The very first Neo Goat tournament under the October 2025 banlist has just concluded, and it marked a historic change: Magician of Faith is finally forbidden. This single shift disrupted the old foundations of resource loops and forced duelists to reimagine their approach. Without Faith’s recycling power, decks had to find new engines, new win conditions, and new ways to pressure the opponent.
Here’s a showcase of three standout decks that were used in this tournament:
Warrior Toolbox Chaos (Guest 001)
Warriors have always thrived in formats where one-for-one trades define the tempo, and this build proved it still has fangs. The deck combined the Warrior search engine with Chaos Sorcerer, allowing it to pivot between precision removal and overwhelming pressure.
The lineup included all the staples of a toolbox strategy: Exiled Force for clean outs, Don Zaloog and Mataza the Zapper for hand disruption and aggression, and Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer to deny Chaos setups. Blade Knight in particular shined, applying fast damage while negating opposing flip effects.
What really elevated this build was its control-oriented backrow. With Solemn Judgment, Dust Tornado, Widespread Ruin, and Jar of Greed smoothing out hands, the deck balanced aggression with strong protection. Against Burn and rogue strategies, it could pivot into a patient grind game while still threatening sudden bursts of damage.
In short, it was the most “honest” deck of the event—no looping spells, no gimmicks, just efficient monsters backed by layered defense, thriving in the new meta’s focus on attrition.
Ameba Burn (Diego Barrera)
The rogue deck of the tournament, Ameba Water Burn weaponized an oft-forgotten monster in a way only Neo Goat could make viable.
This build combined Ameba with Mystic Box (OCG card) and Creature Swap to force it onto the opponent’s side of the field, dealing direct damage while setting up awkward board states. From there, it leaned on Water support like Warrior of Atlantis and A Legendary Ocean, while Catapult Turtle and Abyss Soldier offered creative finishers.
The decklist also revealed surprising depth:
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Draw and Recovery: Salvage to recycle Water monsters.
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Burn Finishers: Magic Cylinder, Ring of Destruction, and Catapult Turtle.
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Lockdown Tools: Rivalry of Warlords to stall out opponents.
Against a Faith-less field, Ameba Burn thrived by forcing opponents into unfavorable exchanges and sneaking in chip damage until a burn effect closed the duel. It wasn’t just flashy—it proved rogue strategies can still compete when the meta resets. This deck got second place at the tournament.
Paladin of White Dragon Ritual Deck (Emiliano Rodriguez)
This deck turned heads as the surprise Ritual contender of the event. Built around Paladin of White Dragon, it used Advanced Ritual Art and an extensive search package (Manju, Senju, Sonic Bird) to ensure explosive openings.
Paladin’s ability to Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon gave the deck a good advantage, transforming what looked like a risky Ritual play into a momentum swing that many opponents couldn’t recover from. Backed up by Chaos Sorcerer and beaters like Mad Dog of Darkness, the deck had multiple ways to apply pressure even if the Ritual plan didn’t immediately resolve.
What made it truly successful was disruption from Raigeki Break and Compulsory Evacuation Device, combined with steady draw from Legacy of Yata-Garasu, meant it didn’t gas out after one Ritual summon.
This tournament was proof that Neo Goat is still evolving. With Magician of Faith gone, the format feels faster, sharper, and more diverse. The decks showcased here highlight three different paths forward: explosive Ritual summons, steady Warrior control, and creative rogue innovation.
If anything, this event showed that Neo Goat isn’t locked to its past—it’s a living format where new ideas can break through at any time.
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