Joey Wheeler - Red-Eyes Dragon Link [High Rogue]

Power: High Rogue (7.0/10) - This is still High Rogue, but only just. The deck keeps Joey's Red-Eyes identity through Black Metal Dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, The Black Stone of Legend, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Gearfried, Insight, Slash Dragon, and Flare Metal, while the real power comes from a legal Link Evolution-era Rokket/Chaos Dragon Link shell. The old banned combo routes have been replaced with legal Dragon Link pressure.

Consistency: Strong for a theme deck. Black Metal Dragon, Starliege Seyfert, The Black Stone of Legend, Quick Launch, Rokket Tracer, Dragon Ravine, Foolish Burial, World Legacy Guardragon, Red-Eyes Insight, Striker Dragon, and Romulus give multiple routes into Dragon bodies and follow-up. The Red-Eyes cards add some bricks, but they also keep the deck searchable and character-faithful.

Ceiling: High for non-meta tables, reduced versus old Dragon Link. The deck can build through Striker Dragon, Pisty, Romulus, Hieratic Seal, Quadborrel, Triple Burst, Saryuja, Borrelsword, or Borreload. It can also pressure with Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Chaos Dragon Levianeer, Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon, and Red-Eyes Slash Dragon.

Recovery: Good. Black Metal replaces itself, REDMD revives Dragons, World Legacy Guardragon and Monster Reborn extend from grave, Boot Sector Launch reloads Rokkets, and The Black Stone of Legend can recycle itself with Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Levianeer and Tempest also give late-game reach from banished and graveyard resources.

Going first/second: Going first, aim for Hieratic Seal plus follow-up, or a Link board that keeps REDMD and Rokket resources available. Going second, Borrelsword, Borreload, Levianeer, Flare Metal burn, and Red-Eyes Slash Dragon give pressure, while the side deck brings Dark Ruler No More, Evenly Matched, Twin Twisters, Cosmic Cyclone, Nibiru, and Artifact Lancea.

Choke points: Stop Black Metal Dragon before it searches, interrupt Seyfert or Dragon Ravine before they set up graveyard resources, remove Striker Dragon before Boot Sector Launch comes online, or stop Rokket Tracer before it converts Quick Launch into multiple bodies. Red-Eyes Fusion is powerful but locks the turn, so forcing it early limits the combo ceiling.

Key cards: Black Metal Dragon, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, The Black Stone of Legend, Starliege Seyfert, Rokket Tracer, Quick Launch, Boot Sector Launch, Dragon Ravine, World Legacy Guardragon, Red-Eyes Insight, Chaos Dragon Levianeer, Tempest, Striker Dragon, Guardragon Pisty, Hieratic Seal, Borrelsword Dragon, Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon.

Key combos: Black Metal Dragon into Linkuriboh or Striker Dragon searches REDMD or another Red-Eyes card. Seyfert can turn Dragons into Collapserpent, Wyverburster, Levianeer, or REDMD access. Quick Launch summons Tracer, Tracer converts Boot Sector or another face-up card into a Rokket from deck, and Striker searches Boot Sector. Romulus searches Dragon Ravine, Ravine sends Absorouter to search a Rokket, and Pisty or World Legacy Guardragon revives small Dragons for Link climbing. Two Level 7 Red-Eyes bodies make Flare Metal for burn pressure.