Card Appearances:Dark Magician

Pre-Duelist Kingdom

 * 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 major 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 destroyed 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 1 of the second series anime, Yami Yugi uses this card in his duel against Seto Kaiba. After Yugi summons this card, he uses this card to attack and destroy Kaiba's "Judge Man". Kaiba then attacks and destroys this card with the third "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" that he summons.


 * In episode 2, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Maximillion Pegasus. He Summons it without looking at it first in an effort to counter the Millennium Eye. Pegasus activates "Sun Shower" in response, but since this card wasn't a Zombie-type monster, nothing happens. This card then attacks and destroys "Koumori Dragon" (who Pegasus had taken control of via "Dragon Piper's" effect). Pegasus then attacks this card with "Illusionist Faceless Mage" (who was equipped with "Eye of Illusion"). Due to the effect of "Eye of Illusion", "Illusionist Faceless Mage" is not destroyed and Pegasus takes no damage. On Yugi's turn, "Eye of Illusion" switched control of this card to Pegasus. Yugi's "Celtic Guardian" then attacks "Illusionist Faceless Mage", but "Eye of Illusion"'s other effect redirected the attack to this card. This card then destroys "Celtic Guardian". This card remained on the field until the Duel was over.

Duelist Kingdom

 * In episode 4, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Weevil Underwood. He Sets it in Defense Position. Weevil then attacks this card with his "Basic Insect" (which had been strengthened by the Field Power Bonus, "Laser Cannon Armor" and "Level 2 Power Boost"), but Yugi activates "Mirror Force", destroying all of Weevil's monsters and dealing him damage equal to the differences between the attacking monster's ATK and Weevil's other Attack Position monsters' ATK. In the next episode, Yugi returns this card and "Torike" to his Deck via "Monster Recovery".


 * In episode 9, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Ghost Kaiba. After summoning this card, Yugi uses this card to attack and destroy "Hitotsu-Me Giant". After Ghost Kaiba summons "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", Yugi switches this card into Defense Position and summons "Curse of Dragon" in Defense Position, but Ghost Kaiba activates "Defense Paralysis" to switch both this card and "Curse of Dragon" to Attack Position. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" then attacks and destroys "Curse of Dragon". Yugi then activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card within one of four hats. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" then attacks a hat. In the next episode, the hat is revealed to be empty. On Ghost Kaiba's next turn, he uses "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" to attack another hat, but that one is revealed to contain "Spellbinding Circle" which decreases the ATK of "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" by 700. Yugi then releases this card from the hat it was hiding in. This card then attacks and destroys "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". Ghost Kaiba then summons a second "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and uses it to attack and destroy this card.
 * In the first above-mentioned episode, Kaiba decides to find out which Dueling platform Yugi is on via computer. He decides to use this card as a cross reference as Yugi would most likely use this card if he is in a Duel. After crashing a satellite, he starts searching around the Dueling arenas for "Dark Magician", but finds none. The last active one is arena 146. Kaiba tries to enter, but finds himself unable to. Kaiba deduces it's a virus that will prevent him from searching. He then uses virtual TNT to blow up the door, however he finds a virtual castle which is the last defense that Kaiba has to go past. Kaiba confidently says "Alcatraz" ("Pegasus" in the dub). The password is correct and Kaiba enters. In the next episode, Kaiba goes inside and he finds out that an imposter of himself is dueling Yugi. The computer then explains how Yugi defeated the first "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and this card is shown during the explanation.


 * In episode 12, Yugi and his friends were showing to each other what their favorite card was. Yugi showed this card and states it's his favorite. Yami Bakura would later seal Yugi's soul within this card.


 * In episode 13, Yami Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Yami Bakura. It appears as Yugi himself dressed as the "Dark Magician" and he is able to communicate with his other half through it. He then attacks and destroys Bakura's "Morphing Jar", but that activates the latter's effect, forcing both players to discard their entire hand and draw five new cards. On Yami Yugi's next turn, Joey, who was "Flame Swordsman", accidentally provokes Yugi. This is enough for Yugi to attack and destroy Yami Bakura's set monster, but the set monster is revealed to be "Electric Lizard", whose effect prevents Yugi from attacking on Yami Yugi's next turn. Later Yami Bakura activates "Change of Heart" to take control of Yugi, 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. Bakura tells Yugi to attack, but Yugi doesn't want to hurt his friend, but Yami Yugi uses his magic to make Bakura and Yami Bakura swap places to remove this problem. Yugi then attacks and destroys Yami Bakura, winning Yami Yugi the Duel and sparing Bakura from being sent to the Graveyard.
 * This card also appeared in Yami Bakura's thoughts when he explained that he was going to use "Change of Heart" to take control of this card and use it to attack and destroy one of Yami Yugi's monsters and win the Duel.


 * In episode 20, Yugi uses this card during his Tag Duel with Joey Wheeler against the Paradox Brothers. After Yugi summons this card, he moves this monster 5 spaces, so that way it is in front of "Celtic Guardian", "Axe Raider", and "Flame Swordsman". Para then activates "Magical Labyrinth" to cut off Yugi and Joey's monsters from each other. Yugi later activates "Mystic Box" to destroy Dox's "Jirai Gumo" and get this card to where "Jirai Gumo" previously was. Yugi then uses this monster to attack and destroy Dox's "Labyrinth Tank". Yugi then activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card and Joey's "Flame Swordsman" from "Dungeon Worm". In the next episode, the hats protect this card from "Suijin's" attack when the said attack floods the entire maze. Later on, Yugi releases this card from the hat it was hiding in and moves it forward towards the end of the maze where "Gate Guardian" was. He then activates "Monster Reborn" to Summon Dox's "Suijin" under his control. When "Sanga of the Thunder" attacks this card, Yugi uses the effect of "Suijin" to negate the attack. Later "Kazejin" attacks "Suijin", but Yugi uses its effect to negate the attack. "Sanga of the Thunder" then attacks and destroys "Suijin" since the latter's effect can only be used once per turn. Yugi then activates "Monster Replace" to swap the positions of this card and "Black Skull Dragon". "Black Skull Dragon" then attacks and destroys "Gate Guardian", winning Yugi and Joey the Duel.


 * In episode 22, Yugi plays this card during his Duel against Kaiba. When Kaiba uses "Swordstalker" to attack "Curse of Dragon", Yugi activates "Monster Replace" to return "Curse of Dragon" to his hand and Special Summon this card in its place. A replay occurs and Kaiba chooses not to attack. This card then destroys Kaiba's "Swordstalker". On Yugi's next turn, this card attacks Kaiba's "La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp", but Kaiba activates "Ancient Lamp" to redirect the attack to "Curse of Dragon", destroying it. In the next episode, Yugi uses "Mystic Box" to destroy "Ancient Lamp". This card then attacks and destroys "La Jinn". On Yugi's next turn, he recalls this card back to his hand and summons "Gaia the Fierce Knight". "Gaia" then attacks and destroys "Saggi the Dark Clown", but this allows Kaiba to activate "Crush Card Virus" which destroys "Gaia" and this card, and renders every monster that has at least 1500 ATK in Yugi's Deck useless.
 * In the former above-mentioned episode, this card appears in a flashback Téa Gardner has when she remembers when Yugi rescued her. Yami Yugi challenged a thug who had knocked out Téa to a challenge, utilizing his Deck. He claimed that the person who drew the strongest monster wins. The thug drew "Curse of Dragon" and confidently claimed that this monster's ATK is really. Yami draws from the Deck and gets this card, so Yami wins. The thug, angrily charges forward, but Yami gives the thug a Mind Crush, knocking the thug out. This card also appeared in a flashback Téa has when she remembers Yami Yugi's Duel with Yami Bakura and notes to herself that there maybe two Yugis.
 * In the former above-mentioned episode, this card appears in a flashback Téa has when she remembers Yami Yugi's Duel with Yami Bakura and notes to herself that there may be two Yugis.


 * In episode 29, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Mai Valentine. He Summons it in Defense Position and sets "Mirror Force". Mai then activates "Shadow of Eyes" to switch this card into Attack Position and force it to attack "Harpie Lady". The effect of "Mirror Wall" then negates the attack and halves this card's ATK. Mai then activates "Harpie's Feather Duster" to destroy Yugi's set "Mirror Force". Mai's "Harpie's Pet Dragon" (whose ATK was 2300 due to it being powered up by its own effect) then attacks and destroys this card.


 * In episode 33, this card appears when Yami Yugi explains to Joey that Duel Monsters is about the balance between Monsters and Spell and Trap Cards.


 * In episode 34, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Joey Wheeler. After this card is summoned, Yugi activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card within one of four hats. "Black Skull Dragon" attacks a hat, but it turns out to be empty. Joey summons "Garoozis" in an attempt to get Yugi to this card out, but Yugi doesn't fall for it. "Black Skull Dragon" attacks another Hat, but that turns out to be empty too. On Joey's next turn, "Black Skull Dragon" destroys a hat, but it's revealed to contain "Spellbinding Circle" which paralyzes "Black Skull Dragon" and decreases its ATK by 700. Yugi then releases this card from the hat it was under and equips this card with "Book of Secret Arts", which increases this card's ATK and DEF by 300. This card then attacks and destroys "Black Skull Dragon". Later this card attacks "Baby Dragon", but Joey activates "Kunai with Chain" to stop the attack and immobilize this card. Later Joey activates "Time Wizard's" effect. Joey succeeds in the gamble, so the effect of "Time Wizard" transforms "Baby Dragon" into "Thousand Dragon", but this also transforms this card into "Dark Sage".


 * In episode 35, this card can be seen when Yugi looks through his Deck before his duel with Pegasus begins.
 * This card also appears in Yugi's thoughts when he notes it will take all the wisdom his grandfather taught him and all the power in his cards to defeat Pegasus.


 * In episode 36, Yugi draws this card during his Duel against Pegasus. In the next episode, Yugi Summons this card and activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card within one of four hats. Pegasus then tries to read Yugi's mind to find this card's location, but Yugi and Yami Yugi switch minds to prevent this from happening. "Toon Summoned Skull" then attacks a hat, but it turns out to be empty. On Pegasus's next turn, "Toon Summoned Skull" attacks another hat, but that hat turns out to be empty too. Later Pegasus activates "Magical Neutralizing Force" to get rid of the other hats and expose this card. Pegasus then uses "Toon Summoned Skull" to attack this card, but Yugi activates "Living Arrow" to activate the effect of "Magical Neutralizing Force" and destroy "Toon World". Yugi then activates "Mirror Force" to deflect the attack right back at Pegasus's unToonified monsters, destroying them and inflicting damage to Pegasus equal to the ATK difference between "Toon Summoned Skull" and the destroyed monsters. In the following episode, Yugi uses this card to attack Pegasus' "Relinquished", but Pegasus destroys the "Curse of Dragon" equipped onto "Relinquished" to prevent "Relinquished" from being destroyed. The Battle Damage that Pegasus would have taken from the battle is then inflicted to Yugi. Pegasus then uses the effect of "Relinquished" to equip this card onto it. In the next episode, Yami Yugi activates "Mystic Box" to make this card and "Jigen Bakudan" switch places. This frees this monster from "Relinquished" and makes "Jigen Bakudan" the Equip Card on "Relinquished" instead. On Yami Yugi's next turn, he activates "Brain Control" to take control of Pegasus's "Relinquished" until the End Phase. Yugi then activates "Dark Magic Ritual" to Tributes this card and "Jigen Bakudan" in order to Ritual Summon "Magician of Black Chaos".


 * In episode 40, this card guards the mind of Yami Yugi from Shadi. When this monster tries to attack Yugi and Shadi due to them intruding, Shadi tries to summon the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and use it to destroy this monster, however Regular Yugi convinces Shadi to stand down. Thanks to Yugi's convincing, this card stopped his attack and withdrew back his staff. Shadi was surprised that this card was able to obey Yugi and this made him realize that he must be the one.

Post-Duelist Kingdom

 * In episode 42, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Rebecca Hawkins. He sets this card in Defense Position. Rebecca then activates "Stop Defense" to switch this card into Attack Position. "Shadow Ghoul" (whose ATK was 2700 due to its own effect) then attacks and destroys this card. Later Yugi activates "Monster Reborn" to revive this card. On Yugi's next turn, this card attacks and destroys Rebecca's "Cannon Soldier". This causes the ATK of "Shadow Ghoul" to increase to 2800. Yugi could have won the duel if he had activated "Soul Release" to banish five of Rebecca's monsters and decrease the ATK of "Shadow Ghoul" by 500 which would allow this card to attack and destroy it, however Yugi surrendered the duel because he wanted to show Rebecca there is more to a duel than winning.


 * In episode 43, Yugi Summons this card when he, Joey, and Mokuba had to defeat three zombies. Mokuba's "Rude Kaiser" attacks and destroys "Dragon Zombie" while this card attacks and destroys "Armored Zombie" and "Clown Zombie". The zombies then revive themselves and become stronger. Later Joey activates "Shield & Sword" to swap the ATK and DEF of all monsters on the field which made the ATK of the zombies 0. This card then attacks and destroys the three zombies.


 * In episode 45, Yugi Summons this card to fight off an array of flying foes that were guarding the "Castle of Dark Illusions". A bunch of "Mega Thunderballs" later attack the flying machine, causing Yugi to fall down. A "Whiptail Crow" lunges forward, but Iru jumps in and takes the attack, causing her to be destroyed. This card then attacks and destroys the "Whiptail Crow". After the gang defeat the army, Mai activates "Elegant Egotist" to transform "Harpie Lady" into the "Harpie Lady Sisters" and use them to take this card and "Giltia the D. Knight" with them to the castle.


 * In episode 46, this card is shown on some TV monitors that were showing the Duels that occurred in Duelist Kingdom.


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

Battle City

 * In episode 51, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Bandit Keith while the latter was possessed by Marik Ishtar. He summons this card in Defense Position. Yugi then activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card within one of four hats. Keith then activates "Magic Jammer", discarding a card to negate this card's effect and destroy it. Keith then activates "Curse of Fiend", switching this card and "Zera the Mant" to Attack Position and switching "Seiyaryu" to Defense Position. "Zera the Mant" then attacks this card, but Yugi activates "Mirror Force" to destroy all Attack Position monsters Keith controls. Keith then activates "Solemn Judgment", paying half his Life Points to negate the effect of "Mirror Force" and destroy it. "Zera the Mant" then destroys this card.


 * In episode 53, Yami Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Johnny Steps. After this card is summoned, Yami uses this card to attack and destroy "Heavy Metal King". Johnny wondered why the effect of "Metalmorph" didn't activate. Yami Yugi explains that was because he attacked not Johnny, therefore the effect of "Metalmorph" didn't increase the ATK of "Heavy Metal King" when it battled this card. Upon finding out who Yugi is, Johnny surrenders as he realized that he couldn't beat Yugi if he had defeated Pegasus.
 * This card also appears on a poster that Yugi and Téa read when they find a game store that was selling Duel Monster cards.


 * In episode 54, this card is shown at the bottom of Yami Yugi's Deck when he takes it out and tells Téa that he and Yugi created the Deck they use together.


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


 * In episode 56, this card is shown on Seeker's computer when he was researching the Battle City participants and trying to figure out who should he duel first. This card is shown to be Yugi's rarest card..


 * In episode 60, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Arkana. He summons this card by Tributing "Alpha The Magnet Warrior" and "Legion the Fiend Jester"(who Yugi took control of via "Brain Control"). This card then attacks Arkana directly. In the next episode, Arkana activates "Dark Renewal" to Tribute "Mystic Tomato" and Yugi's "Beta the Magnet Warrior" and Special Summon his "Dark Magician" from the Graveyard. Arkana then activates "Mystical Guillotine" to destroy this card, but Yugi activates "Magical Hats" to create 4 hats and hide this card in one of them. "Mystical Guillotine" then destroys a hat, but it's revealed to be empty. Arkana then activates "Thousand Knives" to destroy this card, but Yugi activates "Cursebreaker" which negates and destroys "Thousand Knives" and "Magical Hats". Arkana's "Dark Magician" then attacks this card, causing both monsters to be destroyed in a Double KO. Arkana and Yugi then both activates "Monster Reborn" to Special Summon their "Dark Magicians" from the Graveyard. Arkana later activates "Beckon to the Dark" to destroy this card, but Yugi activates "Mystical Refpanel" to negate "Beckon to the Dark" and use the effect of "Beckon to the Dark" to destroy Arkana's "Dark Magician", however Arkana activates "Nightmare's Chains", which negates "Mystical Refpanel" and renders this card unable to attack or defend Yugi. Arkana's "Dark Magician" then attacks Yugi directly. Later Arkana uses the effect of "Ectoplasmer" to Tribute his "Dark Magician", but causes this card to be automatically Tributed, which allows Yugi to avoid the damage that "Ectoplasmer" would have inflicted to him. In the following episode, this card can be seen in Yami Yugi's Graveyard when Arkana protests that Yugi only has one copy of this card in his Graveyard.


 * In episode 65, this card can be seen in Yami Yugi's hand during his Duel against Strings.
 * It should be noted that this is an error as Yami Yugi is not seen with this card in his hand in the next two episodes.


 * In episode 74, this card appears all three times when small clips are shown going through a black background before we see a flashback of a Battle City Duel(s).


 * In episode 85, this card can be seen when Yugi is rebuilding his Deck.

Virtual World

 * In episode 99, this card appears when Yami Yugi was building his Virtual World Deck for his Duel against Gansley. This card was one of the few known cards that Yami Yugi selects to be placed into his Deck.
 * After selecting the cards that will be in his Deck, Yami Yugi had to choose who his Deck Master will be. Yami Yugi was about to choose this card as his Deck Master since it never let him down, but "Kuriboh" selects itself instead.


 * In episode 103, Yugi draws this card while he was going through a door puzzle. He was about to use this card, but Yami Yugi convinces him to save it for later. Later Yugi finds Téa Gardner Dueling Crump. On the final turn of the Duel, Téa activates "Sage's Stone" to Special Summon this card from Yugi's Deck to her side of the field. This card then attacks and destroys "Defender Iceberg". "Dark Magician Girl" then attacks Crump directly, winning Téa the duel.
 * This card also appears in a flashback Téa has when she remembers Yugi talking about "Maha Vailo" looking similar to him and having a great power inside its effect. Téa asked if this card was similar to Yugi. Yugi noted it wasn't despite it being his favorite card, but it was more fitting for his other self, Yami Yugi.


 * In episode 106, this card can be seen when Duke Devlin, Tristan Taylor, and Serenity Wheeler were building their Virtual World Decks for their Duel against Nezbitt.


 * In episode 108, this card can be seen when Seto Kaiba was building his Virtual World Deck for his Duel against Leichter.


 * In episode 111, Yami Yugi uses this card as his Deck Master during his Tag Duel with Joey against the Big Five. In the next episode, this card still remained on the sidelines. In the following episode, Yugi moves this card to the field. He then activates "Polymerization" to fuse this card with Joey's Deck Master, "Flame Swordsman" in order to Fusion Summon "Dark Flare Knight". "Dark Flare Knight" then attacks "Five-Headed Dragon". "Five-Headed Dragon" then destroys "Dark Flare Knight", but Yugi and Joey take no damage due to the "Dark Flare Knight". Yugi then activates the final effect of "Dark Flare Knight" to Special Summon "Mirage Knight". "Mirage Knight" then attacks "Five-Headed Dragon". The effect of "Mirage Knight" then activates, increasing its ATK by the ATK of "Five-Headed Dragon" during damage calculation. "Mirage Knight" then destroys "Five-Headed Dragon", but Leichter activates "A Deal with Dark Ruler" to nullify the damage he would take and Special Summon "Berserk Dragon" as his new Deck Master. At the end of the Battle Phase, "Mirage Knight" is banished due to its last effect. The last effect of "Mirage Knight" then Special Summons this card and "Flame Swordsman" to the field in its place. Yugi then activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card within one of four hats. He then activates his Deck Master's Special Ability to duplicate the effect of "Magical Hats" and hide Joey's "Flame Swordsman" within one of four hats. Leichter's "Berserk Dragon" then attacks all the "Hats" on Yugi's side of the field due to its effect. The three empty hats are destroyed, but before this card could be destroyed, Joey orders his "Flame Swordsman" to intercept the attack. Joey then activates "Silver Dollar" to prevent his monster from being destroyed and to nullify the Battle Damage he would have taken. Joey then activates "Knight's Title" to Tribute this card and Special Summon "Dark Magician Knight".
 * In the first above-mentioned episode, this card can be seen when Yami Yugi and Joey were building their Virtual World Decks for their Duel against the Big Five. This is the only known card Yugi selects.
 * In the second above-mentioned episode, this card appears in a flashback Yugi has when he explains how his "Des Volstgalph" gained 200 ATK despite that he had no Spell or Trap Cards on his side of the field.
 * In the third above-mentioned episode, this card appears in a flashback Yami Yugi has when he remembers Joey using the Deck Master ability of "Flame Swordsman" to transfer 1000 of its ATK to this card which is why Joey was able to use "Silver Dollar" on "Flame Swordsman" when it intercepted the attack "Berserk Dragon" made on "Dark Magician".


 * In episode 117, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Noah Kaiba. He summons this card by Tributing "Sangan" and "Gamma The Magnet Warrior". This card then attacks directly. Noah then targets this card to activate "Next World", allowing Noah to summon a Spirit monster in his hand with the same Level as this card with no Tributes. Noah then Normal Summons "Yamata Dragon". The latter then attacks and destroys this card. The Deck Master Ability of "Shinato, King of a Higher Plane" then activates, increasing Noah's Life Points by the damage Yugi took. In the next episode, Yugi revives this card via "Dark Renewal". Yugi then activates "Black Magic Ritual" to summon "Magician of Black Chaos" Yugi then attacks Noah directly with all three of his Magicians, but Noah activates "Chaos Barrier Field" to negate the attack and force "Dark Magician Girl" and force "Magician of Black Chaos" to battle instead. "Magician of Black Chaos" then destroys "Dark Magician Girl". The Deck Master Ability of "Shinato" then activates, increasing Noah's Life Points by the damage Yugi took. The last effect of "Chaos Barrier Field" then ends the Battle Phase. Later "Magician of Black Chaos" attacks and destroys Noah's set "Otohime", but this activates the latter's effect, switching this card to Defense Position. On Noah's next turn, he activates "Change of Heart" to take control of this card. He then Tributes this card and a "Spirit Token" that was created via "Vessel of Illusions" to Summon "Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi".


 * In episode 120, Yugi Summons this card to attack the monsters that were blocking the group's way to the Virtual World's exit. This card and "Rocket Warrior" then attack together to destroy "Cosmo Queen". In the next episode, this card and "Flame Swordsman" work together to destroy the remaining army. This card is shown destroying "Lizard Soldier" and later "Command Knight".

Battle City Finals

 * In episode 131, Yugi discards this card via the effect of "Life Shaver" during his Duel against Kaiba. In the next episode, Yugi activates "Monster Reborn" to revive this card. On Yugi's next turn, this card attacks Kaiba's "Lord of Dragons", but Kaiba activate "Magical Trick Mirror" to activate Yugi's "Monster Reborn" from the Graveyard as Kaiba's card, allowing Kaiba to revive "Obelisk the Tormentor" and use it to intercept the attack. This causes the attack to fail. In the following episode, Kaiba Summons two more "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" via "The Flute of Summoning Dragon". One "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" attack "Dark Magician", but Yugi activates "Magician's Selection", negating the attack and destroying "Lord of Dragons". The second "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" attacks and destroys "Beta the Magnet Warrior". The third "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" attacks "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" (who Yugi summoned via "The Flute of Summoning Dragon"), but Yugi activates "Spellbinding Circle" to stop the attack and decrease the ATK of "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" by 700. "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" then attacks and destroys the weakened "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". In the next episode, Kaiba activates "Monster Reborn" to revive "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". He then activates "Polymerization" to fuse his three "Blue-Eyes White Dragons" together and Fusion Summon "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon". Yugi then activates "Double Spell" to activate both Spell Cards that Kaiba activated this turn. First, Yugi uses the effect of "Monster Reborn" to revive "Buster Blader". Next, Yugi uses the effect of "Polymerization" to fuse this card with "Buster Blader" in order to Fusion Summon "Dark Paladin".
 * In the first above-mentioned episode, this card is seen in a series of flashbacks Kaiba has when he notes to himself that he always feels excited when he Duels against Yugi.


 * In episode 135, this card is seen in a flashback Yugi has when he remembers that he couldn't have defeated Kaiba without Joey's help. This card is also shown in another flashback Yugi has when he explains to Kaiba that he and Joey defeated Kaiba with "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" which he allowed Yugi to keep in his Deck for the time being.


 * In episode 137, this card appears when Ishizu tells Kaiba that the sorcerer that resembles him may have been the ancient pharaoh's rival, but he was also the pharaoh's friend.


 * In episode 138, this card can be seen in Yami Yugi's hand during his Duel against Yami Marik. Two episodes later, Yugi Special Summons this card via the effect of "Magical Dimension". He then activates "Ragnarok". In the next episode, Yugi uses "Ragnarok" to destroy "The Winged Dragon of Ra" and banish it. This allows Marik to regain control of his body. Marik then surrenders the Duel, which renders Yugi the winner by default.


 * In episode 144, this card appears in a flashback Téa has when she remembers Noah turning Joey to stone and herself claiming to Noah that he is a pitiful child with Noah claiming the goddess of victory comes to the chosen ones and he himself has chosen Yugi to help him, but Yugi refuses.

Waking the Dragons

 * In episode 146, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Gurimo. He discards this card to the Graveyard via "Graceful Charity"'s effect. After Gurimo summons "Warrior Dai Grepher", Yami Yugi activates "Dark Renewal" to Tribute "Watapon" and "Warrior Dai Grepher" and Special Summon this card from the Graveyard. This card then attacks Gurimo directly, but Gurimo activates "Shield Wall" to Special Summon four Shield Tokens and use one token to intercept the attack. This card then destroys a token. Gurimo then activates "Bronze Knight" to discard three cards and Special Summon three Bronze Knight Tokens. Later Gurimo activates "The Warrior Returning Alive" to return "Warrior Dai Grepher" to his hand. He then summons "Warrior Dai Grepher". "The Seal of Orichalcos" then increases the ATK of "Warrior Dai Grepher" by 500. Gurimo then activates "The A. Forces" to increase the ATK of all Warrior-type monsters he controls by 800 (200 for each Warrior and Spellcaster-type monster Gurimo controls). "Warrior Dai Grepher" then attacks and destroys this card.


 * In episode 148, this card appears in Yugi's thoughts when Yami Yugi notes that although Pegasus no longer has the Millennium Eye, he was the chosen one and he was the creator of Duel Monsters.


 * In episode 157, this card is shown in Yami Yugi's hand during his Duel against Rafael. In the next episode, Yami Yugi summons this card by Tributing "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" and "Berfomet". This card then gains 500 ATK due to "The Seal of Orichalcos" ("Dark Magician" was shown trying to resist "The Seal"'s power before he got fully corrupted). After "Kuribabylon" attacks and destroys "Guardian Grarl", Yami Yugi uses this card to attack Rafael's "Backup Gardna", but Rafael activates "Aid to the Doomed" from his hand in order to discard two cards and end Yami Yugi's turn. Later Yami Yugi activates the effect of "Catapult Turtle" to Tribute this card and inflict damage to Rafael equal to half of this card's total ATK. On the last turn of the Duel, Rafael activates the effect of "Guardian Eatos" to banish this card, "Dark Magician Girl", "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts", "Berfomet", and "Big Shield Gardna" and increase the ATK of "Guardian Eatos" by the total ATK of the banished monsters.


 * In episode 159, this card is shown when Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor are taken to a vault within Doma's headquarters that contains copies of every card in existence (with the exception of the Legendary Dragons and the Egyptian Gods).


 * In episode 160, this card is seen in a flashback Yami Yugi has when he saw that his own monsters were angry at him for his selfish actions and when he lost his Duel with Rafael.


 * In episode 161, this card is shown in a series of flashbacks that Joey has when he recalls all of the hardship that he endured in the past and explains to Rex that anybody who loses so many times should keep trying and never give up.


 * 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 uses this card during his Duel against Rafael. He Summons this card via "Dark Magic Curtain". This card then attacks "Guardian Elma" (who had 2100 ATK due to it being equipped with "Butterfly Dagger - Elma" and affected by "The Seal of Orichalcos"), but Rafael activates "Guardian Formation" to negate the attack and move "Guardian Elma" to his Spell & Trap Card Zone (which he could do due to "The Seal of Orichalcos"). The second effect of "Guardian Formation" then activates, allowing Rafael to take "Celestial Sword - Eatos" from his Deck and immediately activate it, equipping it to "Backup Gardna". Rafael then Special Summons "Guardian Eatos" since he had no monsters in his Graveyard. Like this card before it, "Guardian Eatos" is shown resisting the power of the "Orichalcos" before it got corrupted. Rafael then activates the effect of "Backup Gardna" to equip "Celestial Sword - Eatos" onto "Guardian Eatos" instead. Yami Yugi then Tributes "Kuribandit" to draw five cards and discard three monsters. Rafael then activates the effect of "Guardian Eatos" to send "Celestial Sword - Eatos" to the Graveyard and banish "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts", "Gamma The Magnet Warrior", and "Kuribandit" as well as increase the ATK of "Guardian Eatos" by the ATK of the banished monsters until the End Phase. "Guardian Eatos" then attacks this card but Yami Yugi activates the effect of the "Electromagnetic Turtle" (who was sent to the Graveyard via the effect of "Kuribandit") in his Graveyard to end the Battle Phase. The ATK of "Guardian Eatos" returns to 3000 on Rafael's End Phase. Yami Yugi then summons "Big Shield Gardna" and switches this card to Defense Position. "Guardian Eatos" then attacks this card, but Yugi activates "Magical Hats" to create four Hats and shuffle them up with his two monsters. The attack of "Eatos" then destroys a Hat and it is revealed to contain "Big Shield Gardna". Rafael then uses "Guardian Elma" to destroy a token. "Guardian Grarl" then attacks a hat, but it's revealed to be empty, so this card was saved for the moment. On Yami Yugi's turn, he activates "The Eye of Timaeus" to merge the latter with this card in order to Special Summon "Amulet Dragon". In the next episode, Yugi activates the effect of "Underworld Circle" to revive this card. Later "Guardian Dreadscythe" attacks this card, but Yami activates "Zero Gravity" to switch the battle positions of all monsters on the field which switches all monsters on the field to Defense Position. Rafael then activates "Spirit Hunting", to switch "Dreadscythe" to Attack Position and destroy both this card and "Jack's Knight" since they were both in Defense Position.


 * In episode 182, Yami Yugi Summons this card to aide in the battle against The Great Leviathan. Yami, Joey, and Kaiba, after bringing out three monsters each, then summoned their Legendary Dragons. Yami then used "Legend of Heart" to transform the Dragons into the three Legendary Knights. All the monsters summoned by Yami, Joey, and Kaiba then attack The Great Leviathan, but it doesn't work. When the Great Leviathan counterattacks, Yami quickly has Timaeus absorb the power of "Big Shield Gardna" to protect everyone from the attack. While this saves the chosen Duelists and the Legendary Knights, it doesn't save the other monsters summoned by the Chosen Duelists as they were destroyed by the attack.


 * In episode 184, this card appears in a flashback Yami Yugi has when he remembers playing "The Seal of Orichalcos" against Yugi's better judgment.

Grand Championship

 * In episode 193, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Vivian Wong. "Dragon Lady" (whose ATK was 2800 due to it being equipped with "Lightning Saber") then attacks and destroys this card. Vivian then uses the effect of "Lightning Saber" to halve the ATK of "Dragon Lady" until the End Phase and allow it to attack again. "Dragon Lady" then attacks Yugi directly. Later Yugi activates "Monster Reincarnation" to return this card to his Deck. He then Tributes "Skilled Dark Magician" (who had three Spell Counters) in order to Special Summon this card. Yugi then activates "Polymerization" to fuse this card with "Buster Blader" in order to Fusion Summon "Dark Paladin".


 * In episode 196, this card is shown within Leon's backstory flashback when he explains how he became fascinated into Duel Monsters after discovering the game. This card is later shown again when Leon is shown watching Yugi's Duels on television.


 * In episode 198, Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Leon von Schroeder. It was sent to the Graveyard via the Maintenance Cost of "Golden Castle of Stromberg". Later Yugi activates "Monster Reborn" to revive this card. Yugi then activates "Necromancy" to Special Summon 4 random monsters from Leon's Graveyard to his side of the field in Defense Position. Yugi then activates "Diffusion Wave-Motion" to allow this card to attack all of Leon's monsters once each. This card then attacks and destroys "Little Red Riding Hood", "Forest Hunter", "Iron Hans", and "Iron Knight". Due to the effect of "Necromancy", the ATK of "Hexe Trude" decreases by 2400 (600 for each "Necromancy"-revived monster that was destroyed). This card then attacks and destroys "Hexe Trude", winning Yami Yugi the Duel.

Dawn of the Duel

 * In episode 200, this card appears within Yami Yugi's mind when Yami Bakura claims to him that his mind is an unsolvable maze and that he pursues games like riddles.


 * 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 Thief King Bakura.


 * In episode 219, Yugi uses this card to fight Zorc and his evil zombies. This card was then joined by Mana's ka: "Dark Magician Girl". The two of them then proceeded in destroying the zombies and blasting their attacks at Zorc. Despite all the attacks that Yugi and his friends and allies threw at Zorc, he remained unharmed by the attacks. Zorc then destroys Tristan's "Super Roboyarou", Joey's "Red-Eyes B. Dragon", and Téa's "Fire Sorcerer", causing Yugi's friends to take damage equal to the original ATK of their respective destroyed monsters. Zorc then destroys this monster and "Dark Magician Girl", causing Yugi to take damage equal to the original ATK of this card as well as causing Mana to suffer damage herself since her ka was destroyed.


 * In episode 223, Yami Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Yugi. He Summons this card through the effect of "Dark Magic Curtain". Yami Yugi then equips this card with "Book of Secret Arts", increasing its ATK and DEF by 300. This card then attacks and destroys "Summoned Skull". In the next episode, Yami Yugi activates "Thousand Knives" to destroy Yugi's set "Marshmallon". This card then attacks and destroys Yugi's "Curse of Dragon". On Yami Yugi's next turn, he equips this card with "Dark Spear", which grants this card the ability to inflict Piercing Damage. This card then attacks "Blockman", but Yugi activates "Soul Shield" to prevent "Blockman" from being destroyed and reduce the Battle Damage from the attack to 0. After that, "Soul Shield" ends the Battle Phase. Yugi then Summons "Gandora the Dragon of Destruction" and activates its effect to destroy and banish this card, but Yami Yugi activates "Dark Illusion" to make this card immune to Effect Monster effects this turn and allow Yugi to draw one card. This card then attacks Yugi directly, but Yugi activates "Magician's Circle" to allow both players to Special Summon a Spellcaster-type monster. Yugi chooses to Special Summon "Silent Magician LV0" while Yami chooses to Special Summon "Dark Magician Girl". A replay then occurs and Yami Yugi uses this card to attack "Silent Magician LV0", but Yugi activates "Spell Textbook" to discard his entire hand and draw one card. The card is then revealed to be "Card of Sanctity". Because of that, Yugi activates the effect of "Card of Sanctity" immediately, forcing both players to draw until they had six cards. Since Yami drew five new cards, "Silent Magician LV0" gained 2500 ATK. Yami Yugi then activates "Magicians Unite" to make the ATK of this card 3000 for this attack. "Silent Magician LV0" then destroys this card. Due to the effect of "Magicians Unite", "Dark Magician Girl" is destroyed.

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 uses this card during his Duel against Jaden Yuki while the former was using Yugi's Deck. Dimitri discards this card in order to activate "Monster Reincarnation". After Jaden summons "Dark Catapulter", Dimitri activates "Dark Renewal" to send "Dark Catapulter" and "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" to the Graveyard in order to Special Summon this card from the Graveyard. Later Dimitri activates "Thousand Knives" to destroy "Elemental HERO Thunder Giant". This card then attacks Jaden directly. On Dimitri's next turn, he uses this card to attack and destroy "Wroughtweiler. The effect of "Wroughtweiler" then activates, allowing Jaden to add "Elemental HERO Burstinatrix" and "Polymerization" from the Graveyard to his hand. On Dimitri's next turn, he uses this card to attack "Elemental HERO Burstinatrix", but Jaden activates "A Hero Emerges" to make Dimitri select one card in his hand. Dimitri chooses one card in Jaden's hand and Jaden reveals it to be "Elemental HERO Bladedge". Because of that, Jaden Special Summons "Bladedge" in Attack Position. A replay then occurs and Dimitri chooses not to attack. Dimitri activates "Dedication through Light and Darkness" to Tribute this card and Special Summon "Dark Magician of Chaos". "Dark Magician of Chaos" then attacks and destroys "Bladedge".
 * This card is also shown when Dimitri is shown looking through Yugi's Deck.
 * This card also appears within Syrus Truesdale's thoughts when he tells Jaden that Yugi's Deck doesn't have the Egyptian God Cards, but it does have this card and "Dark Magician Girl".


 * In episode 19, this card is shown when Dimitri drops Yugi's cards after he lost to Jaden.


 * 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 then attacks directly with this card, but Jaden plays "Negate Attack", ending the Battle Phase. During his next turn, Yugi plays "Thousand Knives", destorying "Elemental Hero Bubbleman". He then attempts another direct attack with this card, but Jaden activates "A Hero Emerges" and Yugi chooses one card in his hand which is then revealed to be "Elemental HERO Neos". Because of that Yugi Special Summons "Elemental Hero Neos". A replay then occurs and Yugi chooses not to attack In the same episode, this card can be seen in a display case among other cards as part of a replica of Yugi's Deck. In the next episode, Jaden equips "Neos" with "Neos Force" and then has "Neos" attack "Dark Magician", but Yugi activates "Mirror Force", destroying "Neos" and "Card Trooper". Jaden then plays "Death and Rebirth", which would revive "Neos" and destroy "Dark Magician", but Yugi plays "Shift" to switch the target of "Death and Rebirth" to "Obnoxious Celtic Guard", destroying it instead. "Neos" is then forced to attack this card as per the effect of "Death and Rebirth", so both monsters are destroyed in a Double KO. Its presence in the Graveyard later powers up Yugi's "Dark Magician Girl".

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.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL

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

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light

 * Yami Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Kaiba. He Special Summons this card via the effect of "Sage's Stone". Yami Yugi then Tributes this card and "Dark Magician Girl" to Special Summon "Sorcerer of Dark Magic".

Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time

 * Yugi uses this card in his Duel with Jaden Yuki and Yusei Fudo against Paradox. He adds this card from his Deck to his hand via the effect of Yusei's "Reincarnation of Hope". Yugi then activates "Ancient Rules" to Special Summon this card from his hand. Next Yugi activates "Bond Between Teacher and Student" to Special Summon "Dark Magician Girl". Due to the effect of "Malefic Paradox Dragon", both this card and "Dark Magician Girl" lose ATK equal to the ATK of "Stardust Dragon". Yugi then activates "Magic Gate of Miracles" to take control of one monster Paradox controls. Thinking Yugi is aiming for "Malefic Paradox Dragon", Paradox activates "Malefic Force", equipping it onto "Malefic Paradox Dragon" and granting it immunity to Spell Cards controlled by Paradox's opponents. However Yugi uses "Magic Gate of Miracles" to take control of "Stardust Dragon". Since "Stardust Dragon" is no longer controlled by Paradox, the ATK of this card, "Neos Knight", and "Dark Magician Girl" revert to normal. Yugi then plays "Dark Magic Twin Burst" to increase this card's ATK by the ATK of "Dark Magician Girl" until the End Phase. This card then attacks and destroys "Malefic Paradox Dragon". Paradox then plays "Malefic Paradigm Shift", paying half his Life Points to Summon "Malefic Truth Dragon". On the End Phase, the effect of "Dark Magic Twin Burst" wears off, returning this card's ATK back to normal. "Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon" then attacks and destroys this card. This activates the effect of "Malefic Truth Dragon", but Yusei Tributes "Stardust Dragon" to negate the effect of "Malefic Truth Dragon" and destroy it. Paradox then uses "Malefic Truth Dragon's" effect to banish "Malefic Rainbow Dragon" and prevent "Malefic Truth Dragon" from being destroyed. After "Stardust Dragon" revives itself on the End Phase via its own effect. Yusei activates "Stardust Mirage" to revive all monsters destroyed this turn. This card remained on the field until the Duel was over.

Scripted Duels

 * In the non-canon duel North American WCQ 2011 Special: Yugi vs. Yusei, Yugi summons this card with "Sage's Stone". It attacks directly, but Yusei blocks all damage with "Defense Draw". The next turn, it destroys "Quillbolt Hedgehog" in battle and Yugi uses it for the Fusion Summon of "Dark Paladin". On Yugi's last turn, it is summoned again with "De-Fusion" and attacks Yusei directly.


 * In the non-canon duel YCS Providence 2012 Special: Mai, Joey and Yugi vs. Pegasus and Bakura, Yugi summons this card with "Sage's Stone". He targets it with both "Magicians Unite" and "Diffusion Wave-Motion" to attack and destroy Pegasus' "Toon Cannon Soldier", "Toon Gemini Elf", "Toon Goblin Attack Force", "Toon Masked Sorcerer", and "Toon Summoned Skull". It is then destroyed by Yami Bakura's "Jowgen the Spiritualist". On Yugi's last turn, it is summoned again with "Premature Burial" and is used for the Fusion Summon of "Dark Paladin".


 * In the non-canon duel World Championship 2013 Special: Mai vs. Yugi, Yugi summons this card on his first turn with "Sage's Stone" and equips it with "Magic Formula". It attacks Mai's "Harpie Channeler", causing it to be affected by Mai's "Mirror Wall". It is then used to fulfill the Activation Requirement of "Thousand Knives". When it is attacked by Mai's "Harpie's Pet Dragon" and "Cyber Harpie Lady, Yugi protects it with "Magical Hats". It is then used for the Ritual Summon of "Magician of Black Chaos".

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.
 * Yami will offer his Black Luster Soldier to the Player in exchange for a Dark Magician.


 * 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.


 * Figaro uses this in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2011: Over the Nexus.

Trivia

 * 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" 「」 in the original version).