This card was first used in the DEATH-T Duel of the manga (the first major duel of the NAS anime is based on the DEATH-T duel). Yugi destroyed Kaiba's "Judge Man" with this monster, but it was later destroyed by the third "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" that Kaiba Summons.
In Kaiba's first appearance in the Toei anime (episode 03), he is shown stealing this card from a student at another school before transferring to Domino High. However, it was named "Dark Wizard" (ダーク・ウィザード Dāku Wizādo) and it had 2000 ATK and 1800 DEF.
In episode 08, Yugi Mutou dueled a nurse puppet that was controlled by Ridley Sheldon. The duel was interrupted part-way through, and the episode showed a variety of cards used by both players. In the background, the monster "Ghost" was shown fighting a silhouette that resembled "Dark Magician".
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! (Toei film), Yami Yugi had a duel against Seto Kaiba and summomed this monster, and used "Magical Hats" to protect it from Kaiba's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". Kaiba attacked one of the hats, but the attack activated the Trap card "Curse of Dark Cross Star", which decreased the ATK of "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" by 700. "Dark Magician" attacked and destroyed the weakened Blue-Eyes. During the next turn, Kaiba summomed another "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and destroyed this card.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 0022: "The Gauntlet Is Thrown", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Maximillion Pegasus. He Summons it without looking at it first in an effort to counter the Millennium Eye. Pegasus activates "Sun Shower" in response, but since this card wasn't a Zombie-type monster, nothing happens. This card then attacks and destroys "Koumori Dragon" (who Pegasus had taken control of via the effect of "Dragon Piper"). Pegasus then attacks this card with "Illusionist Faceless Mage" (who was equipped with "Eye of Illusion"). Due to the effect of "Eye of Illusion", "Illusionist Faceless Mage" is not destroyed and Pegasus takes no damage. On Yugi's turn, "Eye of Illusion" switched control of this card to Pegasus. Yugi's "Celtic Guardian" then attacks "Illusionist Faceless Mage", but the second effect of "Eye of Illusion" redirects the attack to this card. This card then destroys "Celtic Guardian". This card remained on the field until the Duel was over.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 0099: "Duel With a Ghoul", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against the Impersonator of Death. After summoning this card, Yugi uses this card to attack and destroy "Hitotsu-Me Giant". After the Impersonator of Death summons "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", Yugi switches this card into Defense Position and summons "Curse of Dragon" in Defense Position, but the impersonator activates "Defense Paralysis" to switch both this card and "Curse of Dragon" to Attack Position. On Yugi's next turn, he activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card within one of four hats. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" then attacks a hat. In the next episode, the hat is revealed to be empty. On the impersonator's next turn, he uses "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" to attack another hat, but that one is revealed to contain "Spellbinding Circle" which decreases the ATK of "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" by 700. Yugi then releases this card from the hat it was hiding in. This card then attacks and destroys "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". The impersonator then summons a second "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and uses it to attack and destroy this card.
In the first above-mentioned episode, Kaiba decides to find out which Dueling platform Yugi is on via computer. He decides to use this card as a cross reference as Yugi would most likely use this card if he is in a Duel. After crashing a satellite, he starts searching around the Dueling arenas for "Dark Magician", but finds none. The last active one is arena 146. Kaiba tries to enter, but finds himself unable to. Kaiba deduces it's a virus that will prevent him from searching. He then uses virtual TNT to blow up the door, however he finds a virtual castle which is the last defense that Kaiba has to go past. Kaiba confidently says "Alcatraz" ("Pegasus" in the dub). The password is correct and Kaiba enters. In the next episode, Kaiba goes inside and he finds out that an impostor of himself is dueling Yugi. The computer then explains how Yugi defeated the first "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and this card is shown during the explanation.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 01212: "Trial by Red Eyes", Yugi Muto and his friends were showing to each other what their favorite card was. Yugi showed this card and states it's his favorite. Yami Bakura would later seal Yugi's soul within this card.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 01313: "Evil Spirit of the Ring", Yami Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Yami Bakura. It appears as Yugi himself dressed as the "Dark Magician" and he is able to communicate with his other half through it. He then attacks and destroys Bakura's "Morphing Jar", but that activates the latter's effect, forcing both players to discard their entire hand and draw five new cards. On Yami Yugi's next turn, Joey, who was "Flame Swordsman", accidentally provokes Yugi. This is enough for Yugi to attack and destroy Yami Bakura's set monster, but the set monster is revealed to be "Electric Lizard", whose effect prevents Yugi from attacking on Yami Yugi's next turn. Later Yami Bakura activates "Change of Heart" to take control of Yugi, so he could win the duel, but as Bakura Ryou's soul was trapped within the card, he chose to take control "Lady of Faith" instead, saving Yami from losing the duel. Bakura tells Yugi to attack, but Yugi doesn't want to hurt his friend. The argument continues until Yami Yugi uses his magic to make Bakura and Yami Bakura swap places. This makes Bakura Yami Yugi's opponent and Yami Bakura "Lady of Faith". Yugi then attacks and destroys Yami Bakura, winning Yami Yugi the Duel and sparing Bakura from being sent to the Graveyard.
This card also appeared in Yami Bakura's thoughts when he explained that he was going to use "Change of Heart" to take control of this card and use it to attack and destroy one of Yami Yugi's monsters and win the Duel.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 02020: "Double Trouble Duel, Part 2", Yugi uses this card during his Tag Duel with Joey Wheeler against the Paradox Brothers. After Yugi summons this card, he moves this monster 5 spaces, so that way it is in front of "Celtic Guardian", "Axe Raider", and "Flame Swordsman". Para then activates "Magical Labyrinth" to cut off Yugi and Joey's monsters from each other. Yugi later activates "Mystic Box" to destroy Dox's "Jirai Gumo" and get this card to where "Jirai Gumo" previously was. Yugi then uses this monster to attack and destroy Dox's "Labyrinth Tank". Yugi then activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card and Joey's "Flame Swordsman" from "Dungeon Worm". In the next episode, the hats protect this card from the attack made by "Suijin" when the said attack floods the entire maze. Later on, Yugi releases this card from the hat it was hiding in and moves it forward towards the end of the maze where "Gate Guardian" was. He then activates "Reborn the Monster" to Summon Dox's "Suijin" under his control. When "Sanga of the Thunder" attacks this card, Yugi uses the effect of "Suijin" to negate the attack. Later "Kazejin" attacks "Suijin", but Yugi uses its effect to negate the attack. "Sanga of the Thunder" then attacks and destroys "Suijin" since the latter's effect can only be used once per turn. On the last turn of the Duel, Yugi activates "Monster Replace" to swap the positions of this card and "Black Skull Dragon". This card remained on the field until the Duel was over.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 02222: "Face Off, Part 1", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Kaiba. When Kaiba uses "Swordstalker" (whose ATK was 2400 due to its own effect) to attack "Curse of Dragon", Yugi activates "Monster Replace" to return "Curse of Dragon" to his hand and Special Summon this card in its place. A replay occurs and Kaiba chooses not to attack. This card then destroys Kaiba's "Swordstalker". On Yugi's next turn, this card attacks Kaiba's "La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp", but Kaiba activates "Ancient Lamp" to redirect the attack to "Curse of Dragon", destroying it. In the next episode, Yugi uses "Mystic Box" to destroy "Ancient Lamp". This card then attacks and destroys "La Jinn". On Yugi's next turn, he recalls this card back to his hand and summons "Gaia The Fierce Knight". "Gaia" then attacks and destroys "Saggi the Dark Clown", but this allows Kaiba to activate "Crush Card" which destroys "Gaia" and this card, and renders every monster that has at least 1500 ATK in Yugi's Deck useless.
In the first above-mentioned episode, this card appears in a flashback Téa Gardner has when she remembers when Yugi rescued her. Yami Yugi challenged a thug who had knocked out Téa to a challenge, utilizing his Deck. He claimed that the person who drew the strongest monster wins. The thug drew "Curse of Dragon" and confidently claimed that this monster's ATK is really high. Yami draws from the Deck and gets this card, so Yami wins. The thug, angrily charges forward, but Yami gives the thug a Mind Crush, knocking the thug out.
In the first above-mentioned episode, this card appeared in a flashback Téa has when she remembers Yami Yugi's Duel with Yami Bakura and notes to herself that there maybe two Yugis.
In the first above-mentioned episode, this card appears in a flashback Téa Gardner has when she remembers Yami Yugi's Duel with Yami Bakura and notes to herself that there may be two Yugis.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 02929: "Duel Identity, Part 1", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Mai Valentine. He Summons it in Defense Position and sets "Mirror Force". Mai then activates "Shadow of Eyes" to switch this card into Attack Position and force it to attack "Harpie Lady". The effect of "Mirror Wall" then negates the attack and halves this card's ATK. After Mai activates "Harpie's Feather Duster" to destroy Yugi's set "Mirror Force", "Harpie's Pet Dragon" (whose ATK was 2300 due to its own effect) then attacks and destroys this card.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 03434: "Best of Friends, Best of Duelists, Part 2", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Joey Wheeler. After this card is summoned, Yugi activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card within one of four hats. "Black Skull Dragon" attacks a hat, but it turns out to be empty. Joey summons "Garoozis" in an attempt to get Yugi to this card out, but Yugi doesn't fall for it. "Black Skull Dragon" attacks another Hat, but that turns out to be empty too. On Joey's next turn, "Black Skull Dragon" destroys a hat, but it's revealed to contain "Spellbinding Circle" which paralyzes "Black Skull Dragon" and decreases its ATK by 700. Yugi then releases this card from the hat it was under and equips this card with "Book of Secret Arts", which increases this card's ATK and DEF by 300. This card then attacks and destroys "Black Skull Dragon". Later this card attacks "Baby Dragon", but Joey activates "Kunai with Chain" to stop the attack and immobilize this card. Later Joey activates the effect of "Time Wizard". Joey succeeds in the gamble, so the effect of "Time Wizard" transforms "Baby Dragon" into "Thousand Dragon", but this also transforms this card into "Dark Sage".
This card also appears in Yugi's thoughts when he notes it will take all the wisdom his grandfather taught him and all the power in his cards to defeat Pegasus.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 03636: "Yugi vs. Pegasus: Match of the Millennium, Part 2", Yugi draws this card during his Duel against Pegasus. In the next episode, Yugi Summons this card and activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card within one of four hats. Pegasus then tries to read Yugi's mind to find this card's location, but Yugi and Yami Yugi switch minds to prevent this from happening. "Toon Summoned Skull" then attacks a hat, but it turns out to be empty. On Pegasus's next turn, "Toon Summoned Skull" attacks another hat, but that hat turns out to be empty too. Later Pegasus activates "Magical Neutralizing Force" to get rid of the other hats and expose this card. Pegasus then uses "Toon Summoned Skull" to attack this card, but Yugi activates "Living Arrow" to activate the effect of "Magical Neutralizing Force" and destroy "Toon World". Yugi then activates "Mirror Force" to deflect the attack right back at Pegasus's unToonified monsters, destroying them and inflicting damage to Pegasus equal to the ATK difference between "Toon Summoned Skull" and the destroyed monsters. In the following episode, Yugi uses this card to attack Pegasus' "Relinquished", but Pegasus destroys the "Curse of Dragon" equipped onto "Relinquished" to prevent "Relinquished" from being destroyed. Due to the last effect of "Relinquished", Yami Yugi takes the Battle Damage that Pegasus would have taken. Pegasus then activates the effect of "Relinquished" to equip this card onto it and make its ATK and DEF the same as this card's. In the next episode, Yami Yugi activates "Mystic Box" to make this card and "Jigen Bakudan" switch places. This frees this monster from "Relinquished" and makes "Jigen Bakudan" the Equip Card on "Relinquished" instead. On Yami Yugi's next turn, he activates "Brain Control" to take control of Pegasus's "Relinquished" until the End Phase. Yugi then activates "Dark Magic Ritual" to Tributes this card and "Jigen Bakudan" in order to Ritual Summon "Magician of Black Chaos".
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 04040: "Aftermath", this card guards the mind of Yami Yugi from Shadi. When this monster tries to attack Yugi and Shadi due to them intruding, Shadi tries to summon the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and use it to destroy this monster, however Regular Yugi convinces Shadi to stand down. Thanks to Yugi's convincing, this card stopped his attack and withdrew back his staff. Shadi was surprised that this card was able to obey Yugi and this made him realize that he must be the one.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 04242: "The Ties of Friendship", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Rebecca Hawkins. He sets this card in Defense Position. Rebecca then activates "Stop Defense" to switch this card into Attack Position. "Shadow Ghoul" (whose ATK was 2700 due to its own effect) then attacks and destroys this card. Later Yugi activates "Monster Reborn" to revive this card. On Yugi's next turn, this card attacks and destroys Rebecca's "Cannon Soldier". This causes the ATK of "Shadow Ghoul" to increase to 2800. Yugi could have won the duel if he had activated "Soul Release" to banish five of Rebecca's monsters and decrease the ATK of "Shadow Ghoul" by 500 which would allow this card to attack and destroy it, however Yugi surrendered the duel because he wanted to show Rebecca there is more to a duel than winning.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 04343: "Legendary Heroes, Part 1", Yugi Summons this card when he, Joey, and Mokuba Kaiba had to defeat three zombies. Mokuba's "Rude Kaiser" attacks and destroys "Dragon Zombie" while this card attacks and destroys "Armored Zombie" and "Clown Zombie". The zombies then revive themselves and become stronger. Later Joey activates "Shield & Sword" to swap the ATK and DEF of all monsters on the field which made the ATK of the zombies 0. This card then attacks and destroys the three zombies.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 04545: "Legendary Heroes, Part 3", Yugi Summons this card to fight off an array of flying foes that were guarding the "Castle of Dark Illusions". A bunch of "Mega Thunderballs" later attack the flying machine, causing Yugi to fall down. A "Whiptail Crow" lunges forward, but Iru jumps in and takes the attack, causing her to be destroyed. This card then attacks and destroys the "Whiptail Crow". After the gang defeat the army, Mai activates "Elegant Egotist" to transform "Harpie Lady" into the "Harpie Lady Sisters" and use them to take this card and "Giltia the D. Knight" with them to the castle.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 04646: "Dungeon Dice Monsters, Part 1", this card is shown on some TV monitors that were showing the Duels that occurred in Duelist Kingdom.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 05151: "The Mystery Duelist, Part 2", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Bandit Keith while the latter was possessed by Marik Ishtar. He summons this card in Defense Position. Yugi then activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card within one of four hats. Keith then activates "Magic Jammer", discarding a card to negate this card's effect and destroy it. Keith then activates "Curse of Fiend", switching this card and "Zera the Mant" to Attack Position and switching "Seiyaryu" to Defense Position. "Zera the Mant" then attacks this card, but Yugi activates "Mirror Force" to destroy all Attack Position monsters Keith controls. Keith then activates "Solemn Judgment", paying half his Life Points to negate the effect of "Mirror Force" and destroy it. "Zera the Mant" then destroys this card.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 05353: "Steppin' Out", Yami Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Johnny Steps. After this card is summoned, Yami uses this card to attack and destroy "Heavy Metal King". Johnny wondered why the effect of "Metalmorph" didn't activate. Yami Yugi explains that was because he attacked, not Johnny, therefore the effect of "Metalmorph" didn't increase the ATK of "Heavy Metal King" when it battled this card. Upon finding out who Yugi is, Johnny surrenders as he realized that he couldn't beat Yugi if he had defeated Pegasus.
This card also appears on a poster that Yugi and Téa Gardner read when they find a game store that was selling Duel Monster cards.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 05454: "Obelisk the Tormentor", this card is shown at the bottom of Yami Yugi's Deck when he takes it out and tells Téa that he and Yugi created the Deck they use together.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 05555: "Stalked by the Rare Hunters", this card is shown on the computer screen as Yugi's rarest card when he registers to compete in Battle City.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 05656: "Yugi vs. The Rare Hunter, Part 1", this card is shown on Seeker's computer when he was researching the Battle City participants and trying to figure out who should he duel first. This card is shown to be Yugi's rarest card.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 06060: "The Master of Magicians, Part 1", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Arkana. He Tribute Summons this card by Tributing "Alpha The Magnet Warrior" and "Legion the Fiend Jester" (who Yugi took control of via "Brain Control"). This card then attacks directly. In the next episode, Arkana activates "The Mystical Guillotine" to destroy this card, but Yugi activates "Magical Hats" to create 4 hats and hide this card in one of them. "Mystical Guillotine" then destroys a hat, but it's revealed to be empty. Arkana then activates "Thousand Knives" to destroy this card, but Yugi activates "Cursebreaker" which negates and destroys "Thousand Knives" and "Magical Hats". Arkana's "Dark Magician" then attacks this card, causing both monsters to be destroyed in a Double KO. Arkana and Yugi then both activates "Monster Reborn" to Special Summon their "Dark Magicians" from the Graveyard. Arkana later activates "Beckon to the Dark" to destroy this card, but Yugi activates "Mystical Refpanel" to negate "Beckon to the Dark" and use the effect of "Beckon to the Dark" to destroy Arkana's "Dark Magician", however Arkana activates "Nightmare's Chains", which negates "Mystical Refpanel" and renders this card unable to attack or defend Yugi. Arkana's "Dark Magician" then attacks directly. Later Arkana uses the effect of "Ectoplasmer" to Tribute his "Dark Magician", but this causes this card to be automatically Tributed, which allows Yugi to avoid the damage that "Ectoplasmer" would have inflicted to him. In the following episode, this card can be seen in Yami Yugi's Graveyard when Arkana protests that Yugi only has one copy of this card in his Graveyard.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 06565: "Mime Control, Part 1", this card appears in Yami Yugi's hand during his Duel against Strings while the latter was possessed by Marik Ishtar.
It should be noted that this is an error as Yami Yugi is not seen with this card in his hand in the next two episodes.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 07474: "The Rescue", this card appears all three times when small clips are shown going through a black background before we see a flashback of a Battle City Duel(s).
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 08585: "Rage of the Egyptian Gods", this card can be seen when Yugi is rebuilding his Deck.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 09999: "Isolated in Cyber Space, Part 1", this card appears when Yami Yugi was building his Virtual World Deck for his Duel against Gansley. This card was one of the few known cards that Yami Yugi selects to be placed into his Deck.
After selecting the cards that will be in his Deck, Yami Yugi had to choose who his Deck Master will be. Yami Yugi was about to choose this card as his Deck Master since it never let him down, but "Kuriboh" selects itself instead.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 103103: "Freeze Play, Part 2", Yugi draws this card while he was going through a door puzzle. He was about to use this card, but Yami Yugi convinces him to save it for later. Later Yugi finds Téa Gardner Dueling Crump. On the final turn of the Duel, Téa activates "Sage's Stone" to place the latter in one Monster Card Zone as this card for this turn (the anime however depicts Yugi Muto's copy of this card being summoned to Téa's side of the field). This card then attacks and destroys "Defender Iceberg.” “Dark Magician Girl” then attacks directly, winning the duel for Tea.
This card also appears in a flashback Téa has when she remembers Yugi talking about "Maha Vailo" looking similar to him and having a great power inside its effect. Téa asked if this card was similar to Yugi. Yugi noted it wasn't despite it being his favorite card, but it was more fitting for his other self, Yami Yugi.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 111111: "Merger of the Big Five, Part 1", Yami Yugi uses this card as his Deck Master during his Tag Duel with Joey against the Big Five. In the next episode, this card still remained on the sidelines. In the following episode, Yugi moves this card to the field. He then activates "Polymerization" to fuse this card with Joey's Deck Master, "Flame Swordsman" in order to Fusion Summon "Dark Flare Knight". At the end of the Battle Phase, the last effect of "Mirage Knight" banishes itself and revives this card and "Flame Swordsman" in its place. Yugi then activates "Magical Hats" to hide this card within one of four hats. He then activates his Deck Master's Special Ability to duplicate the effect of "Magical Hats" and hide Joey's "Flame Swordsman" within one of four hats. Leichter's "Berserk Dragon" then attacks all the "Hats" on Yugi's side of the field due to its effect. The three empty hats are destroyed, but before this card could be destroyed, Joey orders his "Flame Swordsman" to intercept the attack. Joey then activates "Silver Dollar" to prevent his monster from being destroyed and to nullify the Battle Damage he would have taken. Later Joey activates "Knight's Title" to Tribute this card and Special Summon "Dark Magician Knight".
In the first above-mentioned episode, this card can be seen when Yami Yugi and Joey were building their Virtual World Decks for their Duel against the Big Five. This is the only known card Yugi selects.
In the second above-mentioned episode, this card appears in a flashback Yugi has when he explains how his "Des Volstgalph" gained 200 ATK despite that he had no Spell or Trap Cards on his side of the field.
In the third above-mentioned episode, this card appears in a flashback Yami Yugi has when he remembers Joey using the Deck Master ability of "Flame Swordsman" to transfer 1000 of its ATK to "Rocket Warrior" which is why Joey was able to use "Silver Dollar" on "Flame Swordsman" when it intercepted the attack "Berserk Dragon" made on "Dark Magician".
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 117117: "Noah's Final Threat, Part 1", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Noah Kaiba. He Tribute Summons this card by Tributing "Sangan" and "Gamma The Magnet Warrior". This card then attacks directly. Noah then targets this card in order to activate "Next World", allowing Noah to summon a Spirit monster in his hand with the same Level as this card with no Tributes. Noah then Normal Summons "Yamata Dragon" and uses it to attack and destroy this card. The Deck Master Ability of "Shinato, King of a Higher Plane" then activates, increasing Noah's Life Points by the damage Yugi took. In the next episode, Yugi revives this card via "Dark Renewal". After Yugi activates "Dark Magic Ritual" to Ritual Summon "Magician of Black Chaos" All three Magicians attack directly, but Noah activates "Chaos Barrier Field" to negate the attack and force "Dark Magician Girl" and force "Magician of Black Chaos" to battle instead. "Magician of Black Chaos" then destroys "Dark Magician Girl". The Deck Master Ability of "Shinato" then activates, increasing Noah's Life Points by the damage Yugi took. Later "Magician of Black Chaos" attacks and destroys Noah's set "Otohime", but this activates the latter's effect, switching this card to Defense Position. On Noah's next turn, he activates "Change of Heart" to take control of this card. He then Tributes this card and a "Spirit Token" that was created via "Vessel of Illusion" in order to Tribute Summon "Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi".
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 120120: "Burying The Past - Part 1", Yugi Summons this card to attack the monsters that were blocking the group's way to the Virtual World's exit. This card and "Rocket Warrior" then attack together to destroy "Cosmo Queen". In the next episode, this card and "Flame Swordsman" work together to destroy the remaining army. This card is shown destroying "Lizard Soldier" and later "Command Knight".
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 131131: "Clash in the Coliseum - Part 3", Yugi discards this card via the effect of "Life Shaver" during his Duel against Kaiba. In the next episode, Yugi activates "Monster Reborn" to revive this card. On Yugi's next turn, this card attacks Kaiba's "Lord of Dragons", but Kaiba activate "Magical Trick Mirror" to activate Yugi's "Monster Reborn" from the Graveyard as Kaiba's card, allowing Kaiba to revive "Obelisk the Tormentor" and use it to intercept the attack. This causes the attack to fail. In the following episode, one "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" attacks this card, but Yugi activates "Magician's Selection" to negate the attack and destroy "Lord of Dragons". In the next episode, Yugi uses the effect of Kaiba's "Polymerization" (through the effect of "Double Spell") to fuse this card with "Buster Blader" in order to Fusion Summon "Dark Paladin".
In the first above-mentioned episode, this card is seen in a series of flashbacks Kaiba has when he notes to himself that he always feels excited when he Duels against Yugi.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 135135: "Battle for the Bronze - Part 1", this card is seen in a flashback Yugi has when he remembers that he couldn't have defeated Kaiba without Joey's help.
This card is also shown in another flashback Yugi has when he explains to Kaiba that he and Joey defeated Kaiba with "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" which he allowed Yugi to keep in his Deck for the time being.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 137137: "Battle for the Bronze - Part 3", this card appears when Ishizu tells Kaiba that the sorcerer that resembles him may have been the ancient pharaoh's rival, but he was also the pharaoh's friend.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 144144: "Looking Back and Moving Ahead", this card appears in a flashback Téa has when she remembers Noah turning Joey to stone and herself claiming to Noah that he is a pitiful child with Noah claiming the goddess of victory comes to the chosen ones and he himself has chosen Yugi to help him, but Yugi refuses.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 146146: "A New Evil - Part 2", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Gurimo. He discards this card to the Graveyard via the effect of "Graceful Charity". After Gurimo summons "Warrior Dai Grepher", Yami Yugi activates "Dark Renewal" to Tribute "Watapon" and "Warrior Dai Grepher" and revive this card . This card then attacks directly, but Gurimo activates "Shield Wall" to Special Summon four "Shield Tokens" and use one token to intercept the attack. This card then destroys a token. Later "Warrior Dai Grepher" (whose ATK was 3000 due to "The Seal of Orichalcos" and "The A. Forces" then attacks and destroys this card.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 148148: "The Creator Returns", this card appears in Yugi's thoughts when Yami Yugi notes that although Pegasus no longer has the Millennium Eye, he was the chosen one and he was the creator of Duel Monsters.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 157157: "Fate of the Pharaoh - Part 2", this card is shown in Yami Yugi's hand during his Duel against Rafael. In the next episode, Yami Yugi Tribute Summons this card by Tributing "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" and "Berfomet". This card then gains 500 ATK due to "The Seal of Orichalcos" ("Dark Magician" was shown trying to resist the power of the "The Seal" before he got fully corrupted). After "Kuribabylon" attacks and destroys "Guardian Grarl", Yami Yugi uses this card to attack Rafael's "Backup Gardna", but Rafael activates "Aid to the Doomed" from his hand in order to discard two cards and end Yami Yugi's turn. Later Yami Yugi activates the effect of "Catapult Turtle" to Tribute this card and inflict damage to Rafael equal to half of this card's total ATK. On the last turn of the Duel, Rafael activates the effect of "Guardian Eatos" to banish this card, "Dark Magician Girl", "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts", "Berfomet", and "Big Shield Gardna" and increase the ATK of "Guardian Eatos" by the total ATK of the banished monsters.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 160160: "On the Wrong Track - Part 1", this card is seen in a flashback Yami Yugi has when he saw that his own monsters were angry at him for his selfish actions and when he lost his Duel with Rafael.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 161161: "On the Wrong Track - Part 2", this card is shown in a series of flashbacks that Joey has when he recalls all of the hardship that he endured in the past and explains to Rex that anybody who loses so many times should keep trying and never give up.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 163163: "Self Destruction", Ironheart picks this card up from the ground after Yami Yugi drops it while being flung from the train after dueling Weevil.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 175175: "Grappling with a Guardian - Part 2", Yami Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Rafael. He Summons this card via "Dark Magic Curtain". This card then attacks "Guardian Elma" (who had 2100 ATK due to "Butterfly Dagger - Elma" and "The Seal of Orichalcos"), but Rafael activates "Guardian Formation" to negate the attack and move "Guardian Elma" to his Spell & Trap Card Zone (which he could do due to "The Seal of Orichalcos"). The second effect of "Guardian Formation" then activates, allowing Rafael to take "Celestial Sword - Eatos" from his Deck and immediately activate it, equipping it to "Backup Gardna". Rafael then Special Summons "Guardian Eatos" since he had no monsters in his Graveyard. Like this card before it, "Guardian Eatos" is shown resisting the power of the "Orichalcos" before it got corrupted. Rafael then activates the effect of "Backup Gardna" to equip "Celestial Sword - Eatos" onto "Guardian Eatos" instead. Yami Yugi then Tributes "Kuribandit" to draw five cards and discard three monsters. Rafael then activates the effect of "Guardian Eatos" to send "Celestial Sword - Eatos" to the Graveyard and banish "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts", "Gamma The Magnet Warrior", and "Kuribandit" as well as increase the ATK of "Guardian Eatos" by the ATK of the banished monsters until the End Phase. "Guardian Eatos" then attacks this card but Yami Yugi activates the effect of the "Electromagnetic Turtle" (who was sent to the Graveyard via the effect of "Kuribandit") in his Graveyard to end the Battle Phase. The ATK of "Guardian Eatos" returns to 3000 on Rafael's End Phase. Yami Yugi then summons "Big Shield Gardna" and switches this card to Defense Position. "Guardian Eatos" then attacks this card, but Yugi activates "Magical Hats" to create four Hats and shuffle them up with his two monsters. The attack of "Eatos" then destroys a Hat and it is revealed to contain "Big Shield Gardna". Rafael then uses "Guardian Elma" to destroy a token. "Guardian Grarl" then attacks a hat, but it's revealed to be empty, so this card was saved for the moment. On Yami Yugi's turn, he activates "Eye of Timaeus" to merge the latter with this card in order to Special Summon "Amulet Dragon". In the next episode, Yugi activates the effect of "Underworld Circle" to revive this card. Later "Guardian Dreadscythe" attacks this card, but Yami activates "Zero Gravity" to switch the battle positions of all monsters on the field which switches all monsters on the field to Defense Position. Rafael then activates "Spirit Hunting", to switch "Dreadscythe" to Attack Position and destroy both this card and "Jack's Knight" since they were both in Defense Position.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 182182: "A Duel with Dartz - Part 6", Yami Yugi Summons this card to aide in the battle against The Great Leviathan. Yami, Joey, and Kaiba, after bringing out three monsters each, then summoned their Legendary Dragons. Yami then used "Legend of Heart" to transform the Dragons into the three Legendary Knights. All the monsters summoned by Yami, Joey, and Kaiba then attack The Great Leviathan, but it doesn't work. When the Great Leviathan counterattacks, Yami quickly has Timaeus absorb the power of "Big Shield Gardna" to protect everyone from the attack. While this saves the chosen Duelists and the Legendary Knights, it doesn't save the other monsters summoned by the Chosen Duelists as they were destroyed by the attack.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 184184: "Rise of the Great Beast - Part 2", this card appears in a flashback Yami Yugi has when he remembers playing "The Seal of Orichalcos" against Yugi's better judgment.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 193193: "A Brawl in a Small Town - Part 2", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Vivian Wong. "Dragon Lady" (whose ATK was 2800 due to it being equipped with "Lightning Saber") then attacks and destroys this card. Vivian then uses the effect of "Lightning Saber" to halve the ATK of "Dragon Lady" until the End Phase and allow it to attack again. "Dragon Lady" then attacks directly. Later Yugi activates "Monster Reincarnation" to return this card to his Deck. He then Tributes "Skilled Dark Magician" (who had three Spell Counters) through its own effect in order to Special Summon this card. Yugi then activates "Polymerization" to fuse this card with "Buster Blader" in order to Fusion Summon "Dark Paladin".
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 196196: "Sinister Secrets - Part 1", this card is shown within Leon's backstory flashback when he explains how he became fascinated into Duel Monsters after discovering the game. This card is later shown again when Leon is shown watching Yugi's Duels on television.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 198198: "Sinister Secrets - Part 3", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Leon von Schroeder. It was sent to the Graveyard via the Maintenance Cost of "Golden Castle of Stromberg". Later Yugi activates "Monster Reborn" to revive this card. Yugi then activates "Necromancy" to Special Summon 4 random monsters from Leon's Graveyard to his side of the field in Defense Position. Yugi then activates "Diffusion Wave-Motion" to allow this card to attack all of Leon's monsters once each. This card then attacks and destroys "Little Red Riding Hood", "Forest Hunter", "Iron Hans", and "Iron Knight". Due to the effect of "Necromancy", the ATK of "Hexe Trude" decreases by 2400 (600 for each "Necromancy"-revived monster that was destroyed). This card then attacks and destroys "Hexe Trude", winning Yami Yugi the Duel.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 200200: "Spiritual Awakening", this card appears within Yami Yugi's mind when Yami Bakura claims to him that his mind is an unsolvable maze and that he pursues games like riddles.
InYu-Gi-Oh! episode 219219: "In the Name of the Pharaoh", Yugi uses this card to fight Zorc and his evil zombies. This card was then joined by Mana's ka: "Dark Magician Girl". The two of them then proceeded in destroying the zombies and blasting their attacks at Zorc. Despite all the attacks that Yugi and his friends and allies threw at Zorc, he remained unharmed by the attacks. Zorc then destroys Tristan's "Super Roboyarou", Joey's "Red-Eyes Black Dragon", and Téa's "Fire Sorcerer", causing Yugi's friends to take damage equal to the original ATK of their respective destroyed monsters. Zorc then destroys this monster and "Dark Magician Girl", causing Yugi to take damage equal to the original ATK of this card as well as causing Mana to suffer damage herself since her ka was destroyed.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 223223: "The Final Duel - Part 3", Yami Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Yugi. He Summons this card through the effect of "Dark Magic Curtain". Yami Yugi then equips this card with "Book of Secret Arts", increasing its ATK and DEF by 300. This card then attacks and destroys "Summoned Skull". In the next episode, this card attacks and destroys Yugi's "Curse of Dragon". On Yami Yugi's next turn, he equips this card with "Dark Spear", which grants this card the ability to inflict Piercing Damage. This card then attacks "Blockman", but Yugi activates "Soul Shield" to prevent "Blockman" from being destroyed and reduce the Battle Damage he would take to 0. After that, "Soul Shield" ends the Battle Phase. Later Yugi activates the effect of "Gandora the Dragon of Destruction" to destroy and banish this card, but Yami Yugi activates "Dark Illusion" to make this card immune to Effect Monster effects this turn and allow Yugi to draw one card. This card then attacks directly, but Yugi activates "Magician's Circle" to allow both players to Special Summon a Spellcaster-type monster. Yugi chooses to Special Summon "Silent Magician LV0" while Yami chooses to Special Summon "Dark Magician Girl". A replay then occurs and Yami Yugi uses this card to attack "Silent Magician LV0", but Yugi activates "Spell Textbook" to discard his entire hand and draw one card. The card is then revealed to be "Card of Sanctity". Because of that, Yugi activates the effect of "Card of Sanctity" immediately, forcing both players to draw until they had six cards. Since Yami Yugi drew five new cards, "Silent Magician LV0" gained 2500 ATK. Yami Yugi then activates "Magicians Unite" to make the ATK of this card 3000 for this attack. "Silent Magician LV0" then destroys this card. Due to the effect of "Magicians Unite", "Dark Magician Girl" is destroyed.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX episode 01818: "The King of the Copycats, Part 1", Dimitri uses this card during his Duel against Jaden Yuki while the former was using Yugi's Deck. Dimitri discards this card in order to activate "Monster Reincarnation". After Jaden summons "Dark Catapulter", Dimitri activates "Dark Renewal" to Tribute "Dark Catapulter" and "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" and revive this card. Later this card attacks directly. On Dimitri's next turn, he uses this card to attack and destroy "Wroughtweiler". The effect of "Wroughtweiler" then activates, allowing Jaden to add "Elemental Hero Burstinatrix" and "Polymerization" from the Graveyard to his hand. On Dimitri's next turn, he uses this card to attack "Elemental Hero Burstinatrix", but Jaden activates "A Hero Emerges" to make Dimitri select one card in his hand. Dimitri chooses one card in Jaden's hand and Jaden reveals it to be "Elemental Hero Bladedge". Because of that, Jaden Special Summons "Bladedge" in Attack Position. A replay then occurs and Dimitri chooses not to attack. Dimitri activates "Dedication through Light and Darkness" to Tribute this card and Special Summon "Dark Magician of Chaos".
This card is also shown when Dimitri is shown looking through Yugi's Deck.
This card also appears within Syrus Truesdale's thoughts when he tells Jaden that Yugi's Deck doesn't have the Egyptian God Cards, but it does have this card and "Dark Magician Girl".
In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX episode 01919: "The King of the Copycats, Part 2", this card is shown when Dimitri drops Yugi's cards after he lost to Jaden.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX episode 179179: "Farewell, Judai! A Tearful Graduation Ceremony", Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Jaden. He Special Summons this card via "Magical Dimension". Yugi then activates the final effect of "Magical Dimension" to destroy "Elemental Hero Flame Wingman". This card then attacks directly, but Jaden activates "Negate Attack" to negate the attack and end the Battle Phase. On Yugi's next turn, this card attacks directly, but Jaden activates "A Hero Emerges" to make Yugi select one card in his hand. Yugi selects a card and Jaden reveals it to be "Elemental Hero Neos", so the latter card is Special Summoned in Attack Position. A replay then occurs and Yugi chooses not to attack. In the next episode, Jaden equips "Neos" with "Neos Force", increasing its ATK by 800. "Neos" attacks this card, but Yugi activates "Mirror Force" to destroy all of Jaden's Attack Position monsters. Jaden then activates "Death and Rebirth" to revive "Neos" and destroy "Dark Magician", but Yugi activates "Shift" to switch the target of "Death and Rebirth" to "Obnoxious Celtic Guardian", destroying the latter card instead. "Neos" then attacks this card (as the effect of "Death and Rebirth" forces it to attack this turn), causing both monsters to be destroyed in a Double KO.
In the first above-mentioned episode, this card can be seen in a display case among other cards as part of a replica of Yugi's Deck.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! SEVENS episode 08181: "Mindwiped", Otes uses this card during his Duel against Yuga Goha. He Special Summons this card via "Magic Curtain".
Yami Yugi uses this card during his Duel against Kaiba. He Special Summons this card via "Sage's Stone". Yami Yugi then Tributes this card and "Dark Magician Girl" in order to Special Summon "Sorcerer of Dark Magic".
Yugi uses this card during his Duel with Jaden Yuki and Yusei Fudo against Paradox. He adds this card from his Deck to his hand via the effect of Yusei's "Reincarnation of Hope". Yugi then activates "Ancient Rules" to Special Summon this card from his hand. Yugi then activates "Bond Between Teacher and Student" to Special Summon "Dark Magician Girl" from his Deck. Due to the second effect of "Malefic Paradox Dragon", both this card and "Dark Magician Girl" lose ATK equal to the ATK of "Stardust Dragon". After Yugi activates "Magic Gate of Miracles" to take control of "Stardust Dragon", the ATK of this card, "Neos Knight", and "Dark Magician Girl" revert to their original value. Yugi then activates "Dark Magic Twin Burst" to increase this card's ATK by the ATK of "Dark Magician Girl". This card then attacks and destroys "Malefic Paradox Dragon". Paradox then activates "Malefic Paradigm Shift" in order to Special Summon "Malefic Truth Dragon". On Yami Yugi's End Phase, the effect of "Dark Magic Twin Burst" expires. Later "Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon" attacks and destroys this card. This activates the second effect of "Malefic Truth Dragon" (which would destroy all monsters Yugi, Jaden, and Yusei controls and inflict 800 damage to them for each monster destroyed this way), but Yusei Tributes "Stardust Dragon" to negate the effect of "Malefic Truth Dragon" and destroy it. Paradox then activates the second effect of "Malefic Truth Dragon" to banish "Malefic Rainbow Dragon" from his Graveyard and prevent "Malefic Truth Dragon" from being destroyed. After "Stardust Dragon" revives itself during the End Phase via its own effect. Yusei activates "Stardust Mirage" to revive all monsters destroyed this turn (including this card). This card remained on the field until the Duel was over.
In the non-canon duel North American WCQ 2014 Special: Astral vs. Yugi, Yugi Special Summons this card from the deck on his first turn by the effect of "Skilled Dark Magician". Yugi declares a direct attack, but Astral reponds to the attack by summoning "Gagaga Gardna". A replay occurs and this card attacks "Gagaga Gardna", which is not destroyed by its own effect. The next turn, this card is destroyed by battle by Astral's "Number 39: Utopia". The turn after that, Yugi Special Summons this card again from the Graveyard with "Monster Reborn" and Tributes it for the cost of "Dedication Through Light and Darkness". Later, Yugi Special Summons this card for the third time with "Premature Burial" and Tributes it for the cost of "Knight's Title". Finally, it is assumed this card's presence in the Graveyard increases the ATK and DEF of Yugi's "Dark Magician Girl".
In the manga, the Toei anime and through Yu-Gi-Oh! R, "Dark Magician" is clearly shown to be a Level 6 monster. Nonetheless, its Summoning required two Tributes on those series. Perhaps Kazuki Takahashi wanted to keep in conformity with the OCG on this respect, but no explanation was given for this within those series (and there are no other examples of such behavior).
In the anime, when this card attacks, it releases a dark shock wave at its attack target from its hand or staff. When this happens, the background and the affected monster/player have their colors briefly inverted as they get hit by the attack.