Magicians: The Gathering - Mystery Mark’s Interception download (DarkSleightZ)

I had to have this but I honestly didn’t expect a lot for the low price of $8.50 although it was said to take 1 hour and 35 minutes in total. The Table Of Contents that came as a seperate download begged to differ and made me expect more.

Introduction/Performance
The introduction is just the trailer. There isn’t much of a difference apart from Mark introducing the effect and the ending of what you see in the public video being cut off. I must say this was done very ingeniously. In the Table Of Contents it became clear that the routine Mark performed flawlessly was Routine 4 with the Table Addition.

The Technique
The technique is split into three steps which are explained in amazing detail for both right and left handed people, taking about 30 minutes of video. If you would hand any layman a deck of cards and have him watch this tutorial, I bet he would be able to follow all of the instructions too. Mark doesn’t seem very comfortable with breaking down the sleights in slow, exaggerated motions and with some of sleights done with the other hand but the fact that he actually took the time to do that is amazing and it still was all very clear. Absolutely no holes were left open.

The Angles
In this section Mark teaches you three things to improve your angles and in the end you should be able to perform this completely surrounded. This made me wonder about why they put ‘Medium group’ on the site instead of ‘Angle-proof’. I think the guys at DarkSleightZ are a little too modest.

The Sound
In here Mark teaches how to make this quiet effect completely silent, something I thought I couldn’t care less about at first but afterall it seemed very interesting and definitely something to take into consideration.

Routine 1
This section starts off with another flawless performance, followed by Mark going into detail about two, almost three classic techniques you could use for this routine. Those techniques also apply to Routine 2 as mentioned in the Table Of Contents. What I really like is that Mark gives you options, doesn´t force you to do what he tells you to do and says you need to see for yourself whatever suits you the best.

Routine 2
Routine 2 is pretty much an upgrade of Routine 1, done with multiple selections and requiring another technique because of that. This section starts off with a nice and funny performance of Mark. It becomes clear how much of a live performer he actually is because this wasn´t as flawless as you usually see him perform in his videos but it would clearly work very well in real life. Again the technique is explained in amazing detail and the angles are taken care of too.

Routine 3
Another flawless performance of Mark, another technique to be able to wave the jokers over the deck and having the selection visually appear and not much else to be added.

Routine 4
This routine is an upgrade of Routine 3 making it able to have two selection appear one by one in between the jokers when waving them over the deck as seen in the YouTube performance.

Routine 5
In the introduction of this routine Mark tells you what it is all about, making ‘interception’ your own instead of copying whatever he does. This routine is an example of how you can use the ‘Interception’ technique in other routines. This is a very fast paced and visual routine with an original presentation.

Table Addition
This section was the last missing piece in the explanation of the performance from the beginning of the video. You can use this addition to every routine whenever you have a solid surface nearby. This is a very ingenious addition.

Final Notes
Mark again shows how much he cares about the art. He also clears up that if this effect doesn’t suit you, it still is some great finger practicing and I couldn’t agree more.

Pros of the tutorial in general

Covers absolutely everything.
Very easy to understand, also for beginners.
For both right and left handed people.
Technical pros: Nice editing. Looks as if it was all done in one shot and the repeating music isn’t annoying.

Cons of the tutorial in general

I think $8.50 may be too cheap.
Technical cons: Absolutely none.

Recommended?
Absolutely! There is not a person on this planet that wouldn’t find anything helpful in this.