Product description : A new omni deck which will allow you to put nearly everything inside a “classic” omni deck. This is designed mainly to use a live fish inside. I know this has made a big controversy on the Magic Cafe forum because putting a live animal in such a small place could be considered as crualty. What is my position and my point of view about this ? Is this trick worth your money ? Let's find out !
Price and where to buy it : This is sold at $60 and you can find it on the Lynx Magic website : http://lynx-magic.com/
What you get : You get a very nice little carboard box with inside : the aquarium gimmick as well as a link to watch instructional video online. The videos are really well made, as with all Lynx Magic products. They just teach you one routine and give you ideas to use the aquarium in another way. But I think if you have the imagination, it won't be a problem. The aquarium gimmick is very well made. The opening is a little bit obvious but it will fly by the spectator. As with the borders of the gimmick, they do not quite look like the true borders of a real deck but after having performed this for a few people, this does fly by. Very happy with the packaging !
The pros and the cons : Here is the core of my review, let's begin with the cons, as I will usually be doing, I prefer to keep the good things for the end.
THE CONS :
Ok, let's begin with the crucial point : is crualty putting a fish inside this little box without opening ? Well, they tell you you can leave the fish for 3 to 4 hours but I wouldn't do so. I would have it stay in a glass of water and when I need to perform the trick, I will put it inside the Aquarium. This is not something you would do at every table, I think I would reserve it for the biggest table !
The sides of the gimmick could have been made a little bit better so it would looks the same as a deck but it's a minor problem.
The opening hole in the Aquarium or should I say, the way it is closed, could have been a little bit more subtle.
You can't perform this everywhere, well, you could but I don't want my fish to stay into the gimmick for too long so I will only use this at wedding or at a place I can put my fish in a safe place.
THE PROS :
The omni deck is a very good climax to a routine but I think this goes much much deeper in terms of reactions. After having performed the trick with the live fish, I can vouch for Aquarium against Omni deck. The reactions are something I didn't got with an Omni deck, yes, people were surprised the dekc turned into a big piece of plexiglas but it wasn't the big “Wow”, I got from Aquarium.
We've been talking about live fish but what about other things ? You can put corner of cards, bills, various drinks inside the aquarium. So if you perform angle Z, this may destroy the audience !
A little bit of imagination could lead to great routines. Imagine a deck of cards with a different drink written on each card. They “select” a drink and then you turn the deck into a bloc full of the drink chosen. It's just an idea but I think you could get more than just a fish and this what I like this product very much.
Overall rating : Will this replace my classic omni deck ? I still don't know, the routine with the live fish is the strongest one but has limitations. So I'm tempted by this and the reactions I got were priceless but still unsure about wether using this or an original omni deck. 3.5/4 hearts.
As for the difficulty level, a little bit of misdirection and you're good to go ! 2/5 stars.
Similar products : The classic omni deck is a very strong climax to a card routine, if you don't know it, make sure to check it out.