 Thunder Dragon Chaos claims the crown of SJC Qualifier #1 despite an otherwise unimpressive performance. Thunder Dragon Chaos continues its reign as one of the most popular decks with yet another victory, however, looking underneath the hood reveals some concerning numbers. The joint most popular choice with 6 entrants (alongside Beastdown), the Thunder Dragon Chaos collective delivered an overall record of 12-10, with the eventual winner Lukaz recording an impressive 6-0 through the gauntlet. Without his individual performance, the record becomes an abysmal 6-10. While Thunder Dragon Chaos boasts a massive power level once the engine gets going, a combination of internal and external deficiencies continues to hold it back. Thunder Dragon Chaos’ often lukewarm early game is typically only mitigated by setup cards like Pot of Greed, Graceful Charity and Card Destruction that allow the deck to adjust its hand and graveyard to begin its power plays. Combine this with a metagame ravaged by aggro decks that prioritise a relentlessly aggressive early game like Beastdown, Anti-Meta Warriors, and Chaos Recruiters and the result is a harsh environment for the deck. What’s also interesting is the mixed popularity of Metamorphosis within the deck. Of the 6 players sporting Thunder Dragon Chaos, 3 opted to run Metamorphosis and 3 decided against it. Metamorphosis requires slightly more deck building concessions in a Thunder Dragon variant because somewhat atypical additions of Dark Mimic LV1, Scapegoat. Raigeki Break also proves the dominant choice over Phoenix Wing Wind Blast as part of the trap lineup; just 3 copies of Phoenix Wing Wind Blast in total were ran among the Thunder Dragon Chaos core, with Lukaz opting for a ratio of 2 Raigeki Break with 1 Phoenix Wing Wind Blast. In fact, Lukaz and Liri were the only two players in the entire tournament to run the card. Perhaps Raigeki Break’s capability to permanently clear traps, flip monsters and crucially Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer and Blade Knight was valued over the one turn delay offered by Phoenix Wing Wind Blast. Of course, if there’s one thing Phoenix’s are known for, it’s their mythical ability to rise again from the ashes… Goat Control continues to over promise and under deliver Goat Control sported a total record of 13-10 among the five players who opted to use it.      
The Goat Format community sure has come a long way since Jazz and Ynusgridorh hosted the inaugural Format Library Championship back in early 2018. Ironically enough, that first installment of the series remains to this day both the largest and only one of two that was actually won by a Goat Control deck. I remember telling myself that Sunday that I would win with Empty Jar when I finally got a chance to play in one, but that didn't exactly pan out; instead, I ran the old "undefeated in Swiss, lose in top cut to Burn" at FLC3 that March with Goat Control of all things, a deck I'm not exactly known for piloting well (or at all, for that matter).
Six FLCs and over a year later, I finally got my chance to show the world what Morphing Jar and Cyber Jar can do in Goat Format at FLC9 this past weekend in what is likely to be one of my last serious tournament showings of the year, given that I'll be following in the footsteps of the great Jae Kim and starting law school in a few months and won't be able to play in anything for a while after that. |
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