More Dark Magician

     Hey there Duelists! Coach Muramasa is back again. As promised, here is the other half of our look into the Dark Magician. Slip on your bathing suits, because we're diving into the spellcaster's pool. Last time, we looked at the Dark Magician, and some of his intimidating forms. Now, let's see if we can find some cards that will help him blast your opponent away to the shadow realm.


     First up is the teacher's pet, or Dark Magician Girl. This Level 6 Spellcaster-type has 2000 ATK and 1700 DEF. With her special ability, she gets stronger for each Dark Magician or Magician of Black Chaos is in either graveyard. She draws strength from her master, and also lends some to him at times as well. Like the Dark Magician, she can be on the frontlines in a Spellcaster-type deck. (5/10)

     Skilled Dark Magician is a Level 4 with 1900 ATK and 1700 DEF. His special ability allows him to Special Summon a Dark Magician in exchange for tributing him with 3 Spell Counters. He gathers a Spell Counter each time a Spell Card is activated. If you have to draw him on your opening hand and at least three Spell Cards, you can have a Dark Magician in your first turn. Keep in mind that when you Special Summon the DM, you can pull him from your deck, hand or graveyard. This card can lead to a variety of monster recycle decks. If you use him, go ahead and slip three of him in your deck. (9/10)

     Magician of Black Chaos is one of the oldest Ritual Monsters. By using the Spell "Black Magic Ritual", you can sacrifice monsters from your hand and field whose levels total 8 or more, and Special Summon this card from your hand. This card doesn't have any special abilities, just really decent ATK power. (4/10)

     Dark Eradicator Warlock is the Dark Magician with a special ability. Each time a Normal Spell Card is activated, your opponent gets slammed with 1000 points of Effect Damage. Between this and the 2500 ATK chunks taken out of their Life Points, you could have the duel won on your second or third turn. (9/10)

     Next up is Magician's Valkyria. This monster acts as a Spellcaster-type shield for your other heavy hitters. Your opponent can only target her if there are other Spellcaster-type monsters on your field. You'll want to power her up or protect her with something, otherwise she's just a one trick pony. (5/10)

      Now, let's move on to Spells for a Dark Magician deck. Thousand Knives is a good card for taking out something stronger than the DM. If he is in play when you activate this card, you can stick it to a monster your opponent controls. Use this on that Blue-Eyes White Dragon that a Kaiba wannabe might be tempted to use against you. (7/10)

     Everyone who has ever watched the original Yu-Gi-Oh! knows of the DM's signature attack. Dark Magic Attack is a Spell that allows you to wipe out your opponent's Spells and Traps if you control a face-up Dark Magician. Use this to take out those annoying stall traps, like Gravity Bind or Swords of Revealing Light. I really like the art on that card. (9/10)

     Magicians Unite allows you to combine the might of your Magicians' force and let one of them have 3000 ATK during that turn. The catch is, only that single Spellcaster-type may attack that turn. Use this on a monster that has the ability to deal direct damage or piercing damage. (6/10)

     Mage Power is an Equip Spell Card that grants a 500 ATK and 500 DEF boost to a monster for each Spell or Trap Card you have on the field. This gives you a maximum boost of 3000 ATK and 3000 DEF. Stick this on DM, and the duel could easily be over. Just make sure you clear your opponent's Spells and Traps first. The last thing you want to happen is for a nasty Mirror Force or something worse to pop up and ruin your duel. (9/10)

     Now let's look at a couple of Trap Cards. Magic Cylinder is a good trap to block a lethal attack, and give your opponent the damage instead. Use this to crush them if they attack with a 3000+ ATK monster. (7/10)

     The final card of the day is Pitch-Black Power Stone. This card is good if your Spellcaster-type deck uses a lot of Spell Counters. You get 3 Spell Counters that you may move to other cards once per turn. Slip three of these in your deck and use them with Skilled Dark Magician, and you'll get DM in play in no time. (6/10)

     That does it for another lap around the Dark Magician pool. I hope you consider this card for your Spellcaster-type deck, or even an all around deck. Coach Muramasa is signing off for now. Hit the showers!

Dark Magician

     Hello again Duelists! Coach is here to talk about one of the oldest and greatest monsters of all time. He was Yugi's ace, and my personal favorite Spellcaster-type monster. I'm talking about that purple menace, the Dark Magician! This Level 7 monster has 2500 ATK and 2100 DEF. While he doesn't have any special abilities, he has a variety of cards that support him as the ace in a deck. Today, we're gonna take a look at some of the Dark Magician's various forms achieved through Fusion and other Special Summoning methods.

     First up is Dark Sage. This Spellcaster-type is a Level 9 monster with 2800 ATK and 3200 DEF. To call forth this heavy hitter, you have to tribute a Dark Magician that has been successfully affected by Time Wizard. Also, when this happens, you can pull a Spell Card of your choice from your deck. That will come in handy if you need to pull that one card to turn things around for you, or to ensure a win if you already have the advantage. (6/10)

     Next up is Dark Magician Knight, who pulls a change-up and goes from being a Spellcaster to a Warrior. His stats are the same as Dark Magician, but he gains a special ability that allows him to destroy any one card on the field at the time. Wipe out that face down Mirror Force, or even a continuous Spell Card or Trap Card like Gravity Bind. You could just as well take out a high ATK or DEF monster is that's what's standing in the way of you winning or losing the duel. This card sees a lot more play than Dark Sage, and is easier to summon. All you have to do is play Knight's Title in order to summon him. (8/10)

     Here we have Dark Paladin with 2900 ATK and 2400 DEF. By Fusing Dark Magician and Buster Blader, you get a powerful Spellcaster-type that can negate your opponent's Spell Cards by discarding a card of your own. This card also has an ability that grants it an extra 500 ATK for each Dragon-type either player has in the graveyard. This card is a good choice for taking on Dragon-type decks. (8/10)

     Last, and certainly not least, is Dark Flare Knight. Dark Magician switches to a Warrior-type again by Fusing with Flame Swordsman. While this is a step backward being a Level 6 monster with 2200 ATK and 800 DEF, its special ability will make up for it. No matter what you are fighting, you will not take any damage from a battle that involves this card. On top of that, if this card is destroyed, you get to Special Summon a Mirage Knight from your hand or your deck. As long as you don't have your monster's ability negated, you can use this card to block a heavy hit from your opponent. (5/10)

     That's all for now folks. We dipped our feet in the Dark Magician's pool. Next time, we'll look at some cards that support this master spellcaster. Until then, it's time to duel, somewhere...