I first met Evan when he was probably 12 or 13 years old at RIW Hobbies in Livonia. We have played in countless events against one another. I know Evan does not play Goat Format regularly, I think this was his first event since the last Michigan Goat Grand Prix. This is definitely a highlight in Evan’s Yu-gi-oh career. It must be a great feeling to win a GGP at your hometown store. 😉 I watched several of Evan’s matches during the event and it seemed like he was always in a commanding position. Everyone has a day and April 26th was Evan’s.
Evan opted to play 1 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer and only 1 Night Assailant. This is a frequent debate among top Turbo players. 3 Raigeki Break in the main is not something you see every day, perhaps being able to answer set monsters with 6 spells/traps was the difference in winning? The side is interesting because you usually don’t see Royal Decree in a side deck with as many traps as Evan has, especially without Metamorphosis, Scapegoat, or Book of Moon. 2nd Tsukuyomi is something a lot of people in our friend group has opted for since it’s so good vs Thousand Eyes Restrict, most Warrior monsters, and pesky Kycoos. I can tell you firsthand I saw that Token Thanksgiving put in a LOT of work during Evan’s run. Congrats on winning the GGP!
I met Sean for the first time in Cleveland Ohio. He was at every major Midwest Goat Format Event. He was always a consistent finisher; we had an epic clash in the finals of GGP Cincinnati 2023. I had not seen Sean for a while until he showed up at Goat Format event in Cleveland at Top Table Gaming. I lost to him in Swiss. Sean lost in Top 4 with Relinquished Turbo. And he shows his versatility by finishing 2nd at t GGP Livonia with Warrior. Your first win Sean is in the future, keep swinging!
I like Magician of Faith and Spirit Reaper in the main. Spirit Reaper being an additional card to pluck card from the opponent’s hand or buy time vs more aggressive decks. Sean opted for 2 Sakuretsu Armor in the main and 1 Book of Moon over 3 Sakuretsu. Perhaps the inclusion of Magician of Faith and having an additional out to Thousand Eyes Restrict is why he opted for the 2 and 1. Another popular debate in Warrior builds is Jar of Greed vs Dust Tornado, I prefer Sean’s choice in the matter myself. Controversial take here, I do not 3 Blade Knight in my Warrior builds. Sean opted to play 2 Trap Dustshoot in the main deck, which is somewhat unusual since its can be so powerful for Warrior vs the most popular deck Turbo. But I agree with Sean to a degree. There are a lot of late game bad draws if you’re top decking with this deck with Dust Tornado, solemn Judgement, Book of Moon, Trap Dustshoot to name a few. Perhaps that is why Sean is playing 3 Blade Knight, a powerful card in shorthanded positions.
3RD/4TH PLACE: CHRIS PITTAO
I have known Chris for close to 20 years. He’s a longtime friend and former teammate. With the reemergence of Goat Format, we reconnected a few years ago. He is always a threat to make deep run in any event he plays in. One of the OGs of Yu-gi-oh and one my closest friends I’ve made through Yu-gi-oh.
Chris has been playing Turbo for years. He’s played a fairly consistent version of the deck. I know at times he was trying different counts of Jar of Greed, Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, and Trap Dustshoot. It looks like this time he opted for maximum draw power and having the threat of backrows to keep opponents from making pushes. Chris has been one of top voices for Phoenix Wing Wind Blast over Raigeki Break, one of Yu-gi-oh hottest debates. I really like Chris’ side, it’s very close to side decks I typically run with 2-3 Sakuretsu Armor, 3rd Trap Dustshoot, Scapegoats and Metamorphosis. The inclusion of Spirit Reaper is strong vs the aggressive decks. I really Chris’ 20-10-10 and side combination.
3RD/4TH PLACE: SEBASTIAN SPARKS
I met Sebastian at Gametime Michigan. In the beginning he was always playing more off the beaten path decks and card options. He was playing different versions of Goat Control featuring Royal Decree and Zaborg the Thunder Monarch. Recently he’s chosen for more mainstream options like Turbo. As you can see, he still has spice that may have contributed to his placing. I believe this is Sebastian best showing at a GGP, and perhaps more to come.
You don’t see many Turbo decks with 0 Dekoichi the Battle Enchanted Locomotive, but Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer definitely is an advantageous card vs the mirror match. Like Evan he played 3 discard traps, which is unusual in the main deck, but perhaps that’s why these players finished where they did? The 2 solemn Judgement allow Sebastian to try to control game states and hold card advantage. I really like the idea of Spell Canceller in the side deck. There were quite a few Goats Control and RGT decks in the room. Combining Spell Canceller and Jinzo with a powerful reoccurring card like Call of the Haunted is something I am a fan of, as well as beaters and other control cards like King Tiger Wangu and Mystic Swordsman LV 2.
The only person on this on this list I may know better than Chris Pittao is Rob Cedar. We go back nearly 20 years also, and to this day is one of my closest friends even outside of Yu-gi-oh. Rob finds his way into the Top 8 almost every time he attends a GGP but that title continues to elude him. It’s not a matter of if, it is a matter of when his time comes to become a GGP champion.
These comments are directly what I told Rob before the event. I like the main deck. Rob has been a fan of Phoenix Wing Wind Blast for most of Goat Format. I like the inclusion of Book of Moon as a surprise factor. 3 Trap Dustshoot and 1 Mind Control show Rob really wanted to win G1s vs Turbo mirrors. As you can see in the side, since Rob’s main deck was built to beat Turbo G1, a majority of his side was dedicated to aggro matchups, warrior, and burn. I told Rob he should find a spot for Reinforcements of the Army since he liked having Mystic Swordsman Lv 2 and Cliff the Trap Remover vs Burn. You see Rob opted to not include Torrential Tribute in the 55. Again I like the 2nd Tsukuyomi however I am not biggest fan of Xing Zhen Hu. I think it has great purpose vs Warrior but not as much against burn since you must catch their sets in the opponent’s end phase otherwise, they can chain to your Xing. As you can see the little of advice I gave Rob, he ignored all of it and he made it to Top 8 and I was spectating early on…
5TH-8TH PLACE: GEOFF CAMPBELL
Geoff Campbell has several wins in Goat Format Events, he won Season 1 and 2 of Gametime’s Invitational Tournaments and he won Goat Format Spooktacular at Charlie’s Collectible Games in Atlanta. Geoff is known to us all locally but is beginning to make a name for himself throughout North America. He’s always a tough player to read and defeat.
Geoff’s main deck is extremely solid. Yet another Turbo player that regularly plays Phoenix Wing Wind Blast over Raigeki Break. I’d say the amount of Phoenix Wing Wind Blast in this Top 8 makes a pretty loud statement on the debate. Geoff also has 3 Trap Dustshoot and 1 Mind Control to help win G1 vs Turbo. In his side deck you can see Geoff can change his deck to not just Goat Control but also Goat Control with Royal Decree if he chooses. He has book of Moon to help vs opposing control decks and also some defense if he has Royal Decree on the field or just defense in general. More Turbo hate in the side with 2 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, if Royal Decree is brought in Kycoo attacks become more ensured to connect. Kinetic Soldier is a good card vs Warrior but can also be brought in vs Burn since it can attack under Level Limit and Gravity Bind. The versatility of Geoff’s side makes it tough to prepare between games against him.
5TH-8TH PLACE: JACK MARSH
Jack is a Gametime regular. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jack not play RGT (Reasoning Gate Turbo). He’s been at it every week trying new variations. I played Jack like a week before the GGP at Gametime’s Friday tournament. And I can tell you he took none of my deck advice. And good for him for sticking to what his testing results showed. It was great to see Jack find his way into top 8 vs an impressive field.
I am not a big combo deck player these days. Now if you gave me a DDT deck (Diamond Dude Turbo) that’s a different story. To me when I build RGT I want my Reasonings to resolve evenly so I opt for more variations in my monster star levels. I would bump Sacred Crane down from 3 to 2. When Jack and I played I hit his Reasoning monster every time but once in our match. I like the inclusion of Metamorphosis and Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast in the main deck. It is a great alternate win condition especially against the most popular deck Turbo. Jack opted for a low but powerful trap lineup, with a surprise Torrential Tribute in the side. The Messenger of Peace can help slow down the aggressive decks and allow you to see more cards before attempting to combo off. I like some of the spice in Jack’s side with Double Spell and Creature Swap. Creature Swap can help find lethal lines and is a great card in time. The idea of Double Spell is worthy of future consideration for myself and the biggest card choice surprise in the Top 8.
5TH-8TH PLACE: JOE GERACK
Joe is a Gametime regular. Joe is from the Toledo area but goes wherever a Goat Event is up and running. The guy just LOVES Goat Format. One of the classiest opponent’s I’ve faced which is sometimes hard to come by. When I first met Joe he always played Warrior (years), but recently in mid-to-late 2024 he started playing Turbo. This is Joe’s greatest GGP finish and has been growing as a competitor.
Another 20-10-10 similar to other team member’s builds in the Top 8. Joe opted for more Trap Dustshoots over Jar of Greed, hoping to slow his opponent’s powerful in hand monsters. Joe main decking Torrential Tribute, a card in recent months is being moved to the side deck or out of the 55 altogether. In the side deck Joe is a little prepared for every matchup, but especially Burn. Joe and I think alike because I seem to always be on the losing end to burn and will cater a few more side deck choices to help in the Burn matchup. Joe has Asura Priest and 2 Raigeki Breaks in the side for Scapegoat/Thousand Eyes Restrict heavy decks. Because of the extra support vs Burn you see Joe has maybe 1-2 monsters to bring in vs Warrior. You don’t see Zombyra the Dark, Cipher(Kinetic) Soldier, Berserk Gorilla, Spirit Reaper, etc. But he has some good spell and trap cards to aid the Warrior matchup.
