RANCHO CORDOVA, California, USA, May 20, 2026 — David Jonathan and Nikolas Mavresis have released Gamma as the newest product in the Murphy’s Studio line from Murphy’s Magic. With Gamma, the prolific and award-winning creators enable mentalists and magicians to instantly identify which of six shuffled envelopes contains a spectator’s freely selected playing card. The custom envelope system does the work with no electronics, no switches, and no moving parts — and unlocks endless creative routine possibilities beyond the basic effect.
The release caps a four-year development process. The idea originated with Mavresis, and what followed was a series of eight or nine distinct prototypes before the two creators arrived at something unique. “In the end we created something that we had never seen anything quite like it before,” Jonathan told Conjurly. “It was a long journey but worth it.”
Gamma ships with 12 custom envelopes — six numbered, six printed with ESP symbols — made from thick premium stock that feel identical whether loaded or empty. For the basic routine, a spectator selects a card freely, seals it in any envelope of their choice, and shuffles the envelopes while the performer’s back is turned. The performer identifies both the envelope and the card. The system works with or without a table, functions in any language, and requires no reset between performances.
The method is disarmingly simple. “I can teach it to you in 10 seconds,” Jonathan told Conjurly. “It is beginner friendly.” But simplicity here is the design goal, not a limitation — Gamma is a utility system whose underlying logic extends well beyond what the box contains. “Seasoned pros can extend it into limitless presentations and routines,” he said.
And the envelopes themselves hold up to scrutiny. “It feels really impossible and the envelopes can be casually examined leaving you with nothing to hide,” Jonathan said.
The release includes eight routines covering a range of classic mentalism plots: a primary card-selection effect, a Bank Night routine, a Living and Dead Test, a Celebrity Blind Date plot, a Clue-style Murder Mystery, an ESP Double Prediction, and the ESP Kicker including a thought-of card combination. Jonathan expects the basic selected card routine demonstrated in the release trailer to be the most performed, though he named his own favorites. “I really love the ESP and Murder Mystery routines,” he said.
The tutorial runs more than two hours, covering the complete method, envelope handling, audience management, three bonus peek techniques, and all eight routines. Thirty minutes of real-world performances are also included.
Jonathan’s promise to performers goes beyond the mechanics. “The first time you perform this and see the amazement spectators feel, your mind will race with ideas about how you can creatively apply it,” he told Conjurly.
Jonathan is an internationally acclaimed magician and creator known for blending mentalism and magic with relatable topics and props. He has partnered with the industry’s leading production companies to release multiple best-selling effects, and has earned numerous prestigious awards including Creator of the Year, Trick of the Year, and Lecture of the Year. He has presented his critically acclaimed lecture to more than 100 magic clubs across 18 countries. He has an extensive range of creations both personal and in collaboration with others, including Mavresis. His most recent solo release is Double Feature.
Mavresis won Creator of the Year in 2020, presented his award-winning lecture at the Blackpool Convention in 2022, and co-headlined the Mental Convention in Poland in 2023. His solo releases — among them CineMental, Flix, and The Painting — have earned critical acclaim and found their way into working magicians’ sets worldwide.
The two have worked together for six years, producing works including Instrumental, Profile, PR3MIERE, Stroop Test, and Charms Deck — which earned Penguin Magic’s 2026 Mentalism Trick of the Year Award.
Mavresis is based in Cyprus and Jonathan in New York. The two have met in person only once. Their entire collaboration runs through text, phone, and Zoom. That distance has never been an obstacle. “We have become best friends,” Jonathan told Conjurly. “We have a friendship where we talk nearly every day and not always about magic.”
That closeness, Jonathan says, is what makes the creative work possible. There is no posturing, no protected territory. “There is no drama. No egos. We are able to say what we think. We can tell each other straight, open and honest if we think an idea sucks.”
The pairing works, he argues, because their two minds approach problems differently. “At the end of the day, creating magic is problem solving,” Jonathan said, “and two minds really are better than one.”
The partnership’s reputation in the review community reflects its track record. David of Magic Orthodoxy, whose channel is the longest-running magic review program online, said of the pair that “when those guys team up magic happens — so much cool things happen when they get together.” Magic Alon, a rising voice in magic video review, calls them “my two favorite creators” who have produced “some of the most fabulous mentalism and magic effects out there.”
Gamma is not the final product from the collaboration. “We have half-a-dozen additional products in various stages of development,” Jonathan told Conjurly. “There’s more to come from us.”
Gamma is available now through most magic retailers at $34.95.
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