How to Build a Dark Magician Deck in Yu‐Gi‐Oh!

Last Updated: March 28, 2019

The game of Yu-Gi-Oh! has evolved to include several mechanics and even more possible decks combinations. The Dark Magician deck has experienced an increase in popularity due to new and powerful support cards. Though it may be daunting to figure out how to use the new support, understanding which cards are the most useful out of them can help narrow down the choices. This wikiHow will help you choose which cards to use to create a semi-competitive deck.

Steps

1
Start with staple Dark Magician cards. These include Dark Magician, Apprentice Illusion Magician (easily summoned and powerful), and Magician's Rod (searches spells and traps). Most decks like this run all of these cards at 3 copies.
2
Add monsters that synergize with Dark Magician. Good examples include 1 Dark Magician Girl, 2 Magician of Dark Illusion (as a revival method for Dark Magician), and 2 Palladium Oracle Mahad (as a strong card and a searcher for Dark Magician).

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3
Add a draw engine. This is important because having more cards in your hands means more resources, and the player with more resources typically wins. There are a couple that work well with Dark Magician. The example above is one using all 3.
- It is possible to go for a Spellbook engine, using Spellbook Magician of Prophecy, Spellbook of Secrets, and Spellbook of Knowledge. These work by searching each other out to thin the deck, ending the combo in Spellbook of Knowledge to draw 2 cards. Two copies of each card will be necessary to increase the chances of drawing them.
- If that is not preferred, there is also the option of including 3 copies of Allure of Darkness, which requires removing from play a card in your hand in exchange for drawing two cards.
- A third possible draw engine would include 2 Chocolate Magician Girl, which discards spellcaster cards to draw more cards and has the bonus effect of reviving spellcasters if attacked. If the Chocolate Magician Girl draw engine is used, it is a preferable idea to use other magician girls, the most ideal being 2 Lemon Magician Girl and 1 Kiwi Magician Girl.
4
Finish the monster lineup with hand traps. These are cards that are can be activated from the hand during either player's turn and disrupt their plays. The most popular ones include "Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring" and "Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit. The total numbers of these combined should be 3."
5
Add spells to the deck. Spells should include cards that work directly with Dark Magician. These include spell/trap removal, such as 2 Dark Magic Attack (destroys spells and traps), and cards that have multiple helpful uses, like 2 Dark Magical Circle (allows you to look at the next 3 cards in your deck and reorder them).
- 2 Dark Magic Veil is a useful way to revive Dark Magicians or summon them directly from the hand. 1 Dark Burning Magic is very powerful if Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl are on the field at the same time, which is made possible by the rest of the spell/trap lineup.
- Add 1 Eye of Timaeus for the fusion summoning of Dark Magician the Dragon Knight.
6
Add other spells to add consistency and ability to control your opponent. These include 1 Raigeki, to remove opponent monsters from the field, and 1 Secret Village of the Spellcasters, to prevent your opponent from using spell cards.
7
Add traps to your deck. The two staple traps that Dark Magician decks must play are 2 Magician Navigation (summons Dark Magician from hand) and 2 Eternal Soul (searches Dark Magic Attack and summons Dark Magician from hand or graveyard).
- Add additional traps that have high utility and can help protect you from your opponent. These include 1 Bottomless Trap Hole, 1 Solemn Warning/Strike, and 2 Quaking Mirror Force.
8
Add monsters to your extra deck.
- Add cards that can be made with Eye of Timaeus, such as Dark Magician the Dragon Knight, Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, and Amulet Dragon.
- Add Rank 7 XYZ monsters that you can make with the Dark Magicians, such as Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon, Ebon Illusion Magician, Ebon High Magician, and Number 11: Big Eye. Also add Rank 6 XYZ monsters you can make with Dark Magician Girl and/or Apprentice Illusion Magician, like a few copies of Norito the Moral Leader.
9
Test your deck to see if any adjustments need to be made.
- An effective way to test is to duel against multiple opponents using actual cards or a simulator and see how the deck performs.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I test the consistency of the deck?

Cros Saint

Community Answer

You can use online simulators like edopro, dueling nexus, etc. You can also draw 5 cards and see what you can do with it, shuffle, and repeat.