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While this article will mostly be about building a Goat Format gauntlet, the advice here really can apply to any era of Yu-Gi-Oh!, be it modern, an alternate format like Newgioh, or a vintage format like Goats. If you’ve played the game for any length of time, you may already know what a gauntlet is. But we’ll explain it for those of you who don’t. A gauntlet is simply a collection of decks that you should expect to play at a given event. You can build a gauntlet for locals, regionals, or a YCS, though naturally in Goat Format it’ll mostly be for local play.
 
A gauntlet isn’t just for testing, though. Building a gauntlet gives you a unique understanding of how the decks you may face function, how they work, what their win conditions are, their strengths and their weaknesses. With the loss of Dueling Network, building and testing against a gauntlet has just gotten a lot more difficult, but don’t despair! This series is going to cover some of the common decks you’ll come across, what to look out for, and how to counter them.
 
But before we actually get into the nitty gritty of each specific deck, let’s talk a bit about how to actually go about building a gauntlet. Aside from simply buying six or eight copies of every single deck you need, proxies are usually the way to go. Most Goat Format decks can be built for pennies on the dollar, sure, but there are going to be high profile cards such as Delinquent Duo, Dimension Fusion, and Thousand-Eyes Restrict that just aren’t going to be easy to get unless you’re willing to shell out cash. So don’t be afraid of using proxies if you need to.
 
Make sure your gauntlet decks are well-rounded. The key is to test against what you expect to see; this requires knowing a bit about how the deck functions, what its advantages and disadvantages are, and thinking about ways to counteract that. It’s best to start with Format Library’s list of different Goat Format decks, and use those as a baseline. Different people will be using different tech cards, and if you’re preparing for a tournament it’s a good idea to think about who is going to be there and their playstyles.
 
Once you get your gauntlet decks built, make sure to have a good playtesting group. Three people can do it, but it’s better to have four to six different people willing to gauntlet. Set aside some time during your playtesting sessions to actively gauntlet. Each person should play each deck at least once, but variance - especially if you’re preparing for a tabletop tournament - is going to play a factor in your gauntlet sessions. This is why it’s important to start early and play often. The more games each deck plays, the better the information you get from your testing sessions.
 
While you are actually running your deck through the gauntlet, make sure to take notes on what cards you had a hard time dealing with, what was easy, what was necessary to win and what was extraneous. Notes always help, as do discussions afterwards. Remember, it’s not about winning or losing when you’re running a gauntlet; it’s about finding out how to counter all those specific decks you may come up against.
 
If you feel like it, you can customize your gauntlet decks as well. Goat Format allows us to do that, being an eternal format. It’s much easier nowadays to tailor your deck to your local metagame, especially if your LGS hosts regular tournaments (which they should, but that’s for another article). Keep an eye on online forums too, especially Pojo’s and DGZ’s official Goat Format threads. Those have keen insight into the format, and make sure to check out Format Library as well.
 
That about wraps it up. I’ll do my best to get started with individual articles regarding gauntlet decks, what to watch for, how to combat them, how to play them and how to side against them. Not every article will pertain to your local meta - different players like different things, and some places have lots of burn but almost no Beastdown, while others see nothing but Standard Goat Control.
 
Thanks for reading. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to email me at anteausonyugioh@gmail.com.