If you were a 90s kid, it is very possible that you watched the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, as it was a very popular series during that decade. In case you are wondering, yes, that is when I grew up (that is how old I am!) and I remember sitting down with my brother to watch every new episode in awe. After a while, we decided we wanted to play Yu-Gi-Oh! for real, got a couple of theme decks - and this is the story of how I entered the Trading Card Game scene. And boy, do I miss those times! But fear not, this is not an article about myself.

The early Yu-Gi-Oh! metagame (mid 2000’s) was flawed in some aspects, but great in others. It is almost like a "comfort" format that many players resort to when they want to take a break. So, in today’s article I want to introduce to you something you might have heard of but never quite grasped: Goat Format.

And hopefully, by the end of the article, you will get up, search your home for your old cards, sleeve them up with Katana Sleeves and join the Goat Format trend!

What is Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Goat Format?

Goat Format is a fan-made format that people still play to these days. The idea is to replicate the exact conditions of the metagame of 2005, the very early days of Yu-Gi-Oh!, one that holds a very special place in the memory of many players. Yep, we are an old-school bunch. Goat Format is basically a retro format that takes us back almost 20 years.

In case you are wondering why it's called "Goat Format" and not "2005 Format" or any other name, the reason is twofold.

1. The format from that era was very well-known for the capital importance of a card named "Scapegoat". If you have ever watched the anime series, you probably recognize it easily as one of the signature cards from Joey Wheeler. Scapegoat had a very strong presence in the game, up to the point that many decks revolved around it.
2. Second, as you might have guessed, "Goat" is often used online as an acronym for “Greatest of all times”. This is making a very clear reference to how much the player base loves that old Yu-Gi-Ohstyle of play.

There is a general consensus that this was a very rewarding time to play Yu-Gi-Oh!, and while I know that one of the reasons many people keep getting back to it is nostalgia, after having competed and played the format myself, I can guarantee that it is a very fun and challenging way to play the game.

Something important to note as well is that it's a retro environment, and thus a closed format. Unlike other fan-made formats like Commander in Magic: The Gathering, the card pool in Goat is very limited, which makes dynamics easy to understand as well as what to expect the first time you get into it. If you are saying now that this makes it boring, I am actually going to argue that this makes it even more interesting. And that things change in fact.

Some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game are available in Goat Format.

Why Yu-Gi-Oh! players like Goat Format

Okay, this is a very fair question. As I said before, memories might have a big impact here, but the reality is that, for someone that has been playing TCGs for a while, Goat Format is refreshing.

The main reason I play Goat is because it is very different from current card games. TCGs have been evolving for years and they are very fast-paced, combo oriented, and Yu-Gi-Oh! is perhaps the best example of this. Players can win on their first turn, which if you ask me is crazy. Goat Format has close to no combo decks, but instead a bunch of cards that have very strong synergy. As such, the way to victory is not executing a complex chain involving half your deck, but trading resources. And that, to me, is the most important aspect.

The play pattern that gave the format its name: Summon your Sheep tokens, use Metamorphosis, and get one of the most powerful cards in the game.

While luck is of course a factor (as it is in every TCG), I have the feeling that Goat Format is a game that really rewards good plays. The difference between a good player and a not-so-good one becomes apparent when looking at their resource management, an art almost lost in modern Yu-Gi-Oh!. You see, most turns you need to know how you are going to be trading your cards to overpower your opponent’s field. And just one bad decision - a trap activated at the wrong moment, a monster that should have been saved for later - can cost you the game. Experienced players do really excel in Goat Format while newer ones struggle - until they get this card advantage skill right. Whenever I play Goat Format, I feel mentally challenged and need to pay attention to every detail, unlike with other games.

Another very interesting aspect about Goat Format is that it's a closed environment, which has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is pretty clear: you know for a fact the top decks and once you get your hands on them, they will last forever. However, having a limited pool of cards means that, technically, innovation does not exist. Well, this is where you are wrong. Yes, deckbuilding at the end of the day will be slightly limited because there are just a certain number of cards available. But the thing with closed formats is that, as normal standard formats, they experience waves and change. What do I mean by waves? When you have a list of decks, there is one that emerges as Tier 1 because of its consistency and power. After some time, players start to counter that deck and they almost push it out of of the meta. So the counter decks become meta and other decks arise … up to the moment where the original deck becomes relevant once again.

This is exactly what happens in Goat Format. I can say that I have played different Goat tournaments and I was shocked by the variety of decks I found.  

And last but not least: Because you know the decklists well, you need to be very aware of what your opponent is trying to do. This is a format of setting a ton of trap cards, so predicting when your opponent is bluffing and when your opponent has an actual Torrential Tribute is the difference between winning or losing. It is almost like playing Poker at times.

Yu-Gi-Oh's! Goat Format: The metagame

In case you are wondering who the main actors in this format are, may I introduce you to the deck that is the pillar of everything: Goat Control!

The idea of this deck, that was the undisputed S-Tier during 2005, is to limit your opponent's options and control the field, summoning the very powerful Thousand-Eyes Restrict. While doing so, the deck has a ton of ways of maintaining and increasing card advantage thanks to flip monsters such as Magician of Faith or Dekkoichi. 

However, when players started re-discovering Goat Format, it was soon clear that they were not going to allow this deck to continue reigning and a lot of counter strategies emerged: Warriors, Chaos, Panda Burn … they suddenly became so popular that at some point, they became the target themselves in different tournaments!

Goat Format has many different key cards and decks, and the viability of each of them depends on what the rest of the tournament is playing or the wave you are in.

To keep it high level, these are the decks you need to be aware of if you want to play competitively.

•  Goat Control (Image above): Focuses on card advantage and powerful fusion monsters to overpower any threat your opponent has.

• Chaos: Aims to generate advantage through flip monsters until they reach a point in which they can summon a ton of powerful monsters like Chaos Sorcerer and Black Luster Soldier to close out the game.
• Warriors: Really good counter against Goat Control and Chaos. Focuses on Warrior-type monsters that block flip summons, smashing the engine of some of the most popular decks in the format.
• Panda Burn: Yes, it actually is a panda. Amazing counter to Goat, the intention is to take advantage of Scapegoats on the field and win by inflicting a lot of burn damage.
• Reasoning Gate: The only proper "combo deck" that exists in the format. Takes a bit to set up, but the idea is to use a combination of magic cards to draw a lot of cards and summon a lot of powerful monsters to take the game in one turn.

 

 

In Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Goat Format, there's a deck for every style of play!

As you can imagine, there are many decks in between those and many variations of the decks I just described. Let’s also not forget that in Yu-Gi-Oh!, there is the possibility to use the side deck in between games, which can make certain matchups go in a different way should you use the right counters.

For all of the things I just explained above, Goat Format is not a static format!

But I don’t want to just play with friends! I want proper Goat Format tournaments!

I get that. While I actually enjoy playing with friends in a casual way, I understand that some of you want something else. The good news is that Konami is slowly giving more attention to Goat Format (and other fan-formats). Some time ago, they announced the Time Wizard events, a series of tournaments that take place during big Regionals (YCS), where players can go and win amazing, exclusive prizes. There are two main formats that are played there: Goat Format and Edison (which is exactly the same but with the 2010 format) - and I am honestly waiting for them to hold a tournament in Spain, so I can go. So in case you just don’t want to make an investment in building a deck that is actually not going to have the possibility to win prizes, don’t worry - because there is a solid chance!

This was an exclusive Play-Mat for winning Time Wizard tournaments!

In conclusion, I have to say that Goat Format is a very rewarding format. I started playing it during COVID and was soon hooked. It's simple and complex at the same time, and forces me to play in a way that I am not used to - which makes it even better when I am able to win games thanks to properly reading the field. In case you are wondering, building a deck is incredibly cheap, because most cards have been reprinted several times. Depending on the rarity of the cards and the deck you want to go for, you can build very strong decks for just $30 to $50, if not less.