What is Goat Format?
The 2005 format the community still plays today.
Goat Format is a Yu-Gi-Oh! format that was played officially in the summer of 2005. It takes its name from Scapegoat, the card that defined the era. Players today use the same card pool, banlist and rulings that were in place back then.
Where the name comes from
The best deck of 2005 was Goat Control. It used Scapegoat's four tokens to stall attacks, then turned them into Thousand-Eyes Restrict with Metamorphosis. Scapegoat showed up in almost every deck, and the format was named after it.
Why people play it
Modern Yu-Gi-Oh! is often decided by long combos in the first few turns. Goat Format games are won over many turns by managing your resources. Card advantage matters, life points are a resource and reading your opponent's hand wins games.
The format is also more diverse than its name suggests. Goat Control, Chaos, Flip Control, Warriors, Reasoning Gate and burn are all viable. Browse decklists to see what is winning right now.
A format that never changes
There are no new sets and no new banlists. You never need to buy a new card or relearn a mechanic, and your favorite deck will never be banned. The metagame keeps moving as players find new strategies, but the format itself stays the same.
Run by the community
Konami does not support Goat Format. It is kept alive by players who organize events, judge, write guides and build tools for free. Most of them never played competitively in 2005. They found the format later and stayed.
Ready to try it? Head to Get Started.
