like a great effect to add to my arsenal, my only issue is the price and how much refills cost (how many coins can you buy for an x amount of dollars). If it seems reasonable I may consider purchasing Break.

SubRosa: I hate to say this, but SubRosa is a bit of a letdown. I haven't purchased it but from what I've seen in the trailer I've come up with a simple method that achieves almost the same outcome. With all the hype I thought it would be a better move than what it seems to be. I know that SubRosa is a utility move but it doesn't fit the bill for me. I'll stick with my move for now, I may get good enough to control four cards anyway. I probably will not be purchasing SubRosa.
(I'd like to add that my method probably isn't remotely the same as SubRosa, however the outcome would be the same to any spectators).

What do you think?

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

Subrosa. I'm eventually going to get Sub Rosa. However, I'm still working on my cardistry project and I'm practicing 3 difficult card effects already (Mechanics Shift, Jack-In-The-Box, Raise Rise). It's on my list.

 

[Liderc]

Never trust the Trailer.. Witness a Live (or recorded) full performance and than reflect

 

[CaseyRudd]

SubRosa: I hate to say this, but SubRosa is a bit of a letdown. I haven't purchased it but from what I've seen in the trailer I've come up with a simple method that achieves almost the same outcome. With all the hype I thought it would be a better move than what it seems to be. I know that SubRosa is a utility move but it doesn't fit the bill for me. I'll stick with my move for now, I may get good enough to control four cards anyway. I probably will not be purchasing SubRosa.
(I'd like to add that my method probably isn't remotely the same as SubRosa, however the outcome would be the same to any spectators).

Personal opinion: How do you know it's a letdown if you don't know the secret? If you can give your deck of cards out to a spectator, have them wash the cards on a table (as seen in the preview), have them fully inspect it - with no bends, markings, crimps, etc. - have them shuffle in ANY way they want, however long they want (you can be in a completely different room as they do this), and you can still locate the cards blindfolded with ease, then by all means keep using your method. But I'm just going to say this: if you want a 100% guaranteed way of doing what I just described above, Sub Rosa will get it done and WAY more. What was shown in the preview is the basic idea using this technique, and it doesn't even come close to scratching the surface with what you can accomplish with this.

 

[Bryant_Tsu]

Personal opinion: How do you know it's a letdown if you don't know the secret? If you can give your deck of cards out to a spectator, have them wash the cards on a table (as seen in the preview), have them fully inspect it - with no bends, markings, crimps, etc. - have them shuffle in ANY way they want, however long they want (you can be in a completely different room as they do this), and you can still locate the cards blindfolded with ease, then by all means keep using your method. But I'm just going to say this: if you want a 100% guaranteed way of doing what I just described above, Sub Rosa will get it done and WAY more. What was shown in the preview is the basic idea using this technique, and it doesn't even come close to scratching the surface with what you can accomplish with this.

Perhaps the trailer didn't do it justice then. All I saw was Jason moving the cards around and produce four aces.

 

[CaseyRudd]

Perhaps the trailer didn't do it justice then. All I saw was Jason moving the cards around and produce four aces.

It's just one of the basic things you can do with the technique, and what was shown in the demo is something that card workers have dreamed about doing - being able to locate the four aces from a completely shuffled deck. It's perfectly fine if it doesn't fit your style; we all have different tastes. Once you know the technique, however, you will be able to do way more than locate aces. Perhaps you wanted to locate both the 4 Kings and 4 Aces in the same routine, or two different 4-of-a-kinds. You can find each 4 of a kind individually with SubRosa, without fail. All with the spectator shuffling the deck in another room, and being blindfolded as you find them.

It was also Steve Forte, a close friend of Jason England, who performed that routine (cutting to the aces) on television, and that performance soon became legendary. With SubRosa, you can create an effect even MORE fair in handling, allowing the spectator to shuffle and cut the deck - yet still finding the selected card or cards on command.

 

[Crimsonninja9]

Hey there! I just purchased Sub Rosa. I only have two words: Get It. This is an extremely powerful method. I can't recommend it enough. The spectators can shuffle however they want, and however much they want. You have control over the cards the whole time! And yes, Casey is right. You can even do it blindfolded...literally.

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

I have a question regarding Subrosa.

I like to work with blank decks and having those involved sign them as the only marked cards in the deck. Can Subrosa be done with signed cards?

 

[RealityOne]

It's just one of the basic things you can do with the technique, and what was shown in the demo is something that card workers have dreamed about doing - being able to locate the four aces from a completely shuffled deck.

Between your descriptions and the product page, I'm wondering if this really "one of the last remaining secrets in magic." It sounds like a variation of the first gaffed deck I ever had based on something discusssed in Marlo's Magazine #5 that also was mentioned in Greater Magic. Maybe I'll belly up and get this just out of curiosity - if it is what I think it is, I suspect T11 did a good job with the gaffs and I'll get some good tips on handling, if not than I'll learn something new.

 

[Bryant_Tsu]

I have a question regarding Subrosa.

I like to work with blank decks and having those involved sign them as the only marked cards in the deck. Can Subrosa be done with signed cards?

You can do this with any deck. So technically a blank deck would work.

 

[Bryant_Tsu]

So I caved in and bought it, must say it's pretty interesting!

 

[Liderc]

You can do this with any deck. So technically a blank deck would work.

After you construct it