The Svengali deck gets so much hate in the magic community for being too "beginner" level but I honestly think it's great. I see it still slay audiences to this day. It's a classic in magic for a reason despite what a lot of magicians think about it. I believe Chris was using a modified one that took advantage of the rough and smooth principle as well.
I agree with your comments regarding the Svengali deck. Too often magicians forget that the majority of people (and almost all of those for whom we perform) are not privy to the same world and completely unfamiliar with principles WE tend to find "boring", "old" or "overused".
Secondly, I strongly endorse Position Impossible. Brent had a true spark of brilliance on that one.
Finally, although
this is not a forum to discuss methods I wanted to point out that:
My initial post should have been enough to help you build your own deck for this effect
To that point, I disagree about the rough-smooth. Watching the video, and the way he handles the cards (specifically take note of the deck position regarding the edges) I am certain the entire deck is gaffed (in a very simple manner).