"Mene Tekel Miracles" by Nathan Kranzo
Suggested Retail USD$34.95
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Mene Tekel Miracles", by Nathan Kranzo, is a collection of some of the best routines out there using a devious prop that so many magician's don't even know about, let alone spectators; these grand pieces of work come out of left field and knock everyone for a loop.

I should know: I've been using an MT deck since I was 12 and made my own after reading about it in "The Ecyclopedia of Card Tricks". As I got older, I used an MT deck even more just so I could watch the expressions on the faces of other performers when I used "It's just an Mene Tekel deck" as an explanation for this effect or that.

And you know how much I love forgotten gems.

Well, the Mene Tekel deck is forgotten no longer. Kranzo has assembled a stellar collection of routines using the MT deck and certain variations off the deck. Most of the routines use normal decks arranged in the MT arrangement, but for those routines that go a little further, Kranzo has included two decks set up in the rough/smooth MT sequence. In short, all you need is to pop this disc into the player of your choice and be prepared to learn what is probably a whole new area of card magic for you.

And Kranzo delivers a masters course of work on the MT here. He starts with the basics (the arrangements, some of the handlings,etc) then moves on to the basic (and, to be blunt, most common) uses of the deck. After an Ambitious Card routine, a card-in-pocket, a card-through-table, and a telepathy bit, things get really interesting really quick.

I'll spare you going through all the routines -- they are listed and well-described in the ad copy -- but I just have to mention that, even pridefully thinking myself an expert with the MT deck, Kranzo floored me with more than a couple of these pieces and when he wasn't flooring me, he was entertaining me still.

Shoot, I even loved his take on the McComb/Grant Gag Revelation, something I never cared that much for. Loved it here.

And "Hardin's Envelope"? Wonderful, simply wonderful.

"Farelli in My Pocket"? This is just brilliantly entertaining.

"X Ray Card Stab 2010" is going straight into my act.

Okay, so you caught me. These are a few of my favorites on the disc and absolutely wonderful pieces of work. They are impossible, they are entertaining, and they are easy thanks to the MT deck. And that's really the thing here. The material is fit for beginners -- there's little that is too hard for them -- but is powerful enough for experts to add to their arsenal. Any gaff that can deliver that, and creator who can make good on that gaff's promise, is a winner in my book.

Now, in the interest of completeness (and because some smart-aleck will send me a 12-page email extolling my idiocy at not mentioning such a thing)... this is not the most well-produced DVD you'll ever see. It's close to "Blair Witch" versus "Cloverfield" in places, as a simple statement of fact. And there are some times when Kranzo appears rushed in his instructions or discussions. Still, I found none of this all that distracting or a detriment to my learning Kranzo's material. True, it could have been done better, but for something like this, it truly is the picking of nits.

It could probably go without saying but I'll say it anyway: I highly recommend this one for any card worker, beginner to expert You won't regret getting this one.

"Mene Tekel Miracles" by Nathan Kranzo
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Practicality: 10
It's all in which routine you choose (or what you do with the decks) but this has always been a very practical prop all by its lonesome.

Workmanship: 10
These decks, in Bicycle, are wonderfully put together.

Documentation: 10
Kranzo goes nuts here, including more routines than you could ever hope for and throwing more tips and handlings into the mix than you could expect. Big thumbs-up here.

Effect: 10
It depends on what you do with these decks, but Kranzo has thrown some brilliantly powerful pieces here, several of which would be 10-for-10s on their own.

Presentation: 10
Yeah, it's the same thing here. These are just powerful pieces using an overlooked/sneered-at prop.


Shane

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