Magician (archetype)

"Magician" (, Majutsushi) is an archetype consisting of Spellcaster-Type monsters used by Yuya Sakaki that debuted in Starter Deck 2014 with "Stargazer Magician" and "Timegazer Magician". The archetype is related to the "Odd-Eyes" and "Performapal" archetypes, both of which are also used by Yuya.

Due to their Japanese names, a number of older cards, such as "Time Wizard" and "Night Wing Sorceress", also fall into this archetype. Also, several older cards, such as the "Dark Magician" archetype and "Magician of Faith", include "Magician" in their names but are not part of this archetype. However, because TCG and OCG support for this archetype only works on Pendulum Monsters, neither have been an issue.

Design
So far, the "Magician" Pendulum Monsters appear to be mostly divided in pairs, with each member of a pair having the same naming scheme of the other but representing an opposing concept, and a Pendulum Scale that allows a wide range of Level if placed with it. Additionally, each pair supports a particular Special Summoning method.

Playing style
While the "Magician" Pendulum Monsters are not powerful on their own, they have formidable effects in the Pendulum Zones, with Pendulum Effects which include swarming the field and searching out other "Magicians".

The Pendulum Scales of the "Magician" Pendulum Monsters are usually either very low (1, 2, or 3) or very high (8), making it easy to Pendulum Summon most monsters. Some of the "Magician" monsters, such as "Nobledragon Magician" and "Wisdom-Eye Magician", can even destroy themselves on purpose while in the Pendulum Zone to be Pendulum Summoned from the Extra Deck later. However, despite the effects' potency, continuous field control is limited to "Dragonpulse Magician" and "Dragonpit Magician". "Number 39: Utopia Beyond", "Ebon Illusion Magician", and "Majespecter Unicorn - Kirin" make up for this and provide additional options for offense beyond just the "Odd-Eyes" cards. "Oafdragon Magician", "Performapal Skullcrobat Joker", and "Pendulum Call" keep the hand and Pendulum Scales consistent with recycling and search effects, respectively.

"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" is an asset for this archetype, since it can search for the vast majority of "Magicians" by destroying itself in the Pendulum Zone, which moves it to the Extra Deck to be Pendulum Summoned later as a strong beater. It can be searched by "Fusion Conscription", provided that "Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" is in the Extra Deck.

This Deck, mixed with "Odd-Eyes" cards, can easily produce some great beatsticks. For example, the player can Xyz Summon "Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon" with two Level 7 monsters, such as "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and "Dragonpit Magician", then use the effect of "Absolute Dragon" to negate attacks by detaching "Pendulum Dragon", then Special Summon that same "Pendulum Dragon". If the opponent destroys "Absolute Dragon", it can use its effect to Special Summon "Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon", "Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon", or "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" for additional pressure on the opponent.

The major strength of this archetype is having easy access to its monsters, since Pendulum Monsters that would be sent from the field to the Graveyard are instead placed in the Extra Deck, from where they can easily be Pendulum Summoned. Due to having multiple monsters at Levels 3, 4, and 7, it can easily perform Xyz Summons. With the help of the Tuner monster "Nobledragon Magician" combined with "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon", the Deck also allows easy Synchro Summons of high-Level Dragon-Type monsters.

With "Xiangsheng Magician" and "Xiangke Magician" in the Pendulum Zones, the player can Xyz Summon "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon", but they are also incredibly useful on the field. "Xiangke" has the highest ATK of all "Magician" cards, with the ability to negate the effects of a LIGHT monster once per turn, while "Xiangsheng" can copy the ATK of a strong monster to eliminate it.

It has been ruled that "Wonder Wand" and "Dark Renewal" do not work on Pendulum Monsters, as Pendulum Monsters cannot fulfill the "You can send both to the Graveyard" requirement correctly, due to being sent face-up to the Extra Deck.

Red-Eyes Magician
This archetype can be combined with the "Red-Eyes" archetype, as it uses Level 7 monsters as a starting point for the Rank 7 Xyz Monsters, such as "Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon" and "Number 11: Big Eye". "Summoner's Art" can search for "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" to be discarded with "Cards of the Red Stone", then Special Summoned with "Return of the Red-Eyes".