"Deep: Rising Card Unlimited" by Heavenzkool
Suggested Retail USD$75.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 4 Out of 10

"Deep: Rising Card Unlimited", an effect by the Heavenzkool company, takes an old idea, tries to move it ahead a notch or two, but ultimately falls short.

I love the rising card theme. Shoot, I love any theme that has a deck moving around to reveal a selected card. So the hype for "Deep" really got my heart racing. Sure, there are a lot of rising cards out there that have the selected card rise from the middle of the a cased deck, but all the pluses touted in "Deep" hooked me:

The deck is shuffled freely by a spectator. A card is selected, also freely (it can even be signed). The card is put back into the middle of the deck by the spectator -- and they can put it pretty much anywhere. The deck is put in the case (which has been shown to be as normal as can be) where it is held so that all the fingers are visible. After -- or even during -- the rise, the cased deck can be shown on both sides. The spectator can remove the card. It can be repeated. There are no hook-ups of any kind: no threads, magnets, weights, etc. The rising action is entirely under your control: make the card rise as fast or slow as you want, let it sink back into the deck on its own, even have the rising re-start when you want. Just take this deck and this case with you and you're always ready to go.

Ready to buy it yet? Okay, I was, which is why I write this: to save you money.

That's not to say all the hype is not true. Every word of what I wrote above is completely accurate. The gaffed deck (a standard gaffed deck and one I dearly love) and the gimmicked card case have "Deep" living up to some fairly awe-inspiring claims.

Ah, if only the execution lived up to the mechanics.

It should be said that this method of rise is ancient. There's a certain booklet (which I can't name without giving everything away) where this method is mentioned. That version came with two problems: the case was obviously gaffed and needed some rather cramped handling to hide it and that the rise was just not good, what with a very jerky action and some obvious finger work.

"Deep" solves the problem with the box. You have a huge amount of freedom in displaying the thing and handling it. And I have to say the solution had me smiling because it's as obvious a solution as it is clever.

The other problem still remains, though. The rising action is simply not smooth at all, the card stuttering as it goes. Oh, you can make it a bit smoother, but when you do, well, the method then is about as obvious as you can get. So you're pretty much stuck with the stuttering. With that, of course, you lose some of the magical appearance of the thing. I was taught long ago, and I firmly believe, that the smoother the movement the more magical the revelation. For me, that pretty much killed "Deep" as a rising card solution. The decapitation of it came when I saw that the rise was only about a third of the length of the card. That's fine... seven or eight decades ago. But even as long ago as the '50s performers realized that the more the card rose, the more magical movement was present, the more impact the effect carried.

Now, if none of that matters to you, there's one other thing you have to know going in: the documentation is atrocious. It's obvious this was an English translation from another language (I'm led to believe from the distributor that this was originally a Japanese product, but I can't swear to it) but, honestly folks, for $75 can't we have a little bit of clarity? At its best, the instructions are hard to follow; at worst, they are inaccurate. True enough, the nine pages are loaded with photos, but they will do you little good here. So, if you go for this one, be prepared to suffer through on your own when it comes to making this all come together for you.

All in all, "Deep" is a disappointment. It's a fine, creative idea marred by a bad execution, and that's a shame.

"Deep: Rising Card Unlimited" by Heavenzkool
In a Blink: 4 Out of 10

Practicality: 9
The deck is gaffed, but it's a common gaff and is otherwise normal; you can use it for pretty much any other card effect. The same could be said for the gimmicked case as well. There is no set-up and the reset is instant. Overall, this is extremely practical.

Workmanship: 4
The deck is printed by USPCC, so you know how that goes: it's well done. The case is well-made, but fragile. You'll need to replace it and, depending on how heavy your use it, replace it fairly quickly.

Documentation: 1
The documentation is, in a word, horrible. In another word, a nightmare. It's an obvious English translation but the translation is awful, hard to follow, and at times inaccurate; even the many photos don't help much. You'll need to apply your own brain cells throughout to see how everything is supposed to go.

Effect: 5
The Rising Card is a classic for a reason: it's thoroughly magical. The problem here is that the details of the rise weaken it as compared to other versions, especially with the handling and the shallowness of the rising action.

Presentation: 3
The big thing here is supposed to be the cleanliness, but forget about it. Yes, parts of it are clean, but other parts are way too obvious. There are better rising card presentations out there.

Shane

Available direct from your favorite dealer. Dealers, please contact Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc. toll-free at 1-800-853-7403 or visit Murphy's Magic Supplies website.