GOAT FORMAT
ABOUT
“Goat Format” refers to a Yu-Gi-Oh! format that was officially played during the summer of 2005. It gets its name from the popularity of the card Scapegoat during this time period. It is a format that is still widely played today using the same card pool, ruleset, and banlist.
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RULES:
Goat Format Rule #1: Start With 6
​Unlike in current Yu-Gi-Oh!, the player who goes first will draw a card at the start of their first draw phase. This means that they will initially have 6 cards in their starting hand.
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Goat Format Rule #2: Unlimited Fusion Deck and Main Deck
​Before Synchro Monsters were introduced to the game, the Extra Deck was called the Fusion Deck, and it could contain as many cards as you wanted!
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Goat Format Rule #3: One Field Spell
It is not possible for both players to control a face-up active Field Spell card. If the activation of a Field Spell resolves while the opponent controls a face-up Field Spell, the previous Field Spell is destroyed. It's worth noting that Field Spells must remain face-up in order to resolve.
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Goat Format Rule #4: Priority for Ignition Effects
Priority is often misunderstood by newer Goat Format players, but it's actually not very complicated. The current format rules on what Konami calls "fast effect timing" and "open and closed gamestates" can be found here. This is the same mechanic as what people in 2005 called "priority." Believe it or not, with one exception, everything that you will find on Konami's chart is the same in Goat Format.
In current format Yu-Gi-Oh!, when a Chain or Summon has finished resolving, the turn player can activate a "fast effect" (Spell Speed 2 or higher) before the opponent can. In Goat Format, when a Chain or Summon has finished resolving, the turn player can activate a "fast effect" or a monster's Ignition Effect before the opponent is allowed to respond. This change does not affect how Trigger Effects work.
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Example 1: Player A Summons Tribe-Infecting Virus. Player A can activate the effect of Tribe-Infecting Virus before Player B can activate Book of Moon.
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Goat Format Rule #5: Replaying Attacks
In Yu-Gi-Oh!, a replay occurs when the number of the opponent's monsters changes during the battle step of the turn player. The attacking monster may then decide to attack the same monster, a different monster, or not attack at all. In current format Yu-Gi-Oh!, this replay mechanic is considered to be a "redirection" of the same attack, whereas in Goat Format, play rewinds back to the beginning of the Battle Step where the attack may be re-declared. This means that if the attacking player decides not to attack at all with the monster involved in the replay, it may attack again later in the battle phase.
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Goat Format Rule #6: Continuous Traps with Ignition-Like Effects
​Unlike in current format Yu-Gi-Oh!, Continuous Traps with Ignition-like effects cannot be flipped face-up and use their Ignition-like effects at the same time. They must be flipped face-up "pre-emptively" so to speak.
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Goat Format Rule #7: Verifying Hands and Decks
Effects that require hands or decks to be revealed in order to ensure that they have resolved correctly must always be carried out, even if knowledge of the games rules or forbidden/limited list already provide you with enough information to verify that they have resolved correctly.
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Goat Format Rule #8: Failure to Find
​Cards that search the deck can be used without any legal options. The one weird exception to this rule is The Agent of Creation - Venus, whose effect still requires Mystical Shine Balls in the deck to be used.
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