Chapter 32. Dark Magician Gameplan! Simple, Unadorned First-Turn Boards!
5D's World.
As duelists of the Synchro era, Yusei Fudo and the others didn't feel much from the Dark Magician deck breakdown up to this point.
Unlike GX World and Duel Monsters World, they didn't have a shared worldview connection.
So seeing this Normal Monster–centric shell produce such synergy only left them mildly surprised.
"Figures, Synchro is still more fun."
"This deck… forget it."
"It's just not my thing."
Leo pouted.
He still preferred his own deck.
That is, the Morphtronic deck.
Only by rolling Morphtronic dice to spark something different does it feel truly exciting.
"Uh, all I can say is, decks that mainly rely on vanillas…"
"They probably don't have much of a future."
"For example, who even remembers the former 'god-card,' Axe Raider?"
Crow Hogan yawned, and the "Axe Raider" he mentioned was, of course, that 1700 ATK Level 4 Normal Monster.
Sadly, Axe Raider seems to have faded from most duelists' minds.
Back in the days of "Axe King" mirror matches, Axe Raider was the dream card for so many people.
…..
VRAINS World.
Yusaku Fujiki had long since organized the Dark Magician's board-building lines through the decklist plus a few synergistic cards.
And precisely because he'd finished sorting it out, Yusaku showed a cryptic smile.
"The Dark Magician deck isn't that strong."
With that one sentence, Takeru Homura, Aoi Zaizen, and Akira Zaizen all turned their eyes to Yusaku Fujiki.
"Not strong?
Isn't the end board decent?"
"Yusaku, what's your take?"
Akira Zaizen narrowed his eyes at Yusaku Fujiki.
After all, Akira's impression after watching didn't match Yusaku's.
In his view, Dark Magician still had something going for it.
"How to put it…"
"You'll understand after you hear the video creator's explanation."
"Up next, he'll cover the first-turn board lines."
Yusaku sold a pass and then fell silent.
And sure enough, just as he surmised, in the short video that followed, the creator's voice rang out again.
30-Year-Old Dark Magician: "We've got the gist down."
30-Year-Old Dark Magician: "The next issue is that getting to the final end board isn't easy.
It takes at least two to three turns.
And since this is a three-card starter deck, the bricking rate isn't low."
30-Year-Old Dark Magician: "So don't rush the end board yet.
Let's first look at several first-turn lines.
Once you truly grasp these, you're in the door for Dark Magician."
"Line 1.
If you have Magician's Rod in hand, don't hesitate—Normal Summon it to search Dark Magical Circle.
If you already have it, grab something else."
"Then, activate Dark Magical Circle—reveal three, add one—take the optimal pick, for example Eternal Soul or the Field Spell Magician's Salvation."
"After that, Set Eternal Soul.
If you have other Traps, Set those too."
"Your first-turn board ends as Magician's Rod + Dark Magical Circle + Eternal Soul."
"As a floor, that's one reactive banish at Quick-Effect speed and a 'god-tier' protected 2500 ATK Dark Magician."
After that simple sequence, duelists across the six worlds frowned slightly.
This Dark Magician first-turn board felt a bit too plain.
Putting it nicely: simple.
Less nicely: kind of weak.
No—rather, compared to HERO's end board of Destiny HERO – Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer + Masked HERO Dark Law + Destiny HERO – Plasma, this first-turn board wasn't strong enough.
Nor did it project the same intimidation as Eldlich the Golden Lord plus three to five back-row Sets.
"Line 2.
If you have the key power card Magicians' Souls."
"Use Souls to send itself and Special Summon Dark Magician."
"Then Normal Summon Magician's Rod, and search the Spell Bond Between Teacher and Student."
"Bond Between Teacher and Student: If 'Dark Magician' is on your field, Special Summon 1 Dark Magician Girl from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard."
"After that, Set from Deck Dark Burning Magic."
"End board: Magician's Rod + Dark Magician + Dark Magician Girl."
"Face-up, you're threatening a Quick-Play Dark Burning Magic to blow up all cards your opponent controls."
With Line 2 explained, quite a few duelists finally looked a little excited.
As expected, the King of Games' deck still has teeth.
A reactive full-board blowout.
Set Dark Burning Magic.
That already projects serious pressure.
If you high-roll a bit more, add Dark Magical Circle and Eternal Soul.
Then this Line 2 first-turn board is, without a doubt, the strongest first-turn option, right?
"Line 3.
If you have Illusion of Chaos."
"Reveal Illusion for a search—add Dark Magician from Deck if you don't already have it."
"Use Magician's Rod to search the Quick-Play Spell Secrets of Dark Magic."
"Secrets of Dark Magic is straightforward.
One mode is Fusion Summon.
The other is Ritual Summon, so here we Ritual Summon Illusion of Chaos."
"End board: one Illusion of Chaos negate; and if you also have Dark Magical Circle, you've basically got a reactive banish too."
"But… it's hard.
All I can say is, Dark Magician being a three-card starter is a bit fatal."
"....."
Indeed, across the three lines, they shared overlapping touchpoints and common threads.
And that gave the old guard of the original era a fresh bout of reflection and insight.
So it seems, achieving the mutual-protection state of Dark Magician the Dragon Knight and Eternal Soul is not as simple as it sounds.
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