[Written] Dark Magician Support

[Spenstar]

Most of these are re-imaginings of already existing cards, including one that's exactly the same as an existing card save for one adjustment. These are written became of image upload issues in YGO card maker.

 

Wicked Warlock of Eradication

DARK, Level 8

Monster/Spellcaster/Effect

"Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Dark Magician" you control. This card's name also becomes "Dark Magician" while on the field or GY.  Each time a Normal Spell Card is activated, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent immediately after it resolves."

2900/2500

 

This is a re-imagining of Dark Eradicator Warlock, an upgrade to DM that inflicts burn damage when spells are activated. This variant aims to at least get a second look when constructing a DM deck. Because it's a semi-nomi and is treated like a DM in the GY, it can be summoned from the GY with Eternal Soul. Because it's treated like DM on the field, it benefits from Expanded, Eternal Soul, Eye of Timaeus, and Circle. I changed the tribute requirement to a banish to drive home that this is a transformation summon. Thematically, if your DM transformed, it would cheapen the effect if you just brought your DM back with eternal soul. Also, to further drive home that this is an upgrade, I gave it 400 more ATK/DEF and 1 more level. There aren't that many normal spells to work with in a DM deck, but you get a free 2000 damage when you apply the Spellbook Engine, which is pretty cool.

 

Changes I'm considering: Making it level 7 so that it can be used to summon one of the Ebons, expanding the burn effect to quick-play spells so that more DM deck cards benefit from WWoE, and having it be treated as a DM at ALL times so that Circle can search it. That last one however seems counterproductive if it counts toward the limit of 3 DMs you're allowed to run in a deck at one time. I was also thinking of softening the Semi-nomi nature and counting it as a DM in the hand so that Navigation can bring it out, but I can't really do that without also letting Eternal Soul bring it out, and I don't really want that.

 

Wicked Sorcerer of the Dark

DARK, Level 9

Monster/Spellcaster/Effect

"Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing a Level 6 or higher Spellcaster-Type monster you control and 1 face-up Spell/Trap that specifically lists the card "Dark Magician" in its text. This card's name also becomes "Dark Magician" while in the GY. This card and every "Dark Magician" you control cannot be tributed. During either player's turn, when a Trap Card is activated: You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it."

3200/2800

 

I'll admit the wording on the tribute prevention stumped me, but here we are anyway.

 

This is a re-imagining of the Sorcerer of Dark Magic from the first Yugioh movie. I kept the trap negation and stats, but made it more palatable to DM decks while adding a caveat to its usage. First of all, the changed summon requirement is both a blessing and a curse. It's no longer a nomi and it's technically easier to summon, but you have to give up one of your S/Ts which would otherwise be incredibly useful to you, like Circle or Eternal Soul. On the plus side, if you have multiple Circles out or multiple Eternal Souls laying around, this is a great way to clean up your backrow, so YMMV on how painful the cost is. The banishment here is so that you can get more than one of these guys out at any given point. Oh, and if you get rid of an Eternal Soul to get this thing out, you can use its effect to negate the self-destructive effect of Eternal Soul.

 

The real draw of this guy, though, is that he protects your field from Kaijus, something that no other DM related card can do. In exchange, he makes things like Illusion Magic and standard tribute summons a bit more annoying. In addition, he's a DM in the GY, which means he can be brought back with Eternal Soul (semi-nomi goodness right here) and benefits from Expanded while in the GY. However, he isn't a DM on the field, so he isn't protected from Soul or compatible with Circle or Eye of Timaeus. This seems like a fair trade to me given he comes with his own protection, and the fact that you can use an Apprentice to get him out instead of a DM means you can have your cake and eat it too.

 

Changes I'm considering: a friend made an effort to talk me out of having him be a DM on the field. I'm considering doing it anyway, but preventing cards and effects from being activated in response to his summon. That doesn't help you (he already negates traps) but it does hurt you by specifically preventing a Circle proc. What it would do is make him compatible with Eye of Timaeus and Eternal Soul, as well as WWoE, Expanded, and so on. I'm also considering easing the summon requirements so that you can get rid of a spellcaster of ANY level in addition to the S/T. This would specifically allow Rod and Robe (lol) to become viable pseudo-tributes for his summon.

 

Apprentice Magician of Dark Illusion

DARK, Level 6

Monster/Spellcaster/Effect

"(This card's name is always treated as "Dark Magician Girl".)

You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by discarding 1 card. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Dark Magician" from your Deck to your hand. During damage calculation, if your other DARK Spellcaster monster battles an opponent's monster (Quick Effect): You can send this card from your hand or face-up from your field to the GY; that monster you control gains 2000 ATK/DEF during that damage calculation only."

2000/1700

 

It's literally Apprentice but treated like a DMG at all times. This is something I really wish Apprentice had going for her. I love Apprentice Illusion Magician, but that extra factor would have made her better by opening up new combinations and making more cards viable in a DM deck. (because let's be real, nobody uses DMG outside of the anime)

 

This version of Apprentice is compatible with: Eye of Timaeus, Sage's Stone, Magic Formula, Dark Burning Attack, and Dark Magic Expanded. That's it. Dark Burning Magic doesn't apply because it specifies that the original names of the monsters must be DMG and DM. The remaining cards are: access to Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, (which I think is an awesome card) the fastest way to get a DM out from your deck, (solving an issue that I have where DM decks play the earlygame in the opponent's turn) an unplayable mess, a situational Lightning Vortex that probably isn't worth it because you can't really search Apprentice, and a card I can only describe as "the DM the Dragon Knight plus Eternal Soul combo, in a can, for one turn." I don't think any of these are broken, and I might not even run any of them except for Eye, but I think having the option gives DM decks more room for experimentation and just makes them better and more fun to play.

 

Call of Atem

Normal Spell

"Discard 2 cards OR banish 1 "Dark Magician" from your hand or field; place one "Palladium Oracle Mahad" from your Deck or GY on top of your deck, and if you do, draw 1 card."

 

This card has the singular goal of making Mahad a thing. On paper, Mahad is awesome; it's a free 2500 atk special summon that eats DARK monsters for breakfast and searches out DM when its job is done. The problem is that it's unsearchable, and therefore, unreliable. This is my way around that. You lose quite a bit of hand presence in the process, but in exchange you get Mahad out in a way that would make Atem proud. (see it's not just a special summon, but a special summon specifically through Mahad's effect) The banishment of a DM is an alternative cost that might be worth it, seeing as how another DM is hitting the field when Mahad's work is done anyway. This card is also searchable via Circle, Succession, or Rod.

 

By the way, it doesn't let you put a Mahad from your hand atop your deck, because if Mahad were in your hand, you can and should discard it to the GY as part of the cost.

 

Changes I'm considering: Just making Mahad a special summon instead of going through the motions to make it less vulnerable to hand traps, or protecting it and Mahad's summon from negation. I'm also considering changing/softening the cost, maybe 1 discard and 1000 LP? 2 discards seems steep. Also it could maybe use a name change.

 

Magician's Tome

Equip Spell

"The equipped monster's name becomes "Dark Magician". If equipped to "Dark Magician", the equipped monster gains 2000 ATK/DEF during your opponent's turn. If this card leaves the field: gain 1000 LP."

 

Okay I need wording help with this one, because I want to make sure the second effect doesn't apply if the first effect does. I could get around that by requiring the monster's OG name to be Dark Magician, but that excludes the DM in name only monsters like Dragon Knight.

 

Anyway, this is a re-imagining of Textbook. If equipped to anything that isn't a DM, it becomes a DM, and thus benefits from Eternal Soul, DMA, and so on. If equipped to a DM, it gains 2000 ATK/DEF during your opponent's turn. I chose that bonus because that's what Apprentice does if you tribute her in the damage step. Having it work only in the opponent's turn protects your DM from being destroyed in battle but prevents you from getting an easy OTK. Yes, you can get both effects, but you'd need 2 copies of the card, which I think is fair. The 1000 LP gain is there because Formula has it too. Also, yes, you can use this as fodder to get Wicked Sorcerer of the Dark onto the field.

 

Changes I'm considering: Giving the equipped monster piercing, maybe regardless, maybe only if it's already a DM. This would be in reference to Dark Spear from the anime. I'm also considering just changing the name to Dark Spear in the process, because that thing looks so cool even if it is just a worse Fairy Meteor Crush.

 

Dark Magical Hats

Normal Trap

"During your opponent's Battle Phase: Choose up to 3 Spell/Trap Cards from your GY that specifically list the card "Dark Magician" in their text, and 1 monster in your Main Monster Zone. Special Summon them as Normal Monsters (ATK 0/DEF 0) in face-down Defense Position, Set the chosen monster if it is face-up, and shuffle them on the field. Send the chosen card(s) to the GY at the end of the Battle Phase. If the chosen card(s) is destroyed, add it to your hand."

 

I think I need wording help here too, card grammar is annoying when you don't know if the application is plural or not. ANYWAY...

 

Magical Hats is so crucial to DM in the second series anime that I have to try to make it viable here. There are two differences. First, you can have up to 4 hats. (the chosen monster and the 3 S/Ts) Second, there's actually a penalty for your opponent guessing "wrong": If they destroy an empty hat, you get a card back. Circle, Soul, Navigation, Call of Atem, what have you. Your opponent could stop the attack right there, saving your DM and giving you another chance to use Circle via Flip Summon. Or, they could chance it, with a 1/4 shot of taking out your DM and a 3/4 shot of giving you a lot of firepower. This is a card I would consider running.

 

Changes I'm considering: There's a TON here. Is the effect written the best application? I could reverse it, have the cards go to your hand if the opponent DOESN'T destroy them, though that would screw them over if they only have one monster. I could also have the cards come from the deck or GY, which gives Hats some earlygame application in case you don't have GY fodder. Anything not destroyed goes back into your deck if it came from there and to the GY if it came from the GY. I don't really know with this one. I'm also considering specifically allowing Eye of Timaeus to be selected in addition to the DM S/Ts.

 

Illusion Daggers

Normal Spell

"(This card is always treated as "Thousand Knives")

If you control "Dark Magician": Discard 1 card; destroy 2 cards your opponent controls, and if you do, banish them."

 

It's Twin Twisters for Thousand Knives. Gives the second effect of Eternal Soul a little variety to work with, gives you more options for removal if you have a DM.

 

Changes I'm considering: ....making it a quick play...?

 

Magical Hat Trick

Normal Spell

"Tribute one "Dark Magician" and pay 1000 LP; add 2 Spellcaster monsters from your GY to your hand. You can only activate one "Magical Hat Trick" per turn."

 

This card is a mechanism to get non-DM spellcasters back into the game. In practice, this means Apprentice and Magician of Dark Illusion, though I didn't specify DARK spellcasters specifically so Mahad could apply. There's no other mechanism to bring them back except for Rod's built-in effect, after all.

 

Changes I'm considering: This seems too strong to me. I could shuffle DM into the deck instead of tributing it so that Eternal Soul can't revive it. Maybe I should force the returning to hand bit to wait until the End Phase? I'm not sure.

 

Twin Boxes of Illusion

Quick-Play Spell

"Target one "Dark Magician" you control and one card your opponent controls; banish them. During the End Phase: return the banished "Dark Magician" to the field. This card's activation and effect cannot be negated. Cards and effects cannot be activated in response to this card's activation. You can only activate 1 "Twin Boxes of Illusion" per turn."

 

This final card is a revamped Mystic Box, a card that I always loved in the anime that just didn't work in real life. Here's my workaround. Instead of the two boxes appearing, swords going through the one containing DM, and the reveal that the monsters switched pre-swords, imagine this. The twin boxes encase DM and an enemy monster and vanish. When the turn ends, they return and open, but while DM comes back, the opponent's box is empty. Now, since this card basically amounts to a weaker Thousand Knives or slower Circle, I made it literally foolproof. You lose your DM for the turn, but there is nothing your opponent can do about losing their card. The inability to activate anything in response helps it work, but it also means you can't use it to play Magician of Dark Illusion.

 

Changes I'm considering: maybe dialing it back? Introducing a cost, waiting until the next end phase to bring back DM, or saying that it can only be activated during the opponent's turn are ways to weaken it if it's too strong.

 

That's all I have here. I would absolutely love feedback, both positive and negative, on all the cards here. 

[Tinkerer]

Yo!

I really like the idea of revamping some of DM's old forms and tricks and bringing them into the modern game.

Before getting into any particular card though, I do have to stress that it is unlikely for any of these particular cards will be a significant help to the DM deck overall because of its inherent problem of brickiness (i.e. not having enough starting plays). These cards encourage different ways of playing the deck and opens up some interesting things, but they do not ultimately give the deck that powerful starting play it needs.

Wicked Warlock - A light retrain of a really awesome card. Its effect is fine. By being treated as DM, it opens up extra Circle banishes and grave targets for Eternal Soul. The biggest problem with it really isn't the effect, condition or anything. It's its searchability and inherent reliance on the original DM. Once it hits field, it should do wonders, but it simply adds to the brickiness factor otherwise.

Wicked Sorcerer - I've gotta say, that summoning condition is pretty cool... But it is impractical considering there's only one viable target in the Spell/Trap department: Circle (since, by using E. Soul, you'd just nuke the field and, generally, equip spells aren't what I would call "viable", generally). If you did want to allow ES to be used, you could make its condition shuffling them into the deck since it wouldn't trigger then (a la Reborn Tengu ruling), plus it would keep the flavor and strategy of continually cycling your cards. As for this guy's effect, I'm not sure I care for the anti-kaiju protection. It seems a bit.. forced tbh. It seems pretty impractical otherwise when one could very easily remove this with some other effect then tribute over your DM's anyway. I'd feel its ability to become DM on field would give it much more practicality, albeit being a bit redundant alongside Warlock. Trap protection I won't really touch on since it is a callback more than anything, though being able to hit Dimensional Barrier and Evenly Matched is pretty cool.

Apprentice Illusion - I 100% agree on Apprentice Illusion being a DMG. It simply opens up new avenues. Admittedly, they probably did not want to outright replace DMG, so I can see their reasoning for not doing that, but in context of all these retrains, it makes perfect sense.

Call of Atem - Eh... It does give another 1st turn play, but it requires running Mahad which is.. ok at best. On the plus side, it is searchable and is a T1 play, which DMs desperately need, so... I guess? I'm honestly not sure what to think about the card as it is, though it kinda feels like it doesn't do enough. Maybe have it banish itself to turn a Spellcaster into DM for a turn or something?

Magician's Tome - It's a bit better than Formula and is a more viable target for Wicked Sorcerer (as it can enable the latter on its own). 2k+ ATK is pretty neat, but as it only works on the opponent's turn, it feels like it still doesn't do much. Maybe have the 2000 boost effect be a trigger effect, so that you can use it to summon Magician of Dark Illusion/Robe/Recover Rod. As for its boost, maybe you can make it specifically for DARK Spellcaster level 7s? It already is searchable off its first effect, so that might be as specific as you could make it to DM.

DM Hats - Gimmicky, but really fun sounding. Instead of adding it to the hand, maybe you can have them get set directly into the Spell/Trap zone, so that if they hit a trap, you can activate it during your next turn instead of waiting for your following turn, but then it is more susceptible to spell/trap removal, so I guess you pick your poison. Yeah, I really cannot say that there's anything overly wrong with this card, but I do like the idea of pulling spell/traps from your Deck as well so it has early game applications.

Illusion Daggers - Probably the most all around useful card in the set. Considering it needs DM, I wouldn't begrudge you making it quick-play, especially if it enables some of the other DM cards (that said, maybe Warlock should work on quick plays, but if so I'd lower the burn damage a bit)

Hat Trick - Really, I think this is fine as-is. It's a conditional A Warrior Returning Alive. Only real problem I see with this though is the fact that won't work while you have Wicked Sorcerer on the field (since it prevents tributing). I do like the idea of shuffling it into the Deck as cost though as, flavorwise, DM killing himself to bring back others when he's the key card doesn't sound right. Functionally, though, it makes minimal difference.

Twin Boxes - I like the card. It ends up a 1 for 1 since the DM comes back, but it can also be used to dodge removal and stuff so it has greater utility. I'm not sure how much I like the fact that it's un-counterable, though I don't think it would be a huge issue. Maybe you can replace the un-counterable aspect with an ability to SS the Dark Magician instead of simply returning it, but that has its own issues as well. Ultimately, it's probably fair as-is.


All in all, I like the designs and I think these definitely open up new potential avenues for DM to take, but in the end, the deck still feels like it'd be clunky and bricky without the capacity for making early game plays if they didn't open really well.

[Spenstar]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Yeah, as someone who runs DMs, I should know about the bricking problem. I think I have one or two additions to the set that I'll post later that might address that issue? But I'll go through your suggested changes to the cards we already have first.

 

Wicked Warlock of Eradication

DARK, Level 7

Monster/Spellcaster/Effect

"Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Dark Magician" you control. This card's name also becomes "Dark Magician" while on the field or GY.  Each time a Normal or Quick-Play Spell Card is activated, inflict 700 damage to your opponent immediately after it resolves."

2900/2500

 

Not much to change here. Made quick-plays compatible with its effect but reduced the damage like you suggested, and made it level 7 so there's a thematic reason for the 700 damage. Sadly I can't do much about the searchability without running into a whole host of problems that a DM user wouldn't want to deal with. Maybe if that previously official ruling on Harpie Lady 1 gets overturned...

 

Wicked Sorcerer of the Dark

DARK, Level 9

Monster/Spellcaster/Effect

"Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by shuffling into the Deck a Level 6 or higher Spellcaster-Type monster you control and 1 face-up Spell/Trap that specifically lists the card "Dark Magician" in its text. This card's name also becomes "Dark Magician" while in the GY. DARK Spellcaster monsters cannot be tributed. During either player's turn, when a Trap Card is activated: You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it."

3200/2800

 

Turned the banishment into a shuffle as per your suggestion. I'm not sure what to do here, even though I know things can and should be done. Expanded the tribute protection so that the wording is less clunky and maybe it works better thematically as sort of a big daddy of spellcasters, but it might be too strong. Still not sure about making it a DM on the field, as this would be compatible with Call of Atem and Magic Tome, but honestly I probably should just bite the bullet. I don't want to invalidate Warlock though... this one is going to be tricky.

 

Call of Atem

Quick-Play Spell

"Discard 2 cards OR banish 1 "Dark Magician" from your hand or field; place one Effect Monster that specifically list the card "Dark Magician" in its text from your Deck or GY on top of your deck, and if you do, draw 1 card. You can banish this card from your GY, then target one Spellcaster monster you control; its name becomes "Dark Magician" until the end of the turn."

 

I think this version of Call of Atem would work a lot better. Now it searches out Apprentice, Magician of Dark Illusion, Wicked Warlock, Wicked Sorcerer, and even Rod, while also still having Mahad in mind. Changed it to quick-play so the banish from the grave effect is a quick effect. However, in light of Magician's Ace, (see below) I feel like this card should be further strengthened. Both have the 2 card cost from hand, but this one does something worse with them for less hand power. Thus, I'm considering reducing the cost to "banish 1 card from your hand."

 

Magician's Tome

Equip Spell

"The equipped monster's name becomes "Dark Magician". If equipped to "Wicked Sorcerer of the Dark" or a Level/Rank 7 DARK Spellcaster monster, you can activate this effect: once per turn, during the Battle Step, the equipped monster gains 2000 ATK/DEF. If this card leaves the field: gain 1000 LP."

 

Applied your advice to make the boost a trigger effect, and put it outside the damage step so that Rod, Robe, and Magician of Dark Illusion can benefit from it. Made the requirement for the boost a little bit looser so that it applies to Ebon and to Wicked Sorcerer.

 

Dark Magical Hats

Normal Trap

"During your opponent's Battle Phase: Choose up to 3 Spell/Trap Cards from your Deck and/or GY that specifically list the card "Dark Magician" in their text, and 1 monster in your Main Monster Zone. Special Summon them as Normal Monsters (ATK 0/DEF 0) in face-down Defense Position, Set the chosen monster if it is face-up, and shuffle them on the field. Send the chosen card(s) to the GY at the end of the Battle Phase. If the chosen card(s) is destroyed, add it to your hand."

 

Now you can pull from the deck! I wanted to make the effect such that cards you pull from your deck return to your deck at the end of the turn, but I'm not sure how to get the wording right on that, nor am I sure if it's necessary.

 

edit: I did take into consideration placing them right onto the field instead of adding them to the hand. I stuck with the old proverbial poison for thematic reasons. If the hats are the spells and traps, and your opponent destroys them, they leave the field, rather than being moved to a different part of the field.

 

Illusion Daggers

Quick-Play Spell

"(This card is always treated as "Thousand Knives")

If you control "Dark Magician": Discard 1 card; destroy 2 cards your opponent controls, and if you do, banish them."

 

Made it quick-play because DMs love quick-plays.

 

Magical Hat Trick

Normal Spell

"Shuffle one "Dark Magician" you control into the Deck and pay 1000 LP; add 2 Spellcaster monsters from your GY to your hand. You can only activate one "Magical Hat Trick" per turn."

 

Made it a shuffle instead of a tribute. It works better thematically, gets around Wicked Sorcerer, and even prevents Eternal Soul from cheapening the "sacrifice."

 

Alright, and here's a couple things that might help with the earlygame. These are a bit rougher around the edges, and so might be of worse quality than the cards I've already posted, but here goes.

 

Magician's Ace

Normal Spell

"Shuffle 2 Spell/Trap cards from your Hand into your deck that do not specifically list the card "Dark Magician" in their text; add 2 Spell/Trap cards cards from your Deck to your Hand, that specifically list the card "Dark Magician" or "Dark Magician Girl" in their text, except "Magician's Ace". You can banish this card from your GY; shuffle 1 Spell/Trap that specifically lists the card "Dark Magician" in its text from your GY into your Deck. You can only activate "Magician's Ace" once per turn."

(It's a card trick, get it? xD)

 

Magician's Armory

Normal Spell

"Discard 1 card; add 1 "Magician's Rod" or "Magician's Robe" from your Deck or GY to your Hand. You cannot Special Summon during the turn you activate this effect. You can banish this card from the GY; shuffle one banished "Dark Magician" into the deck."

 

Magician's Armory is just a mechanism to get Rod (or Robe lol) into your hand, possibly circumventing the tribute requirement in Rod's case, while Magician's Ace lets you turn bricks into lemonade. Both are searchable with Circle, and both do more things in the GY.

[Spenstar]

Bump

 

In addition to the bump, I took another crack at Call of Atem:

 

Call of Atem

Normal Spell

"Discard 1 card; place one Level 6 or higher Effect Monster that specifically lists the card "Dark Magician" in its text from your Deck or GY on top of your deck, and if you do, draw 1 card. You can banish this card from your GY, then target one Spellcaster monster you control (Quick Effect); its name becomes "Dark Magician" until the end of the turn."

 

Reduced the cost to 1 discard, so you're losing 2 cards to search out one. Also I reverted it to a Normal Spell but made the second effect quick. The other change is that the selected monster has to be level 6 or higher, meaning you can't use it to search Magician's Rod. There are a couple reasons I did this: to make Magician's Armory worthwhile, to gently nudge the player in Mahad's direction, (as the original intent of the card was to be Mahad support, and indeed if you have Mahad in your hand from an opening draw this card lets you special summon him straightaway) and to encourage creative play. While you can't get Rod, you CAN grab Apprentice Illusion Magician, Magician of Dark Illusion, Wicked Warlock, Wicked Sorcerer, and of course Mahad.

 

The second effect that activates in the GY is meant to protect monsters and increase your options. The most obvious way to use it is in tandem with Eternal Soul, but you can also use it with Eye of Timaeus, or as the banish fodder to summon Wicked Warlock. I am considering also having the selected monster become a level 7 DARK monster to facilitate the Ebons, Apprentice Illusion, Magician's Tome, and Wicked Sorcerer, but Im not sure if that's too much nor do I know the wording to make it happen. 

 

I also want to make a DM field spell but I'm not 100% solid on what it should be. However, here's one idea I have.

 

Millenium World

Field Spell

"When this card is activated: add one "Eternal Soul," "Eye of Timaeus," or "Dark Magical Circle" from your Deck to your Hand. The effects of cards that that specifically list the card "Dark Magician" in their text cannot be negated. If a face-up Continuous Spell/Trap card(s) you control would be destroyed, you can destroy this card instead."