color change card to mouth
the erndnase color change is a thing of beauty.
My justification for using it is that it initially supports the fact that the card coming up to the top is very difficult. If you make the card come up to the top multiple times it gets repetitive. You have to make each phase progressively more impressive. Theatrically its genius, you fail to make the card come to the top. Until it morphs into the signed card!
in my acr starts like this :I make the card come up to the top once, and say something about catching them off guard. Then I say, I'll do it again. Since they are watching closely, allegedly this is why it doesn't come up to the top. Then I do a color change and they gasp. It also sets you up for another DL.
Card to mouth is pure ambitious card. You want the card to rise. The mouth is totally ambitious card especially in context:
I have them push the outjogged selection. I snap, and turn over the top card. It isn't there. 10 seconds later they realize the card is in my mouth.
Card to pocket or shoe is not ambitious card. But card to mouth absolutely is. It is the phase that gets the strongest response. People always tell me they love when the card goes to my mouth. You can also use this beautiful misdirection to vanish the deck, or something along those lines.
If I were to simplify ambitious card to 3 simple phases, at least to me, it would be cleanly rising to the top (their card clearly goes in the pack ala tilt, a
color change after you miss, and card to mouth)