History & Banlist
The card pool and banlist from summer 2005.
Goat Format recreates the game as it stood in August 2005. Every event uses the same card pool, the same banlist and the same rulings, so a deck that is legal today was legal then.
The card pool
The card pool is every card that was legal for premier event play on August 17, 2005, the date of Shonen Jump Championship Indianapolis. It matches the pool used at US Nationals and Shonen Jump Championship Seattle that summer. The Lost Millennium is legal. Cybernetic Revolution and Exarion Universe are not.
These sets are legal:
Booster packs
Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon
LOB
Metal Raiders
MRD
Magic Ruler
MRL
Spell Ruler
SRL
Pharaoh's Servant
PSV
Labyrinth of Nightmare
LON
Legacy of Darkness
LOD
Pharaonic Guardian
PGD
Magician's Force
MFC
Dark Crisis
DCR
Invasion of Chaos
IOC
Ancient Sanctuary
AST
Soul of the Duelist
SOD
Rise of Destiny
RDS
Flaming Eternity
FET
The Lost Millennium
TLM
Starter Decks
Promo cards released before that date are legal too, including tins, movie packs, video game promos and tournament packs. Shonen Jump promos are legal up to Archfiend of Gilfer and Sneak Preview promos up to Embodiment of Apophis.
Every legal card is in the card database.
The banlist
Goat Format uses the April 2005 TCG Forbidden/Limited List. Forbidden cards can't be played at all. You can play one copy of a Limited card and two copies of a Semi-Limited card. Every other card is Unlimited, up to three copies.
Forbidden
17 cards. Can't be played.
Limited
41 cards. One copy per deck.
Semi-Limited
15 cards. Two copies per deck.
The rulings
Cards are ruled the way a 2005 head judge would have ruled them. Some of those rulings differ from modern Yu-Gi-Oh!. Rulings covers the ones that come up most.
