"Joey never had the best cards in the room. He had the nerve to call the coin anyway."
Joey Wheeler (Katsuya Jonouchi in Japan) started Yu-Gi-Oh! as the weakest duelist in Yugi's circle and fought his way to the Battle City finals. His deck was built from what he won along the way: Red-Eyes Black Dragon, taken from Rex Raptor in Duelist Kingdom, and Jinzo, won from Espa Roba during Battle City. Around them sat the cards that made him who he was as a duelist, the ones that asked him to trust a coin or a die when the odds were against him.
Two ideas run through that deck. The Gambler: Time Wizard's coin toss, Graceful Dice and Skull Dice. The Aged: Time Wizard's time magic, which turned Baby Dragon into a thousand-year-old Thousand Dragon. Beyond the Brave rebuilds the Battle City side of that deck around a new Quick-Play Spell, Dark Time Wizard, and gives Joey his first real engine.
Until Beyond the Brave, a Joey deck was a tribute rather than an archetype. His cards share no name, no Type and no way to search each other. What ties them together is how Joey played them: Time Wizard's coin toss, Graceful Dice and Skull Dice, and Fusions like Thousand Dragon and Alligator's Sword Dragon that turn two small Normal Monsters into one bigger threat.
Played as they are, the classic cards win when the coin does. Time Wizard destroys your own monsters half the time, the dice swing ATK by 100 to 600, and each Fusion needs Polymerization plus two specific cards. This tab keeps that deck and its history on record. The Beyond the Brave tab covers the ten new cards that make it a real strategy.
The Gambler
Time Wizard tosses one coin once per turn. Called right, it destroys every monster your opponent controls. Called wrong, it destroys your monsters and you take half their ATK as damage. Second Coin Toss lets you redo one toss a turn.
The Gambler
Graceful Dice gives all your monsters the result × 100 ATK and DEF for the turn, and Skull Dice takes the same from all of your opponent's. Roulette Barrel rolls twice and destroys a monster whose Level matches one result.
The Aged
Time Wizard and Baby Dragon fuse into Thousand Dragon, a Baby Dragon a thousand years older. Time Wizard of Tomorrow (Time Wizard + 1 Effect Monster) tosses a coin to destroy every monster on the field.
The cards behind Joey's duels, with their printed effects. Each one names the Beyond the Brave card that brings it back.
Coin toss: once per turn, call a coin. Right: destroy all monsters your opponent controls. Wrong: destroy as many monsters you control as possible, and take damage equal to half their total ATK.
A Fusion Material for Thousand Dragon and Time Wizard of Tomorrow.
Retrained as Dark Time Wizard
No effect. Its value is as material: with Time Wizard it becomes Thousand Dragon, and with Alligator's Sword it becomes Alligator's Sword Dragon.
Plays in the Thousand-Year Gamble
Materials: Time Wizard + Baby Dragon. No effect, just 2400 ATK from two small monsters.
The Aged in card form: Baby Dragon, a thousand years older.
The end of the Thousand-Year Gamble
Joey's signature monster, won from Rex Raptor in Duelist Kingdom. It has no effect of its own; the Red-Eyes support cards do the work.
Material for Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed
Roll a die: all monsters you control gain the result × 100 ATK and DEF until the end of the turn, anywhere from 100 to 600.
Combined into Graceful & Skull Dice
Roll a die: all monsters your opponent controls lose the result × 100 ATK and DEF until the end of the turn.
Combined into Graceful & Skull Dice
4 Sheep Tokens (Level 1, 0 ATK, 0 DEF) in Defense Position. They can't be Tributed for a Tribute Summon, and you can't summon other monsters the turn you activate it, though you can still Normal Set.
Retrained as Sleepy Scapegoats
Borrow a Spell: pick a Spell Card in your opponent's GY and use it as if it were in your hand this turn. Using it costs you 2000 LP.
Retrained as Foolish Graverobber
Drawback: it can't declare an attack unless you Tribute 1 monster. Big ATK for its Level, but every swing costs a card.
Retrained as Swiftwind Panther Warrior
Its flavour text is written in Joey's accent: ey, dis mighty lissard man can swing his sword so fast, dat it's more dan da speed a sound!
Material for Alligator's Sword Dragon
Materials: Baby Dragon + Alligator's Sword.
It can attack your opponent directly if the only face-up monsters they control are EARTH, WATER or FIRE.
Retrained as Alligator's Dragon Knight
Trap Cards, and their effects on the field, can't be activated, and all Trap effects on the field are negated, for both players.
Joey won it from Espa Roba during Battle City.
Retrained as Jinzo - Energy Shocker
While Umi is on the field, it's unaffected by Spell effects and can't be targeted for attacks, though your opponent can still attack you directly.
Retrained as Fisherman of Legend
What each classic card became, and what changed on the way.
| Classic card | Beyond the Brave | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Time Wizard | Dark Time Wizard | Now a Quick-Play Spell with a second, safe effect that searches. A right call also burns your opponent for half the destroyed monsters' ATK. A wrong call still destroys your monsters but no longer damages you. |
| Graceful Dice + Skull Dice | Graceful & Skull Dice | Both effects on one card, with two dice at × 200 instead of one at × 100. The boost only goes to monsters that mention Dark Time Wizard. From the GY it can also destroy a monster your opponent summons. |
| Scapegoat | Sleepy Scapegoats | Still up to 4 Tokens, but the only lock is on the Extra Deck (Fusion Monsters only). It also summons Swiftwind Panther Warrior when your opponent has a monster, and the Tokens can take destruction for your Dark Time Wizard cards. |
| Graverobber | Foolish Graverobber | No LP cost. It revives a monster from either GY, and from the GY it Sets one of your Dark Time Wizard Spells/Traps or a Spell/Trap from your opponent's GY. |
| Panther Warrior | Swiftwind Panther Warrior | Same Level, Type and 2000 / 1600, and it still needs a Tribute to attack. Now that Tribute also summons a Dark Time Wizard monster from the Deck or sends a Spell/Trap to the GY. |
| Alligator's Sword Dragon | Alligator's Dragon Knight | The same Level 5 WIND Dragon with 1700 / 1500, now a Main Deck monster that summons itself, adds 2 Spells/Traps and always attacks directly. |
| Jinzo | Jinzo - Energy Shocker | Level 7 instead of 6, and its name becomes "Jinzo" on the field and in the GY. It destroys your opponent's Traps when summoned, then stops only your opponent from activating Traps while you have another Dark Time Wizard monster. |
| The Legendary Fisherman | Fisherman of Legend | Level 4 instead of 5. It Special Summons itself when your opponent activates a monster effect or attacks, if Umi or a Dark Time Wizard card is on the field, and destroys a monster when summoned. |
| Red-Eyes Black Dragon | Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed | A Fusion Monster you can also summon by Tributing a monster on either field, the turn Dark Time Wizard destroys a monster. |
The line Time Wizard was printed for. It plays step by step in the combo simulator on the Beyond the Brave tab, next to the new lines.
Classic · going second
Why it works: toss the coin while Time Wizard is your only monster. A wrong call then destroys only Time Wizard and costs you 250 LP, half its 500 ATK. Watch for: a wrong call also takes your Fusion Material, so there's no Thousand Dragon that turn.
Beyond the Brave's cover theme is Joey's Battle City deck, rebuilt around a new Quick-Play Spell, Dark Time Wizard. Seven of the ten cards below mention it, so the monsters fetch the Spells, the Spells summon the monsters, and the Traps recycle both. Jinzo - Energy Shocker, Fisherman of Legend and Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed from the same set round out the deck. The Classic Analysis tab still covers the originals.
Dark Time Wizard's first effect is a plain search that comes back in the End Phase. Its coin toss unlocks Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed whichever way it lands.
Alligator's Dragon Knight, Dark Time Wizard, Swiftwind Panther Warrior and Foolish Graverobber all fetch, summon or send "cards that mention Dark Time Wizard".
The dice destroy on 26 of 36 rolls, the coins pay out either way, and Second Coin Toss turns a 50% call into 75%. The Chance Lab below has the numbers.
Filter by card type, or show only the cards that toss a coin or roll a die. Pick a card for its full text and its job in the deck. Card text is the official printed text.
Showing 10 of 10 cards
Retrained monster
Card text
You can only use this effect of "Swiftwind Panther Warrior" once per turn.
The engine's tutor. The Tribute is a cost, so it can eat a Sacrificial Sheep Token or a monster stuck in your hand, and the same Tribute lets Panther attack that turn. Its best targets are Jinzo - Energy Shocker, which locks your opponent's Traps, and Fisherman of Legend, which destroys a monster. The send mode loads Graceful & Skull Dice or Foolish Graverobber into the GY.
It's a Quick Effect in either player's Main Phase, so a Panther you summoned on your turn can also go off during your opponent's.
Retrains Panther Warrior: the same Level, Type and 2000 / 1600, and the same Tribute-to-attack drawback, now with a payoff.
Retrained monster
Card text
The starter. Any other card that mentions Dark Time Wizard makes the Knight free, and its summon effect adds two Spells/Traps for one discard. It can add Dark Time Wizard itself, and the discard is a chance to put Graceful & Skull Dice or Foolish Graverobber in the GY on purpose.
It's also a Level 5 Dragon, so Max Metalmorph can Tribute it for Red-Eyes Black Fullmetal Dragon.
Retrains Alligator's Sword Dragon: the same Level 5 WIND Dragon with 1700 / 1500, now in the Main Deck with an unconditional direct attack.
Spell · the engine
Card text
Two cards in one. The first effect is safe card advantage: it adds any card that mentions Dark Time Wizard and brings itself back in the End Phase, ready for next turn. The second is Time Wizard's gamble as a Quick-Play: a board wipe plus burn if you call it right, your own board if you don't.
Either result counts as Dark Time Wizard destroying a monster, which is exactly what Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed's procedure needs. Set it, and you can flip it on your opponent's turn, where both effects are available again.
Retrains Time Wizard: a wrong call no longer damages you, and a right call now burns your opponent.
Spell · dice
Card text
A battle trick that becomes disruption. From the hand, it's a two-way swing that averages 1,400 each way and never does less than 400. From the GY, it's the deck's best interruption: it answers a summon on your opponent's turn and hits 72% of the time. Swiftwind Panther Warrior and Alligator's Dragon Knight both put it there for you.
Combines Graceful Dice and Skull Dice: two dice at × 200 instead of one at × 100, and the boost now only goes to Dark Time Wizard monsters.
Spell · going second
Card text
Bodies, a tutor and a shield. Going second, it puts Panther on the field straight from the Deck, and the Tokens pay for Panther's Tribute and Exceed's procedure. Neither is a Tribute Summon, so the Token restriction doesn't apply. Each Token left over can also take a destruction for one of your Dark Time Wizard cards.
The Extra Deck lock still lets you summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed, but not Xyz or Link Monsters that turn.
Retrains Scapegoat: the old card stopped you summoning anything else that turn. This one only limits the Extra Deck.
Trap · recursion
Card text
You can only use each effect of "Foolish Graverobber" once per turn.
A Trap that works best in the GY. Activated, it loads the GY and revives a monster from either GY, including your opponent's best one. Its GY effect has no waiting period, so discarding it to Alligator's Dragon Knight lets you banish it the same turn to Set a used Sleepy Scapegoats or Dark Time Wizard, or a Spell/Trap your opponent already spent.
Retrains Graverobber: no 2000 LP cost, and it now steals from both GYs.
Trap · coin and die
Card text
A slow, repeatable interruption. Each counter is one 50% attempt, and there's no once-per-turn limit on spending them, only once per battle. A right call does three things at once: 0 ATK, negated effects, and a free monster from your Deck. Summon Fisherman of Legend with it and Fisherman destroys another monster.
Activate it in your opponent's Draw Phase so it collects counters in their Standby Phase. It rolls in your Standby Phase too.
Trap · negation
Card text
You can only use each effect of "Revenge of the Paper Dolls" once per turn.
Punishes removal twice. Target a Sacrificial Sheep Token as "your monster" and the negation costs you almost nothing. If your opponent destroys it while it's Set, the second effect negates a face-up card with no end-of-turn limit.
It doesn't mention Dark Time Wizard, so nothing in the engine can search it or send it.
Trap · luck of the draw
Card text
A gamble on your own Deck. It sends up to 4 cards, and you pick one to use: a monster to summon, or a Spell/Trap to Set that you can flip at once if it's a Trap or Quick-Play Spell. It counts Traps in both GYs, so it gets better as the duel goes on. The rest of the milled cards stay in the GY, where Graceful & Skull Dice and Foolish Graverobber still work.
It has no once-per-turn limit, but it doesn't mention Dark Time Wizard, so you'll have to draw it.
Trap · coin toss · TCG world premiere
Card text
You can only use each effect of "Just Flip a Coin" once per turn.
A TCG world premiere, not yet in the card database, so there's no art here. The text is transcribed from the first TCG pack openings; check it against the official database once it's listed.
A coin toss you can't lose. Both results get a card back: a monster from your GY, or a Trap to Set again. If your opponent destroys Just Flip a Coin itself, its second effect gives you the same choice without the coin. Reversal Box and Revenge of the Paper Dolls are the best Traps to Set back; a re-Set Paper Dolls threatens its negation again.
It doesn't mention Dark Time Wizard, so nothing in the engine can search it.
Three more Beyond the Brave cards mention Dark Time Wizard. The combo lines below use all three.
Its name becomes "Jinzo" on the field and in the GY. When summoned, it destroys all your opponent's Traps and gains 300 ATK for each (once per turn).
Lock: while you have another monster that mentions Dark Time Wizard on your field or in your GY, your opponent can't activate Trap Cards or effects.
If your opponent activates a monster effect on the field or attacks, while Umi or another Dark Time Wizard card is on the field, it Special Summons itself from your hand.
When summoned: destroy 1 monster your opponent controls; it returns to your hand in the End Phase. Each effect once per turn.
Procedure: Tribute 1 face-up monster on either field during a turn Dark Time Wizard destroyed a monster, or Fusion Summon it. Once per turn either way.
Unaffected by your opponent's activated Spell and monster effects. When Special Summoned, it can summon a Level 8 or lower monster from your hand or GY.
Exceed is also a Red-Eyes card. The Red-Eyes guide covers it from that side, with its Archfiend partner.
Five of the ten cards leave something to chance. Here are the real odds, a chart of the dice, and a table to try your luck. For other dice cards, see the Die Roll guide.
Graceful & Skull Dice: the total of two dice
Ways to roll each total, out of 36. From the GY, a total of 6 or more destroys your opponent's monster.
| Total | Ways (of 36) | Chance | ATK/DEF swing | From the GY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 2.8% | ±400 | Misses |
| 3 | 2 | 5.6% | ±600 | Misses |
| 4 | 3 | 8.3% | ±800 | Misses |
| 5 | 4 | 11.1% | ±1,000 | Misses |
| 6 | 5 | 13.9% | ±1,200 | Destroys |
| 7 | 6 | 16.7% | ±1,400 | Destroys |
| 8 | 5 | 13.9% | ±1,600 | Destroys |
| 9 | 4 | 11.1% | ±1,800 | Destroys |
| 10 | 3 | 8.3% | ±2,000 | Destroys |
| 11 | 2 | 5.6% | ±2,200 | Destroys |
| 12 | 1 | 2.8% | ±2,400 | Destroys |
A classic Continuous Spell: once per turn, when a coin toss is performed, you can choose to redo it. A wrong call only sticks if the redo is wrong too, so one toss a turn succeeds 75% of the time (1 − ½ × ½). It works on Dark Time Wizard, Reversal Box, Just Flip a Coin and Time Wizard. It does nothing for dice.
Crow sends 1 card, plus 1 for each differently named Trap in both GYs, up to 4. Say 12 of the 30 cards left in your Deck are ones you'd happily summon or Set. The chance that at least one of them turns up:
| Cards sent | At least 1 hit |
|---|---|
| 1 | 40% |
| 2 | 65% |
| 3 | 80% |
| 4 | 89% |
Toss and roll the way the cards do. Every result explains what the card would do with it, and the tally shows how close you get to the odds above.
Pick a card to toss or roll for.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed only needs a monster destroyed by Dark Time Wizard that turn, on either field. After a wrong call your field is empty, so Tribute one of your opponent's monsters instead. Tributing doesn't target or destroy, so it gets past most protection.
Dark Time Wizard destroys all monsters you control, Sacrificial Sheep Tokens included, so don't count on Sleepy Scapegoats to save anything from your own misfire. Its shield is for your opponent's removal and for battle.
Each Dark Time Wizard effect is once per turn, so search with one copy and toss with another. A Set copy can be flipped on your opponent's turn, where both effects are fresh. From the hand it only works on your own turn.
Revenge of the Paper Dolls, Crow, the Carrion Cutpurse and Just Flip a Coin don't. Alligator's Dragon Knight and Dark Time Wizard can't add them, and Panther and Graverobber can't send them.
Sacrificial Sheep Tokens can't be Tributed for a Tribute Summon that turn. Swiftwind Panther Warrior's effect and Exceed's procedure aren't Tribute Summons, so the Tokens pay for both.
After Sleepy Scapegoats, only Fusion Monsters come out of your Extra Deck for the rest of the turn. Exceed is a Fusion Monster; Rank 4 Xyz and Link Monsters are not.
It only collects counters in a Standby Phase while it's face-up. Activate it in your opponent's Draw Phase, and it rolls in their Standby Phase before they can do much.
Jinzo - Energy Shocker stops your opponent's Traps while you have another monster that mentions Dark Time Wizard on your field or in your GY. A Dragon Knight or Panther in the GY keeps the lock on after your field is cleared.
Four lines, each checked step by step against the printed text. The going-second line splits on the coin, so it's two lines: one for each call. Pick any line to play it on the board below.
Line 1 · Going first · 2 cards
Why it works: the Knight discards the Dice it just added, which sets up the GY. Tributing the Knight for Jinzo leaves it in the GY, where it still counts as Jinzo's partner. Watch for: Ash Blossom on the Knight's search. Dark Time Wizard's own search still gets Panther, so you keep the Jinzo half.
Line 2 · Going second · called right
Why it works: Jinzo lands while Panther is on the field, so its lock is already on when it destroys the Traps, and your opponent can't chain them to it. Watch for: your Normal Summon is still free, and Exceed's summon effect only matters if you drew a Level 8 or lower monster.
Line 3 · Going second · called wrong
Why it works: Dark Time Wizard destroyed your monsters, which is enough for Exceed's procedure, and Exceed revives Jinzo from the GY. Watch for: Jinzo's destroy effect is once per turn, so it won't fire again. The lock holds because Exceed and the Panther in your GY both mention Dark Time Wizard.
Line 4 · Your opponent's turn
Why it works: Reversal Box summons first and then negates, so its target loses its effects while Fisherman arrives with a destroy of its own. Watch for: a wrong call spends the counter and does nothing else. With counters left, try again on their next monster effect or attack.
Loading the combo simulator…
A starting point for a 40-card Joey deck. These counts are this guide's recommendation, not a tournament list.
| Card | Copies | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | ||
| Alligator's Dragon Knight | 3 | Your best opener. Free to summon and it adds 2 cards. |
| Dark Time Wizard | 3 | The engine and the wipe. You want one for each effect in the same turn. |
| Swiftwind Panther Warrior | 2 | Dark Time Wizard, Tenki and Sleepy Scapegoats all find it, so a third tends to be stuck in your hand. |
| Sleepy Scapegoats | 2 | Your best going-second card, and Tokens for Panther and Exceed. |
| Graceful & Skull Dice | 2 | Mostly played from the GY. Panther and the Knight send it there. |
| Jinzo - Energy Shocker | 1 | Panther's main target, and Exceed revives it. |
| Fisherman of Legend | 1–2 | Reversal Box's target, and removal from the hand on your opponent's turn. |
| Traps | ||
| Reversal Box | 1–2 | Strong in long games; slow when you're going second. |
| Foolish Graverobber | 1 | Mostly a discard for the Knight, so its GY effect can Set a spent card. |
| Revenge of the Paper Dolls | 1 | Negation that costs only a Token. It can't be searched. |
| Crow, the Carrion Cutpurse | 0–1 | Improves as Traps pile up in both GYs, but it's random. |
| Just Flip a Coin | 0–1 | Good against destruction-heavy decks; dead against the rest. |
| Support and Extra Deck | ||
| Fire Formation - Tenki | 1 | Adds Panther, a Level 4 Beast-Warrior. |
| Second Coin Toss | 0–1 | Turns one coin toss a turn into 75%, but it's a dead draw without a coin. |
| Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed | 1–2 | One summon per turn either way. A second copy covers it being removed. |
Fill the rest with hand traps and generic Extra Deck monsters. Panther and Fisherman are both Level 4 for Rank 4 Xyz Monsters, but remember that Sleepy Scapegoats turns those off for the turn.
Pure Joey decks are rare. The cards travel well as a small package, and a few guides already cover the other side.
| Deck | What it takes | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Red-Eyes | Exceed is a Red-Eyes Fusion. Dark Time Wizard's coin toss summons it without Red-Eyes Fusion, whose summon lock would otherwise switch off Exceed's revive. | Red-Eyes |
| Metalmorph | Alligator's Dragon Knight is a Level 5 Dragon, so Max Metalmorph can Tribute it for Red-Eyes Black Fullmetal Dragon. | Metalmorph |
| Archfiend | Black Skull Dragon, the Archfiend of Unity discards a Quick-Play Spell to summon itself. Dark Time Wizard and Sleepy Scapegoats both qualify. | Archfiend |
| Jinzo | Jinzo - Energy Shocker is treated as "Jinzo" on the field and in the GY, so cards that name Jinzo work with it. | Jinzo |
| Umi | Fisherman of Legend's hand effect also works off Umi. | Umi |
| Any deck | Players have suggested a small package of 3 Dark Time Wizard, 1 Foolish Graverobber and 1 Exceed: a going-second wipe that either clears the board or turns into a 3400-ATK monster. | None |
Ash Blossom on Alligator's Dragon Knight or on Dark Time Wizard's search takes most of your turn. Panther's summon from the Deck is another Ash target.
A wrong call still gives you Exceed, but you lose your own board to get it. Players put it bluntly: going second, it's "a 50% chance of a Raigeki, and a 50% chance of a Kaiju."
Five of the ten cards are Traps. Going second into a full board, a hand of Reversal Box, Crow and Just Flip a Coin does very little.
You don't choose how many counters you get, and each one is a coin toss. One player called it "the epitome of a card that's simply not reliable enough for a competitive environment."
Sleepy Scapegoats locks you into Fusion Monsters for the turn, and the deck has only one Fusion that fits.
Graceful & Skull Dice and Foolish Graverobber do their best work from the GY. D.D. Crow and Macro Cosmos shut them off.
Beyond the Brave gives Joey a deck that plays like Joey: every turn has a gamble in it, and most gambles pay out either way. It's consistent for a luck deck, with Alligator's Dragon Knight and Dark Time Wizard as true one-card starters, a Trap lock going first, and a going-second wipe that ends in a 3400-ATK monster whichever way the coin lands. It isn't a top competitive deck. In one player's words, it's "an extremely fair deck in an extremely unfair game", and in early OCG play it mostly showed up as a small engine. As a casual deck and a nostalgia deck it's excellent, and the Dark Time Wizard package is worth testing in Red-Eyes and other decks that want a going-second wipe.
The Dark Time Wizard archetype, with its coin tosses and die rolls that pay out on either result, operates at full power with no restrictions on the current TCG banlist.
Play any card at your preferred ratio without restrictions
Access to all archetype synergies without limitations
No banlist constraints holding back your strategy
Banlist Status Summary
Core cards checked:
• Alligator's Dragon Knight
• Crow, the Carrion Cutpurse
• Dark Time Wizard
• Fisherman of Legend
• Foolish Graverobber
• Graceful & Skull Dice
• Jinzo - Energy Shocker
• Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed
• Revenge of the Paper Dolls
• Reversal Box
• Second Coin Toss
• Sleepy Scapegoats
• Swiftwind Panther Warrior
• Time Wizard
+ Related cards checked:
• Fire Formation - Tenki
• Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed
• Second Coin Toss
• Time Wizard analyzed •
0 restrictions found •
All cards legal at 3 copies
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