Joey Wheeler is one of the most popular characters in Yu-Gi-Oh! He is Yugi’s best friend and friendly rival. Joey’s dream is to become the world’s greatest duelist. He is a loyal friend and supports the people in his life. Peagus ranks Joey as the third best duelist in the world.
Joey Wheeler is the representation of a budget player. Joey starts the series with a very bad deck, but he has a decent deck at the end of the series. I think Dungeons and Dragons would be a fitting name for his deck. Joey likes playing warriors and dragons in his decks. Joey also have a few machine monsters with powerful effects to give him an advantage!
I am listing his top ten cards in his deck. My list only include cards from the real trading card game. Joey is known for playing a really bad deck, but he has a few amazing cards. Some of his cards dominated past formats. Fans of the series know his signature monster is Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and it has a popular archetype.
1. Lord of The Red
Lord of The Red is my favorite monster from Joey’s deck. Joey plays Lord of The Red during his duel against Valon. It is a great card for his deck with Red-Eyes B. Dragon. Unfortunately, Joey only plays Lord of The Red once in the entire series. I would have loved to see Lord of The Red in more duels in the original series.
2. Jinzo
Jinzo has the best history in the game among Joey’s cards. Jinzo was a major card in the meta for many years. Its effect prevents players from playing Trap Cards. Thus, your opponent is unable to play Trap Cards to counter your strategy. Popular Trap Cards such as Mirror Force are useless cards in your hand or on the field while Jinzo controls the game’s rule.
3. Raigeki
One of the strongest cards in the game is Raigeki. This powerful spell card destroys all of your opponent’s monsters. Your opponent is wide open for a direct attack! Joey plays Raigeki during his duel against Yugi in the Battle City Tournament. Joey is under Marvek’s control and Marvek forces Joey to duel Yugi. Thankfully, Yugi defeats Joey and frees him from Marvek’s vile control.
4. Gearfried the Swordmaster
Gearfried the Swordmaster is one of Joey’s strongest monsters in his deck. He is the true form of Gearfried the Iron Knight. Joey claims this legendary warrior sealed himself in the armor to control his mighty power. The iron armor restrains his true power. Joey plays Release Restraint to special Gearfried the Swordmaster.
Furthermore, Joey quickly masters this card’s special effect. His deck has many equip spell cards and he abuses Gearfried the Swordmaster’s effect. Gearfried the Swordmaster instantly destroys a monster when you equip an equip spell card to him. It is a great effect for destroying your opponent’s monsters. The Swordmaster reveals his true power from his special effect!
5. Scapegoat
Scapegoat is one of Joey’s favorite and most reliable cards. It saves him in many games. Joey often plays this card to stall for time when he is struggling during game. He also uses Scapegoats to pay for the cost of Insect Queen’s and Panther Warrior’s effects. These monsters requires a tribute to attack the opponent.
6. Gilford the Lightning
Another signature card from Joey’s deck is Gilford the Lightning. This strong warrior’s effect destroys all monsters on the field if you tribute three monsters to summon him. His effect is basically a Rageki in a monster card. Joey destroys all of his opponent’s monsters to set up a direct attack. It is a strong strategy from the early days of Yu-Gi-Oh!
7. The Warrior Returning Alive
The Warrior Returning Alive is the most played card on this list. It is a very common card in Warrior decks, and has stood the test of time. I play The Warrior Returning Alive in my Elemental HERO deck. The Warrior Returning Alive is the most consistent card in Joey’s deck. Joey plays a lot of Warrior monsters, and this card is perfect for regaining his Warriors in his graveyard.
8. Divine Knight Ishzark
You may be surprise to see Divine Knight Ishzark on this list! Joey actually plays this card in the manga. Divine Knight Ishzark has a decent effect of banishing an opponent’s monster after destroying it by battle. Your opponent loses access to this card, and is unable to play a card to special summon it such as Monster Reborn. It is a great strategy of removing your opponent’s resource from the game.
9. Blue Flame Swordsman
Blue Flame Swordsman debuts in episode 172 during Joey’s duel against Mia Valentine. I’s effect is based on Flame Swordman’s effect as a deck master. He loses 6000 ATK and one of your warriors gain 600 ATK. It is also a useful card to play with Fire Warrior-Type monsters. You may banish Blue Flame Swordsman from your graveyard to special summon one Fire Warrior-Type Monster in your graveyard.
10. Red-Eyes Black Dragon
Joey’s favorite monster is his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. He wins this legendary card in a beta with Rex Raptor. They make a bet on their game. Joey gambles his Time Wizard and Rex Raptor gambles Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Joey wins the duel and Red-eyes Black Dragon! It becomes his best monster during Duelist Kingdom.
Furthermore, the card represents Joey for who he is as a duelist. He has not reached Kaiba’s level, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon falls short of Blue-Eyes White Dragon’s level. Joey continues to push himself to become a great duelist. He earns respect from fellow duelists at the end of the series. Red-Eyes Black Dragon plays a key part of Joey’s rise to greatness.
