Dark Magician (archetype)

"Dark Magician", known as "Black Magician" (ブラック・マジシャン Burakku Majishan) in Japan, 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.

"Dark Magician of Chaos" is not a "Dark Magician" card because it does not have 「ブラック・マジシャン」 in its Japanese name.

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.
 * 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 Arcana Seal depicted in the background.

Play style
The monsters of this archetype are fairly strong on their own, however, they rely a lot on a large amount of support cards to keep them going. The later releases revolve around spell counters. Depending on the way the Deck is built, this archetype can be very slow or fast archetype, occasionally able to out-trump even the "Blackwings", or the "Six Samurai" depending on the draw and how often "Dark Magician" can be Special Summoned. "Magical Dimension" is a great card in order to rush your "Dark Magician" out fast. Protecting a "Skilled Dark Magician" as he gathers up his counters is another way to go, but this strategy relies on how many spell cards you can allow your opponent to play before they gain the upper hand.

Weakness
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. Using "Magical Dimension", "Skilled Dark Magician" or "Dark Magic Curtain" is an excellent alternative to the casual and slow two-monster Tribute Summon. "Secret Village of the Spellcasters" can be used to prevent the opponent from using Spell Cards, particularly crippling ones such as "Zombie World".

This archetype also lacks support, with only "The Eye of Timaeus" supporting the archetype as a whole. Most support for cards in the archetype is for "Dark Magician" himself or Spellcasters in general.