Dark Magician (archetype)

"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, the "The Eye of Timaeus" supports "Dark Magician" monsters and "Dark Magician Girl" as an individual card, due to the gendered nature of the language causing the term "Dark Magician" to differ between "Dark Magician" ("Magicien Sombre") and "Dark Magician Girl" ("Magicienne des Ténèbres").
 * In German, the "The Eye of Timaeus" supports both the "Dark Magician" archetype and the "Dark Magician Girl" archetype, due to the gendered nature of the language causing the term "Dark Magician" to differ between "Dark Magician" („Dunkler Magier“) and "Dark Magician Girl" („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" ("", "") and part of the name of "Dark Magician Girl" ("", "") in that language.
 * In Italian, despite the term for "Dark Magician" differing between "Dark Magician" ("") and "Dark Magician Girl" (""), 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 Magic Circle" depicted in the background.

Play style
A good opening combo is to use "Magician's Rod" to search for "Dark Magic Circle", then use the 2nd effect of "Dark Magic Circle" to banish a card during either player's turn.

"Dark Magician of Chaos" can banish 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 attacks. If "Dark Magician" is Tributed by "Dedication through Light and Darkness" to Summon "Dark Magician of Chaos" or detached from "Ebon Illusion Magician" after being used as an Xyz Material, "Eternal Soul" can be used to easily Special Summon it from the Graveyard.

"Magician's Navigate" 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 Magic Circle" is face-up on your side of the field. "Dark Magic 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 Magic 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.

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". "Sorceror" can remove the risky effect of "Eternal Soul", which is triggered when it is destroyed.

If "Berry Magician Girl" is attacked, you can Special Summon "Choco Magician Girl" from your Main Deck. Both of these "Magician Girl" cards can Summon or search for "Dark Magician Girl". They can also act as a Spellcaster-Type Tribute, which is often needed for the theme's Spell and Trap Cards.

"Summoner Monk" can be used to Special Summon "Elemental HERO Prisma", then use its effect to combo with "The Eye of Timaeus" by changing its name to "Dark Magician". "Monk" used to start "Magician Girl" combos, and is an extra Xyz Material with "Choco Magician Girl" or "Legion the Fiend Jester". Either way "Monk" can be used to get to "The Eye of Timaeus" or "Sorceror of Dark Magic" faster if they are in the hand, but does not search them directly.

Toon Dark Magician Combo
"Toon Dark Magician" and "Red-Eyes Toon Dragon" can both be searched by "Toon Table of Contents" have a potent combination for Rank 7 Xyz Summoning. The Monster effect of the Level 1 "The Black Stone of Legend" and the Rank 7 "Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon" Monster can extend and recycle a "Red-Eyes" monster.

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".

"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.