Next Meeting: 15 March 2025 | Theme: Annual General Meeting | Location: NLB Drama Center

PHANTOM DECK by Joshua Jay

picThe Omni Deck has become a classic in magic. It is a solid block of see-through plastic that has the same dimensions as a deck of laying cards. Its sides are specially treated to look like the sides of a deck of 52 playing cards. To cause the entire deck of cards to fuse together and become a solid block of see-through plastic is a very strong finish to any card trick.

Here comes a variation of the Omni Deck. Joshua Jay’s Phantom Deck consists of a deck of 52 see-through plastic cards. It is equally a strong climax to cause the cards to fuse together into a solid transparent block as it is to cause each of the playing cards to become a transparent see-through plastic card.

You are only supplied with the special deck of 52 clear plastic cards. You are required to go to the web site to watch the performance as well as the explanations on how to use this deck. This is a great letdown. Instructions on how to use a product is a basic requirement. Either written instructions or an instructional DVD should be provided with the product. The purchaser should not be inconvenienced to have to go to a web-site to learn how to use the product, especially if the product is a magic trick.

Joshua mentions that due to technicalities of manufacturing, the cards contain some imperfections such as lines and small scratch marks. To me, these are not noticeable as the audience is still reeling from the shock of seeing the entire deck of cards become transparent in nature!

The Phantom Deck has a nice advantage over the Omni Deck. Because of the translucent, and not totally transparent, nature of the cards, any playing card placed into the deck at some distance away from the top of the Phantom Deck becomes quite invisible. It slowly becomes visible when some of the top cards are taken away, or when the cards are slowly spread, starting from the face of the deck. This creates an eerie effect of the chosen card materializing in the middle of a Phantom Deck.

A strong climax to a card effect. (4.5/5 star rating.)