Fifteen duelists, four rounds, and only one player left undefeated. Linares finished Win a GGP 12 with a perfect 4–0 record, winning seven of the eight games that were actually played.
Win a GGP 12 was played on September 20 using the NeoGoat August 2026 card pool, with 15 players joining another four-round NeoGoat Pro tournament.
Linares' run included a couple of long games, several Monarch exchanges, some important Metamorphosis plays and a very convenient Dark World interaction in Round 3.
The 4–0 Run
Round 1 — vs. Breaker
Game 1: Breaker opened with Summoner Monk and had Book of Moon available to protect it, but Linares quickly developed the field with Unexpected Dai into Insect Knight and Breaker the Magical Warrior.
Linares cleared the back row and started applying pressure. Breaker tried to respond with another Summoner Monk, Rapid-Fire Magician and Ookazi, but the game ended during a Toon Table of Contents sequence before the comeback could really get going.
Only this game was actually played. The match was later recorded as 2–0 after Breaker did not return for Game 2.
Round 2 — vs. Lacho
Game 1: Lacho got the Zombie engine moving early, going from Pyramid Turtle into Vampire Lord. Linares answered with Unexpected Dai, Tribe-Infecting Virus and Brain Control, even using Vampire Lord during his own push.
Lacho tried to rebuild with Book of Life, Premature Burial and D.D. Assailant, but Mirror Force stopped the comeback and Linares closed the game shortly after.
Game 2: this became the longest duel of the tournament, reaching 40 turns.
Soul Exchange and Thestalos started the grind, while Royal Decree, Zaborg and Dark Balter the Terrible helped Linares stay in the game. Balter also managed to negate a Heavy Storm during the middle of the duel.
Linares eventually dropped to 1000 LP and still had to deal with Injection Fairy Lily. Thousand-Eyes Restrict helped slow the game down, and the final sequence involved Torrential Tribute, Sand Moth returning to the field and Premature Burial bringing back Mobius for the final 2400 damage.
Result: Linares 2–0
Round 3 — vs. palacios
Game 1: palacios started generating value with Dekoichi and Tsukuyomi and also stopped Linares' first serious push with Mirror Force.
Linares stayed in the game with Scapegoat, The Rock Spirit and Zaborg until the field finally opened up. Breaker helped clear the way and Brain Control provided the extra monster needed for the finishing push.
Game 2: palacios answered back. Gravekeeper's Spy into Jinzo put Linares on the defensive, while two Pulling the Rug stopped a Thestalos and a Mobius before they could resolve.
Breaker the Magical Warrior eventually connected for the final 1900 damage and sent the match to Game 3.
Game 3: another long duel. Linares started with Royal Decree and used Soul Exchange to summon Mobius, but the game turned into a 30-turn resource battle with Book of Moon, Brain Control, Tribe-Infecting Virus and The Rock Spirit all seeing play.
The deciding moment came when palacios summoned Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch and randomly discarded Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World from Linares' hand.
Since Goldd had been discarded by the opponent's card effect, it came straight onto Linares' field. palacios conceded shortly after, giving Linares the only match of the tournament that went to Game 3.
Result: Linares 2–1
Round 4 — vs. Nikito
Game 1: Nikito opened the Gravekeeper plan with Necrovalley and Gravekeeper's Assailant, but Torrential Tribute cleared the first field.
From there, Spirit Reaper started removing cards from Nikito's hand and Mobius the Frost Monarch became the main threat. Nikito eventually fell to 500 LP and paid half of that with Solemn Judgment to stop Metamorphosis.
It bought some time, but Linares eventually fought through Bottomless Trap Hole and Book of Moon, brought Mobius back with Call of the Haunted and connected for the last 2400 damage.
Game 2: Nikito got the better start with Giant Trunade, Necrovalley and 2100 early damage.
Linares answered by turning Sinister Serpent into Thousand-Eyes Restrict with Metamorphosis, giving him a way to control the field and slow down Nikito's Gravekeeper pressure.
Pulling the Rug later stopped a Zaborg, but Mirror Force and Tribe-Infecting Virus helped Linares take control again. Tribe and Insect Knight stayed on the field long enough to finish Game 2 and secure the tournament.
Result: Linares 2–0
Round 1 note: the official result is 2–0 because the second game became a no-show win. Only one duel from that match was actually played, so Linares' record across the eight games that were played was 7–1.
Watch the Tournament
The tournament matches are also available on the NeoGoat YouTube channel.
Final Standings — Top 5
| Place | Player | Points | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linares | 12 | 4–0 |
| 2 | palacios | 9 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Nikito | 9 | 3–1 |
| 4 | Tego | 9 | 3–1 |
| 5 | Jinzo | 9 | 3–1 |
A Solid Tournament Run
Linares didn't just finish 4–0. He also faced the players who finished second and third during the final two rounds.
The only game he dropped all tournament was Game 2 against palacios. He won the other seven played games and finished as the only undefeated player in the event.
All eight played games were saved through NeoGoat Pro, so we have the full tournament run instead of just the final standings.
Bonus Decklist: pepe same's Spell Counter Magicians
Another deck worth checking out from the event was pepe same's 47-card Magician build.
The deck mixes Spell Counters, Magical Exemplar, the Apprentice Magician engine and several classic Spellcaster cards. It is not the usual tournament build, but there are plenty of interesting old-school cards working together here.
Main Deck — 47 Cards
- 1 Dark Magician
- 1 Dark Magician of Chaos
- 1 Mind on Air
- 2 Magical Marionette
- 3 Skilled Dark Magician
- 3 Magical Exemplar
- 1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
- 3 Gravekeeper's Spy
- 1 Tsukuyomi
- 1 Old Vindictive Magician
- 3 Apprentice Magician
- 2 Copycat
- 2 Nobleman of Extermination
- 1 Heavy Storm
- 1 Pot of Greed
- 1 Upstart Goblin
- 3 Spell Power Grasp
- 1 Mystical Space Typhoon
- 2 Magical Dimension
- 1 Level Limit - Area B
- 2 Arcane Barrier
- 1 Premature Burial
- 2 Magician's Circle
- 2 Dark Renewal
- 1 Mirror Force
- 1 Torrential Tribute
- 1 Ring of Destruction
- 1 Gravity Bind
- 1 Call of the Haunted
- 1 Rivalry of Warlords
Extra Deck — 2 Cards
- 1 Five-Headed Dragon
- 1 Thousand-Eyes Restrict
Side Deck — 15 Cards
- 2 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
- 2 Messenger of Peace
- 3 Sakuretsu Armor
- 3 Pulling the Rug
- 2 Rivalry of Warlords
- 2 Royal Decree
- 1 Dark Magic Attack
Match notes were reconstructed from the eight saved NeoGoat Pro replays and the official Win a GGP 12 tournament results.
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