Magicians: The Gathering - Albert Victoria’s Repulse Control download (DarkSleightZ)

The second DarkSleightZ downloadable release and just for that reason a must have for me. Because this was filmed by Albert and edited by Mark on the other side of the world I expected a little less than with Interception but I guess I was wrong.

Introduction
Albert introduces you to the release and gives a neat, brief history on how he created the control. This section doesn’t have any performance included and the setting throughout the whole video is different from the YouTube video.

Repulse/Bottom Control
This section begins with an animated menu which shows the different part of this section. It starts off with a performance, filmed in a little bit too much light but it still is all clear and fine. This is followed by a very clear and detailed explanation from the back, first of a required prerequisite and then of the actual control. The section ends by a mirrored recap for left handed people. If you don’t mind the recap, you can easily skip it with the table of contents.

Top Control/ Multiple Shift
These sections are exactly the same as the previous one but without the prerequisite. You will learn how to control a card to the top and how to control multiple cards at once. Everything is explained in extreme detail. There is no way you wouldn’t be able to learn the control and the variations from this.

Placement Control
Albert teaches in two seperate parts how to control the selections to either above or below the spot where the card initially got inserted. Once again in extreme detail. Also this section ends with a mirrored recap.

Palming Application
I saw a YouTube comment of (I believe) Mark saying he didn’t know a control which was this perfect for palming and I can’t agree more. Although the palming itself is very hard for me you can easily get into a classic palm instead and the way to get into it is amazingly open yet very invisible for the spectators.

Color Change
In this section Alberts shows how you can do the top control as a fast, instant color change. This is not the same color change as in the performance video. The Repulse change also uses two classic techniques as prerequisites which are explained in detail too.

The Angles
Albert tells about the best angles. In this section there aren’t any tips on how to improve on them or how to deal with them which disappointed me at first, but in the tips section there is quite a lot on those subjects so it is all fine.

7 Tips
These seven tips are completely random but come in extremely handy. It goes from covering the control to breaking it down into two steps and from practicing to troubleshooting for if it goes wrong. I can’t think of any other tip that should be included. Instead, Albert went over more tips than I could have ever imagined.

Repulse Routine
This section is about 25 minutes in length which shows in how much detail the routine is explained. It starts off with a performance in the same setting as the rest of the release which means that this is a different performance than the one on YouTube but it still is very similar as the routine remains the same. You first will learn the color change used in the routine which is an ingenious take on some classics, allowing you to change the card on top into a card from the middle. The routine itself is split into two phases from the front and unlike with the other sections there is a recap for either right and left handed people, filmed from the back like all of the technical section.

Final Words
This is just Albert thanking the buyer for purchasing the release. It’s not a final notes section in which more things are said but this wouldn’t even be necessary in case of this release.

Pros of the tutorial in general

Extremely easy to understand.
Covers absolutely everything.
For both right and left handed people.
Technical pros: This is very well edited. I really like the animated menus and the music is variating and suiting. I can see that some parts were filmed at different times of the day but the editing covered up perfectly.

Cons of the tutorial in general

None, as expected from DarkSleightZ.
Technical cons: The performances were filmed in too much light. It still is very clear though.

Recommended?
Definitely. Albert goes into extreme detail and doesn’t leave out a single thing. I would have gladly paid $15 for this because that’s how much you get at least. Another crazy steal from DarkSleightZ.