Goat Format Championship 20: Top 8 Player Interviews

After 178 players met to fight for the title of Goat Format Champion, eight made it to the top! Read on to learn more about these amazing players and what they think it takes to win! 

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I prepared with SolMasterMatt. We theorized and made the list together using theory from ourselves, Jonathan Labounty, and sdlkilla.What deck did you play today and why?I played Warriors because the meta is so turbo heavy. People have been maining Mind Control and Dustshoot so much recently. It felt like a very strong meta call. Plus, I just love the Warrior strategy.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I had a great side for Turbo and Warriors.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?I was not loooking forward to playing against CC. I played against a really strong CC deck when I faced themoc, but the heart of the cards carried me through.What card had been overperforming for you today?Mystic Swordsman LV2 really over-performed today. Having two available in the deck came up over and over again.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Winning a crown!​If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?​Deck was a good meta call for today, no changes.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I didn't do any real preparation.  Being the only deck I always play, I just adapted the list to what the event could be. I want to thank my friends (Goat format latina) for the advice. They helped a lot. What deck did you play today and why?I played Chaos Turbo (of course) because it’s the best deck that suits my style, and I was excited to have to play mirror matches against the best players with my list.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?As I said, I was looking to play a lot of mirror matches or decks like control or their variants.​What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?I definitely wanted to avoid Warriors. Obviously this was impossible, but I built my deck to play against Turbo or something with chaos monsters, at least. What card had been overperforming for you today?Card Destruction went crazy today and saved me a lot of games. It was worth it to play the card in the main deck What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?I really appreciated my run during day two. I won my first three matches 2-0 and was very excited​If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?​I think the deck played well generally. I liked it.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I played few games vs swiski a week ago when I decided to try this deck.What deck did you play today and why?I've decided to play Warrior with some flips.  I built the deck because I thought Warrior was a better meta call than Turbo with everyone maining Dushoot and Mind Control. I decided to add a small flip package to make my deck more dynamic.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I was looking to play vs Chaos Turbo. I really wanted to play Labounty in the finals, but it didn't happen. Still, I was happy to play Big Bounty in top four. :)What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Any wierd stuff. I ended up playing vs Monarch, Stein, FTK, basically a lot of stuff I didn't want to face lol. Mid tourney I realized Burn was also a problem, but I ended up beating two in a row to get my qualification. :)What card had been overperforming for you today?The flip package was nuts :)What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?My favorite moment in the event was the last round of swiss vs ptranxp. It was a very intense mirror match.​If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?​After playing three burn in the top cut, I would add the damn Cliff.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Didn't feel the need to practice at all since I knew what I wanted to play, but if I would have practice it would have been with all the gods on Team Rampage.What deck did you play today and why?Warriors. It's been the best deck for a while now and people are starting to finally figure that out. :)What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I wanted all of that Chaos Turbo heat. I don't believe in its power.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Warrior players. Keep them away!What card had been overperforming for you today?I would say it's more of team effort. Everything worked great. Wish I could have had a few decisions back though. Go Faith!What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Would probably have to be when I switched Giya's Ojama Token to attack mode & swung into the Morphing Jar for the +5.​If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?Well, knowing I was going to play against five Warrior decks, I would probably have put more Warrior hate into the side. (Ended up 3-2 vs them)PS Team Rampage is the Best! Shout out Moxies for the Chaos Sorc idea.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I tested a lot with Indoors and Alison leading up to the event, and UI as a whole helped a lot with fine tuning my list.What deck did you play today and why?I played Panda Burn today because a lot of players have been sleeping on it and siding less for it than before. It is also just a very capable deck, especially when you resolve as many Jars as I did.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Warrior and control.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Alt win matchups like RGT and the mirror, as well as any UI teammates that were playing.What card had been overperforming for you today?Nightmare Wheel was a card I really did not have faith in, and I only added it last minute and expected to side it out in every matchup. Instead, it won me a few crucial games in the event and all around preformed well.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Drawing Ring of Destruction vs ludo in game three, using it to find lethal through Wok, Seven Tools, and Heavy Storm, and confirm my spot in top eight.​If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?​I would side one less card for warriors, since I already have plenty for that matchup, and side more for the mirror.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I didn't prepare much for the event, besides the usual play testing at locals with my team, Nemesis. Also, I talked with marou13, one of the top Burn players right now, and he gave me ideas for my list.What deck did you play today and why?Panda Burn. A fairly standard list. There has been some noticeable complacency about the matchup from Chaos Turbo's POV, with a lot of people dropping Woks from the side and focusing on the mirror and Warriors, as well as thinking that siding specifically for Burn isn't necessary. I think Panda was a good meta call for this event specifically, and it shows with a lot of Burn decks in top eight.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?The newer versions of Turbo that don't side for Burn (mostly Wok). I got paired with some and got wins I think I otherwise wouldn't have.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Alt-win, and decks that side a lot for the matchup. Sometimes games two and three can feel impossible. Also, people from locals who were also playing, like marou13 and M4rvin.What card had been overperforming for you today?None in particular, but I've had some pretty nice combos with Desert Sunlight.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Getting into top 32 early so I could watch the champion's league final :)​If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I didn't side in Spy much, so I think it would've been better off if I sided more stuff for alt-win and the mirror. Also, Magic Cylinder. Despite its synergy with Big Shield, I should probably have some other defensive card, like the second Gravity Bind or even Goats. I've also been trying the Solemns that a lot of people are playing recently at locals, and I think they're pretty great. if I had more time to prepare a list I probably would have gone with those.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I did not specifically prepare for this event. I am grinding a lot to try to get my invite and I am playing many competitive matches each week. If I test, I do it with my Team: "Bones". Shoutout to them for helping me improve my game and also for standing by and supporting me when I need them!What deck did you play today and why?I played Panda Burn. It is the deck I am most comfortable with. I played most major tournaments with it, and I am quite successful by doing so. Playing an event as huge and unpredictable as a GFC, I felt my best shot at doing well was to play the deck I can play the best and that's, without a question, Panda Burn. I still try to find the optimal build and best side deck strategy for it, and have a lot to learn. This event gave me a lot insight on what is working and what can be changed, I'll be playing the deck in the future. What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I prepared mostly for Chaos Turbo. It is the best and most played deck of the format and I expected a lot of it. In my seven rounds on day one, I did not face a single Turbo, though. But, on day two in top cut, four out of my five rounds were against Chaos Turbo, meaning my preparations worked out fine. What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?I did not want to face rogue matchups and mirror matches. Panda Burn is build in a way to conquer meta decks and you need to know what to play around. Facing creative/unconventional decks can be really difficult. My one loss on day one was against the Coin Toss Deck by PsionicBG, which completely caught me off guard. I only faced unconventional decks throughout the whole day and it was really hard to beat them, but I somehow managed. What card had been overperforming for you today?I would not say, that any card overperformed. The deck pretty much did what it is supposed to do. I was really happy with playing three Scapegoats (one main, two side) and was lucky to not have to face a single Wanghu during the tournament, which hard counters it. I think Goat is an underrated tech card in Panda Burn and I especially love it post side when your opponent sides in a lot of S/T Removal. It is kinda tricky to play, but I implemented cards like United We Stand and Amazoness Archer to make it more effective.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?The Highlight of the tourney was on Day one. I took an early loss and was not expecting to make Day two, but I just grinded 3 1/2 hours straight, getting five wins in a row in Losers Bracket. I did not realize for almost an hour that I qualified for Day two, and after someone told me that I was already in, I could not believe it and celebrated in excitement.​If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I am pretty happy with my list. In the main deck there are 37-38 cards completely set in stone; I would never change them. I experimented with the other 2-3 cards, switching them almost every event (Today these cards were: Archer and one Scapegoat main). I am still not sure about my side deck, though. I never seem to find a board which I am really confident with. I would say United We Stand, the Mind Controls, and the Kycoos underperformed and I will cut them in the future for different techs. 

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?My friends and I took some days off to attend the Italian national tournament last weekend. After a four hour drive, we spent the night testing as drunkards in our apartment. My friend Andrea Nardi beat me 12-0 that night. The next day, we decided that the side events at the national tournament were not worth it, so we drove another hour to go to the beach for the rest of our vacation. The 12 matches I lost that night were my testing for this event.What deck did you play today and why?Chaos Turbo, because my team mate Marco Rienzi (aka Rwondo) didn't want to share his "MoF Gate" list with me (Reasoning Gate with Magician of Faith).What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Byes & anything/anyone without Gate+MoF in their main deckWhat decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Players: Andrea NardiDecks: MoF GateWhat card had been overperforming for you today?Solemn Judgement to play around Dustshoot by making my hand thin.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?When I opened Pot of Greed and my opponent opened triple Thunder Dragon and I still lost (I'm not making this up, I swear).​If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?-1 Thunder Dragon +1 Monster Gate