Goat Format Championship 23 Deck Tech: Bananakin's Aqua Slump

We've featured slump strategies in our deck techs before. However, those decks were closer to something known as RON Control, which blends traditional chaos fundamentals with cards most commonly seen in Empty Jar in order to get the most out of Heavy Slump. Bananakin's list, however, is much closer to their list from GCI Championship 10, which made top 16 in the massive 150 person event. 

Deck List

Overview

​Heavy Slump decks aim to force their opponent into having eight or more cards in hand so that they can create a massive swing in card advantage through the namesake trap. This is, hopefully, followed up with a swift victory as the opponent struggles to recover their game position with only 2 cards. 

Cards like Morphing Jar and Cyber Jar are extremely common in Slump decks because they help fill the opponent's hand, and Bananakin's list plays both. However, he has decided to completely ignore both Book of Moon and Book of Taiyou, which are commonly paired with the Jars. Instead, we see an impressive lineup of bounce effects, including Giant Trunade, Compulsary Evacuation Device, Golem Sentry, Nightmare Penguin, and Abyss Soldier. Notably, Penguin also serves double duty as discard fodder for Soldier. 
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With all this bounce, Chain Energy fits perfectly as a win condition that punishes the opponent's desire to replay cards forced back into their hand. Those looking for a budget friendly Goat list will also be happy to see the absence of one of the format's most expensive staples: Delinquent Duo! ​

Player Insight

As previously mentioned, Bananakin piloted a list very close to the one to GCI 10, where they made top 16 at GCI 10. This decision appears to have been made after a recent rewatch of their old deck profile. Thankfully, they were more than happy to explain some of the intricacies of the strange brew. Let's dive into their thoughts on how the deck performed and the unique challenges it presents.

I built this deck with a friend some time ago for the GCI tournament. I just happened to watch our deck profile on Youtube, and I felt nostalgic, so I decided to give it another run.


The deck is based on the synergy between chain energy and heavy slump: If you set cards, you take damage; if you don't, you lose your hand to slump. It's a win-win situation.
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A card that performed very well today was Desert Sunlight paired with Cyber Jar and Morphing Jar. It allowed me to draw all the combo pieces to slump my opponent.

It's interesting to see that the Jars are helpful not just in filling the opponent's hand, but also in digging for the combo pieces necessary to crippling the opponent. As Bananakin states, despite a rough start to the event they're performing well and have high hopes for day 2! 

During round 1 I was very late, and I received a game loss, but I was able to slump my opponent 3 times and won the match. So far the deck performed well.


The deck is very fun because you are always playing with fewer cards than your opponent until they get slumped and turn the game around!