Card Trivia:Dark Magician

• In the first TV series anime, this card's name is "Dark Wizard".

• This card is a signature card of Yami Yugi and the favorite card of Yugi Muto, as seen on the Tablet of Lost Memories, and Arkana; as such, in the Duel between Yugi and Bakura, Yugi's soul was infused with that of this card.

• This card's ATK of 2500 established the ATK value of the other Yu-Gi-Oh! series' protagonists' ace cards, which includes "Elemental HERO Neos" from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, "Stardust Dragon" from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, "Number 39: Utopia" from Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" from Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V.
  • All of those monsters have 2000 DEF as well. Even though this card has 2100 DEF, the Bandai version of this card has 2000 DEF.

• As its card text implies, this monster has the highest ATK and DEF total combined sum for a Normal Monster "wizard" (male Spellcaster). "Cosmo Queen" is a Normal Spellcaster with higher combined ATK and DEF, but as a female she is not a "wizard".

• The alternate-art "red" "Dark Magician" used by Arkana in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga may be seen here. Despite having the same name, he is not the same card as the "purple" "Dark Magician" always used by Yugi Mutou, as he has a different eight-digit passcode.
  • Three of the artworks of "Dark Magician" (LOB/SYE, SDY and Arkana version), picture his staff green, whereas in one version (SD6/PCY) and on "Dark Magic Attack" his staff is red and blue.
  • The artwork in the Weekly Jump Magazine Promo version looks similar to that of a Final Fantasy character, in particular Cecil from Final Fantasy IV. This artwork was drawn by Kazuki Takahashi.
  • In some Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS Yu-Gi-Oh! games, it is possible to have six copies of "Dark Magician" in the same Deck, as the games do not recognize alternate artwork cards as being the same.

• The mystic seal behind the original artwork of this card is featured on "Arcanite Magician", "Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode", "Dark Magician Girl", "Dark Magician of Chaos", "Magician of Black Chaos", "Dark Paladin", "Magician's Valkyria", "Sorcerer of Dark Magic", "Sage's Stone", "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4", "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6", "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8", "Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys", "Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment", "Amulet of Ambition", "Ritual Weapon", "Magic Jammer", "Trap Jammer", "Summon Limit", "Premature Burial", "Summoner's Art", "Black Magic Ritual", "Monster Gate", "Samsara", "Spell Reclamation", "Trap Reclamation", "Owner's Seal", the English anime "Magical Neutralizing Force Field", the unedited "Spellbinding Circle", "Magicians Unite", the anime only "Dark Renewal" and "Magician's Selection", "Glorious Illusion", "Herald of Creation", and on many Booster Packs, tins, boxes and toys.

• "Dark Magician Girl" is this monster's apprentice.

• This monster appears in the artwork of the following cards:
  • Bond Between Teacher and Student
  • Dark Magic Attack
  • Dark Magic Twin Burst
  • Dark Spiral Force
  • Dimension Explosion
  • Magician's Selection
  • Speed Spell - Speed Fusion
  • Dark Burning Magic

• This card appears in the artworks of "Exchange" (in 2 of its artworks) and "E☆HERO Pit Boss".

• This card has been printed in all rarities other than Ghost Rare and Gold Rare.

• This is most likely the single most supported card of all, with fifteen cards specifically stating "Dark Magician" as part of their effect, in addition to the "Magician" theme its design has inspired.

• On the French "Thousand Knives" (and in the French version of the show), this card is called "Magicien des Ténèbres" although his real name is "Magicien Sombre".

• This card's first OCG artwork is taken from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Duel 3: "Countdown!!", specifically from the panel where Dark Yugi declares an attack on "Koumori Dragon" with this monster.
  • This card's second OCG artwork is taken from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Duel 35: "The Magic of the Maze!", specifically from the panel showing this monster being Summoned.
  • This card's third OCG artwork is taken from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Duel 103: "Magician Battle!". However, it is derived from 2 separate panels showing Pandora's copy of "Dark Magician". The first panel is where the 2 "Dark Magicians" are shown together with their displayed ATK values, after Pandora Summons his copy of "Dark Magician" for the first time. The second panel is on the same page, showing the same "Dark Magician".
    • For this artwork, the upper body of Pandora's "Dark Magician" from the first panel (barring his head) is flipped horizontally, while the head from the second panel is used as is, barring minor details.
  • This card's fourth OCG artwork is taken from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Duel 102: "The Fatal Duel!", specifically from the panel showing this monster being Summoned.
  • This card's sixth OCG artwork is taken from Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium World Duel 63: "The Master of Servants", specifically from the panel showing this monster being Summoned.

• This card has appeared either in play or on card artwork in all of the anime series. (Yu-Gi-Oh! (Toei), Yu-Gi-Oh! (NAS), Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal).

• This card, along with "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and "Red-Eyes B. Dragon", have the most alternate artworks.

• This is the only signature card of the four main protagonists that doesn't have 2000 DEF or a white color scheme unless you count the skin color of "Dark Magician" which is white.

• The protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, Yuma has a card called "Gagaga Magician" which is very similar to "Dark Magician" in appearance. Yuma also has a female card called "Gagaga Girl", which is the apprentice of "Gagaga Magician" like how "Dark Magician Girl" is the apprentice to the "Dark Magician".

• This card had an Xyz counterpart: "Ebon Illusion Magician".
  • It has also a Match winner Xyz counterpart: "Legendary Magician of Dark".

• This card is arguably one of the most recognizable monsters in the game, along with "Blue-Eyes White Dragon".

• This card along with "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" are the only 2 cards to have had an official Chinese print before the release of Duel Starter Deck standardized Chinese as an OCG language. Its Chinese version originated in Japan, therefore its Chinese name includes the character "黒" (black) which is an exclusive one to Japanese, compared to the Chinese counterpart, "黑".

• "Dark Magician" is currently the only Ace Monster of all the main protagonists that is a Spellcaster-Type, the rest are either Warriors or Dragons.