The most popular monster in Yu-Gi-Oh!, whether it’s from the card game or from the cartoon, is Dark Magician, hands down. It’s basically the Yu-Gi-Oh! trademark. However, at one point, if you were to play with one in a tournament, this is what the situation would probably look like:

Bill: Okay, I have a chance to win this time. I sacrifice my Witch of the Black Forest and my Gemini Elf . . .

Tom: Oh boy. This is going to be a big move . . .

Bill: I sacrifice those monsters to summon DARK MAGICIAN in attack mode! Yeah!

Tom:  . . .

Bill: What? What is it?

Tom: *laughs hysterically* Dude, that’s not a monster like Yata or Don Zaloog! Why are you playing it?!

Okay, I may have over exaggerated Tom’s reaction to the summoning of Dark Magician, but that’s basically what happened.
 
Then came the release of the eighth Yu-Gi-Oh! set, Magician’s Force (MFC). Suddenly, the summoning of Dark Magician was no longer a laughing matter. In fact, the support for Magicians in general was tremendous! Besides just spellcaster support, Magician’s Force contained a few cards for a few other types, such as Plants and Zombies. It also introduced a new monster sub-type, “Union.” This monster type, similar to Spirit from Legacy of Darkness, adds a new play feature to the game. Magician's Force is a great set with a variety of very nice commons, as well as some fun holofoil cards.

The Huge Revolution Set: This combo contains the following common cards: People Running About, Oppressed People, United Resistance, and Huge Revolution.

The reaction you’ll get out of your opponent at first will be shock. They’ll be wondering why you’re using such weak little monsters. However, during your main phase, if you have all three of the revolutionaries on the field, your opponent’s advantage will be totally destroyed down to the last card in his or her hand, and you’ll have a clear field ready for an attack.

The Decayed Commander Set: This Union duo contains two monsters: Decayed Commander and Zombie Tiger.

Decayed Commander alone isn’t that bad of a monster. If it’s able to make a direct attack on the opponent’s life points, you’ll be able to destroy a small portion of his or her hand. Equip Zombie Tiger onto Decayed Commander, and you have a monster that isn’t as easily destroyed in battle and will most likely be able to damage the opponent’s hand no matter what.

Giant Orc: Goblin Attack Force was rather old by the time Magician’s Force was released, but it was still very popular. Giant Orc helped decrease the popularity of Goblin Attack Force. Giant Orc has the same effect as Goblin Attack Force, but is a Dark Fiend instead of an Earth Warrior. It only has 100 ATK points less than the Goblins, and it's common, making it easier for new duelists to get a hold of. The Union monster for Giant Orc (Second Goblin) is mediocre, but Giant Orc on its own is very powerful.

Vampire Orchis Set: This Plant Union consists of two monsters: Vampire Orchis and Des Dendle.

Des Dendle is a good defender on its own, especially for a Plant deck. However, when equipped onto Vampire Orchis, Des Dendle gives the Orchis the ability to create new, smaller Plant monsters when it destroys an opponent’s monster. This provides monsters for tributes, either for a tribute summon or for something like Cannon Soldier. With the Plant support that was released in Invasion of Chaos, as well as with Fairy King Truesdale, this monster can prove very nasty.

Poison of the Old Man: Burn cards were seeing average play before the release of Magician’s Force. Poison of the Old Man is a burn card that's amazing in just about every Burn deck out there! Not only is it a quick-play spell, but you have two options with the card. You can either gain life points or deal some good damage to the opponent. It’s one of the best simple damage spells released to date.

Wave-Motion Cannon: This card is played by two different groups of Burn players. The first is the speed players. They will not let this card stay out long, and they’ll settle for dealing 1000 to 2000 damage with it. The second group consists of the greedy duelists. These duelists will try to let the Wave-Motion Cannon stay on the field for up to eight turns, in hopes of achieving a one-hit kill. This rarely succeeds, but it’s threatening. What does this mean for Wave-Motion Cannon? It means that’s it’s an great burn card that can be threatening in multiple ways, depending on how the duelist plays it.

Sonic Duck: There isn’t a lot that needs to be said about Sonic Duck. It has 1700 ATK, which may appear to be lacking as far as most decks are concerned. However, it’s also level 3, meaning it’s easily able to sneak under Gravity Bind. It’s the Gravity Bind beatstick, and it does a good job of clearing the opponent’s field of monsters.

Amazoness Common Set: This set includes the following cards: Amazoness Paladin, Amazoness Fighter, and Amazoness Blowpiper.

The Blowpiper is average at best for the Amazoness theme. The Fighter, however, is a very interesting card. Its attack power is 1500, meaning it won’t be destroyed easily by every monster in the tournament environment, and its effect makes the opponent think hard about whether or not it’s worth attacking. Injection Fairy Lily found a good enemy in the Fighter. The Paladin is the pure attacker of the Amazoness monsters. It starts out with an 1800 ATK, but it should eventually increase to around 2000 or 2100 ATK easily.

Old Vindictive Magician: Back in Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon, Man-Eater Bug was a super rare. Seven sets after LOB, Magician’s Force gives duelists a common Man-Eater Bug. The difference is that this Magician is a Dark Spellcaster, and to add to its use, it's easily brought to the field in face-down defense mode by Apprentice Magician. In a Magician theme deck, Vindictive Magician acts as stable monster removal.

Magical Marionette: The Spellcaster type gained a very powerful level 5 Magician in this set. Magical Marionette starts out with only 2000 ATK, which is average for its level. However, as more and more spell cards are played, the power begins to grow to enormous proportions. As though the attack boost wasn’t enough, the Marionette has a monster removal ability built in. It’s one of the shining commons of Magician’s Force, and is even nastier when combined with Butterfly Dagger- Elma.

Magical Scientist: Okay, this monster is one of those cards that you’ll see and hate on sight . . . if it’s played against you. Playing it, on the other hand, gives you a massive advantage. Magical Scientist, for a mere 1000 life points, can special summon any Fusion monster under level 6 to the field. This includes the incredibly strong Legacy of Darkness fusions like Dark Balter the Terrible. It’s also used in a one-turn kill with Catapult Turtle and some 2100+ ATK Fusions. It’s an evil card that is a lot of fun to use.

Royal Magical Library: Coincidentally, like Magical Scientist, Royal Magical library is also involved in a one-turn kill. This one involves Gearfried the Iron Knight, Butterfly Dagger - Elma, and a set of Exodia in your deck. Read through those card effects and you’ll see what I mean. Without the one turn kill, Royal Magical Library is still a nice card. It’s a decent defense against the opponent that lets you draw cards from your deck. It’s definitely something to consider if you’re in need of defenders.

Cliff the Trap Remover: Cliff is the second Dark Scorpion Burglar to be released so far, excluding the Dark Crisis set. Unlike its leader, Don Zaloog, Cliff lacks a hand destruction effect. However, it retains the deck destruction effect and is able to destroy traps on the opponent’s field if it does damage. Combined with Dark Scorpion support from Dark Crisis, Cliff is an interesting, and at times useful, member of the Dark Scorpions.

Dark Blade: This Warrior is pretty straightforward if you use it alone. It’s got an 1800 ATK and has a load of Warrior support behind it. However, certain Dragon monsters in MFC can be Union equipped onto Dark Blade, giving it some extra abilities. Take a look at Pitch-dark Dragon and Kiryu to see what bonuses Dark Blade can gain.

D. D. Crazy Beast: Witch of the Black Forest, Magical Scientist, and Sinister Serpent are common to see at tournaments. Different Dimension (D. D.) Crazy Beast makes sure those monsters stay dead. D. D. Crazy Beast only has average attack, but its effect is the same as Lesser Fiend from Legacy of Darkness. It’s an impressive effect at times, and it can throw a wrench right into the opponent’s plans if he or she was relying on a search effect via Witch of the Black Forest or Sangan.

Ante: Lava Golem, from Pharaonic Guardian, takes some work to base a theme deck aroun. However, with cards like Ante, Lava Golem can end up hurting the opponent in more ways than simply through its effect. Ante combines some good burn damage with a nasty hand destruction effect. However, you’ll need to have a high level monster in your hand, and you’ll need your opponent to have a card in his or her hand to use this. When it’s used, though, it can strike a crippling blow to any of the opponent’s strategies.

Tribute Doll: Magician’s Force contains many good cards for helping out Dark Magician. Tribute Doll is able to aid Dark Magician, Buster Blader, and other level 7 monsters easily. This effect is much easier to use than you would think, since it special summons the monster from your hand. Remember to set some protection on the field to keep your new level 7 monster alive, as the summoned monster cannot attack this turn.

Amazoness Tiger: The heavy hitter of the Amazoness theme is Amazoness Tiger, a monster that starts out with low attack but can increase to a level that can destroy Jinzo. It’s the true attacker of the Amazoness set, capable of reaching an attack strength of 3100! That’s impressive for a level 4, 1100 ATK monster. 

Apprentice Magician: Many Magicians in Magician’s Force make use of “spell counters.” These counters, when there are enough on the monster, allow that monster to perform special abilities, such as Magical Marionette and its power up. Apprentice Magician can help another monster collect spell counters. Apprentice Magician may have a low attack strength, but its second effect is what will be most useful. When destroyed through battle, you can search and set another Apprentice Magician, Old Vindictive Magician, or Magician of Faith on your field, giving you a good flip summon and a better effect during your turn.

Big Bang Shot: Most duelists look at the drawback of this card and put it in their binder for the rest of its existence. However, what duelists fail to notice is that Big Bang Shot’s drawback can be turned to their advantage. Besides having a durable Fairy Meteor Crush ability, Big Bang Shot’s versatility allows it to perform monster removal as well. Equip this to an opponent’s monster, and then either destroy it with Mystical Space Typhoon or return it to your hand via Giant Trunade. Suddenly, your opponent’s field is clear and you have an enhanced Fairy Meteor Crush back in your hand.

X Y Z Union/Fusion Set: The X Y Z set includes these seven cards: X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, Z-Metal Tank, XY Dragon Cannon, XZ Tank Cannon, YZ Tank Dragon, and XYZ Dragon Cannon.

The Unions are relatively powerful, capable of boosting X-Head Cannon up to 2200 or 2400 ATK. The Fusions give the same power boost, as well as a special effect. The problem is that, with the exception of XYZ Dragon Cannon, the ability is a bit situational. The other problem is that it will literally destroy your hand, so you have to manage the effects carefully.

Skilled White Magician: This Magician’s specialty is summoning Buster Blader. The problem with it is that the 1700 ATK gives it a chance of being destroyed relatively easily by the opponent’s 1900 ATK monsters, which are getting popular. However, it’s a good idea to run one of these Magicians if you intend to use Dark Paladin in your deck.

Skilled Dark Magician: This monster is the same as Skilled White Magician, except that its attack and defense are switched, and its effect summons Dark Magician to the field. Unlike Skilled White Magician, Skilled Dark Magician has a higher chance of staying alive, as the opponent may hesitate to kamikaze a 1900 ATK monster into this Magician. Dark Magician has also gained more support, making the effect of Skilled Dark Magician more useful than ever.

Tribe-Infecting Virus: This monster is massive removal in one simple, yet destructive effect. At the cost of one card from your hand, you can destroy all face-up monsters of one monster type on the field. This includes yours, so Tribe-Infecting Virus is best played when it’s the only monster on your side of the field. The destruction it will inflict to your hand can be lessened with Sinister Serpent as well, which is why this Virus is seen in almost every tournament deck at this current point in time.

Amazoness Archers: When you have Mirror Force, your opponent may be hesitant to attack. When running an Amazoness deck, your opponent may be more afraid of Amazoness Archers than Mirror Force. This card has an outstanding effect, as it greatly cripples your opponent’s field. It usually helps, however, if you have an Amazoness Paladin on the field when you activate this, as most of the opponent’s monsters won’t have a higher ATK than the Paladin after having their attack strength reduced.

Spell Canceller: As the Jinzo of traps, Spell Canceller would be thought of as a nuisance to play against the opponent. Unfortunately, 1800 ATK isn’t going to work, especially if you had to tribute summon this monster. Trap support, such as Metalmorph, is always possible in order to keep Spell Canceller out longer. However, most 1900 ATK monsters can easily plow through it.

Luster Dragon: This Dragon should be pretty easy to understand in terms of using it in a duel. It’s a 1900 ATK monster, and it’s a Dragon. Its ultra rarity is understandable, especially since it was one of the few 1900 ATK monsters during its time. However, if you had to choose between this and Gemini Elf and you weren’t running a Dragon deck, your best bet would be the Elf, which could be added to your hand via Witch of the Black Forest.

Amazoness Swords Woman: The final Amazoness monster in Magician’s Force is one of the deadliest as well. Amazoness Swords Woman possesses an ability very similar to Amazoness Fighter. However, instead of merely negating battle damage done to you when it’s in battle, the battle damage you would take is dealt to your opponent instead. It’s not only the best Amazoness Warrior, but it’s also one of the most useful Warrior monsters to be released.

Dark Paladin: The fusion of Dark Magician and Buster Blader has finally been released. Dark Paladin is the true combination of Yugi’s monsters, as it possesses a powerful attack boost effect, giving itself 500 ATK for every Dragon on the field or in either player’s graveyard. However, its first effect is what makes it so strong. Using cards like Sinister Serpent, the controller of Dark Paladin can have a large supply of ammo for its “Magic Jammer” effect, which is the most disruptive effect ever built into a monster (next to Jinzo and its trap negation effect). However, once Dark Paladin dies, you won’t be able to revive it from the graveyard, and it’s extremely difficult to summon without damaging your hand.

Diffusion Wave-Motion: This gives your Dark Magician or Dark Paladin the ability to wipe out the opponent’s field of all monsters, and it also negates their effects in a way similar to how Dark Ruler Ha Des negates effects. However, you’ll find that it’s more situational than it first appears. It’s a fun card to try out, but you’ll rarely use this secret rare successfully in tournaments.

Dark Magician Girl: After eight sets of Yu-Gi-Oh!, it would only be perfect if Magician’s Force was released with Dark Magician’s apprentice, Dark Magician Girl. At first, its attack will be mediocre and it’ll be hard to summon, since its stats keep it from being searched out by Witch of the Black Forest or Sangan. However, as more Dark Magicians enter the graveyard, its strength will begin to increase. Right now, its maximum attack potential is 2900 in most duels, or 3800 if you’re dueling against a Dark Magician deck as well. For a level 5 monster, that is nothing to laugh at.


The variety of cards in Magician’s Force is astounding. Not only are two entirely new monster themes born, through Union and Amazoness, but Dark Magician is finally made into a powerhouse. However, even with useful burn cards and some killer Magicians, Magician’s Force still falls short when compared to next week's set, Dark Crisis, one of the best sets ever released.