Joe Soto
6/26/2012 11:00:00 AM
 Comments

Hey, TCGplayers! Recently, the popularity of Dueling in older formats has exploded. I've seen alot of competitors playing online and even at YCS tournaments, using old F&L Lists from Advanced Formats gone by. Some might say the renewed interest in older formats is due to the weaknesses of our current F&L List, but I also think the release of Battle Pack: Epic Dawn, with so many goodies from way back when, has reignited people’s love of old play environments. The format of choice for most? Goat Control. Hailing from 2005, the Goat Control format is often regarded by pro players as highly skill-based, so it makes sense that players are now gravitating towards it.

Many of the key cards from this format's top decks are currently on the Forbidden and Limited list, such as Pot of Greed, Magician of Faith, and Delinquent Duo, but there are some hidden gems – even some from other old formats – that are very relevant in today’s metagames. Maybe some of these older, slightly obscure picks can give you the edge, as we round out the TCG National Championship season with the North American World Championship Qualifier coming up this weekend. So let’s get started with one we should all be familiar with!

Breaker the Magical Warrior has been a Yu-Gi-Oh! mainstay since its release way back in Magician’s Force. Breaker is everything you could ask for in a monster: 1900 ATK has been the standard for serving as a beater, and Breaker also has the added ability of destroying a back row card when need be. This format, Breaker is great out of the side deck when you take on strategies like Chaos Dragons or even Dino Rabbit, able to clear away problematic defensive cards while also serving as an on-field body. In Magic: The Gathering, when certain spells “gain a body” by being put on a creature, they normally turn heads. Breaker is no exception, and while you may not think you have room for him now, give him a shot! Otherwise, just jam Breaker back into that Goat deck.

My next blast from the past is my favorite on this list, D.D. Warrior Lady. A big pick for my teammate Courtney Waller, he opened my eyes again to just how useful the Lady can be this format. Rather than siding Snowman Eater, as many decks have grown accustomed to, D.D. Warrior Lady offers similar benefits while also being great against Chaos Dragons. Snowman Eater’s destruction effect does little against the likes of Lightpulsar Dragon, so D.D. Warrior Lady can get rid of Lightpulsar for good by banishing it. The Warrior Lady is also a Light monster, and can be searched with Reinforcement of the Army; that's a small detail, but it can come in handy if you choose to run a Chaos deck or even tech it out in Heroes! Banishing opposing monsters is so powerful, even in the current fast-paced metagames. D.D. Warrior Lady can help shore up slow starts and allow you to punish players who get too aggressive.

Going back to what I said about Breaker, when spells or traps get a body you take notice! The next card I’ll be discussing is Jinzo: Royal Decree on legs. Jinzo can fit in the side deck for a multitude of match-ups, ranging from Wind-Ups and Chaos Dragons to Hieratics and Monarchs. One of the best single tribute monsters before the Monarch era, Jinzo is great today at locking down back row cards, while allowing you to put immediate pressure on your opponent with its 2400 ATK.

Royal Decree Price N/A

Set	Hobby League 3
Number	HL03-EN006
Type	Continuous Trap
Attribute	TRAP
Rarity	Parallel Rare
Card Text	While this card is face-up on the field, negate the effects of all Trap Cards on the field except this card.
this card!

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The fact that Jinzo's level 6 is also highly relevant in decks like Hieratics and Chaos Dragons. Use Jinzo to freeze opposing defenses; destroy them with Lyla or Ryko; then flood the field with summons when the coast is clear. While Jinzo does take a normal summon most of the time, it can shut down the majority of defenses. Just be careful for cards like Forbidden Lance and Forbidden Chalice, which still function wonderfully under the effects of Jinzo and Royal Decree.

With the rise of Chain Burn and Final Countdown, many duelists have bemoaned how degenerate these strategies are. But there is hope! A couple of old school cards can really bring the hate, the first of which is Light and Darkness Dragon. Once considered only for decks like Frog Monarchs, Light and Darkness Dragon is amazing against Burn and Countdown since they don’t have easy ways to interact with your monsters apart from Lava Golem, which is useless against a lone LaDD. The Dragon forces your opponent to waste precious resources, giving you an opening for the kill once their cards have been spent Chain Burn needs as many cards as possible to make sure they can actually kill you, while Countdown needs solid defense every turn. Light and Darkness Dragon fits best in Chaos Dragons, but can be played in strategies like Hieratics, or even in other strategies that can bring multiple monsters to the field (just be sure not to tribute summon using Hieratic monsters and use those normals!). LaDD will also help greatly against one of Chaos Dragons' weaker matchups, Inzektors. Shutting down their effects while still remaining aggressive is key to beating that match-up. Lock them down early and knock them out of the game!

The next card is specifically for Final Countdown, but boy is it a huge threat. Fight stall with burn, with Stealth Bird! Like Light and Darkness Dragon, Countdown decks cannot interact with monsters apart from Lava Golem or Dark Hole. Stealth Bird puts your opponent on a faster clock than they can afford to stall through. While I normally advocate against cards that are sided specifically for one matchup (15 cards for a side deck is small enough as it is!), if you’re running a deck that has some inherent weaknesses to Burn or Countdown, give Light and Darkness Dragon or the Bird a try!

The last card I’d like to talk about is another piece of Goat format tech: Raigeki’s little brother, Lightning Vortex. Sometimes your one Dark Hole and two copies of Torrential Tribute just aren’t enough to push through massive fields the likes of which Chaos Dragons and Wind-Ups can easily churn out. The Vortex can serve as that extra out, and lets you push for game in situations where it wouldn't be possible otherwise. Lightning Vortex shines in the decks that it’s effective against: Wind-Ups and Chaos Dragons. It lets you stop their push, and then punish them for it. Vortex also serves double duty in Chaos Dragons, since lets you get a dead card in your hand like Eclipse Wyvern to your graveyard so it can fuel a chaos monster. You can even pitch Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon to make your Lightpulsar Dragon's revive effect live! There are many routes you can take with Lightning Vortex that can have devastating effects on your opponent’s field, so give it a shot.

While all of the cards in this list have seen play at one time or another, it’s up to innovative (and slightly brave) duelists to try these cards out now, and see if they can help push you towards victory. Dig through those boxes of older cards and piles of commons; you just might find a card that can catapult you to success. Good luck to you all at the North American World Championship Qualifier! Stop and say hi if you see myself, or any of the other TCGPlayer.com writers there!

~Joe Soto
Invictus