Joey’s 10 Strongest Cards Throughout Yu-Gi-Oh!

Many duelists in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise have become legends in their world for their talent and iconic cards. Yugi’s best friend stands as one of these incredible players, the affable and kind Joey Wheeler. Despite his beginnings as a novice who had never played the card game before, Joey managed to rise to the top of the competitive world of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters.

He accomplished this monumental task thanks to his natural talent as a duelist, his outstanding luck, and the powerful cards he acquired throughout the franchise. Only a few could be considered among the strongest among the powerful Monsters, Spells, and Traps found in Joey’s deck. Here are the most powerful cards Joey used during his time in Yu-Gi-Oh!

10

Black Skull Dragon

The result of Joey and Yugi’s deep friendship

A Fusion between Joey’s most iconic card, his Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Yugi’s Summoned Skull. While Black Skull Dragon may not have any effects, it makes up for that in terms of raw power and defense. With an impressive 3,200 attack points, there are few cards capable of defeating this imposing beast on their own. His 2,500 defense points also make it a magnificent barrier to prevent damage from being dealt to Joey. Black Skull Dragon is a magnificent representation of the powerful friendship that exists between Joey and Yugi.

This card was a vital piece of Yugi and Joey’s strategy to defeat the Paradox Brothers in episode 21 of the anime. Black Skull Dragon was the only monster powerful enough to deal with the Gate Guardian. Afterward, it becomes an emblem of Yugi and Joey joining forces to defeat their opponents. Woefully, the fact that this card requires two difficult-to-summon monsters, as well as a Polymerization card, makes it an unreliable strategy. Black Skull Dragon is a Monster better fit for tag duels than individual encounters.

9

Blue Flame Swordsman

Capable of giving his power to his allies

The evolution of one of Joey’s most recognizable Fusions, Blue Flame Swordsman, is an incredibly useful card to have against powerful opponents. By activating its effect, Joey was capable of reducing the attack points of the card, granting the same amount of attack points to another monster on his side of the field. Having 1800 attack points meant that almost any card could become a powerhouse thanks to Blue Flame Swordsman. Since this effect is not limited to Joey’s turn, it means that the young duelist could use it to surprise his opponents.

If Blue Flame Swordsman is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, the card’s owner can special summon a Flame Swordsman from their deck. This is one of the few cards in the anime that replaces itself with another Monster after being destroyed. Nonetheless, the fact that this card needs to lose attack points for its effect turns it into a target for Joey’s opponent. A powerful monster could take advantage of Blue Flame Swordsman effect to deal massive amounts of damage to its user.

8

Time Wizard

A magical creature with control over time

Few cards are as emblematic of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game as Joey’s Time Wizard. After receiving the card from Yugi before the beginning of the Duelist Kingdom tournament, this whimsical creature became one of Joye’s most reliable allies. By manipulating time, this inconspicuous wizard can increase the age of any monster on the field. While this tends to be beneficial for some creatures, like Joey’s Baby Dragon becoming Thousand Dragon, it usually has a devastating effect on the opponent. Most monsters do not age gracefully, losing their attack points and effects in the process.

Joey’s version of Time Wizard is several times better than its real-life counterpart. In the real game, the card’s effect destroys the monsters on the opponent’s field, but only when the coin flipped for its activation lands on heads. The anime version not only turns the opponent’s monsters into sitting targets for Joey but it also grants his monsters more power. Yet, both cards have the horrible drawback of destroying all the owner’s monsters and inflicting half their combined attack points as damage if the coin lands on tails.

7

Roll Of Fate

The embodiment of Joey’s impressive luck

One of Joey’s signature traits during the story of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters is his amazing luck. Lady Luck would often be on Joey’s side, helping him draw the card he needed, or allowing him to obtain high numbers whenever he activated a luck-based card. Roll of Fate is by far Joey’s most powerful card, revolving around chances, as proven by its various appearances in the anime. When activated, Joey would roll a six-sided die, with the resulting number being the number of cards that he would draw. Afterward, the same number of cards would be discarded from his deck.

Besides the new tools Joey can add to his hand thanks to this powerful effect, this card can also send cards that would not have been useful otherwise to the graveyard. Roll of Fate’s effect has been deemed too strong for the real card game, with no copy having ever been printed in either the OCG or TCG. Adding to Joey’s almost supernatural luck, this card becomes an incredibly overpowered addition to his deck. It is important to remember that even though Roll of Fate is powerful, it is still a luck-based card, meaning that it cannot be a reliable piece of any strategy.

6

Gearfried The Swordmaster

The evolution of one of Joey’s most iconic cards

Gearfried the Iron Knight is one of Joey’s most used monsters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime, having been with him since the Battle City arc. Its effect prevented it from ever being equipped with a Spell card, as the equipment would be destroyed immediately. Gearfried the Swordmaster, is the evolution of Joey’s loyal ally, stripping him of his armor and giving him a new powerful effect. Whenever equipment is granted to Gearfried the Swordmaster, he can destroy a monster on the field.

Unlike his previous form, this Gearfried does not destroy the Spell card equipped to him, which means he can still receive the bonus of the equipped card’s effect. Since this monster already has 2,600 attack points in his base form, giving him a piece of equipment only makes it that more dangerous. Gearfried the Swordmaster is not without flaws, as the monster needs two specific cards to be summoned. It also does not have any kind of protection, making it vulnerable to destruction effects from Joey’s opponent.

5

The Claw Of Hermos

A legendary Dragon who can create powerful monsters

When Dartz threatened to take over the world and awaken the Leviathan, Joey was chosen as one of the warriors who would awaken the Legendary Dragons. As such, Yugi’s best friend was granted the power of the dragon Hermos, represented by the card The Claw of Hermos. This rare and mystical card can turn Joey’s monsters into Equip Spell cards to grant his other creatures more power. The cards created by The Claw of Hermos would have effects based on the monster used for their summons.

For example, Joey’s signature Red-Eyes Black Dragon became the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword, which granted the monster equipped with it 1,000 attack points. It would also increase the stats of the creature who held it by 500 points for each dragon-type monster on the field. Despite how powerful The Claw of Hermos’ effect is, it does rely on Joey having both it and another specific monster in hand to use it. This severely limits the application of the card, turning it into a strong last resort instead of a reliable strategy.

4

Lord Of The Red

Joey’s very own suit of awe-inspiring armor

Yu-Gi-Oh! as a Shonen anime differs from other shows of the same genre for not containing many scenes of the protagonists engaging in physical fights. Lord of the Red, one of Joey’s few Ritual Monsters, challenged this notion by giving the young Wheeler the ability to engage in hand-to-hand combat with Valon. When this card was summoned during the Waking the Dragons arc, it immediately fused with Joey, acting as a suit of armor for the young man. With this protection, Joey was not only able to interact with Valon and his Armor Deck physically.

Lord of the Red had 2,400 attack points, the same amount as the card it is inspired by, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. This may seem lacking for a Level 7 Ritual Monster, yet it still has a truly useful and versatile effect. When 2 Spell cards are activated in succession, Lord of the Red can destroy all other monsters on the field. Thanks to this effect, Joey can defeat Valon during episode 173 of the anime. The fact that Lord of the Red requires a specific Ritual Spell to be summoned is what hinders this card.

3

Giant Trunade

A powerful Spell banned in real life

While Joey may be an amazing and talented duelist, one of his major flaws was the lack of Spell cards added to his deck. However, the few Spells that he used were incredibly powerful, with Giant Trunade being the strongest. The effect of this card is simple, but it could completely change the outcome of a duel. When activated, Giant Trunade would return all the Spells and Traps from the field to their owner’s hands. By doing this, Joey rides the field of any problematic Continuous Spells or possible Traps set by his opponent.

Giant Trunade was fundamental for Joey during most duels, as it would allow him to attack his opponent without the fear of his monsters being destroyed or stopped. In real life, this card has been banned from competitive play for many years, due to how powerful it was. Less powerful versions of Giant Trunade have been released, and even with their lesser effects, they have been played competitively in the past. Lamentably for Joey, characters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime seldom relied on Spell and Trap cards to achieve victory, making Giant Trunade a situational card.

2

Jinzo

The ultimate defense against Trap cards

The Battle City tournament introduced many unique rules to the game of Duel Monsters. The most significant one forced the loser of a duel to give their best card to their opponent. It was due to this rule that Joey came across Jinzo, a monster that may not seem powerful at first but is hiding an incredible special ability. When Jinzo is summoned, all the Trap cards in the opponent’s field, either face-up or set, are destroyed. While this monster remains on the field, Trap cards cannot be activated.

With Jinzo on his side of the field, Joey was able to prevent his opponents from hindering his strategies by activating cards like Mirror Force and its variants. This was devastating for most opponents, as Trap cards were heavily used to avoid losing duels during the Duel Monsters era. The power of Jinzo was reduced when the card was printed by Konami, with the Trap card destruction portion of his effect removed. Even with this lesser effect, Jinzo was used by competitive players for years. The only downside Jinzo has is the need to tribute a monster for its summon.

1

Gilford The Lightning

A noble warrior with a destructive effect

Joey may not have received an Egyptian God card during the Battle City arc, but he does have a powerful three-sacrifice monster to call his own. Gilford the Lighting is Joey’s strongest Warrior monster, with 2,800 attack points and an unusually powerful effect. As a level 8 monster, Gilford can be summoned normally by tributing two monsters. When three monsters are used as tributes for this card, its effect causes all the monsters on the opponent’s side of the field to be destroyed.

After clearing out his opponent’s field, Joey can deal a huge 2,800 points of direct damage to his adversary. Gilford the Lighting was a key piece of Joey’s strategy to beat Marik during episodes 127 and 128 of the original anime. This strong warrior managed to destroy the imposing Egyptian God, The Winged Dragon of Ra, a feat few duelists can claim to have accomplished. Despite the high cost needed to summon Gilford the Lighting, having him on the field is almost a guarantee of Joey’s victory, making him the strongest card he has used in Yu-Gi-Oh!.