Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel: Dark Magician deck build (2022)

In the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters series, Yami Yugi routinely called upon his ace card, Dark Magician, to bail him out of jams. Fast forward to today, and Dark Magician has gotten quite a bit of support in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. Dark Magician has a slew of archetype-centric cards that can help get the most of the ultimate spellcaster. While some of the Dark Magician cards have not made it to Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, many have.

So, what should a Dark Magician deck look like in Master Duel? Let’s go over how we would construct a deck in the game, using Yugi’s ace monster.

Main Deck Monsters

Let’s start off with the Main Deck Monsters:

• (x3) Maxx “C” – Handtrap that adds draw power, as one card can be added to hand per Special Summon during the turn it was activated. Very helpful in also dissuading opposing players from swarming the field, especially if going second.
• (x3) Ash Blossom and Joyous Spring – Versatile handtrap that shuts down various effects that can either Special Summon or add cards from Main Deck.
• (x3) Dark Magician – Key cog and boss monster of the Main Deck. Can be Special Summoned in a variety of different ways, including by Magicians’ Souls, Eternal Soul, or Dark Magic Curtain.
• (x3) Magicians’ Souls – Needed in order to Special Summon Dark Magician (DM) from GY, as it can send one to GY and then can be sent in order to bring it out.
• (x3) Magician’s Rod – 4* Monster than can be used to search for Dark Magician-related Spell or Trap.
• (x2) Apprentice Illusion Magician – 6* Monster that can be used as dual threat. Can be Special Summoned by sending card to GY (i.e. Dark Magician), and protect it on field by boosting DM’s ATK/DEF via Quick Effect.
• (x1) Palladium Oracle Mahad – 7*, 2500 ATK Monster. Can be Special Summoned when drawn (can be used in conjunction with Soul Servant), and can Special Summon Dark Magician when destroyed by battle and/or card effect.
• (x1-x2) Dark Magician Girl (optional) – Has synergy with Dark Magician, especially in GY.
• (x2) Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous (optional) – Should really only be used if you plan on running Dogmatika Punishment. Can be Special Summoned on field, and search for Punishment or another Dogmatika card.
• (x1) Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted (optional) – Works well in conjunction with Dogmatika Punishment and Ecclesia. 2500 ATK beater that can be Special Summoned from hand, and can negate face-up Monster effects.

Besides the aforementioned Dark Magician, this deck relies quite a bit on handtraps, and support Monsters that can work towards the deck’s main goal: getting Dark Magician on the field. In virtually every scenario, you’ll want to start out with either a Rod or Souls, as well as a Soul Servant (which we’ll get to) Quick-Play Spell.

If you can do just that, you’re off to a good start. Then, just use Souls’ effect to get Dark Magician out, if applicable.

Spells

Now for the Spells:

• (x3) Secret Village of the Spellcasters – Key Field Spell. Acts as a floodgate when Dark Magician (or other Spellcaster) is on field, as an opponent can’t activate Spells while it and a Spellcaster is on field.
• (x3) Soul Servant – Quick-Play Spell that can place a Dark Magician or Dark Magician-related card on top of deck. Synergizes well with Dark Magician Circle, and can also add drawing power via its second effect.
• (x2-x3) Chicken Game – Provides some protection thanks to its effect and if you have lower LP than the opponent, but its main benefit is ability to draw one card.
• (x2) Dark Magician Circle – Can be searched via Magicians’ Rod. Besides ability to search top of deck and add a card from it, can also target and banish one card opponent controls when a Dark Magician is summoned to field.
• (x2) Called by the Grave – Banishes Monster from opponent’s GY and negates its effects. Mainly used to negate handtraps.
• (x1-x2) Eye of Timaeus – Can be used to fuse into The Dark Magicians.
• (x1) Terraforming – Searches for Secret Village of the Spellcaster or Chicken Game.
• (x1-x2) Lightning Storm – Can be used in lieu of Harpie’s Feather Duster. Destroys Attack Position or Spell/Trap Cards from opponent’s side of field. Must possess no face-up cards to activate.
• (x1-x2) Secret of Dark Magic (optional) – Not as powerful as Timaeus, but can be used as substitute.

The Spells for this deck are pretty important, as these cards help get Dark Magician either into the hand, or in the GY. From there, it shouldn’t be too tough to get it out on the field. Plus, others like Lightning Storm and Called by the Grave are general protection cards. And, Secret Village offers a wide array of protection, thanks to its Spell Card negation.

Ideally, Soul Servant should be in the starting hand. Obviously, this can’t be influenced, but it can be added via Magician’s Rod. If you have Dark Magician Circle, activate it, and then chain it to Dark Magical Circle to get the desired card, whether it be Souls, Rod, or Dark Magician, to hand.

Other Spells that can be used in this deck include:

• Pot of Prosperity
• Raigeki
• Harpie’s Feather Duster
• Crossout Designator
• Twin Twisters
• Dark Magic Curtain

Traps

In order to stay competitive with other meta decks, Dark Magicians do need a few traps. Here’s a look at which Traps work best:

• (x3) Skill Drain – Negates all Monster effects on field. Keeps games competitive, and doesn’t hurt Dark Magician since it is a Normal Monster.
• (x3) Eternal Soul (optional) – Protects Dark Magician by unaffecting it from opponent’s card effect. Can also Special Summon one from hand or GY. Big drawback of this card, though, is that it will destroy all Monsters that you control when it leaves field.
• (x2-x3) Dogmatika Punishment (optional) – Should be used if other Dogmatika cards are used in build. Can pop opponent’s Monster with help from Extra Deck.
• (x2-x3) Magician Navigation (optional) – Another card that can be used to Special Summon Dark Magician. Does require a Dark Magician in hand, in order to activate it.

Additionally, Solemn Judgement and Solemn Strike are two other Traps that can work with this deck. If you don’t plan on running Dogmatika Punishment or another card listed above, it might be for the best to run at least two Solemn Judgements. If Eternal Soul does get popped while a Dark Magician is on the field, it will take DM out as well. So, protection might be the route to go, should you find it getting destroyed quite often.

Extra Deck

And now on to the Extra Deck:

• (x2) The Dark Magicians – 2800 ATK Fusion Monster then adds drawing power, can activate Eternal Soul or Quick-Play Spell straight away.
• (x2) Ebon Illusion Magician – 2500 ATK Xyz Monster then can Special Summon a Dark Magician from hand or deck, and target and banish opponent’s Monster when one attacks.
• (x1) Ebon High Magician – Can activate a Quick-Play Spell and/or Trap from hand while it is on field and has Xyz material.
• (x1) Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS – Sky Thunder – Acts as board wipe as long as it has two or more cards as material. Can use Illusion or High Magician to Special Summon off of its effect.
• (x1) Linkuriboh – Can be used to stall, if needed. Can use Magicians’ Souls to Link Summon.
• (x1) Crystron Halqifibrax – Searches for Prank-Kids Spell/Trap card upon summoned. Can tribute itself to add two Prank-Kids Monsters from GY to hand.
• (x1) I.:P Masquerena – Can be used to immediately Link Summon into a Link 3 or 4 Monster during opponent’s turn, so long as you have enough materials.
• (x1) Knightmare Phoenix – Link 2 Monster that can destroy one Spell/Trap on field.
• (x1) Knightmare Unicorn – Link 3 Monster that can target one card on field and shuffle it in deck.
• (x1) Selene, Queen of the Magicians – Link 3 Monster that can Special Summon Spellcaster Monster from hand or GY.
• (x1) Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess – Link 4 Monster that acts as a major Floodgate thanks to its negation ability. Should be summoned, if possible, should you go first.
• (x1) Accesscode Talker – Link 4 Monster that should be Special Summoned with Link 3 Monster, as it can raise Accesscode’s ATK to as high as 6300. Can also pop cards on opponent’s side of field.
• (x1) Elder Entity N’tss (optional) – Can target and destroy one Monster on field when sent to GY. Used in conjunction with Dogmatika Punishment.

Dark Magician decks can do a good amount of damage in Ranked play. It might not be considered a meta deck and have the same firepower as Drytrons, Eldlich, or even Tier 2 decks like Dinosaurs and Prank -Kids. But with the right user, it can get wins thanks to the various negates it can run. And if the TCG is any indication, more support for Dark Magicians should be on the way in Master Duel.