Goat Format World Championship 2024: Top 8 Interviews

84 duelists fought it out on day one of the Goat Format World Championship through 9 rounds of Swiss. In the end 8 remained to fight for the most prestigious title in the Goat world. We spoke with each of these top tier players to gain insight into their strategies and hear about their experiences during the most anticipated tournament of the year. 

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How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?No​What deck did you play in this event and why?I play Chaos Turbo because I think it is the most consistent of the Goat meta.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I didn't want to play against slow players (Ale1997 and Geist D).What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Geist D

​What card had been overperforming for you during the event?Kycoo the Ghost DestroyerWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?The victory of the last Swiss roundWhat predictions do you have for the rest of the event?No predictionsIf you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I'll ask myself the question at the end of the event.What would winning the world championship mean to you?Better that it doesn't happen; in Italy it would be a monarchy of terror.Any shout outs you would like to make?Con calma e con vasellina, anche l'elefante si incula la gallina.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Not much prep. Just playing PWCQ list that went well for me and trying to continue on a run.​What deck did you play in this event and why?Chaos Turbo because it’s the best deck of the format.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Looking forward to playing only the best no matter what they’re running trying to win.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?​I really didn’t care who I played, but I never want to play warrior.

What card had been overperforming for you during the event?Besides the obvious BLS, Raigeki breaksWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Winning the last round of Swiss to topWhat predictions do you have for the rest of the event?Me or Anthony in the finalsIf you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?NothingWhat would winning the world championship mean to you?It would mean I’m one of the best.Any shout outs you would like to make?​Shout out to Bomb Squad for all their support!

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I wasn't prepared at all. 6 months ago I had to move and start a new job, and I've decided to take a long pause from the game. I couldn't miss Worlds though, after the invites I got.​What deck did you play in this event and why?Chaos Turbo, I didn't have time to test, and it was just feeling like the safest thing to do as I played the deck for a long time.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?The easier ones

What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?The hardest onesWhat card had been overperforming for you during the event?Trap DustshootWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?At the end of day 1, I had some problems with my computer, and I did play the last match on the phone vs. Ludovico Rizzo. I thought it would have been impossible play vs. control in these conditions, but at the end I made it, and this gave me hopes for play day 2.What predictions do you have for the rest of the event?Yugioh gods will knowIf you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I don't know; my main doubt was how side vs. warriors and if to bring scape and meta. Still unsure about it.What would winning the world championship mean to you?Difficult to describe it!Any shout outs you would like to make?​My friend Mario that loaned to me his PC as mine died the night before the tourney. Also everybody who rooted for me and the teams I've been part of.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Practiced with JJ, and Flocky developed a lot of the theory behind the deck and ratios.​What deck did you play in this event and why?Panda Burn, because I didn't feel like playing my 1001st CT mirror.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?CT with PWWBs + Woks and/or the Goat/Meta side, reducing their side spaceWhat decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?The burn mirror. Thankfully, it never came up.

What card had been overperforming for you during the event?Any burn trapWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Chaining double desserts to a tribe to burn for 100 over game with 3 Ojama tokens in the g1 of the last round of Swiss, then quitting the matchWhat predictions do you have for the rest of the event?*Shrug*If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?Any changes might have fucked up the vibes.What would winning the world championship mean to you?$2000Any shout outs you would like to make?​Shoutout to Nicey for teaching me a ton about the format, and shoutout to the homie Gyaku Gire Panda.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I haven't played Yu-Gi-Oh after my GFCU Top; special thanks goes to Grumplestielzchen for teaching me Yu-Gi-Oh. Deckbuilding inspiration from my idol GeistD, with the help of Murvy Special Thanks to the Osnabrück Goat Community​What deck did you play in this event and why?I always played Goat Control, but I wanted to play a more competitive deck and ended up with Chaos Control. Can't stop using Metas and Goats.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Only GeistD was my goal; he's my Goatformat idol.

What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Burn. Haven't thought a lot of Burn, actually.What card had been overperforming for you during the event?Graceful Charity and Duo got kinda lucky tbf to all my opponentsWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?The duel against GeistDWhat predictions do you have for the rest of the event?I have none, tbh.If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I would change some on my side deck, but I'm not sure what I would change. RN gotta figure that out in the futureWhat would winning the world championship mean to you?I would be really happy because I started with no expectations and it didn't even prepare me for this tournament too much going on IRL.Any shout outs you would like to make?​My wife and my daughter, I love you so much <3 Love u Grumple, my Brokkoli <3 And of course Murvy and the whole Osnabrück community. Especialy Escaroda for always having my back in bad times.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I didn't play test at all; I basically just did some research and read some chats about what the most likely decks and how their sides would be and adjusted my strategy for that.​What deck did you play in this event and why?I played Warriors because I didn't prepare that much, and this is the deck I play the best.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?CT would always be my choice as my deck has the best median matchup vs. I was hoping to play vs. anyone who would brick or misplay because I wanted to top/win.

What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Burn/alt win. I didn't have the normal optimal side cards for that, and sometimes skill expression is taken away in those matchups.What card had been overperforming for you during the event?Xing, the card is just insane vs. CT siding Solemns and battle traps. Its game changing the mirror also. Shout out Book of Moon; it was a meta call, and it was quite good.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Winning rd 9 of Swiss and making top cut. I've wanted this for years and finally did it.What predictions do you have for the rest of the event?So many good players left, I couldn't tell you. Whoever draws the best or doesn't brick will win.If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I wouldn't make any changes; I would just draw better in top cut.What would winning the world championship mean to you?It would have been the highest honor and prestige there is, and I could have retired on the spot. Probably would have cried too.Any shout outs you would like to make?Shout out to all my close buddies who supported me for this event. Labounty and Ivan Rossitto are my main guys. Shout out to all the warrior players still grinding it. Another great year of Goat Format.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin​For months and weeks leading to Worlds, I had dozens of conversations with teammates and members of the community, backread server discussions, theorized independently and collectively, and of course participated in as many tournaments as I could to keep myself ready. All this to say, no person can prepare alone, so a huge shoutout to the entire community and my teammates in the Overdose server. The largest contributor to my preparation was my best friend, Kris Perovic. He and I discussed gameplay, ideas and goals for hours in the days leading into the Goat Format World Championship. 

Needless to say, I went to bed Saturday, Worlds morning, at ~1am EST undecided on a decklist and sent KP a screenshot of the deck I had planned to submit. I asked him to independently create the deck he thought would best reflect all of our discussions and analysis over the week. At ~2am EST, while I was completely knocked out, KP sent me a deck image. He stayed up just to help me. And trust me when I tell you, KP and I have worked on decklists for hours where I ultimately fold and just go with old reliable; so, he had every reason to just tell me the list I sent him is fine. But I know that is not Kris. He was true to my request. The next morning, I took a look at the deck image and was not thrilled. Afterall, it looked like his original Clash of the Champions winning decklist. It was missing Night Assailants and shockingly, there were no Trap Dustshoots in the main deck. I was like WTF, this guy is crazy. After composing myself, I called him about an hour before the tournament was scheduled to start and asked him two questions, "Are you insane?" and "Do you think I can win Worlds with this deck?" He replied with many words but ultimately said, "Yes!". I put my trust in Kris. I put my trust in my friend. The rest is now forever history.​​What deck did you play in this event and why?"I like to go fast" - Rex Speedman​I chose to play Chaos Turbo for the Goat Format World Championship. I'd like to keep it simple and just say I used Chaos Turbo because it is the best deck of the format but being a data analyst, I ran an EV calculation and determined that Chaos Turbo was the correct choice based on the player deck expectations and the win rates from Goat Format War League and Format Library. I have a ton of experience in the mirror match and believed that, so long as I was not blown away by trinity, I had a fair shot head-to-head against any opponent.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?"Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never peril" - Sun TzuI know who I am, my strengths and weaknesses. Knowing my opponent or what deck to expect was a huge element of strategic and tactical planning and making sound decisions during the matches. Overall, I was looking forward to playing the Chaos Turbo mirror matches. I finished the weekend 6-1 in the mirror.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?"If I had to do a Batman analysis of how to defeat Anthony Alvarado, it would be pretty hard. But I would say, coming at him with like standard regular stuff, that's not gonna benefit you most of the time." - JDZ Plays LorcanaJDZ nailed it during the Day 2 coverage of the Goat Format World Championship. I have so much experience head-to-head against known commodities, so these types of matchups are much easier for me to navigate. I was not looking forward to any matchup that would take me away from performing proper analysis of the game state and making projections into the following turns. Additionally, I wanted to avoid playing against decks that could high roll into wins, such as RGT, Library FTK, or Spell Economics FTK."Habe keine angst." (Don't be afraid.) - Magneto, X-Men '97In a tournament field of what was expected to consist of heavy anti-Chaos Turbo choices such as Mind Control in the main deck, I decided to not be afraid and run 3 Magicians of Faith. Magician of Faith overperformed during the tournament. I was able to get my Magician of Faiths down quick and early and with the assistance of Tsukuyomi and two copies of Book of Moon, I was able to recycle Faith for additional advantage throughout the weekend.N/AN/AN/A"I don't know where you go in this format or this game from here, but for now, this is enough to serve as the climax of your story. I doubt there's another tournament win, another team war, another money match, etc. that will ever match this particular tournament being the bookend to this particular season, where you were able to prove emphatically and without any doubt that there are no other better players playing this game." - Kris Perovic ​Winning the Goat Format World Championship to cap off this incredible season was incredible. The support and remarks I have received from those in the community have meant the world to me. <3​"I love you all, except a few!" - Shifty​A huge shoutout to everyone who has ever been a part of the Team Overdose organization. Much appreciation and gratitude to JDZ for the commentary and event organization, MMF for head judging, the Goat Format staff, the players IRL and online who participated in the Goat Format World Championship and of course, the Goat Format community.

How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Thanks to my team Overdose and my other supporters who helped me study the player profiles.​What deck did you play in this event and why?Could be classified as chaos control. Personally, I think it's much more a goat control deck (rather than a chaos deck) since Sorc is pretty much a tech card in this deck (rather than a key card). I like the name Geist CC, as some people call it. I like the deck because it's very controllable and is, IMO, the best deck in the current meta when played optimally with zero mistakes (which actually requires a lot of skill). It's also quite good with timed rounds because of its triple goats and no upstarts. Combined with cards like creature swaps and woks, this can make crucial life points change in the timeout.

What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?People that can't handle late game control matches.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Alt-win decks like Burn and Stall can beat my deck since it is not able to apply pressure early game.What card had been overperforming for you during the event?Wok and Kuriboh, for sure, cards are so busted in time.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?My Kuriboh moments: P card looks like memeWhat predictions do you have for the rest of the event?It's hard to make predictions; luck will be a huge factor. It should be #5 in the top 8 imo.If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I don't wanna tell because this would leak my list for the next event.What would winning the world championship mean to you?I am pretty satisfied with the top winning the mat because I am collecting world accessories from every world championship.Any shout outs you would like to make?​To my team, my supporters, and my fans who rooted for me.