Top Player Interview: Kakashi_Sensei

We had a chance recently to interview Kakashi_Sensei, the top player on Duelingbook’s Goat Format ladder, and got his thoughts on the metagame and his innovative deck. 

Here’s his decklist:

https://imgur.com/QqfPeP3

Goatformat.com (Sacked): First off feel free to introduce yourself to our readers. 
Hi everybody, my name is Francesco Bellantone. I am 27 and I am from Milan, Italy. I work in the luxury hospitality industry as a front desk and reservation agent. 
I studied Tourism and I am able to speak 4 languages (Italian, Spanish, English, French and currently learning German.) 

GF: What are your past Yu-Gi-Oh accomplishments and how did you get into Goat Format? Do you play in real life too or just online?
I started playing Yu-Gi-Oh back in 2006, my first competitive deck was monarch without the money cards, I was just a child. I started to play competitively back in 2008 and won my first regional in 2009. 
My mainly accomplishments are:

• Top 32 Italian national championship 2010
• Top 32 ycs Prague 2015
• Top 4 Spanish national championship 2015
• Top 32 European championship 2015 (2nd in swiss)
• 1st place LLDS final in Italy 
• Top 16 ycs Las Vegas 2016
• Top 16 CCG MTS Cologne Germany 
• Top 16 Italian National championship 
• 10+ regionals wins

I quit the game in 2016 and started playing goats in 2019 both live and online.

GF: Tell us about the deck. What was the inspiration? Why Chaos Flip?
My inspiration came from a friend’s deck list (Luca Meroni). We play live friendly goat matches and I always like his choices. I just adapted the list with my preferences such as Card Destruction, Compulsory Evacuation Device, three Mind Crush and three Trap Dustshoot. 

GF: Can you give a quick overview of the main goal of the deck? How does it work?
The main goal of the decklist is to gain card advantage and to build a board that locks out your opponent with Tsukuyomi, Mask of Darkness, and traps. Black Luster Soldier and Chaos Sorcerer are your boss monsters and you can use them to close the game but most of the time your opponent scoops when you lock them. Compulsory Evacuation Device is both a defensive and offensive card. You use it to defend your lock from Nobleman of Crossout, Thousand-Eyes Restrict, Black Luster Soldier, Chaos Sorcerer but also you use it to bounce your opponent’s set monsters to hand and set your opponent back one turn.


GF: Some of the card choices are pretty interesting. Why Phoenix Wing Wind Blast over Raigeki Break? 
Compulsory Evacuation Device is another interesting choice over more common traps. 
Compulsory was my MVP. Phoenix Wing Wind Blast lets you consistently send back your opponents in a loop with Mask of Darkness and Tsukuyomi. You should always have something to discard with Night Assailants, Sinister Serpent and Thunder Dragons. 

GF: What are the deck’s best match-ups? What decks do you fear most? 
The deck doesn’t really have bad match-ups (I went 25-1 over the last couple days). The only scaring card is Ryu Senshi as you can’t really stop it. 

GF: What are some key interactions in the deck you think readers should know about? Any tips they might not already know?
Tsukuyomi lock is the best thing about this deck. Even starting with Trap Dustshoot and Solemn Judgement puts you in the driver’s seat for the whole game. 

GF: What is your game plan if all three Chaos Monsters are gone? 
You have a lot of cards to protect those (Compulsory and Solemn are an example), I really never went out of my main resources, the traps made me win most of the games. 

GF: Give us a quick overview of the side deck and what cards you use for which match-ups. For example, when would you side in the Scapegoat - Metamorphosis combo?
If I went second I sided out almost all the traps and masks for the metamorphosis and scapegoat combo to make certain cards useless like their Royal Decrees, Seven Tools of the Bandit and Noblemans of Crossouts. 
If I went first I sided in three Mind Crush and third Trap Dustshoot. With three Solemn Judgments and all the traps you can’t really lose. 

GF: What was your MVP card in your climb to #1 on the ladder? 
Compulsory evacuation device for the traps and Mask of Darkness for monsters. 

GF: What changes would you make to your deck/side, if any, going forward? 
At the moment none, I really think I made a good strategy.

GF: Do you have any advice for players wanting to compete in Goat Format?
Just start with your friends and don’t copy online decklist. Try to make decks on your own because Goat format is about having fun with old cards. 

GF: Are there any shoutouts that you want to make?
Shoutout to my friend Luca Meroni who had the original idea of combining Thunder Dragons, Mask of Darkness and Tsukuyomi Lock.