Limited to 30 Units! A Reputation Maker – Nothing Less… What you’re getting is an interactive crowd-pleasing, field-tested routine by respected Mentalist Mark Strivings. – Neal Scryer

With four decks of cards, a spectator names any card and chooses a deck (1-4) without any force. Remarkably, the selected card will appear reversed in the chosen deck! This is the magic of Encased!

“OMG is this devious. I LOVE IT. Mark, you have outdone yourself this time. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for making this available.” – Wendy Wylde

I am having a lot of fun with Mark Striving’s Encased – magicians just can’t work it out and it plays big! – Allan Karasavas

Imagine this: The performer selects someone from the audience and presents four objects for them to choose from, numbered 1 to 4. Let’s say they pick 2. There’s no force involved. Next, another audience member names a playing card freely, for instance, the Seven of Clubs. Visual gags can enhance this selection process, which are included.

The performer reveals a small lock box containing four decks of cards corresponding to the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. The chosen deck, number 2, is set aside for everyone to see. Deck #1 is then displayed, and the audience is asked to find the selected card, the 7C. The performer thoroughly shows each card, then flips the deck to reveal all backs are blue. When asked if anyone saw the named card, everyone confirms they did. This humorous exchange is repeated with deck #3 and deck #4, showing every card and its back, with the same acknowledgment from the audience.

Finally, the performer unveils deck #2, the chosen one. As the cards are spread, a single reversed card is discovered and set aside. The performer continues to display the remaining cards, confirming the backs are all blue. However, when asked if anyone saw the freely named card, the audience realizes it’s missing! The twist is revealed: the reversed card has a RED BACK!

At this moment, the performer discloses that before the show, they swapped a card from one of the decks with a reversed card from a different deck. The spectators unknowingly selected the only deck with a difference, and when the red-backed card is turned over, it’s THE SEVEN OF CLUBS!

Thanks to my dear friend Paul Noffsinger, I can present this incredible effect to you.

While this may seem like an extension of classic effects like ‘Brainwave’ and ‘Invisible’ decks, it surpasses both in complexity and impact. The legendary Dai Vernon created ‘Brainwave’ and Joe Berg the ‘Ultramental’ deck, but I believe both would be astounded by ‘Encased.

Consider the following features of ‘Encased’:

• ZERO sleight of hand required

• Both sides of every card in all four decks are shown

• Only one card is reversed, and it’s always the selected card from a different deck

• No force on card selection; any card can be chosen

• No force on deck selection; any number (1-4) can be chosen for the reversed card

• If you can spread a deck of cards, you can perform this trick

• This effect is easy to learn; you’ll be ready to perform within 20 minutes of opening the package, though rehearsal is recommended