Card Appearances:Dark Magician

Duelist Kingdom/Pre-Duelist Kingdom Arc

 * This card is Yugi Muto's signature monster in all story arcs and his personal favorite as well as his rarest card. It was first used in the DEATH-T Duel of the manga and first series anime (the first duel of the second series anime is based on the DEATH-T duel.). Yugi destroyed Kaiba's "Judge Man" with this monster, but it was later defeated by the third "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" that Kaiba Summons.


 * In Kaiba's first appearance in the first series anime, he is shown stealing this card from a student at another school before transferring to Domino High. However, it was named "Dark Wizard" (ダーク・ウィザード Dāku Wizādo) and it had 2000 ATK and 1800 DEF.


 * In episode 2, Yugi plays this card against Maximillion Pegasus. He Summons it without looking at it first in an effort to counter the Millennium Eye. It was then sent to destroy "Koumori Dragon", which Pegasus had taken control of with "Dragon Piper". Pegasus then activates "Eye of Illusion", taking control of this card when it was Yugi's turn again. It then destroyed Yugi's "Celtic Guardian" when Yugi tried to destroy "Illusionist Faceless Mage", but "Eye of Illusion"'s other effect redirected the attack to "Dark Magician".


 * In episode 4, Yugi plays this card against Weevil Underwood. He Sets it in Defense Position and Weevil attacks with his "Basic Insect" (which had been strengthed by "Laser Cannon Armor" and "Level 2 Power Boost"). Yugi activates "Mirror Force", destroying all of Weevil's monsters and dealing him damage. Yugi later returns it to his Deck in the next episode via "Monster Recovery".


 * In episode 9, Yugi uses this in against Ghost Kaiba. After summoning it, Yugi sent this card to destroy "Hitotsu-Me Giant". Yugi tried to switch this monster into Defense Position when Ghost Kaiba summoned "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", but Ghost Kaiba countered with "Defense Paralysis", switching both this card and "Curse of Dragon" to Attack Position. On Yugi's next turn, he hides this card from "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" with "Magical Hats". It destroys "Blue-Eyes" after it was weakened with "Spellbinding Circle" in the next episode. A second "Blue-Eyes" then destroys this card in return.


 * In episode 12, Yugi selects this as his favorite card, and his soul is transferred into it by Yami Bakura. In episode 13, Yami Yugi duels Bakura in a Shadow Game, where he Summons this card. It appears as Yugi himself dressed as the "Dark Magician" and he is able to communicate with his other half through it. He destroys Bakura's "Morphing Jar" and "Electric Lizard", though the effect of the latter prevents him from attacking next turn. Yami Bakura attempted to take control of Yugi with "Change of Heart", so he could win the duel, but as Bakura's soul was trapped within the card, he chose to take control "Lady of Faith" instead, saving Yami from losing the duel.


 * In episode 20, Yugi plays this card during the Labyrinth Duel with the Paradox Brothers while teaming with Joey Wheeler. After he gets it onto the field, Yugi moves his monster 5 spaces, so that way it is in front of "Celtic Guardian", "Axe Raider", and "Flame Swordsman". Para then used "Magical Labyrinth" to cut off Yugi and Joey's monsters from each other. Yugi later used "Mystic Box" to destroy Dox's "Jirai Gumo" and get it to where "Jirai Gumo" previously was. Yugi then sent this monster to destroy Dox's "Labyrinth Tank". Yugi then protects this card and Joey's "Flame Swordsman" from "Dungeon Worm" with "Magical Hats" which later contributes in protecting it from "Suijin"'s attack in the the next episode. Later on, Yugi releases his monster out of the hat it was hiding in, and moves it forward towards the end of the maze where "Gate Guardian" was. He then plays "Monster Reborn" to Summon Dox's "Suijin" allowing "Dark Magician" further protection and preventing "Gate Guardian" from destroying it until it destroyed "Suijin". Yugi then plays "Monster Replace" to swap the positions of this card and "Black Skull Dragon", allowing the latter to destroy "Gate Guardian" and win the duel.


 * In episode 22, Yugi plays this card against Kaiba. He swaps "Curse of Dragon" for this card using "Monster Replace". It destroys Kaiba's "Swordstalker". When it attacks Kaiba's "La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp", Kaiba activates "Ancient Lamp", redirecting the attack to "Curse of Dragon". In the next episode, it successfully destroys "La Jinn" after Yugi used "Mystic Box" to destroy "Ancient Lamp", but is destroyed via the effect of Kaiba's "Crush Card".


 * In episode 29, Yugi plays this card against Mai Valentine. He Summons it in Defense Position, but Mai forces it to attack using "Shadow of Eyes". Its attack points are cut in half by "Mirror Wall", allowing Mai's "Harpie's Pet Dragon" to destroy it after Mai used "Harpie's Feather Duster" to destroy Yugi's set "Mirror Force".


 * In episode 34, Yugi plays this card against Joey. He protects it from Joey's "Black Skull Dragon" with "Magical Hats". He then weakens "Black Skull Dragon" with "Spellbinding Circle" and strengthens "Dark Magician" with "Book of Secret Arts", letting it destroy "Black Skull Dragon". When Yugi tries to destroy "Baby Dragon" with this card, Joey used "Kunai with Chain" to stop the attack and immobilize this card. Later when Joey successfully uses "Time Wizard's" effect, it transforms this card into "Dark Sage" and Joey's "Baby Dragon" into "Thousand Dragon". When Joey attacked "Dark Sage", Yugi used "Dark Sage"'s effect to use "Makiu, the Magical Mist" to negate the attack. Yugi uses "Dark Sage" to take "Monster Reborn" from his deck. He uses it to Special Summon "Black Skull Dragon", which wins him the duel.


 * In episode 35, this card can be seen when Yugi looks through his Deck before his duel with Pegasus begins.


 * In episode 36, Yugi draws this card, but does not play it. In the next episode, Yugi Summons this card, protecting it once more with "Magical Hats". Pegasus destroyed two hats before using "Magical Neutralizing Force" to get rid of the other hats, exposing this card. Pegasus then sent his "Toon Summoned Skull" to destroy this card, but Yugi used both "Living Arrow" and "Mirror Force" to get rid of "Toon World" and send the attack right back at Pegasus's unToonified monsters, destroying them. In the next episode, Yugi uses this to attack Pegasus' "Relinquished", but the "Curse of Dragon" that was equipped to "Relinquished" is destroyed instead. "Dark Magician" itself is then equipped to "Relinquished", but Yugi saves it using "Mystic Box" in the next episode. On his next turn, he uses "Brain Control" to take control of Pegasus's "Relinquished" equipped with "Jigen Bakudan" and uses "Dark Magic Ritual", Tributing both "Jigen Bakudan" and this card to Ritual Summon "Magician of Black Chaos".


 * In episode 40, this card guards the mind of Yami Yugi from Shadi. Regular Yugi convinces Shadi to stand down.


 * In episode 42, Yugi plays this card against Rebecca Hawkins, Setting it in Defense Position. Rebecca forces it into Attack Position with "Stop Defense" and destroys it with "Shadow Ghoul". Yugi later revives it with "Monster Reborn" and destroys Rebecca's "Cannon Soldier" on the third to last turn of the duel.


 * In episode 43, Yugi Summons this card in virtual game. Using Joey's "Shield & Sword", it was able to destroy "Armored Zombie", "Clown Zombie", and "Dragon Zombie". two episodes later, Yugi Summons this card again to fight off an array of flying foes.


 * In episode 49, Yugi uses the Dungeon Dice Monsters version of this card against Duke Devlin". It destroys Duke's "Orgoth the Relentless". Duek attempts to destroy this using "Monster Cannon" and "Dark Assailant", but Yugi uses its "Magical Hats" ability to save it. Its other ability - "Mystic Box" - is used to destroy "Yaranzo" and move "Dark Magican" in front of Duke's last Heart Point. It attacks to win the match.

Battle City/Virtual World Arcs

 * In episode 51, Yugi plays this card against Bandit Keith. He attempts to protect it with "Magical Hats", but Keith activates "Magic Jammer", discarding a card to negate it. Keith then plays "Curse of Fiend", switching "Dark Magician" and his own "Zera the Mant" to Attack Position (it was switched to Defense Position on Keith's last turn). Keith then attacks this card with "Zera the Mant", but Yugi activates "Mirror Force". Keith responds with "Solemn Judgment", paying half his Life Points to negate the effect of "Mirror Force" and destroy it. "Dark Magician" is then destroyed by the attack.


 * In episode 53, Yugi plays this card against Johnny Steps. It destroys "Heavy Metal King" and Johnny surrenders after realizing who is dueling.


 * In episode 55, this card is shown on the computer screen as Yugi's rarest card when he registers to compete in Battle City. It is shown again on Seeker's computer in the next episode.


 * In episode 60, Yugi plays this card against Arkana. He uses "Brain Control" to take control of Arkana's "Legion the Fiend Jester and Tributes it and "Alpha The Magnet Warrior" to Summon this card. It is able to wage a direct attack. In the next episode Arkana Summons his own "Dark Magician", using "Dark Renewal" to Tribute "Mystic Tomato" and Yugi's "Beta The Magnet Warrior". Arkana attempts to destroy Yugi's "Dark Magician" with "Mystical Guillotine", but Yugi saves it with "Magical Hats". Arkana attempts to use "Thousand Knives" to destroy it instead, but Yugi counters with "Cursebreaker". Arkana attacks instead, destroying both "Dark Magicians". Arkana and Yugi then both play "Monster Reborn" to Special Summon their "Dark Magicians" once more. Arkana later plays "Beckon to the Dark" to destroy Yugi's "Dark Magician", but Yugi negates it with "Mystical Refpanel". Arkana responds with "Nightmare Chains", which renders "Dark Magician" unable to attack or defend, letting Arkana attack directly with his own "Dark Magician". When Arkana plays "Ectoplasmer" to Tribute his "Dark Magician", Yugi's "Dark Magician" is automatically Tributed as well, and the damage is negated. In the next episode, Arkana activates "Dark Magic Curtain", paying half his Life Points to Summon a second "Dark Magician" from his Deck. However, Yugi also uses the effect, Summoning "Dark Magician Girl", who's attack power increases by 300 for each of the "Dark Magician" in the Graveyard - including Arkana's. "Dark Magician Girl" then destroys "Dark Magician" when Arkana attacked the former with the latter and Yugi wins the duel by attacking Arkana directly with his "Dark Magician Girl".


 * In episode 99, Yugi attempts to choose this card as his Deck Master", but "Kuriboh" selects itself instead.


 * In episode 103, Tea Gardner plays "Sage's Stone" against Crump, letting her summon Yugi's "Dark Magician", as he was nearby. Téa then had this card destroy "Defender Iceberg", allowing "Dark Magician Girl" to attack Crump directly and win Téa the duel.


 * In episode 108, this card can be seen when Seto Kaiba is building his Virtual World Deck, though he does not select it.


 * In episode 111, Yugi successfully uses this card as his Deck Master against The Big Five while teaming with Joey Wheeler. It remains off the Field during the next episode, but Yugi moves it to the Field in the one after that. He uses "Polymerization" to fuse it with Joey's Deck Master, "Flame Swordsman", Fusion Summoning "Dark Flare Knight". "Dark Magician" and "Flame Swordsman" is returned to the Field when "Mirage Knight" is destroyed. Yugi then hides this monster with "Magical Hats" and uses his Deck Master's Special Ability to duplicate "Magical Hats"' effect so that way it would hide Joey's "Flame Swordsman". "Lector's "Berserk Dragon" then attacked all the "Hats" on Yugi's side of the field due to its effect. Yugi's Deck Master would have been destroyed, but Joey had his Deck Master take the attack that would have destroyed this card. Joey then played "Silver Dollar" to negate the attack on his Deck Master. Joey then tributed this card with "Knight's Title" to Special Summon "Dark Magician Knight".


 * In episode 117, Yugi plays this card against Noah Kaiba. He Tributes "Sangan" and "Gamma The Magnet Warrior" to Summon it. It is able to attack directly, but Noah destroys it with "Yamata Dragon" when his turn comes. In the next episode, it powers up "Dark Magician Girl" and Yugi later Summons it again using "Dark Renewal", Tributing his own "Big Shield Gardna" and Noah's "Inaba White Rabbit". Noah takes control of it using "Change of Heart" and Tributes it and his own "Spirit Token" to Summon "Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi".


 * In episode 120, Yugi Summons this card to attack the monsters blocking the group's way to the Virtual World's exit. He does this again in the next episode.


 * In episode 132, Yugi plays this card against Kaiba. He Summons it with "Monster Reborn", having previously discarded it via the effect of "Life Shaver". It attacks Kaiba's "Lord of Dragons", but Kaiba plays "Magical Trick Mirror" to use Yugi's "Monster Reborn", Summoning "Obelisk the Tormentor" from his Graveyard to block the attack. In the next episode, Kaiba Summons "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and attacks "Dark Magician", but Yugi plays "Magician's Selection", negating the attack and destroying "Lord of Dragons". In the next episode he fuses it with "Buster Blader" using "Polymerization" to Fusion Summon "Dark Paladin".


 * In episode 141, Yugi plays this card against Yami Marik. He uses "Magical Dimension" to Tribute "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" and "Obelisk" to Summon this card. Yugi plays "Ragnarok", which wins him the duel in the next episode.

Doma/KC Grand Prix Arcs

 * In episode 146, Yugi plays this card against Grerimo. He Tributes his "Watapon" and Grerimo's "Warrior Dai Grepher" using "Dark Renewal". He attempts to attack directly with it, but Grerimo activates his face-down "Shield Wall", Special Summoning four "Shield Tokens", one of which "Dark Magician" proceeds to destroy. It is destroyed by Grerimo's "Warrior Dai Grepher", which he had added back to his hand via "The Warrior Returning Alive". With "The A. Forces" and the three "Bronze Knight Tokens" that Grerimo had on the Field, "Dai Grepher's" attack points were greater than "Dark Magician's".


 * In episode 158, Yami Yugi plays this card against Rafael. He Tributes "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" and "Berfomet" to Summon it. Its attack points were bolstered by "The Seal of Orichalcos". It attacks Rafael's "Backup Gardna", but Rafael plays "Aid to the Doomed", discarding two cards to negate the attack. He later Tributes it using "Catapult Turtle", sending it to the Graveyard. It is later removed from play by Rafael's "Guardian Eatos" as part of his winning move.


 * This card can be seen during episode 159 when Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor are taken to vault within Doma's headquarters that contains copies of every card in existence at the time save the Legendary Dragons and the Egyptian Gods.


 * In episode 160, Dark Magician appeared in a flashback when it was remove from play by the effect of Celestial Sword - Eatos.


 * In episode 163, Ironheart picks this card up from the ground after Yami Yugi drops it while being flung from the train after dueling Weevil.


 * In episode 175, Yami Yugi plays this card against Rafael. He Summons it via "Dark Magic Curtain", paying half his Life Points. It attacks "Guardian Elma", but Rafael activates "Guardian Formation", negating the attack and moving "Elma" to his Spell & Trap Card Zone via "The Seal of Orichalcos". "Guardian Formation" also lets him take "Celestial Sword - Eatos" from his Deck and immediately activate it, equipping it to "Backup Gardna". Rafael attacks "Dark Magician" with "Eatos", but Yugi removes the "Electromagnetic Turtle" in his Graveyard from play to end the Battle Phase. Yugi switches "Dark Magician" to Defense Position on his next turn. Rafael attacks with "Eatos", but Yugi activates "Magical Hats" to save it. On the following turn Yugi fuse "Dark Magician" with "The Eye of Timaeus" to Summon "Amulet Dragon". In the next episode, Yugi Summons "Dark Magician" from the Graveyard via "Underworld Circle". When Rafael attacks with "Guardian Dreadscythe", Yugi plays "Zero Gravity" to shift the monsters to Defense Position. Rafael counters with "Spirit Hunting", which destroys "Dark Magician".


 * In episode 182, Yugi Summons this card to aide in the battle against The Great Leviathan.


 * In episode 193, Yugi plays this card against Vivian Wong. It is destroyed by Vivian's "Dragon Lady". Yugi puts it back into his Deck via "Monster Rebirth" and Special Summons it via the effect of "Skilled Dark Magician". He then fuses it with "Buster Blader" using "Polymerization", Fusion Summoning "Dark Paladin".


 * In episode 198, Yugi plays this card against Leon von Schroeder. It had been sent to the Graveyard via "Golden Castle of Stromberg" and Yugi revives it with "Monster Reborn". He uses "Diffusion Wave-Motion", letting "Dark Magician" attack all of Leon's monsters to win the duel.

Millennium World/Ceremonial Battle Arcs

 * During this arc, it is revealed that the Dark Magician is the reincarnation of Mahad, a servant of Pharaoh Atem, fused together with the Illusion Magician. He was the owner of the Millennium Ring before he was killed by Zorc Necrophades.


 * In episode 223, Yami Yugi plays this card against Yugi. He Summons it with "Dark Magic Curtain", paying half his Life Points. He equips it with "Book of Secret Arts" and destroys Yugi's "Summoned Skull". In the next episode this card destroys Yugi's "Curse of Dragon" and Yami then equips it with "Dark Spear", giving it the piercing effect. He attempts to attack "Blockman", but Yugi plays "Soul Shield", negating the Battle damage and ending the Battle Phase. Yugi Summons "Gandora the Dragon of Destruction" and Yami saves it from destruction by its effect with "Dark Illusion". He later attacks Yugi directly with it, with Yugi activating "Magician's Circle" to Special Summon "Silent Magician LV0", while Yami Summons "Dark Magician Girl". The attack points of "Silent Magician" are increased when Yami plays "Spell Textbook" to use "Card of Sanctity", but Yami uses "Magicians Unite" to survive the attack. However, both the Magicians are destroyed as a result.

Capsule Monsters

 * In Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters, there is a Duel Armor that uses Dark Magician.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

 * In episode 5, this card appears at the bottom of an underground lake as Syrus Truesdale tells his scary story.


 * In episode 18, Dimitri plays this card against Jaden Yuki after stealing Yugi's Deck, which had been on tour at Duel Academy. He Summons it via "Dark Renewal" by Tributing his "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" and Jaden's "Dark Catapulter". Dimitri plays "Thousand Knives" to destroy "Elemental Hero Thunder Giant" and destroys "Wroughtweiler via an attack. Dimitri Tributes it using "Dedication through Light and Darkness" to Special Summon "Dark Magician of Chaos". In the next episode, this card's presence in the Graveyard powers up Dimitri's "Dark Magician Girl".


 * In episode 168, this card can be seen in a display case among other cards as part of a replica of Yugi's Deck.


 * In episode 179, Yugi himself plays this card against Jaden. He Summons it via "Magical Dimension" by Tributing "Mystical Elf", which also destroys Jaden's "Elemental Hero Flame Wingman". He attacks directly, but Jaden plays "Negate Attack", ending the Battle Phase. During his next turn, Yugi plays "Thousand Knives", destorying "Elemental Hero Bubbleman". He attempts another direct attack, but is stopped when Jaden activates "A Hero Emerges" to Special Summon "Elemental Hero Neos". In the next episode, Jaden equips "Neos" with "Neos Force" and attacks "Dark Magician", but Yugi uses "Mirror Force", destroying "Neos" and "Card Trooper". Jaden plays "Death and Rebirth", which would revive "Neos" and destroy "Dark Magician", but Yugi plays "Shift" to switch the target to "Obnoxious Celtic Guard". "Neos" is forced to attack per "Death and Rebirth", so both monsters are destroyed. Its presence in the Graveyard later powers up "Dark Magician Girl".

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL

 * This monster's statue appeared in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL - Episode 015.

Miscellaneous

 * Although this card itself does not make a formal appearance in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, it is implied that the leader of Magician's Four owns it due to his signature card being Dark Eradicator Warlock.


 * In Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, Yugi plays this card against Kaiba. He Summons it via "Sage's Stone" and Tributes it and "Dark Magician Girl" to Summon "Sorcerer of Dark Magic".


 * In Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time, Yugi Summons this card on his first turn via "Ancient Rules". He was permitted to move it from his Deck to his hand rather during his Draw Phase rather than draw via the effect of Yusei Fudo's "Reincarnation of Hope". He then Summons "Dark Magician Girl" using "Bond Between Teacher and Student". With two Spellcasters on the Field, Yugi plays "Miraculous Magic Gate" to take control of the "Stardust Dragon" that Paradox had stolen from Yusei earlier. He then plays "Dark Magic Twin Burst", allowing "Dark Magician" and "Dark Magician Girl" to combine their attack points and destroy "Malefic Paradox Dragon". Paradox plays "Malefic Paradigm Shift", paying half his Life Points to Summon "Malefic Truth Dragon". "Dark Magician" is destroyed by Paradox's "Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon", though it is revived via Yusei's "Stardust Mirage".


 * In the original manga, the first series anime and through Yu-Gi-Oh! R, "Dark Magician" is clearly shown to be a Level 6 monster. Nonetheless, its Summoning required two Tributes on those series. Perhaps Kazuki Takahashi wanted to keep in conformity with the OCG on this respect, but no explanation was given for this within those series (and there are no other examples of such behavior).


 * He is voiced by Kazunari Kojima in the Japanese version.


 * The attack name attack of this monster is called "Dark Magic Attack" ("Black Magic" 「 黒・魔・導(ブラック・マジック) 」 in the original version).

Video games

 * Yugi uses this in Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour.


 * Yami Yugi uses this in Yu-Gi-Oh! The Eternal Duelist Soul, Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament 2004, Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour and Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008


 * Mindy, Dark Magician Girl and Wade use this in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force.


 * Kuroe uses this in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2009: Stardust Accelerator.