"Dark Magician", known as "Black Magician" (ブラック・マジシャン Burakku Majishan) in Japanese, is an archetype that has been a part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise since its beginning, with "Dark Magician" appearing as Yugi Muto's ace card. During the Battle City arc and subsequent arcs, more cards were introduced, such as "Dark Magician Girl". Originally a series, the release of "The Eye of Timaeus" cemented its status as an archetype. The archetype also contains a sub-archetype, "Dark Magician Girl".
"Dark Magician of Chaos" and "Skilled Dark Magician" are not "Dark Magician" cards because they do not have 「ブラック・マジシャン」 in their Japanese names.
Naming in the TCG
- In French and German, the effect of "The Eye of Timaeus" supports both the "Dark Magician" archetype ("Magicien Sombre" and „Dunkler Magier“, respectively) and the "Dark Magician Girl" archetype ("Magicienne des Ténèbres" and „Dunkles Magier“, respectively), due to the gendered nature of the language causing the term "Dark Magician" to differ between "Dark Magician" and "Dark Magician Girl". Notably, in German, the "Dark Magician Girl" archetype is supported under the name „Dunkles Magier“, whereas other cards that support the archetype support it under the name „Dunkles Magier-Mädchen“.
- In Portuguese and Spanish, the effect of "The Eye of Timaeus" supports "Mago(a) Negro(a)" and "Mago/a Oscuro/a", respectively, which includes both the name of "Dark Magician" ("Mago Negro", "Mago Oscuro") and part of the name of "Dark Magician Girl" ("Pequena Maga Negra", "Chica Maga Oscura") in that language.
- In Italian, despite the term for "Dark Magician" differing between "Dark Magician" ("Mago Nero") and "Dark Magician Girl" ("Ragazza Maga Nera"), only the former is supported.
Commonalities
"Dark Magician" monsters have several features in common:
- The armor of most "Dark Magician" monsters is a collection of shiny, curved plates with sharp edges, all of the same color, which covers the torso and shoulder areas. On the edges of the plates are curved trimmings of contrasting shade. "Magician's Robe" is the monster version of it.
- Some of these monsters also have hats which appear to be similar to a stereotypical wizard's hat, which is usually crooked, leaning forward at the tip and with several rings which segment it. These rings are of the same color of the curved trimmings seen elsewhere on its attire.
- Some of these monsters have Spell Counters embedded in their staff, shield, sword or armor.
- Some also have the "Dark Magical Circle" depicted in the background.
Play style
Usual opening combo is to use the Normal Summon effect of "Magician's Rod" to search for "Dark Magical Circle", then use the 2nd effect of "Dark Magical Circle" to banish a card during either player's turn. "Dark Magic Inheritance" can continue searching for powerful cards in a similar fashion.
For more banishing and offensive effect options, "Dark Magician of Chaos" can banish any monsters it destroys by battle, and "Ebon Illusion Magician" can Special Summon any Spellcaster-Type Normal Monster and banish a card on the field when a Spellcaster-Type Normal Monster declares an attack (before damage calculation).
Another Monster with search effect is "Apprentice Illusion Magician" that can add a "Dark Magician" to the Hand to fuel the effect of "Magician Navigation". "Apprentice" is also a Level 6 for a the Xyz Monster "Magi Magi ☆ Magician Gal" and Ranking-Up (without a Spell Card, however) into "Ebon Illusion Magician"; with their effects done in the same turn, it is usually a One-Turn Kill if the opponent does not have protection.
"Magician Navigation" can Special Summon both "Magician of Dark Illusion" and "Dark Magician" during your opponent's turn while "Magician's Rod" is in your Graveyard and "Dark Magical Circle" is face-up on your side of the field. "Dark Magical Circle" and "Magician's Rod" will both activate and go on a Chain (you chose the order of the Chain Links); make the effect of "Magician's Rod" Chain Link 1 and Tribute the "Dark Magician" you just Summoned as the cost, then activate the effect of "Dark Magical Circle" as Chain Link 2 to banish 1 card your opponent controls. After resolving, you can activate the Trigger Effect of "Magician of Dark Illusion", allowing you to Special Summon "Dark Magician" from the Graveyard.
"Illusion Magic" can reset the "Magician Navigation" combo mentioned. "Magical Dimension" can safely remove the weaker "Magician" and "Magician Girl" monsters from the field and replace them with stronger monsters. "Dark Magic Veil" can also be used similar effect without needing the "Magician Girl" engine mentioned above.
The "Dark Magician" archetype also meshes nicely with the Spellcaster control Decks against Spell/Pendulum-heavy or Trap-heavy Decks, allowing for fast field control while shutting down an opponent's ability to use Spells and Traps, namely "Dark Paladin" and "Sorcerer of Dark Magic". "Dark Paladin" also works well with and against decks focused on Dragon-Type monsters (however, it is vulnerable to the effects of "Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand", "Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon" and "Chaos Emperor Dragon", unlike "Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman", so it is best to back-up "Dark Paladin" with "Solemn Strike" and "Effect Veiler").
"Summoner Monk" can Special Summon "Elemental HERO Prisma", then use its effect to combo with "The Eye of Timaeus" by changing its name to "Dark Magician". "Summoner Monk" can also start "Magician Girl" combos, and is an extra Xyz Material with "Chocolate Magician Girl" or "Legion the Fiend Jester".
"Berry Magician Girl" can Special Summon a "Magician Girl" monster from the Deck when attacked. Good targets are "Chocolate Magician Girl", which can Special Summon a Spellcaster-Type monster from the Graveyard, and "Lemon Magician Girl", which can Special Summon a Spellcaster-Type monster from the hand.
This archetype pairs well with the "Magician" archetype. This will bring high Level Pendulum Summons and, with it, faster Xyz Summoning and monster swarm, in addition to more Normal Spellcaster-Type monsters to use with "Ebon Illusion Magician".
Recommended cards
- Apprentice Illusion Magician
- Berry Magician Girl
- Chocolate Magician Girl
- Dark Magician Girl
- Dark Magician of Chaos
- Lemon Magician Girl
- Magician of Dark Illusion
- Magician's Robe
- Magician's Rod
- Magician's Valkyria
- Palladium Oracle Mahad
- Skilled Dark Magician
- Sorcerer of Dark Magic
- Armageddon Knight
- Elemental HERO Prisma
- Legion the Fiend Jester
- Summoner Monk
- Chaos Scepter Blast
- Dark Burning Attack
- Dark Burning Magic
- Dark Magical Circle
- Dark Magic Attack
- Dark Magic Curtain
- Dark Magic Veil
- Dedication through Light and Darkness
- Dark Magic Expanded
- Illusion Magic
- Magic Formula
- Magical Dimension
- Sage's Stone
- Secret Village of the Spellcasters
- Summoner's Art
- The Eye of Timaeus
- Thousand Knives
Official Deck
Weaknesses
Consisting primarily of Spellcaster-Type monsters allows this archetype to potentially be crippled by "Last Day of Witch". Other cards like "Zombie World" can prevent the Tribute Summoning of "Dark Magician" or "Dark Magician Girl" as well as lockout any effects that require the presence of a Spellcaster-Type monster. These can be averted by using "Magical Dimension", "Skilled Dark Magician" or "Dark Magic Curtain" instead of Tribute Summoning. "Secret Village of the Spellcasters" can be used to prevent the opponent from using Spell Cards, particularly crippling ones such as "Zombie World". "Dark Paladin" can deal with both of these threats, however.
"Koa'ki Meiru Drago" can also cripple this deck, because its effect prevents the Special Summon of LIGHT and DARK monsters, which most monsters in this Deck are.