Best Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Dark Magician deck

Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel has a wide variety of deck options, and one of them features the popular Dark Magician card. One of Yugi Mutoh’s most frequently used cards in the anime, it’s also the star of a slow, but powerful control deck in the card game.

Unlike some other Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel decks, this is not a deck for someone who wants to win fast. The matches will likely be slow, stopping the opponent from getting an advantage at every turn. It can be incredibly frustrating to play against, which is what makes it so fun.

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What is the Dark Magician Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel?

Dark Magician Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is a slow control deck, where the duelist picks away at the other players' options, bit by bit until it’s time to go in for the kill. The deck uses the ever-popular Accesscode Talker, but unlike in Zoodiac Tri-Brigade, it’s not going to be an OTK.

In this Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel deck, the Accesscode Talker will have 5300 Attack Points, so other damage will need to be done first. We can use Dark Magician early, through some graveyard shenanigans and it will help us get started. There’s always a chance a player could win with just him and the control spells too.

Darkest Magics and Soldiers from the Storm are the Secret Packs players want in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel to build this deck faster. It's time to crack some packs if duelists want to find these cards a bit faster!

How does the deck function though?

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Control the flow of the game with Dark Magician

A simple, but effective card, Dark Magician is the key to our success in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel (Image via Konami)

Players can easily get Dark Magician into play on turn 1, with the right card in your hand. Specifically, Magicians’ Souls needs to be activated in hand. With this in hand, players activate it and send Dark Magician from their deck to their graveyard, and then you can special summon Magicians’ Souls, and really kick things off in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel.

Instead of using that spell to bring Dark Magician into play, the best move is to use Eternal Soul in this Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel deck. This trap spell gives all “Dark Magician” cards in that players’ Monster Field immunity to card effects of the other player, and special summons the Dark Magician from the graveyard.

However, if Eternal Soul leaves play, that player's monster cards go to the graveyard, so be careful. Another key component to the deck is Magician’s Rod since it allows the player to find and use important cards when the player needs them most.

Dark Magic Circle is incredibly frustrating, rewarding the player for bringing out Dark Magicians (Image via Konami)

Magician’s Rod is a Spellcaster that, when summoned, lets the player add a Spell or Trap from their deck that features “Dark Magician” in it. This means that the player can seek out Dark Magic Attack or Dark Magic Circle.

Dark Magic Attack destroys all of the other player’s spells and traps if the caster controls a Dark Magician. This is an excellent card to stop the enemy from getting set up to counterplay with ease.

Dark Magic Circle is a real frustrating card though when it comes to this Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel deck. While this spell is in play, summoning a Dark Magician allows the player to banish a card on the opponent’s field, giving an incredible deal of control as well. This makes it worthwhile to keep bringing back the Dark Magician.

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Getting Dark Magician back for control combos

Apprentice Illusion Magician can be summoned to find a Dark Magician from the deck and put it into the hand, making it a valuable ally as well. This deck also runs one Dark Magician Girl, and it’s invaluable when it comes to the overall strategy.

Magicians' Combination lets players halt incoming enemy effects once a turn, and is not to be underestimated (Image via Konami)

It’s important to have a few Dark Magician options though, and that’s because of Magicians’ Combination. This continuous trap lets the player, once per turn Tribute a Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl, while a card or effect is being activated.

Then that player can special summon a Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl from their hand or graveyard, with a different name. This also counters whatever effect it interrupted. With this, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel player can consistently stop opponents from ever getting an edge.

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Enter the Accesscode Talker in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel

Before Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel players get into Accesscode Talker, Dark Magician the Dragon Knight is a solid mid-game damage dealer/defensive option. Players will summon it by casting The Eye of Timaeus and Dark Magician.

It counts as a Dark Magician, and opponents cannot target spells and effects on the duelists’ backline. Those cards cannot be destroyed by opponent’s card effects either.

On top of that, it has 3,000 Attack Points, so it’s going to deal solid damage. It’s not quite enough though. We can poke away at our opponents with Dark Magician attacks, but something more substantial is needed.

Depending on how the game has shaken out, Amulet Dragon can be the key to Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel victory (Image via Konami)

There are two options in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel: Amulet Dragon and Accesscode Talker. The Amulet Dragon has a base power of 2900 but can banish any number of Spell Cards in either graveyard and gain 100 Attack Points per card banished. This could be a solid way to end the game, or players can opt for Accesscode Talker. Amulet Dragon requires Dark Magician and The Eye of Timaeus to summon.

Accesscode Talker can choose a monster linked to gain more Attack Points. With this strategy, players Link Climb with Effect Veiler, to get Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians. Then, use her revive Effect to get Effect Veiler back, and use both to summon Accesscode Talker.

Targeting Selene, Accesscode Talker now has 5300 Attack. With an early and mid-game focus around demolishing an opponent’s defenses, Accesscode Talker should have no problem ending any Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel match.

However, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel decks that are exceptionally fast may overwhelm a Dark Magician deck before it gets started, and that’s important to note. The way to combat this deck is to attack hard and fast, so a trio of Turn 1 or 2 Blue-Eyes White Dragons, for example, can spell disaster. The other way to combat it is to slow down this player’s ability to use spells and traps.

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Decklist for Dark Magician Deck

This is a particularly expensive deck to craft in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, so it may require a fair amount of actual card crafting, especially in the Ultra Rare rarity.

Main Deck

• Dark Magician x3
• Effect Veiler x1
• Magicians' Souls x3
• Magician's Rod x3
• Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring x3
• Dark Magician Girl x1
• Apprentice Illusion Magician x3
• Dark Magic Attack x1
• The Eye of Timaeus x3
• Magicalized Fusion x1
• Dark Magical Circle x3
• Called by the Grave x1
• Soul Servant x3
• Secrets of Dark Magic x1
• Magician Navigation x1
• Solemn Judgment x3
• Solemn Strike x3
• Eternal Soul x2
• Magicians' Combination x1

Extra Deck

• Amulet Dragon x1
• Dark Magician the Dragon Knight x2
• Number 11: Big Eye x1
• Ebon Illusion Magician x2
• Link Spider x3
• Linkuriboh x1
• Akashic Magician x1
• Security dragon x1
• Wee Witch's Apprentice x1
• Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians x1
• Accesscode Talker x1

That's all there is to the Dark Magician Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel! It takes time to learn when to control the board and when to attack, but it's incredibly satisfying to completely shut down a board with dark magical power.

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