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 . Commonalities . " Dark Magician " monsters have several features in common : Playing style . Usual opening combo is to use the Normal Summon effect of " Magician ' s Rod " to search for " Dark Magical Circle " , then use the 2nd effect of " Dark Magical Circle " to banish a card during either player ' s turn . " Dark Magic Inheritance " can continue searching for powerful cards in a similar fashion . " Dark Magician of Chaos " can banish any monsters it destroys by Battle , and " Ebon Illusion Magician " can Special Summon any Spellcaster - Type Normal Monster from the Hand or Main Deck and Banish any card on the opposing field when a Spellcaster - Type Normal Monster declares an attack ( Before damage calculation , so the Normal Monster will attack again ) . " Illusion Magic " can be used to reload the effect of " Ebon " . Another Monster with search effect is " Apprentice Illusion Magician " that can add a " Dark Magician " to the Hand to fuel the effect of " Magician Navigation " . " Apprentice " is also a Level 6 for the Xyz Monster " Magi Magi ☆ Magician Gal " , which can Rank - Up itself ( without a Spell Card ) into " Ebon Illusion Magician " and use Xyz Monster effects on the same Turn . " Magician Navigation " 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 Magical Circle " is face - up on your side of the field . " Dark Magical Circle " and " Magician ' s Rod " will both activate and go on a Chain ( you chose the order of the Chain Link s ) ; 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 Magical 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 . " Illusion Magic " can reset the " Magician Navigation " combo mentioned . " Magical Dimension " can safely remove the weaker " Magician " and " Magician Girl " monsters from the field and replace them with stronger monsters . " Dark Magic Veil " can also be used similar effect without needing the " Magician Girl " engine mentioned above . 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 " . " Dark Paladin " also works well with " and " against decks focused on Dragon - Type monsters ( however , it is vulnerable to the effects of " Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand " , " Blue - Eyes Alternative White Dragon " and " Chaos Emperor Dragon " , unlike " Buster Blader , the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman " , so it is best to back - up " Dark Paladin " with " Solemn Strike " and " Effect Veiler " ) . " Summoner Monk " and " Elemental HERO Prisma " are useful in combination with " The Eye of Timaeus " by using the effect of " Prisma " to change its own name to " Dark Magician " . " Summoner Monk " can also make " Daigusto Emeral " to make further " Dark Magician " and " Trance the Magic Swordsman " combos . " Berry Magician Girl " can Special Summon a " Magician Girl " monster from the Deck when attacked . Good targets are " Chocolate Magician Girl " , which can Special Summon a Spellcaster - Type monster from the Graveyard , and " Lemon Magician Girl " , which can Special Summon a Spellcaster - Type monster from the hand . " Gagaga Magician " can be used as a toolbox with it ' s own effect and the effect of the " Transmodify " Spell Card from " Magician ' s Rod " or into " Magician of Dark Illusion " / " Dark Magician " . Also , with a Level 7 Spellcaster into " Dark Magician of Chaos " . Even without " Pot of Desires " , this archetype has " Pot of Duality " and " Hand Destruction " ( Instant Spell Card ) as " Dark Magician " Spell / Trap Cards can play equally as well the opposing turn ; or " Wonder Wand " with plenty of revival effects like " Dark Magic Veil " , " Eternal Soul " and " Magician of Dark Illusion " to name the most recent few . This archetype pairs well with the " Pendulum Magician " archetype . This will bring high Level Pendulum Summons and , with it , faster Xyz Summoning and monster swarm , in addition to more Normal Spellcaster - Type monsters to use with " Ebon Illusion Magician " . 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 Summon ing 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 " . " Dark Paladin " can deal with both of these threats , however . " 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 .