GFC 4 Player Interview: geistD

On Sunday, March 30th, 2020 geistD won GFC 4. One week later, on April 5th, he took first place at FLC 11. These back to back victories made geistD the first ever two time FLC champion and only player to win both a GFC and FLC. This is an amazing feat by itself, and geistD did it consecutively! Raust from GoatFormat.com took the time to interview geistD about these accomplishments, as well as the interesting deck he used to achieve them.

Goatformat.com (Raust): Do you fancy yourself winning the next GFC, which is next weekend, after winning two online tournaments in a row?
geistD - To predict a win on a tournament is very difficult because its probably more likely that I will not win. However, I think I have a much better chance compared other players.

GF.com - Do you see yourself using the same deck? Or, will you keep this information secret due to the list being public knowledge now?
geistD - I think I haven't decided yet. But what I like in this aggro list is that its very consistent, even with people side-decking. I have these three Sasuke, so it doesn't have problems with walls. Dust Tornado, Mobius, etc. can be handled with Jar of Greed. Boarding Decree is a two-sided sword because it also stops opponent's battle traps. So, even if people are prepared for my list, it doesn't hurt me much.

GF.com - Three Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke is the biggest criticism about your deck. Would you care to fully explain your rationale? Does it just deal with walls?
geistD - Yeah Sasuke in general is a bad card. But I have to play LIGHTs in some way and there are no alternatives. Skilled White is bad because I wont set it and 1700 ATK is too weak. It just dies to Kycoo, Abyss, or other stuff. And sometimes Sasuke's effect is just for the consistency, because walls can be a problem against standard aggro decks. 1000 DEF really sucks because of Tsukuyomi. That's the main reason why I play three Sakuretsu Armor. Another benefit of running three Sasuke main is that it saves space in my side-deck that I can use for flips, etc. I had considered using Freed the Brave Wanderer, as 1200 DEF is nice. But, 1800 ATK on the ninja is also nice. And Sasuke can deal with Spy, Reaper, etc without any setup in my grave. I after side deck you often board Sasuke in.

GF.com - What about the side-deck?
geistD - I think Greenkappa can be very great against back-row-heavy decks. You can't chain anything in the damage step. It's DARK and a warrior. So, you just play one side-deck card but you can access it via Reinforcement of the Army, so its technically three accesses in one card.
Magician of Faith and Dekoichi are for, let's say, the Goat Control matchup, or when people board Noblemans out. Especially when I go first. I like Deko more than MOF because I can set it turn one and it has nice stats. It's also funny when MOF gets NOCed and people are thinking I'm holding a second one in hand. But, often this mind game turns out to be useless.

GF.com - What card has been your MVP?
geistD - Of course Black Luster Soldier is the MVP, but this is no surprise.

GF.com - What weaknesses does the deck have?
geistD - As I mentioned, it does not have as much weaknesses as other aggro decks. In fact I think it is without weakness.

GF.com - What about you as a player then? Do you have any weaknesses?
geistD - Hmm. I think a tend to play too carefully. I should take more risks. People who saw the finals saw my risky BLS play, but that was very unusual for me. I do think I should tend to just risk a little bit more... just a tiny bit.

GF.com - Is there anyone you are looking to avoid playing again in the next GFC (because of their skill, not because of toxicity)?
geistD - Ah okay. I wanted to answer this question in the "toxic" way. People I am worried about because of their skill are, for example, Smoker_. I have the feeling that he is a very good active player. Not because I saw many of his replays, but because I meet him very often in LG tourney finals, and he wins a lot of tournaments there. We usually split when we meet. And, also, from the discussions I have with him about Goat Format I think should dodge playing him. He is also in the GFC finals.

GF.com - Okay, well can you talk about what toxic behavior you don't like to see?
giestD - Hm. I have decided to not hate on toxic people. Either they already know that they are toxic, or they will never know. Moreover, it is also kind of toxic to hate on other toxic people. Playing Goat Format should just be fun and people should have in mind that this is just a funny card game. It's not more than just a game. No reason for personal conflicts at all.

GF.com - Are you starting to develop a Yugi-Kaiba style rivalry with theNano? After being paired with him multiple times for finals?
geistD - theNano? He is a good player for sure. He topped two tourneys in a row, and also won one other tourney I remember. So, I can't say he is bad, but for some reason I don't fear him that much. Also, his deck should have a very bad matchup against my deck, I am sure.

GF.com - What is the most common misplay people made against you?
geistD - It was already said in the final in stream. People just summon a chaos monster in defense for no reason. Please stop doing this! Its too easy to to win otherwise!

GF.com - Is there any deck out there that has untapped potential and needs further exploration?
geistD - If I was aware of it, I would have already explored it and would have won another FLC with it, so yeah. But to answer your question, yes I think there might be a deck out there that has untapped potential (but, I don't know what it is).

GF.com - Anything you wish to add in regards to the tournament?
geistD - Thanks again to the host and streamers for their support to the Goat community!