Magistus
| Magistus | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The "Magistus" sages in Yu-Gi-Oh! CARD GAME THE CHRONICLES | |||||||||||||
| Japanese |
| ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese |
| ||||||||||||
| French |
| ||||||||||||
| German |
| ||||||||||||
| Italian |
| ||||||||||||
| Korean |
| ||||||||||||
| Portuguese |
| ||||||||||||
| Spanish |
| ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Lists | |||||||||||||
This is the story of the "beginning".
— The archetype's tagline in promotional material
"Magistus" (マギストス Magisutosu) is an archetype of monsters with various Types (primarily Spellcaster) and Attributes which debuted in Deck Build Pack: Genesis Impactors. It is the second theme featured in the Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG Stories manga.
Etymology[edit]
Magistus is based on Hermes Trismegistus, the purported author of the Hermetic Corpus, a series of sacred texts that are the basis of Hermeticism.
In Japanese, all "Magistus" cards have kanji names with a non-standard reading, with "Magistus" always forming part of this non-standard reading. "Magistus" does not correspond to any particular kanji base.
In Japanese, each of the monsters is associated with one of the the four Great Sages, including the title of their corresponding Great Sage in their own kanji name (Lawbook, Absolute Flame, Crystal, or Sacred Magic); this naming convention was not included in their TCG names.
| Monster | Inspiration | Japanese titles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crowley, the Magistus of Grimoires | Aleister Crowley | Great Sage of Lawbooks | Magistus Grimoire |
| Zoroa, the Magistus of Flame | Zoroaster | Great Sage of Absolute Flame | Magistus Flame |
| Rilliona, the Magistus of Verre | Cendrillon | Great Sage of Crystal | Magistus Verre |
| Endymion, the Magistus of Mastery | Endymion | Great Sage of Sacred Magic | Magistus Master |
| Aiwass, the Magistus Spell Spirit | Aiwass | Lawbook Guardian | Magistus Saint |
| Vahram, the Magistus Divinity Dragon | Atash Behram | Absolute Flame Dragon God | Magistus Dragon |
| Ninaruru, the Magistus Glass Goddess | Ninhursag | Crystal Goddess | Magistus Goddess |
| Artemis, the Magistus Moon Maiden | Artemis | Sacred Magic Maiden | Magistus Maiden |
| Zoroa, the Magistus Conflagrant Calamity | Absolute Flame Devil | Magistus Daimon | |
| Rilliona, the Wondrous Magistus Witch Wardrobe | Crystal Witch | Magistus Witch | |
| Spell/Trap | Inspiration | Japanese kanji name |
|---|---|---|
| Trismagistus | Trismegistus, Hermetica | Three Sages' Book |
| Magistus Theurgy | Theologia Germanica | Great Magic |
| Magistus Invocation | Invocation | Holy Lawbook |
| Magistus Vritra | Vritra | Absolute Flame Manifestation |
Design[edit]
The "Magistus" archetype features counterparts of key members of older Spellcaster archetypes, with the exception of the never-seen-before "Zoroa, the Magistus of Flame". Based on card artworks and pre-existing card lore, it appears they used to be powerful magicians forming the "Magistus" guild, before they separated from each other and founded their own independent groups.
"Magistus" monsters form into 4 groups, each associated to a specific "aspect". Within each of the four groups, they fulfill up to 3 roles:
- A Spellcaster Main Deck "Magistus", depicting the great sage.
- A usually non-Spellcaster Extra Deck "Magistus", depicting the great sage's guardian deity.
- A Spellcaster Extra Deck "Magistus" (sharing the same monster card type as their guardian deity), depicting the great sage's empowered form.
| Aspect | Sage | Guardian deity | Empowered form | Associated Summoning | Alternate version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawbooks | Crowley | Aiwass | - | Fusion | "Aleister the Invoker" ("Invoked") |
| Absolute Flame | Zoroa | Vahram | Zoroa | Synchro | - |
| Crystal | Rilliona | Ninaruru | Rilliona | Xyz | "Witchcrafter Madame Verre" ("Witchcrafter") |
| Sacred Magic | Endymion | Artemis | - | Link | "Endymion, the Master Magician" ("Endymion") |
Playing style[edit]
"Magistus" is an archetype focused on summoning Level 4 Spellcasters, using them to perform Special Summons from the Extra Deck, and equipping monsters for beneficial effects.
All "Magistus" Main Deck monsters are Level 4 Spellcasters, each with an individual effect(s) and a shared effect that equips a "Magistus" monster with an Extra Deck one. The individual effects also somewhat synergize with the themes their counterparts belong to.
| Magistus | Equip effect | Individual effect |
|---|---|---|
| Zoroa | From the Extra Deck | Special Summons a Level 4 Spellcaster from the hand or GY |
| Endymion | Draws 1 and returns 1 card from hand to bottom of Deck | |
| Crowley | From the Graveyard (by banishing itself from the GY) | Special Summons itself, changes own Attribute |
| Rilliona | Searches a "Magistus" Spell/Traps, returns a banished Level 4 or lowe Spellcaster to GY |
"Magistus" Extra Deck monsters cover all Extra Deck monster card types. With the exception of Synchro Zoroa, they have effects when treated as Equip Cards.
| Magistus | Type | Monster effects | Equip effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aiwass | Fusion | Equips itself to an opponent's monster during either player's turn | Equipped monster gains 1000 ATK/DEF, and takes its control if it was the target of the monster effect |
| Vahram | Synchro | Destroys all opponent's face-up cards when destroyed | Equipped monster cannot be destroyed by Spells/Traps and destroys any monster it battles |
| Zoroa | Equips itself with a "Magistus" from Extra Deck, blocks the activation of Extra Deck monsters' effects, and revives itself | - | |
| Ninaruru | Xyz | Recovers a Level 4 or higher Spellcaster from GY | Destroys a "Magistus" card and an opponent's card, equipped monster can attack twice |
| Rilliona | Special Summons a "Magistus" from Deck | Negates an opponent's monster's effects | |
| Artemis | Link | Equips itself to a "Magistus" | Searches a "Magistus" monster |
"Magistus" Spell/Traps provide varied utility and combo tools, including Special Summons from hand ("Trismagistus"), more ED equipping ("Magistus Theurgy"), Fusion Summoning ("Magistus Invocation"), and GY revival ("Magistus Vritra")
Generally, the deck aims to go first, and use its core searchers (Xyz "Rilliona" in particular, but also Main Deck "Rilliona" and "Artemis") and combo enablers ("Magistus" S/T, Main Deck "Zoroa") to turbo out Synchro "Zoroa", who acts as a floodgating boss monster; good hands can sometimes also allow an "Aiwass" to be summoned for an extra disruption.
The deck has good consistency and recursion, but average boss monsters, and thus often has to be supported by other decks such as "Invoked" or "Dogmatika", who also feature Level 4 Spellcaster monsters. Rather unsurprisingly, "Crowley" has synergies with the "Invoked" archetype, with his effect being able to support the Fusion Summon of "Invoked" monsters. "Crowley" can also be used to change its Attribute to WATER and overlay with "Endymion" into "Bahamut Shark" to make a "Toadally Awesome". Other generic Rank 4 options may be a good idea to look into for potential synergies.
