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...