Dark Magician ROLAD: how it combos, and how to beat it

How Dark Magician ROLAD wins

"ROLAD" is the community's name for the Light and Darkness Ritual cards: Black Chaos, Skull Archfiend of Chaos, Mind Shuffle, Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos and Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness. This list reaches them from Dark Magician. Dark Magical Curtain, Dark Magician Girl the Magician's Apprentice and Magician's Rod each start the full combo with any two other cards: one is discarded for Dark Magician Girl's summon, and Illusion of Chaos places the other on top of the Deck.

The bridge is a Synchro one. Magistus Chorozo and Rod make Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Chorozo and Master of Chaos make Crimson Dragon, and Crimson Dragon becomes Crimson Blade Dragon, which takes Black Chaos from the Deck. Black Chaos places Mind Shuffle, and the Light and Darkness Ritual summons Magician of Dark Chaos.

The core combo: one Dark Magical Curtain

The full combo in five stages:

1. Number 90 first. Curtain summons Dark Magician and adds Soul Servant, which draws Dark Magician Girl. She adds Shining Sarcophagus, which adds Gandora-G. Dark Magician of Destruction banishes Dark Magician Girl, and with Gandora-G it makes Number 90: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord: the fifth summon.
2. Into Illusion of Chaos. Rod adds The Gaze of Timaeus. Cyberse Contract Witch adds Illusion of Chaos, which adds Dark Magician, the Pharaoh's Servant, which Sets Chaos Form.
3. Master of Chaos and Clear Wing. Gaze makes Master of Chaos, which brings Rod back. Chorozo and Rod make Clear Wing. Chaos Form Ritual Summons Illusion of Chaos.
4. Selene and Crimson Blade. Contract Witch brings Master of Chaos back, Selene brings Chorozo back, and Crimson Dragon becomes Crimson Blade Dragon, which adds Black Chaos.
5. Light and Darkness Ritual. Black Chaos places Mind Shuffle, Mind Shuffle adds Skull Archfiend, the Ritual Spell summons Magician of Dark Chaos, and Black Chaos and Crimson Blade make I:P Masquerena.

I:P MasquerenaSkull Archfiend of ChaosMagician of Dark Chaos - Black ChaosClear Wing Synchro DragonNumber 90: Galaxy-Eyes Photon LordSelene, Queen of the Master Magicians

Mind ShuffleThe Gaze of Timaeus (Set)

The other starters

• Dark Magician Girl the Magician's Apprentice: the same board, with Number 90 as the fourth summon.
• Magician's Rod: the same board. Rod's Normal Summon is one summon more, so Gandora-G is the fifth.
• Ragged Records of Rites or Illusion of Chaos: no Number 90. Clear Wing, Magician of Dark Chaos, Skull Archfiend and I:P, with Black Chaos kept in hand.
• Black Chaos alone: Magician of Dark Chaos and Mind Shuffle, one summon.

The cards the AI's scripted opening lines end on most often:

• Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos
• Mind Shuffle
• I:P Masquerena
• Skull Archfiend of Chaos
• Clear Wing Synchro Dragon
• The Gaze of Timaeus

What its board does on your turn

• Number 90: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord. Detaches a material to negate the first monster effect you activate.
• Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. Once per turn each, negates a Level 5 or higher monster that activates its effect on the field, and an effect that targets one Level 5 or higher monster.
• Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos. Unaffected by your activated effects unless they target it, and while it is face-up, your effects can't destroy or banish its controller's Spells and Traps.
• Mind Shuffle. In your Draw Phase it adds Griffoh, which Sets Spell Shattering Sword. When you activate a card or effect, it returns a Level 7 or higher monster to the hand and summons Black Luster Soldier, which banishes a card.
• I:P Masquerena. In your Main Phase it Link Summons Medicurius with Selene and Skull Archfiend, pointing to three monsters: Medicurius negates your monsters' effects and can banish every card you control. Or it makes S:P Little Knight, which banishes a card, or W:P Fancy Ball.
• The Gaze of Timaeus, Set. Once Number 90 has detached Dark Magician of Destruction, Gaze makes Timaeus the United Magical Dragon on your turn.

Where Nibiru lands

Nibiru's Tribute doesn't target, so it can't Tribute Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos.

Going second into Dark Magician ROLAD

• Number 90 negates one monster effect, and its negate is once per turn. A monster effect activated before the one that matters spends it.
• Magician of Dark Chaos is unaffected by your effects that don't target it.
• Mind Shuffle's search is used in your Draw Phase. Its other effect answers your activation with Black Luster Soldier.

Practice against Dark Magician ROLAD

The YGO Lab Rival plays this list. Going first, it opens with the deck's scripted lines, the same ones as above. On your turn it decides when to use its interaction: 3 Ash Blossom, 3 Mulcharmy Fuwalos, 3 Ghost Ogre, 3 Dominus Impulse and a Droll & Lock Bird.

• Going second is practice at breaking Number 90, Clear Wing and a Magician of Dark Chaos you can only target.
• Going first is practice at your own combo through Number 90 and Mind Shuffle.

Decklist

The list the AI plays: 44 Main Deck, 15 Extra Deck and 15 Side Deck cards.

Questions