The 52-47 win was good reward for a complete team effort.
The combined Otago-Southland team has been guilty of patchy form this season but produced 60 minutes of quality netball.
It is exactly the type of performance the Steel was looking for as the ANZ Championship nears the business end, and the win has lifted the team into fourth place.
"It was a tight game all the way through with its ebbs and flows, but we kept our intensity up and we didn't waver from our game plan," captain Megan Dehn said, adding the team had "finally played 60 minutes.
"We had to win four of our last five, so this is a good start I guess."
The Steel led for the majority of the game but the Magic kept clawing back the deficit.
However, in a 10-minute period before and after halftime the home side posted nine unanswered goals.
"After halftime we got a few goals up and got a bit of confidence," Dehn said.
At one stage the Steel led 33-25 but had to weather a rally before pulling away during the last five minutes to win by five goals.
The main difference between the two teams was the pressure the Steel was able to exert on the Magic's classy shooting duo of Irene van Dyk and Jodi Brown.
This season's surprise package, goal defender Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, had masterful game, snatching four intercepts.
Fellow defender Leana de Bruin has been the Steel's most consistent player and was solid again.
Centre Wendy Frew did a lot of good work on the fringes as well.
Down the other end, Steel shooters Daneka Wipiiti and Dehn had a lot more freedom.
With Silver Fern goal keeper Casey Williams playing out of position at goal defence, the Steel was able to exploit Wipiiti's height advantage over her opponent Kahurangi Waititi.
Uncharacteristically, Williams had a quiet game and looked lost at goal defence.
Dehn admitted she was surprised coach Noeline Taurua persisted with the tactic but remained diplomatic.
"Yeah. You can't really comment on what the other teams are doing.
"She is so formidable anywhere but I guess they needed her to bring the ball through court."
Dehn landed 20 of her 22 attempts and Daneka Wipiiti produced her best game of the year, drilling 32 from 34.
The mercurial goal shoot got more movement into her game and was dominant in the air.
The teams traded goals in a tidy start to the match, but the Steel looked slicker in the midcourt and moved the ball through court with the greater freedom.
Magic centre Laura Langman and wing attack Frances Solia had trouble finding their shooters while Frew and Liana Barrett-Chase were more polished.
A five-goal unanswered run towards the end of the quarter enabled the home side to take a shock 15-11 lead into the break.
The Magic worked hard to claw back to even-stevens but some sloppy play and some clinical finishing allowed the Steel to stretch the lead to four goals.
That lead quickly ballooned to eight goals with the Steel putting in a surge after the break.
The Magic spent the rest of the quarter chipping away at the lead and closed to within two goals.
The Steel has had a tendency to fade in the second half of matches but looked the hungrier of the two teams and held on for a valuable win.
For Otago midcourter Hayley Saunders it was a big night.
The University of Otago student made her debut when Erika Burgess was forced to the sideline with an ankle injury.
"I was nervous as hell but that is why we trained with the team, for these situations.
"We've got to be able to come on."
She acquitted herself well and, even though she admitted being a little star-struck, she did not look it.
