Goat Format Championship 19: Top 16 Player Interviews | Goat Format
Goat Format Championship 19: Top 16 Player Interviews
Goat Format Championship 19 featured 232 entrants with day two focusing on the top 16 players, including interviews about their strategies and deck choices.
Goat Format
·22 min read
232 entrants in the year's first Goat Format Championship, but only one can stand victorious! In the second day of the event the top 16 players from the day before will duke it out for the crown, but who are these talented duelists? Read on to learn more about them!
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Nothing, I came from 2 weeks pause for universityWhat deck did you play today and why?Driver FTK, because is consistent and i thought people wouldn't be prepared with the side deckWhat decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?No one in particularWhat decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Same, I dont care who i'm againstWhat card had been overperforming for you today?Dark magician of chaos, for obvious reasonWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Cycling pot of greed 3 times in a turn to get the combo
If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?Maybe some more draw engine, cutting the second soul release. And maybe 1-2 cards in the side could change, but the other 39 main cards are perfect.
Ghostrider15
Name:Marcelo LopezLocation:Los Angeles California Occupation:Statistician Age:29
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I playtested on an alt on DB ladder, with team Rampage and with BirdmanWhat deck did you play today and why?Chaos Turbo because it's the deck I'm most comfortable withWhat decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Mirror Matches What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Empty Jar, FTK/OTK decks and Panda BurnWhat card had been overperforming for you today?Mask of Darkness
What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Top decking breaker to help me go for game with a BLS push. I was in a bad spot before the breaker.If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I wouldn't make changes
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Decided a month ago that i figured out chaos turbo which was the same main deck I used in the last gfc and then changed it after that for no reason. I did 0 practice, just played 4 war league games and went 4-0 during that month so I was pleased with the deck. What deck did you play today and why?I played Chaos Turbo for several reasons. 1- It’s pretty clearly the best deck if you take the time to learn to play it at a really high level. Additionally it has by far the best war league win rate. 2- It fits the way I like to play yugioh basically perfectly, a nice defensive style that can also get aggressive wheneverWhat decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Burn burn and more burn, luckily played 2 of my matches vs burnWhat decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?My deck is prepped for everything so there isn’t exactly a matchup I didn’t want to play. I guess a turbo mirror vs a really good turbo player is what I would like to avoid
What card had been overperforming for you today?Breaker probably, think it went crazy every single time I drew it, straight won me a few games. Solemn was pretty good tooWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?I was down pretty bad in my final match of the day in g1 having all monsters facing a deadly cyber jar set that was searched off sangan. I topdecked graceful into card destruction which got me heavy + nobleman along with a monster + raigeki break and solemn which turned the game completely in my favor and won next turn. There was another moment in round 2 where I was staring down kycoo and my deck only had 1 remaining answer to it in 9 cards which was a breaker to attack kycoo. With 2 cards left in deck I finally drew it and won next turn after opponent attempted to win with a bls attack into my mirror force.If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?None, I’ve been loving the list for a month straight and continue to love it
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I didnt practice much but the games I did play, Were with Fancy Diesel at 4am the morning of the day 1 lol. Like the 266 GFC that SDL won, SDL & myself showed eachother our list & they happened to be identical. So we discussed few things & ran with it.What deck did you play today and why?Warriors, I was close to playing Chaos Turbo but felt I had a better chance on warriors. It just fits my play style & looking at a field of 233, is the safer pick IMO.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I didnt really care too much, put them in front of me & ill just keep swinging.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?My Rampage Teammates.
What card had been overperforming for you today?Spirit Reaper & MOF for sure.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Hasn't happened yet, will be me or my team members bringing home this GFC title.If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I'll let you know if I take a loss 😉. No matter what happens, Thank you to the staff at GF discord for hosting another great tourney because without you guys, none of this is possible. Also shout out to Team Rampge & Team Gorilla Unit (from the war league server) cuz WE THE BEST! 😉
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Didn't prepare, shoutout to Solitaire for the emotional supportWhat deck did you play today and why?Goat Control, because it's my favourite deck, and also not very good; thought it would be a cool challenge to top with it As for the specific build, it was intended as a CT counter, since CT is the best deck and in general crushes control. Spies and recruiters help you not to die to early flip pressure, swap generates advantage, and zaborg converts spies/recruiters/swapped floaters into real pressure; I chose solemn/shoot for the traps since they fit best with my overall matchup configs.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Warrior!What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Fairly equanimous with all matchups
What card had been overperforming for you today?Pot of GreedWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?When I summoned the mystical tomatoIf you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?May add 2 beaters to the side; any large scale changes would require a complete shift of approach (e.g. decrees over solemns, cutting spies etc.)
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Practice with my War League team, The Formula, which is what has helped accrue a lot of experience in Goat Format.What deck did you play today and why?Chaos Turbo, because it has both one of the highest ceilings and the simplest decision making patterns. I thought it best to play a powerful deck that doesn't require extreme focus every round of the tournament.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I enjoy the mirror and control because both reward player skill, particularly with making key reads. What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Warrior, which is a tough match-up for the deck and often one that can feel like the opponent has all the answers.
What card had been overperforming for you today?Sinister Serpent put in the most work, from walling monsters to baiting NoC or Mind Control to being free discard fodder. It's the workhorse of the deck in my opinion.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?My duel against LeoPHuncho. I had yet to play his Goat Control list, so it was cool to play the person who made it or popularized it. Unfortunately I double summoned, and game 2 was quite sacky on my part, but nevertheless it was a tense game.If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?No changes in particular. I've been satisfied thus far with the list.
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?No practice I've played over 5000 goat matches so it's just another day in the office hoping to draw well.What deck did you play today and why?Turbo my bread n butterWhat decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Always enjoy the mirror match. Or players who play bad decksWhat decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?RgtWhat card had been overperforming for you today?Golem sentry, very good in the mirror and my eyes light up everytime opponent mind cons it.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Facing down a kycoo and deko and a backrow with 2k lp. I have td and sorc in hand I top deck card destruction and fire it off draw
breaker and sentry. Set sentry pass. Opponent (jjstokes) attacks facedown with deko sentry walls it and he passes. Next turn I top bls , summon breaker pop the set mf , flip flopped golem to bounce kycoo drop bls then attack for 7kIf you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?Deck was fine I have a tech card I wish to try buy can't disclose yet. Made a misplay in day 2 then opponent toptecks bls
WorldGoneMaad
Name:Nycholas Y'sraelLocation:New BabylonOccupation:Chef de CuisineAge:30
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Playing in the Goat Format War League helped me prepare for the event. Its basically gladiator school. Also practiced with the LRG / 4Hunnid gang. What deck did you play today and why?I played Chaos Control because I'm tired of people discrediting the deck because of bad pilots. I still think CC is the best deck of the format, there are just problems with the deck that nobody has bothered to try and solve. I've attempted to identify and alleviate some of those issues today.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Was looking forward to feasting on all warrior players today and anyone who thought they were gonna go for a shock win with some rogue deck.
What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Chaos Turbo, even tho I have tried to increase my win rate vs the turbo deck with this version of cc, I still wanted to dodge as many of the Turbo players as possible. Let the warrior guys eat em up so I can pick them off one by one after its over.What card had been overperforming for you today?Metamorphosis, because I know how to use it better than anyone.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Going undefeated only for this to be the GFC where we reset the brackets. :CryingJordan:If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I would add Cyber-Steins to my sidedeck to make my alt win matchups free.
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I didn't really practice to be fair, I just played a couple ranked match on db, since my friends don't play goat format, but only current format (and a bit of edison).What deck did you play today and why?I initially wanted to play goat control but I switched to chaos turbo because that's overall what seems the most solid choice to me, and I am more confident playing it.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I of course expected to play many mirror matches and I built my deck accordingly (for example cutting Tsukuyomi from the main deck). I almost exclusively played against chaos variants which was my prediction (not a very bold one lol) so I'm happy with it.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Cutting Tsukuyomi from the main deck and playing Dustshoots could've been a liability against warriors, but luckily I didn't face any, so again, lucky me. I also don't like playing against otk decks as they
can sometimes just win without you being able to do anything (I didn't play any copy of Solemn Judgment, so if my opponent activated Heavy Storm or Giant Trunade I kinda had to pray), and that's why I decided to play Kuriboh in my side deck.What card had been overperforming for you today?During day one, I don't think there was a card that exceeded my expectations. We all know Gravekeeper's Spy is a very good card, we all know Dekoichi is a very good card, and so on. However, since I played against so many chaos decks, Mind Control was almost always sided in for games 2 and 3, and it has performed very well. It was fun to play mirror matches and throw Mind Controls at each other, and luckily I haven't used it on a Sangan or a Sinister Serpent so far.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?My favourite moment of the event was during round 4: I was playing against Slashtap who was running a Reasoning Gate machine deck with Cyber Stein, Limiter Removal and stuff like that. I lost game 1 to Heavy storm + Cyber Stein + Megamorph (8400 atk Master of Oz is pretty good I guess). I almost lost game 2 in a similar way, except this time I could use Kuriboh against a 9200 atk Blowback Dragon to save myself and consequently win the game. I then proceeded to win game 3, once again, by using Kuriboh's effect. The best part was that the match was being live streamed, and after the game ended I watched it on youtube (JDZ's reaction to the plot twist in game 2 was hilarious!).If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?Overall I'm pretty happy with my list I played and I don't think I would change it. The only thing I could consider is that by not maining Tsukuyomi, resolving Gravekeeper's Spy's effect twice in the same game is a bit more difficult, as it can only be done with Book of Moon. Because of that, cutting the third Spy and playing the third Dekoichi instead could've been a valid option, and it would've been coherent with my idea of sacrificing a bit of my game 1 matchup against warriors in favor of having better cards for the mirror match. At the same time though, Spy is better against Mind Control than Dekoichi, so I guess it's just a matter of preference, and I think I like Spy more. So yeah, I probably wouldn't change my decklist if I could.
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I played a similar deck in Italy (shoutouts to the whole GCI community!) and tested a few games with my brother (shoutout to him as well!)What deck did you play today and why?I play Turbo today because it's the turboest Turbo deck of the format.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Decks that play a lot of Solemns/Kycoos etc.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?My brother!
What card had been overperforming for you today?Toon Cannon Soldier!What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?No particular one.If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I like the deck the way it is.
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?The night before the event LaBounty and I stayed up until 4 am testing and discussing what we wanted to play. Shout out to my captain and Team Rampage. What deck did you play today and why?I played Chaos Turbo today as it is the deck I felt most comfortable piloting. Thought the deck would perform well going into such a large field of players as it is extremely consistent. What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Mostly Chaos Turbo and Warriors. Those were the two decks I was most prepared for. What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Camposssssss and his Spell Economics FTK deck. My main/side deck didn't have the tools necessary to deal with his deck. Great meta call on his part.What card had been overperforming for you today?King Tiger Wanghu was fantastic. Such a versatile side deck option. More Chaos Turbo players should consider siding this over Asura Priest.
What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Game 3 against Solmastermatt. He Snatch Stole my Dekoichi and has 3 backrow set. I have Raigeki Break and Widespread Ruin facedown and Sangan set. No cards in hand for me. He summons DDWL, attacks into my Sangan, I use Widespread Ruin, he chains Solemn (second solemn used this game) and he goes down to 300 LP. I flip the Sangan and he opts to use DDWLs effect to banish. Swings in with Dekoichi. Passes back to me, I draw Thunder Dragon . Use the effect, use Raigeki Break on the Snatch Steal to take back my Dekoichi and swing for game. Got me into top 16.If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?For the most part I'm pretty satisfied with my deck. Maybe I would go back and add a second Solemn in place of Jar of Greed or Sakuretsu Armor. But other than that, very happy with how the deck performed.
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Not at allWhat deck did you play today and why?Turbo Chaos because it is the deck i play most of the time What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I would have loved playing against a team overdose memberWhat decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?BurnWhat card had been overperforming for you today?MofWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?The last game of day 1 actually. I drew in game 3 so good that i could not lose
If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I would not make any at all
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?UI helped me a ton in both building and testing the list, I wouldn't have gotten this far without them.What deck did you play today and why?I played turbo warrior because I feel like it has a really good matchup into the field and is more consistent than turbo.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I was looking forward to playing against warriors and decree control decks.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Goat control decks running solemn judgement and any UI teamates.What card had been overperforming for you today?My body as a shield.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Winning my top 32 match vs PatrickZer0
If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I would consider cutting 1 wanghu for a mind control, but only because I've faced so little burn and control.
Puy
Name:Claire CohenLocation:New YorkOccupation:Patient Service RepresentatveAge:21
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?My prep for today can be attributed to none other than the lovely folks on the Ultra Instinct Yugioh Dueling Team. I got about five games a night with them for all sorts of matchups every night the week before the event, and it really helped my solidify my choice of deck. What deck did you play today and why?My deck is called "Pandabyss 2" aka "Tomaburn 2." The deck started with don't copy having an idea to take Shane's final panda burn list and side Zaborgs into it. From there I had the idea to make a full transformation side into James Arc/Delinkquent's Tomabyss deck and Pandabyss was born. I was surprised how well it worked so I kept testing and testing till it became the clear choice over other spice in the works.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?The deck is quite good against Warriors and RGT on behalf of the recruiters, swaps, brain cons, decrees, and overall big beaters.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?
Turns out Turbo is a bad matchup for this version of Panda because game 1 we don't have any floodgates, chain energy, koala, and we don't even play a full 3 just desserts. It is just a recruiter beatdown deck fighting against turbo, which is a damn nightmare. Luckily the Tomabyss half performs a little better.What card had been overperforming for you today?Royal Decree. Nothing like flipping a Decree on your opponent's set 3 against what you thought was panda only to get steamrolled. Even players who knew the decree was there had to rethink their traplineups, which for my aggressive deck only serves as an advantage.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?As sour as the game ended, I really liked how the game against AJT went. I think it took some very patient plays and difficult decisions and I am proud of myself for finding some of the lines and making some of the reads I did. GG AJT, it was a good one!If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?3 book is laughable. I'd play a real Yugioh card instead of a 3rd book.
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I didn't just have played goat for a long time What deck did you play today and why?chaos turbo because it is the best deck What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I thought I would play a lot of mirror matchs and I did What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?I was hoping to not play vs burn What card had been overperforming for you today?hard to say but trap dustshoot has been good What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?starting off 0-1 and winning out was pretty crazy If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I like my deck a lot the only card I want to spend more time testing I can think of is Golem Sentry
Rykoko7
Name:Ryan PrescottLocation:Charlotte NCOccupation:Own Card Company Age:26
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I played with my war league captain and friend, gyombermanWhat deck did you play today and why?i played goat control because i like goatWhat decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?chaos turboWhat decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?i don't want to play against burn, and ftk. i hate these 2 strategiesWhat card had been overperforming for you today?the morphing jar came in clutch a couple of timeWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?not knowing i was in top 16, i thought i needed to win at least 1 moreIf you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?nah, i like the deck as it is
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