Strings Strings , also known as the Quiet One , and known in the Japanese version as Doll ( , " Ningyō " ) or Pantomimer ( パントマイマ , " Pantomimer " ) , is one of Marik Ishtar ' s Rare Hunters during the Battle City arc . Design . Strings is bald , has pointed ears , and his perpetually wide eyes are surrounded by heavy black circles and have very small blue pupils . He has many piercings all over his head : three near his right eye , one on each ear , three near his lip , one nose ring , and one lip piercing . He wears a black shirt and red pants with yellow suspenders . He wears a green bag across his chest , which is used to hold his Duel Disk . He wears large black shoes and has four studded cuffs on his arms , one at his wrist and one near his shoulder on each arm . He also wears a chain around his neck with a keyhole pendant at the bottom . When he is under Marik ' s control ( which is whenever he is not standing motionless ) a gold Eye of Wdjat appears on his forehead . In " " , the Doll was shown in a different attire ; a short - sleeved yellow shirt , and blue pants . This appearance was carried over for " Yu - Gi - Oh ! Nightmare Troubadour " . Biography . Strings was a mime that went mad after killing his parents , and sealed his own conscience away out of guilt . Eventually , he came into Marik ' s mind control , and due to his crushed mind , became very easy for Marik to bend to his will . Marik programmed Strings to kill Yugi at all cost should he win the Duel against him . At first , he appears to be a stationary mime in the park and is a curiosity for many of the people there , but when Marik takes control of him , he goes to confront Yugi and Duel him . Strings has a huge advantage up his sleeve , the Egyptian God Card " Slifer the Sky Dragon " . Using a five card combo involving " Slifer " , " Revival Jam " , " Infinite Cards " , " Jam Defender " , and " Card of Safe Return " , Strings puts Yami in a tight situation . Every time he attacks , Strings can redirect the attack to " Revival Jam " , which regenerates itself after being destroyed and thanks to " Card of Safe Return " , he draws three cards from his Deck whenever this happens and because of " Infinite Cards " , he can hold as many cards as he wants . With the ATK and DEF of " Slifer " proportional to the number of cards its controller holds , and with " Revival Jam " able to absorb and reform from any attack Yugi is able to make with the aid of " Jam Defender " , Marik boasts the strategy is unbeatable . Yami is just about to give up until Kaiba arrives and encourages him to fight on . The two manage to figure out the weakness of this combo and turn it against Marik . Yami attacks " Revival Jam " with " Buster Blader " , and then uses " Brain Control " to take control of " Revival Jam " as it regenerates so it regenerates under his control , forcing " Slifer " to attack it with its second mouth . Then " Revival Jam " is destroyed and regenerates , forcing Strings to draw three more cards due to " Card of Safe Return " . Then " Slifer " must attack " Revival Jam " again , since it reformed under Yami ' s control , destroying it and allowing it to regenerate again , and forcing Strings to continue drawing due to " Card of Safe Return " . This creates an infinite loop that only ends once Strings ' Deck is empty , causing him to lose the Duel through a Deck Out . Yami gets " Slifer " for his victory . Strings ' only additional appearance was during Yami Marik ' s Duel with Mai Valentine at the Battle City Finals . After Marik ' s " Makyura the Destructor " was destroyed during their Shadow Game , Marik ' s memory of Strings was erased , though Marik declared that no one in his mind was worth remembering anyway . Strings himself is entirely devoid of personality , and is merely a shell for Marik ' s will . This worked to Marik ' s advantage : since the Egyptian Gods normally do not obey one without a Millennium Item , Strings ' empty mind allowed Marik to bypass this restriction : " Slifer " obeyed Marik ' s will , though Marik didn ' t have to be there in person . However , Strings ' lack of mental awareness also served another end : he had no conscience and could feel no pain , so would hold nothing back . After Strings ' loss to Yugi , Marik decided to talk through Strings one last time then released control of him and he collapsed . Other appearances . The Doll appears under Marik ' s control , as in Battle City in " " , in which the player will have to fight against Slifer the Sky Dragon . Strings also appears as a Duelist in " Yu - Gi - Oh ! The Eternal Duelist Soul " , " " , " Yu - Gi - Oh ! Dawn of Destiny " and " Yu - Gi - Oh ! Nightmare Troubadour " ( lacking " Slifer " in his Decks ) . When not under Marik ' s control , Strings is only capable of communicating basic sentences ( sometimes not speaking at all ) .