The Sword Of Za'Atar by Roger Nicot

Hello everybody, I think we're probably live, but we might not be. I'll see if it kicked in on my phone. It seems to kick in on different devices, different times. So I'll just see when I get a sign that you can hear me, everything's good. It's been a bit of a panic. I'm not gonna lie to you. So I'm a bit flustered. So let's see. But hello, if you are already here and you can hear me. I've got my screen over there because it's sounding so much like a hairdryer at the moment. I've had to move my laptop away and see if I can get the comments on here. But welcome to Real Magic Review. We'll just see. I think I've got another 30 seconds or something until five o'clock or maybe five o'clock now. Hey, how are you doing, Tom? Nice to see you. So we'll just have a little check-in. I'll start with the preliminaries. Honestly, you should have seen me about 10 seconds ago when I realized what was wrong, what was going wrong. But welcome to Real Magic Review. My name is Steve Faulkner. And today we're gonna be doing the Sword of Zatar by Roger Nico. And it's lovely to be doing this. I'm sorry I couldn't do one on Monday. This week, to be honest, has completely floored me. It's been a challenge because the kids were at school in my house. That's what happened this week, which is always a struggle when you're trying to do work and make things happen and make videos and write scripts. It's not a complaint. Life is very easy compared to some people, I'm sure. But when you've got an adult mind like mine and a little monkey mind that's jumping from one thing to the other, it can be a challenge. But welcome. I'm just gonna check in to see you. Hi, Tom. Hey, Ezekiel. How are you doing? Today I'm gonna be doing this review. I'll just start by saying again, thank you very much. I put the review out yesterday of Gecko due to you guys sort of saying what you wanted and Sword of Zatar, which is great because I kind of really liked wanting to do this, but I didn't know how many people had seen it because I know it's been on the convention thing, but the minute I sort of did the video of it, everybody's like, no, we wanna know about that. And I completely agree. It's an interesting one. And we can look at the props as well, mostly. So first of all, please like, please subscribe, please share. Most people, I think, because of the time of this, will probably be watching this later. So if you are here live, thank you very much for joining us. And if you're watching it later, hello. I hope everybody's safe. I hope everybody's well. So the Sword of Zatar, this was a convention one for me. I saw this at a convention. I saw Roger at a convention. As you probably know, if you've watched the show before, I do like card show stuff. If not that, when I get it, I'm not expecting not to like it. But this was a different one because it's not usually my kind of trick. So I was really intrigued because I know Christian has an eye for stuff. I know Roger has an eye for stuff. He's got the bar cup that he did, which is very good. So when I saw it, I really liked the trick, but I thought, what is it about it? And when I got at home and played with it, which I'm gonna be totally honest with today, because I had my, I'm just laughing at myself. But I've got my 10-year-old that I'm sort of not teaching all day, clearly, but he's a very active 10-year-old. He's asking questions every three seconds. And I'm there getting stressed trying to learn the Sword of Zatar, and he's asking me questions about other stuff, and he's doing his work on his computer that he's maybe doing at school. And at one point, I just went, you know what? No, and luckily, and then I went back, I dropped him off at his mum's, because I've had the kids for ages. I know this is dull, but I haven't talked to anybody for ages except for children, so sorry. And went back and spent an hour with this. And luckily, an hour was okay. So that's the first thing we'll say about it. It's not something you're gonna have to sit and learn for a long time, but there is more to it than you think. So first of all, this is one of those tricks. I'll explain the trick. Well, I'll show you the props. This is a lovely box you get it in, and this is the lovely bag you get it in. And this, I love it when you open the page, and you see this, whoops, put that there for a minute. You see that picture of Roger, and let's see if it focuses in on that. I just love that. It's not focusing, is it? Oh, that's because I'm in zone. It'll be there. So that's the picture of Roger. There you go. Which I think is funny. It's just, Roger's one of those people that if you see him perform this, he's very dry with it. It's just funny. It's something about that little sword that just makes me laugh. That's the first thing you see when you open it, which is a good thing. And then you get the little bag, and then you get the little thing that says, this effect was 100% handcrafted in England from cherry wood. So this is what you get. You actually get one more thing, which I'm not gonna show you, which is the catchphrase, which we'll talk about in a minute, which I think is hilarious. It's the most boring, tedious catchphrase in the world. Could you imagine people having a meeting and trying to find a catchphrase of somebody, and I've got a great one. Tell you what it is. We'll talk about that in a minute. Everybody just go, it's nothing. I just can't stop saying it. Sorry about that. So you get the sword of Zatar. This is stainless steel. This is not plastic. Very important for me. It's not plastic. It comes with a little cork, and you get the cherry wood block. And the effect is, and it's similar to some effects we would have seen, that you put 20p through, 20p drops through. You put the sword of Zatar in it, and the 20p still drops through, and everything is examinable. But then importantly, they do it. So you put it through, and you put the coin there, and they push it through, and it pops out there. And then again, examinable. And then you've got this kicker finish, which we'll talk about in a minute. And the kicker finish is, a loaded 20 pieces with England. They push it through. It doesn't go through. You wait a couple of minutes, and then like 20, 20p pieces come through, which is a lovely kicker ending. So first of all, that kind of effect to me is in danger of falling into what I have called before trinket magic, which I don't like. I'm not a fan of trinket magic. And by trinket magic, I mean little props, little things that you get. They're not bad tricks. I'll tell you what they are. They're tricks that I worked on a magic stall before I was a performer of magic. I used to demonstrate magic on a magic stall in Covent Garden at the same time I was a performer there. And I had a record, I think, for selling dynamic coins. It was very good. And I sell dynamic coins. And the another little one you get with the little plastic box and a ball, a red ball in it. And you show, you pull the red ball out. The box has got elastic bands around it. And I remember seeing that and going, how, how does that work? And then when you find out the method, you go, really, that's brilliant. It's kind of like that. But that is trinket magic. It's very plastic. It's very small. It's still great. I still love it, but it's not really for a professional place. It's kind of puzzle based, very puzzly. That's kind of what it is. What makes this different? Couple of things. It looks really nice. It's metal, it's well-made. I think that's important when you've got these little things. The fact that you give it to someone and it's kind of like a weighty thing and you can say, look, it's stainless steel and it is genuinely sharp. It's not proper sharp. You're not going to hurt yourself, but it feels like something a little bit more substantial. It's nice to handle. It kind of feels like a really unusual thing. You can do the whole sword of Zata thing, which I think there's something funny about size, isn't there? If you'd watch a lot of comedy, proportion is a very funny thing. So you can really build it up to be, I'm going to show you the sword of Zata or whatever you want to call it. You don't have to call it that, obviously. It's named after a spice, by the way. And you get that out. It's quite a funny thing. Or it can be in the right hands, importantly. In the wrong hands, it would be very unfunny a lot of the time. So there's that. There's the trick itself, which is, it's nice. You know, it is something people are going to think, pulleys, you know, there's something. Because when we were a kid, we got the thing, didn't we? With a coin that disappears. So as kids, we see as non-magicians, there are things you can buy that make coins do stuff. And pencils do stuff. And you know, the old pencil zigzag thing, which when you see it, you just go, how does that work? And then you get it. But a lot of non-magicians have seen that. So that's where their mind is definitely going to go with this. And that's why it's important that it's examinable. And with a lot of magic tricks, I don't think it's important. I really don't. I think that it's in the magic. But I think this is, the fact that they're holding it and they do it and they can look at it, is really good. And the other thing is, is this kick in. Now, Roger on the download says that the trick holds up itself, but if you want to do the kicker, it's like an added bonus. I tend to disagree. I think the trick without that is an interesting thing. They're not going to know how it's done, but they will be thinking down those lines. The minute they stop thinking down those lines is when they hold it, which is nice. And when you do the end bit, which is this kind of waterfall effect. And it looks brilliant. It really does. And it's genuinely surprising. There's something nice about the fact that this goes in there, they put the coin in for the third time and then it gets stuck. And then you do that and loads fall out. That's what makes it different to me. It's well-made and all that kind of stuff. But Tenure have stuff that's well-made. They don't have their sort of more expensive line, but it's this kicker. And it's the fact that it's, that makes it the bit that makes them go, whoa, it gives it a thing. It's almost like the end of the cups and balls. The cups and balls isn't about the balls jumping about. That's very nice, but it's about that thing at the end. And that's what I think about this. You may disagree. So the good points about this are, it's lovely. It makes me happy. These sort of things make me smile. The method is brilliant. And on the method, when you find out, Roger tells a story about when he gets an abbot's catalog and there's a coin through match thing, which what this is based on. And when he was a kid, he got it and was bitterly disappointed when he got it. And then looked at it years later and realized how good. And he says the genius is in the simplicity. It's similar with, well, it's the same with this really, but there are, there is more to it. Like I said before, the simple part of it is the initial method, but there are a lot of subtleties that it goes into. And actually it is, it's not slight of hand, but there are things you can do to make this utterly convincing, which completely, they're just not going to have a clue about the method. So the simple, it's complexity on the edge of simplicity. Yes, it's simple, but then there's all these other things that you do, which are not difficult, that just make it hands-off and they're generally not going to know how that's done. So don't, when you first get the method, don't judge it on that. Just realize that that actually is how it's made. There is more in the props than you think. And then there's this kicker. And the kicker, you get a prop to do the kicker with. So on the plus side, if you like that effect, it's a strong effect. They're not going to know how it's done. It's funny. It's well-made and it's different. The challenges with it are, that it's not really the sort of thing that is going to suit a lot of people. If you're like a really serious mind reader magician and you get out that, it's not really going to work. It's not really going to suit my performing style, to be honest. But certain times, if there's a kid, and I'm not saying it's a children's trick, it kind of has that feel to it. But that doesn't matter to me. It's about you. People have different styles. And I'm trying to look at this stuff objectively and go, okay, what can I say that's good and bad? Nothing bad about it. The bad thing is, it might not suit your style. It's a very stylistic trick, isn't it? It's very specific. Unless you can do the funny tongue-in-cheek stuff. The way Roger performs it, he's very tongue-in-cheek with it. He is kind of, he knows that it's a little thing. So he's gone, the soul of Duster. So I think that, performed in a certain way, it can be very powerful. And again, that bit at the end. Other challenges are, again, danger of it falling into trinket magic. I think it, again, it goes back to performing style. It's a little thing. You're not going to close your arena show with it. But a nice thing. And does what it says. It's, you know, you're not going to be, you know, that affects, oh, that's the other challenge. Angles. Now, because of that final bit, and some of it, angles are a consideration. I think a majority of performing spaces, it's fine unless you're completely surrounded, but think of most coin vanishes, you know, unless they're kind of, they're done down here. You're going to have to think about angles a little bit. So it's not completely angle proof, especially that bit at the end. The misdirection, by the way, you will need misdirection for a couple of bits of this, especially the end, but it is completely, you could walk an elephant in a room. They're not going to be looking. So you can relax with that. A bit of skill and practice and rehearsal is needed, but it's definitely, definitely not a difficult trick, but I wouldn't say self-working. So fairly easy. So let's go back to the, I liked it by the way. I really liked it. It might not be my angles. There you go, Thedmo. Comparison to metal phone. I haven't played with a metal phone. I want to, but Joe didn't send me one and I didn't want to buy it. So stop with your magic tricks. I keep buying them and my life is going mad. I used to do that. I used to buy, I used to buy everything that I read a review of, anything that I read a review of, even if it said, yeah, that's all right. So I stopped reading them. But I'm hoping to, you know, you can do without all of it. That's the thing. I'm telling you, I'm not reading this to try and sell you it. I am, it's a win-win. I like to help businesses. That's kind of a really important thing for all of us, especially at the moment. But you know, I'm not under commission, I swear. So there you go. If there's any other possible parlor, without a doubt, I think parlor, as long as they're not too far away from you, it is, it's a kind of close-up trick, parlor-y close-up thing. Definitely perfect for that. And if you think of when you see Roger do it on the card shark stand, it's kind of there, you're there. So you can do it really close, but you kind of want a little bit of, I don't know, a performance stage. A little close-up mat would be lovely. You know, some people say that you shouldn't do things on a close-up mat. You know what? I did a job way, way, way back with Armando, I'm getting a mental block. I was going to say, I know it's you, but that's a comedian, isn't it? Remind me. Armando, the amazing, he does the incredible matrix thing. And he would go out for dinner and have a close-up mat. And when you put that close-up mat down, it's not naff, it's not tacky. And this has got playing cards on it, maybe. But what it does is it creates a stage. So I think that, that, you know, going into somewhere with a close-up mat and laying it down is actually a really, really nice thing. Let's see. Not dinner table. Well, I think you could do it on a dinner table the same way that I do cups and balls on a dinner table. When you're doing it, and in the same way that the bottle-free table, when you're at a dinner table, it feels like you're really vulnerable. But I've always said, I love, I talk about this openly because people don't really, there's going to be no non-magicians here, but I load for the cups and balls from my left pocket, jacket pocket. Okay. It's not the same sort of thing, by the way, this is, and someone is sitting there. But the thing is, when you've got the misdirection built in, it's better that they're sitting there than they're slightly over there because you've got, they're almost the cover. And when things happen here, you can do anything. So I think at the dinner table, you'd be totally fine. The final bit, maybe, yeah, actually you'd have to be very careful. If you were right, if you were right over it, you'd be all right. But yeah, you'd have to think that, because I haven't tried it. It's hard for me, but I'm not going to say either way, definitely. But those coins have got to go from somewhere. Yeah, cups and balls at dinner table. Chips and balls. Where's the demo of this, please? The link will be below. So it's on Cardshark's website. So this is a Cardshark, I think I said at the beginning. So go on Cardshark's website, wait for the link to be published below and you'll get it there. So I think that's it. Thank you very much. I'll say goodbye. And just have one last check, see if there's not any questions. I hope everybody's safe. I really do. And thank you again for the continued support. I say at the end of every video at the moment, but it is very important to me. Thank you for your comments. If I don't get to them quickly, I will get to them at some point, but like I said, this week's been a bit of a tough one. Please like, please subscribe, please share. I'm just going to make sure there's nothing that I've missed. And that is the sword of Zarta. The cost. Oh, there you go. $60, I think, which I think it's fine. It's fine. You know, that's how much it is. It's a well-made piece of kit. And if you like that, I think it'll be a lot of fun. So 50 quid, if you're English. So take care, everybody. I'm going to have to get, oh no, I'll do the thing and then go over there and turn it off for my laptop from miles away. Have a great one. Take care. Bye.