As a newspaper editor and former page designer, I know from experience that eye-catching design isn't always good design. Such is the case with Magic Makers' Blue Ice Deck. With better design, it could be a serviceable deck for magicians and flourishers alike. Unfortunately, this deck is useless for any magician who would want to place a card upside-down in the deck, all because the company thought a boldly-designed deck would be just as good as a well-designed deck.
The deck is just as thick as Ellusionist's Masters, a little thicker than E's Ghosts and a little thinner than T11's Guardians. But the finish is not as good as any of those decks. There's a little bit of zip between the cards -- they still glide and fan decently, but for the price, not as well as other decks. Still, they perform better than Bikes, because of their thickness. They have a good spring and are more durable.
The deck of 56 cards comes with more gaff cards, too. In an admirable move, Magic Makers has sacrified promotion for functionality. Gaffers will appreciate the blank-faced card, a white ace of spades and a double-faced ace, which facilitate printing-press illusions. There's only one joker, but the other cards make up for that.
Sadly, all the good intentions come crashing down when one simply looks at the deck.
The deck's back looks like a blue Rider back, with the traditional white border. The faces are full-bleed blue. The shade of blue reminds me of the water pools at miniature golf courses. It's a bright, thick, royal blue that draws the eye. The pips are depicted in red and white and the face cards are a mess of clashing color, as if the ghost of Andy Warhol took control of the presses at the U.S. Playing Card Company. The result is that the cards resemble eye tests to check for color blindness.
The full bleed, which Magic Makers geeks out over in their advertisements, destroys any ability to hide an upside-down card in the deck. That means sandwich tricks, Braue reversals, Shapeshifter, Aaron Fisher's No. 96, Tivo 2.0 and many other effects will be revealed before your audience's eyes. Major disappointment. Flourishers will love the opportunities for contrasting, however.
The deck means well. In fact, it has a lot in common with those pools of water at the mini-golf course: It's probably functional, likely versatile, but too nauseating and hideous to contemplate such possibilities.
The deck is just as thick as Ellusionist's Masters, a little thicker than E's Ghosts and a little thinner than T11's Guardians. But the finish is not as good as any of those decks. There's a little bit of zip between the cards -- they still glide and fan decently, but for the price, not as well as other decks. Still, they perform better than Bikes, because of their thickness. They have a good spring and are more durable.
The deck of 56 cards comes with more gaff cards, too. In an admirable move, Magic Makers has sacrified promotion for functionality. Gaffers will appreciate the blank-faced card, a white ace of spades and a double-faced ace, which facilitate printing-press illusions. There's only one joker, but the other cards make up for that.
Sadly, all the good intentions come crashing down when one simply looks at the deck.
The deck's back looks like a blue Rider back, with the traditional white border. The faces are full-bleed blue. The shade of blue reminds me of the water pools at miniature golf courses. It's a bright, thick, royal blue that draws the eye. The pips are depicted in red and white and the face cards are a mess of clashing color, as if the ghost of Andy Warhol took control of the presses at the U.S. Playing Card Company. The result is that the cards resemble eye tests to check for color blindness.
The full bleed, which Magic Makers geeks out over in their advertisements, destroys any ability to hide an upside-down card in the deck. That means sandwich tricks, Braue reversals, Shapeshifter, Aaron Fisher's No. 96, Tivo 2.0 and many other effects will be revealed before your audience's eyes. Major disappointment. Flourishers will love the opportunities for contrasting, however.
The deck means well. In fact, it has a lot in common with those pools of water at the mini-golf course: It's probably functional, likely versatile, but too nauseating and hideous to contemplate such possibilities.
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