GGP Seattle 2026: Top 8 Decklists

​Back in 2024, JDZ organized and hosted the Pacific Northwest’s first Goat Grand Prix: GGP Seattle. The event was a wild ride of seven Swiss rounds and a tight Top 8 at Table Top Village. Unfortunately, due to JDZ’s other commitments, as well as Table Top Village being a victim of Konami’s backlash against unsanctioned retro events, 2025 came and went without a GGP Seattle. Despite many local players reminiscing over the event, hope was all but lost for another chance to play in-person Goats in the Emerald City. Thanks to a joint effort between several Goat Format community members and a renowned shop in Bothell, WA (30 minutes south of Seattle) opening its arms to a new retro Yu-Gi-Oh! format, GGP Seattle made a comeback in 2026!

On Sunday, August 30th, Zulu’s Board Game and Cafe hosted the event, while Lady Command Knight, her partner Sheena, and Bluetooth handled organizing, scorekeeping, judging, and technical support for streaming and photography. Zulu’s was gracious enough to allow the tournament to be held at no cost, on top of assisting with some unexpected tech issues that arose throughout the day. They were very pleased with our Goat community and are happy to have us back next year!45 players battled it out at GGP Seattle 2026 for a shot at a Goat Worlds invite, along with a $1000 cash prize pool, various prize cards, a trophy, and playmats. Six rounds of Swiss action preceded the cut to Top 8. The field was incredibly varied, with some surprising representation between Warriors, RGT, and the catch-all “Other” category, which encompassed everything from Fiend Return, to Horus, to Berserk Phoenix.

(Note: The one unlabeled pink category is a Bazoo Return deck!)Given how spicy the field was, it should be no surprise that Top 8 was just as diverse and creative!Our first-place champion, Polo Hernandez, won the day with an impressive RGT list that smokescreened into a different strategy.

​Forgoing the typical three Giant Trunade and multiple Jar of Greed often seen in Chaos RGT decks in favor of some staple traps and a higher monster count—Sinister Serpent is especially noteworthy here—the champ can transition to a formidable Chaos Control build for an extra surprise factor in G2/G3.After opponents side out their Nobleman of Crossouts, Mystic Swordsman LV2’s, and other flip hate, Polo’s Dekoichi’s and Magician of Faiths are free to generate advantage before being tributed for boss monsters like Airknight, DMOC, and Jinzo. Meanwhile, the opponent’s side cards, like Jowgen the Spiritualist, Threatening Roar, and/or King Tiger Wanghu, are looking less like good side choices and more like a missed meta call.Combine those unexpected plusses with a Goats/Meta backbone, and you’re in for a wild duel. It’s an ingenious plan, and it paid off in full at the GGP. Congrats, Polo, on bringing home the trophy with such a cool deck!Second place goes to Conner Morgan, who brought an equally spicy homebrew of Chaos Return. 

Conner has the backbone of your typical Chaos Return deck here with triple Dekoichi, triple Spy, and a couple of Shining Angels to maintain field presence and provide great banishing fodder for both BLS and Chaos Sorcerer. However, we once again see the power of maindecking monsters like Airknight Parshath, Jinzo, and DMOC, as well as bringing staples like Magician of Faith, Tsukuyomi, and Sinister Serpent where they rarely tread.The Brain Control and Soul Exchange are a nice touch here, doing double duty to enable the Tribute Summons as well as remove threats off the board. Mained copies of Sakuretsu Armor help push damage and keep monsters alive for those impactful summons. The side is packed with floodgates like Spell Canceller, Royal Decree, and Jowgen to throw off combo players and cripple trap-heavy decks like Warrior, as well as double Kycoos and a third Trap Dustshoot to keep those pesky Chaos Turbo builds at bay. Conner had a very impressive run at the GGP, going 8-0 through Swiss Rounds and Top 8 before unfortunately losing to the champion in the final match. The organizers’ one regret of the day was not being able to offer a second Goat Worlds invite to such a remarkable player. Nonetheless, we congratulate Conner for his stellar performance and unique list!Both third and fourth place went to formidable Warrior players, Danielle Fitzgerald and Daniel Wood, respectively.

​While Warrior has been one of Goat Format’s best decks since its inception, given the strength and versatility of Warrior monsters and the insane toolbox nature of Reinforcement of the Army, the meta has notably shifted to be more Warrior-heavy in the past year or so. Especially popular are “Flip Warrior” builds, which take advantage of the opponent’s tendencies to side out NOCs completely against Warrior by bringing in flips that are either tough to deal with (Gravekeeper’s Spy) or generate immense value for the Warrior player (Deko, MoF, Morphing Jar). In both of these players’ lists, we see the resilience of such a solid maindeck strategy coupled with the added value of sidedeck flips and tech choices.Given both their similar names and renown within the Goat Format community, it should be no surprise that Danielle and Daniel have almost identical lists. Danielle rocks a Jar of Greed and Xing Zhen Hu (which work well together in a pinch) in her 40-card main, while Daniel chose to add a Book of Moon and second Dust Tornado in his.Their sidedeck choices also differ slightly, with Danielle going more all-in on the Flip Warrior side, including a Dekoichi and Sangan alongside the standard Spies, MoF, and MJar. She also has some extra tech choices against Burn with Amazoness Archer and Mystik Wok. Conversely, Daniel decided to go heavy on the anti-RGT hate with Jowgen and double Threatening Roar in his side. Both duelists rounded their sidedecks out with some extra removal, bringing their 55 to a solid threat that slayed all day.These two duelists’ performances demonstrate that the Warrior deck is a real threat that is here to stay. Congratulations to both Danielle and Daniel on fighting their way to the top!Fifth place went to Xander Prendergast, the lone Chaos Turbo player in a tournament that felt dominated by Warriors. 

​Looking at this list, it’s no wonder Xander was able to rise above the hordes of Warriors to find his place in the Top 8.While the maindeck is pretty indicative of Chaos Turbo’s recent trends—moving to only one Trap Dustshoot in the main, while maximizing on draw power through multiple Jar of Greed and keeping Card Destruction as their fourth piece of the Trinity—his side is a bit of a blast from the past. The Scapegoats and Metamorphosis package in the side isn’t as common as it used to be, but its inclusion here explains why it was such a staple for so long. Bringing in Goats/Meta can transform Xander’s Chaos Turbo deck into “closet” Chaos Control (as it’s sometimes called) in G2 and G3, giving him an extra edge against aggressive decks. Goats absorb attacks and can be transformed into Thousand-Eyes Restrict to steal threatening monsters and slow down the pace of play. Combine these side options with triple Sakuretsu Armor and two Soldiers (Cipher and Archfiend) as solid beaters, and this deck can fight through its most common threats to come out on top.Congratulations to Xander on an extraordinary finish, representing Goat Format’s most popular meta deck with an old-school twist that definitely helped bring it home!Sixth place goes to the third Warrior player in Seattle’s Top 8 lineup, Andrew Royle. 

​Just as we compared Danielle and Daniel’s decks above, we have to note the strong similarities in Andrew’s list. Andrew’s is similar to Daniel’s, opting for a maindeck Book of Moon and second Dust Tornado in the main to give him a flexible answer to a variety of cards—Book of Moon is particularly notable at shutting down Snatch Steal or nullifying a Chaos Sorcerer’s banish effect—along with some additional Spell/Trap removal. Andrew’s side, however, differs a little bit from the other two Warrior players. We’ve still got the flip package with Spies, a MoF, MJar, and Sangan, but the extra beaters in Zombyra the Dark and two Cipher Soldiers prove impactful in the Warrior mirror match. Two King Tiger Wanghu make a great pair of answers to Burn, RGT, and Control decks, shutting down pesky Scapegoats and Ojama tokens that Warrior can sometimes struggle to deal with. Amazoness and Wok round out the anti-Burn strategy, while a third Dust Tornado and Sakuretsu Armor finish off great catch-all removal packages.Overall, another very solid Warrior list, and a great performance in Seattle. Congratulations, Andrew!Our seventh-place player, Kyle Wascher, also happens to be the only Earth Aggro player in the entire tournament!

​Earth Aggro is a deck that has had its ups and downs throughout recent years. Once arguably one of the most popular deck choices, especially for players looking for something even more aggressive than Warrior, Earth Aggro’s tournament representation has been on somewhat of a decline.It’s a testament to Kyle’s superb performance at the GGP that he was not only able to make Top 8 with his list, but that he did so as the sole representative of the deck. Earth Aggro having a 100% topping representation at GGP Seattle 2026 was just one of many surprises that day!Kyle’s list differs a bit from the typical Earth Aggro builds with triple D.D. Assailant and triple Giant Rat. Both monsters have staying power and bonuses in battle, Rat being able to access a mini-toolbox and DDA banishing whatever monster manages to beat over it. Combine these sticky monsters with triple Goblin Attack Force, triple Gigantes, and plentiful removal options like Smashing Ground and Sakuretsu Armor, and your opponent is going to take a lot of damage. Fast.The sidedeck here is full of great tech choices to shut down a wide variety of threats. Triple King Tiger Wanghu makes short work of anything Burn, RGT, or Control, while triple Des Wombat extinguishes any chances Burn might have to play their game at all. (Funnily enough, there weren’t any Burn decks at GGP Seattle, but the players were well-prepared!)Notable in the side is Dark Dust Spirit, which presumably can come in against both rival aggressive decks fielding a lot of threatening monsters, or clear up Control boards clogged with Scapegoats and/or Thousand-Eyes Restrict. Between triple Giant Rat and triple Gigantes as tribute fodder, DDS can be a reliable, recurring answer to multiple monsters at once.Again, it’s not only exciting to see Earth Aggro top a tournament in 2026, but seeing that happen with a sample size of one makes it extra special. Congratulations, Kyle, on your exemplary Top 8 finish!Finally, we have another RGT deck making it to Top 8, showing a second stunning finish for the combo deck. This one was a Machine Gate OTK build from a duelist who goes by Thug Tears.

Machine Gate OTK distinguishes itself from the more popular Chaos RGT builds by offering a simple, straightforward path to victory: get out one or more Machine monsters, then make them big with Limiter Removal, Megamorph, and/or United We Stand. One attack is all you need for victory!Thug Tears’ deck is geared towards finding that one big attack as soon as possible. Opting for the second Megamorph instead of a copy of United We Stand, his deck is ready to deal damage quickly and easily, without much setup. Triple Jar of Greed and a copy of Reckless Greed facilitate this plan, drawing towards those final combo pieces at lightning speed. The monster lineup is standard but effective, with the exception of Cannon Soldier—a nice tech choice that can deal those last few points of damage needed for a win, or tribute off Goat tokens to clear the way for an additional summon. The sidedeck strategy here mostly focuses on mitigating the Warrior matchup, which can be a bit tricky, with multiple Cipher Soldiers, Royal Decrees, and battle traps. Spell Canceller makes the mirror match a breeze. Tribe-Infecting Virus and Token Thanksgiving can help against the mirror, Burn, or Control matchups. Big Bang Shot acts as both a win condition against decks running Scapegoat, and a source of removal when paired with Giant Trunade. Finally, the double Book of Moon is a solid choice to turn off floodgate monsters like Jowgen or King Tiger (both of which were rampant in Seattle sidedecks) or dispatch an opposing Thousand-Eyes Restrict.This is a tightly-focused, highly-effective deck that can end the game with just a couple cards and the dreaded words “Damage Step”. No wonder such an efficient build found its way to the top cut. Congrats, Thug Tears, on a great build and a great run!Overall, GGP Seattle 2026 was a great success: a diverse field of decks, a great venue, and a lot of happy players. We’d like to close this article out with a brief video made by Bluetooth, showcasing the Top 8 players and some highlights of the final rounds:

We look forward to seeing GGP Seattle again in 2027, when Zulu’s has an even bigger and better venue available for us, and we’ll have even more invites and prizes to offer the PNW’s finest players!