• You can only Tribute this monster for its effect during Main Phase 1 or 2 of your turn.

• This monster's effect does NOT target and you select the monster when you resolve the effect, so if you Tribute it to Special Summon "Dark Magician" from your Graveyard and your opponent chains "Disappear" and removes that "Dark Magician", you can Special Summon a different "Dark Magician" from your hand/Deck/Graveyard instead.

• If there are no "Dark Magician" in your hand, Deck, and Graveyard, you cannot activate "Skilled Dark Magician's" effect that Special Summons "Dark Magician".

• When "Skill Drain" is active, and you or your opponent activates a Spell Card, do not place Spell Counters on this monster. Any Spell Counters that are on this monster are removed when "Skill Drain" is activated.

• If a player controls the opponent's "Skilled Dark Magician" and Tribute it with 3 Spell Counters, the player who controlled and Tributed the "Skilled Dark Magician" is the player who Special Summons "Dark Magician" from the hand, Deck, or Graveyard.

Mentions in Other Rulings

• Magical Dimension: If you Summon a monster like "Skilled Dark Magician" and the opponent activates "Bottomless Trap Hole", you can chain "Magical Dimension" to Tribute "Skilled Dark Magician" and Special Summon another Spellcaster from your hand. This new monster will NOT be destroyed by "Bottomless Trap Hole".

• Neo-Spacian Dark Panther: If you target a monster with an effect that accumulates Spell Counters, such as "Skilled Dark Magician", any Spell Counters on "Neo-Spacian Dark Panther" will be removed when its effect ends.

• Skill Drain: Monsters that can hold Spell Counters, like "Skilled Dark Magician", no longer have that effect while "Skill Drain" is active, so they cannot gain more Spell Counters and all Spell Counters already placed on them are removed.

• You place a Spell Counter on this card when the Spell Card resolves, so if "Magic Jammer" is used to negate the Spell Card's activation then you do not place a Spell Counter on this monster. But if "Imperial Order" is chained to the Spell Card, you still place a Spell Counter on this monster because the activation of the Spell Card was not negated. If the Spell Card was a Continuous, Equip, or Field Spell Card, and “Dust Tornado” is chained to its activation and destroys it before it resolves you still place a Spell Counter because the activation of the card was not negated.^{[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]}

• [This card] must be face-up on the field when the Spell Card is activated in order to get a Spell Counter.^{[27][28][Notes 1]}
  • "Blast Magician" must have been face-up on the field when the Spell Card was activated (and when it resolves) in order to receive a Spell Counter.^[24]
  • "Tower of Babel" must be active and face-up on the field before the Spell Card was activated, and when the Spell Card resolves, in order to get a Spell Counter. If you chain "Tower of Babel" to a Spell Card, you do not get a Spell Counter for that Spell Card. If a Quick-Play Spell Card is chained to the activation of "Tower of Babel", you do not get a Spell Counter for that Quick-Play Spell Card.^[31]
  • If you activate a Spell Card, and your opponent chains "Call of the Haunted" to Special Summon [this monster], [this monster] does not get a Spell Counter for that Spell Card because [this monster] must be face-up on the field when the Spell Card is activated and when it resolves in order to get a Spell Counter.^{[25][26][29][30][Notes 2]}
  • If you activate "Monster Reborn" or "Premature Burial" to revive this monster, this monster does not get a Spell Counter for "Monster Reborn" (it has to be face-up on the field before the activation of the Spell Card).^[29][30]

• You place a Spell Counter for any Spell Card that is activated, including Equip Spell, Field Spell, etc.^[29][30]

• When you use the effect of a Continuous Spell Card that is already face-up on the field, such as "Inspection", or sending "Wave-Motion Cannon" to the Graveyard, or paying for "Messenger of Peace", you do NOT place a Spell Counter on this monster.^[29][30]

• When "Double Spell" is played, you get a Spell Counter on this monster for the activation of "Double Spell", but not for the target of "Double Spell" because the target is never activated; so you get 1 Spell Counter on this monster.^[29][30]

• You do not place a Spell Counter on this monster when you attach or detach a Union Monster because that is not the activation of a Spell Card.^[29][30]

Mentions in Other Rulings

• Gorgon's Eye: If a Defense Position monster has Spell Counters, like "Skilled White Magician" or "Royal Magical Library", the Spell Counters are removed if "Gorgon's Eye" is activated.