First off, I think Adrian has created a nice rendition of the Anniversary waltz. Now, let me tell you ALL of the reasons I'm giving this 1 star....
They DO NOT tell you that the back design on the gimmick is Maiden back. So if you don't use Maiden backs, guess what, prepare to buy some! Now to some, this may not be a big deal, but as a magician who likes to keep his decks looking consistent throughout the show, I don't like ringing in a specific deck just to pull off one effect. And I already buy decks by the brick, so why should I have to go buy more decks, when they could've and SHOULD HAVE told you that straight up.

Secondly, you DON'T get what the explanation says you get. Adrian says in the explanation you will receive a full deck of these gimmicks which will vary which 2 cards are paired on each gimmick. In other words you could have a Queen with a 4, and an Ace with a 6, etc etc.... no no no... instead you get half a deck with ALL the same choices. So I have 26 Jack of Spades with the 4 of diamonds. Meaning I would either need to buy 1 regular deck of maidens and then buy a force deck of Maidens... OR buy 26 decks of maidens to use up all of these gimmicks. That's absurd. So now ANY time I want to do this effect, I have to force the same 2 cards every single time. Which is total crap. i knew, as anyone who knows ANYTHING about magic, that going into this I would be forcing cards. However what pleased me about the tutorial was the fact that I'd be receiving an assortment of gimmicks so that it would be a different 2 force cards every time which I liked the idea of so that each time you do it, if you happened to repeat it in front of someone who had seen it before, it wouldn't be the exact trick from start to finish.

I watched the tutorial, and even then I didn't notice it was Maiden backs and he says, "You can even borrow the deck".... yeah... because non magicians typically have Maiden back cards.... FML. So after watching the tutorial, I excitedly awaited my gimmicks. Then they came and I immediately wanted to send them back.

So I just wanted to let you all know the truth about this before you buy "Screwed" and end up feeling that way too! It's one thing when you buy a trick and unknowingly have to buy more stuff to perform it, but it's even worse when you buy a trick, need to buy MORE stuff AND it not even come with what the tutorial says it will come with. Penguin really dropped the ball on this one. I should've known when they offered a 40% off code that something wasn't going to be good.

On top of that, they give you two handlings for the restoration. One that can be done in the spectator's hands, which, even though it isn't a visual restoration, I feel it's probably much stronger than the restoration you see in the video... WHICH, btw, the "Visual" restoration is trash. It does NOT appear the way it does in EITHER of the trailers. When you go to do the "move" to restore them visually, there is a flash every single time he does it. You can clearly see a card is being unfolded and not just rubbed for restoration. Even though the ending is strong, I imagine anyone that sees it will wonder, more so, how they didn't see the card printed in such a way instead of wondering how you restored it.

Where the halves are separated it's a perfectly straight line... how many of you tear perfectly straight lines? Because Adrian sure as hell doesn't even in the explanation... the specially printed cards should've been given a rough edge effect in the print instead of half and half perfectly.

I hope they post this review. Because I have NOT truly revealed the mechanics. If you bought this and didn't think you'd get a set of gimmicks that look like the finished product then you probably are too new to magic to be doing this effect anyways. I'm over 20 years in the game, and even though I was "lucky" enough to get it at a discounted price, this is by far my least favorite magic purchase of the year. Save your money, you want a great set of gimmicked cards, buy Masterpiece by Rick Lax. Yes it's Maiden backed as well, but it's 1 single card you keep in your wallet and it gets a fantastic reaction every single time. Or better yet just buy a deck of cards that will allow you to do Doc Eason's Anniversary Waltz, you won't go wrong with the original classic.

I won't rehash what other reviewers have already stated, but I will say that my opinion lies somewhere in the middle of the overly-dramatic and the over-the-top-praising. My advice is to read all the reviews before buying this, and understand what you're getting into.

It's a pretty good trick, but I wouldn't say it's a drastic improvement on previous tricks it's based on. While I enjoy the moves involved, the final "restored" card doesn't look convincing. You rip cards, and then magically fuse two together ... while making a perfect line. I know it's "magic," but it would have been much cooler to have the cards printed with a jagged line across rather than a perfectly straight one. Just my thoughts.

The cards are Maiden backs, yes, and you receive a half deck with three different versions, so you will have to find various dupes to destroy. I'm not going to run crying to my mom because of this, but in the end the negatives outweigh the positives, so I won't be performing this very often, if at all.

However, it's interesting enough to keep, so I won't be returning it.

A rather nice effect, even if the general mechanism will be apparent to those familiar with packet/gaffed card tricks. However, it's annoying that a normal card needs to be destroyed with each performance. IMO, either this should be disclosed in the promo ad, or a number of normal cards should be supplied with the trick and replacement kits.

I don't normally like to review card efx (there are so many of them out there these days)....but HIS effect is wild!! The reactions I get from it are absolutely incredible!!

This is a sterling effect. The choreography is beautiful and it kills. This will take a tad of practice but nothing crazy. All the moves follow one another perfectly. Thank you Adrian and continued success...

This has to be one of the best tnr tricks
I've seen in a while, great trick to perform
for everyone. Penguin was gracious enough to
send me a variety of gimmicks, all I had to do
was ask for what I preferred. I changed the way
I perform this trick with adding an extra piece
to show face up and allow the spectators to see
the two unsigned pieces before placing them in my
pocket. You could obtain it while placing the deck
in your pocket instead of on the table. Although it
is still a superb tnr trick just the way it is now.

This is combination with AW and Screwed Deck by Paul Harris and it's similar to Rejoined by João Miranda in a some ways. Anniversary Waltz and had been in my routines for years and it feel refreshing and challenging to do new things. In this purchase, you'll be getting two different routine create by Adrian Vega and easy routine by Nick Locapo. I like Vega's routine better. Adrian Vega is really nice guy and I want to help him to get the word out for him. If you're having trouble with Screwed Card, message Adrian Vega on facebook and he'll be more than happy to do whatever he can to help you.

I brought the 3 pack saver because I can see myself doing this for a long time.

I really love this. It's practical, fun and refreshing. Give this a try. (Just so you know my English isn't my first language. So excuse my grammar.)

This is the ultimate! I love this routine the handling is great and the effect only gets better as the routine goes along. love the method on signed cards as it only makes it that much stronger!
this is hands down going in my shows!

I love this trick. U show them an amazing trick and then they keep the card. That is my type of magic.

Cons: 1. you have to destroy one card but just one. But you can buy another for it.
2. They have the same type of cards 6 or 7 times. When i use it, I have to buy 2 decks of cards to use it all but that's because I want all 52 cards in the end.

Pros: 1.you show them an impossible trick right in front of them.
2.they can keep the card as a souverner.
3. You get different gimmicks and a lot of the gimmick so you can perform it with different types of cards. and when you practice with it, you still got more to spare.

All in all I still think this is an awesome trick to get it.
I highly recommend it.

Updating my review after seeing Adrian's recent lecture on Penguin Magic for a walk around/ table hopping little packet effect with the cards cut in half with a rubber band it is 10x better then a "card trick" it focusses more as if u would take the cards right out of ur wallet to do the twist of the cards screwed but a nice intro and a kicker ending! Get his lecture today if you want to learn it :)