My Ideal Keyforge Untamed House Component

Continuing in my articles where I looked at each house in order to find my ideal component (Read about Shadows, Brobnar, Dis), I am now moving onto Untamed. In general, I love Untamed for it's amber generation, but mainly for it's ability to forge keys on your turn. I have won many games due to a Key Charge or a Chota Hazri, so my ideal component will work around those things:

Full Moon - This is one of the great amber generating cards that Untamed has to offer. Yes, I could probably just request 3 Hunting Witches instead, but I've never seen that, and it seems that Full Moon gets placed with the combo most of the time, so why not go with the algorithm for realism's sake?

Mimicry - I love this card. This card gives you so much flexibility, and is deadly in Archon, when you are pretty much guaranteed to have access to some great cards from your opponent. The mind games you can play with this card can cause your opponent to worry about playing and discarding their best actions, and that is almost worth it in itself.

Nature's Call - This is a great card for the combo. With cards like Full Moon and Hunting Witch around, being able to pop creatures back into hand, only to play them for additional amber? Yes please. Dust Pixie gets particularly ridiculous with this. I also like the raw amber as well as the flexibility to bounce your opponent's creatures. That can really mess with your opponent's strategy. I'll take 2.

Nepenthe Seed - This card can result in some of the biggest and "broken" combos in the game. An Omni ability that lets you grab anything from your discard pile can help get you what you want, when you want. It's cards like this that allow for the insta-win combo with Logos. I'll take it to go alongside this Untamed combo, but also because I know it will be useful alongside any other house as well. I'll take 2 please.

Chota Hazri - Here is the automatic key forge card. I prefer this to Key Charge because it combos off itself, as well as works with Full Moon and Nature's Call. This card is how you win, so I'll take 2. Also, he looks like Santa Claus on jungle safari, so what's not to love? Side note: If I want the insta-win combo, I will need Key Charge instead of this.

Dust Pixie - Here is my favorite amber generating creature in the game. 2 raw amber is insane for any card, but add onto the shenanigans you get with the rest of the cards in this component and you get unmatched amber generation per single card. Plus, if it happens to stay around, it can continue to generate amber by reaping. I'll take 2, or however many more I'm allowed to take.

Hunting Witch - Here is the creature version of Full Moon. Not much else to say. It combos well with the other cards in this component, as well as with itself. I would simply just have 3 of these and no Full Moon but I've never seen that, so this seems more realistic. So 2 it is.








So here is the list:
1x Full Moon
1x Mimicry
2x Nature's Call
2x Nepenthe Seed
2x Chota Hazri
2x Dust Pixie
2x Hunting Witch

This is a nice, compact list with heavy amber generation and auto key forging. This component alone can win you games. Any of the supporting houses go well with this such as Logos and Dis. I think my ideal combination would be Logos (in order to also have access to the insta-win combo, although switch out at least 1 Chota with Key Charge), and Shadows for amber manipulation.

What do you think? Did I miss anything? Yes, Fuzzy Gruen and Fertility Chant can give me more amber, but I am loathe to give my opponent anything. Witch of the Eye almost got added in as well, since it combos well with the other cards and can act similarly to Nepenthe Seed, but in my experience it is a little too slow, and you have to choose Untamed in order to use her, while Nepenthe Seed is an Omni ability. Also, does anyone actually have this component and is willing to trade/sell to me? I'm interested :) Anyway, thanks for reading, and happy gaming!

My Ideal Keyforge Dis House Component

Continuing in my articles where I looked at each house in order to find my ideal component (Read about Shadows, Brobnar), I am now moving onto Dis:

Control the Weak - I will always take this card. I have won and lost games due to late game plays with this. At a tournament my opponent had enough amber to forge a key, and so named Shadows so that I had less of a chance to steal amber, and it paid off. Gaining an Amber is just gravy. Even though this card lost the win combo with Restringuntus thanks to the recent FAQ, I'll still take 2.

Gateway to Dis - Sometimes you need a reset button on a board state, and this card gets it done immediately, sure you have to get some chains, but sometimes it's worth it. 2 should be fine. Side note: I know Key to Dis exists, and it is a great card that could probably replace Gateway to Dis and I'd be fine. I just have found in my experience that I prefer the instant board wipe to the slower one. But Key to Dis doesn't hurt you as much and doesn't take up a card in your hand, so it's still a great card.







Key Hammer - I love Key Hammer, this is an amazing card. I love Key Hammering my opponent and then capturing/stealing amber. It's such a huge card. However, if I have Wormhole in Logos this card gets very scary, as I don't want to give my opponent 6 free amber.

Mind Barb - This is another card I never mind having. It gives an amber, and it can sometimes really screw over your opponent's next turn. It's always a good play.

Lash of Broken Dreams - This is my favorite Dis card at the moment. This card has stalled my opponent to let me win so many games. I love hiking up the price so my opponent tries to get tons of amber, and then going to Shadows and playing Bait and Switch for a huge swing. I have run afoul to an opponent's Nexus, however, which caused this amazing card to be used against me. I will still take it in a deck.

Dust Imp - These little guys are always fun. They stick around to do some reaping or attacking, and give you 2 amber when they are destroyed. Why not. 2, please.

Shooler - I love creatures that come in and do something, This guy helps save you from your opponent forging a key, but it also triggers at only 4, so it can be a nice little swing. Plus, at 5 power, it beats a lot of creatures out there. I'll take 2.








So let's see:

2x Control the Weak
2x Gateway to Dis
1x Key Hammer
2x Mind Barb
1x Lash of Broken Dreams
2x Dust Imp
2x Shooler

There are a few honorable mentions that I have. Depending on your other houses, Arise! can be huge in getting back key creatures. Poltergeist is amazing to have against artifacts. Dominator Baubles can be very good with certain cards, I just personally haven't had a lot of luck with them. Library of the Damned is great with Mars with Key Abduction. Charette and/or Drumble almost made this list as they are awesome stalling cards, I just like stealing and gaining amber better.

Since I consider Dis to be a supporting house, it can go with everything as long as there is a house with a solid win condition and amber generation. So Dis goes well with Mars and Untamed, or Shadows.

What do you think? Do you agree? What are your favorite Dis cards you just HAVE to have in a deck? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading, and happy gaming!

My Ideal Keyforge Brobnar House Component

Continuing from my first article where I looked at the Shadows house in order to find my ideal component, I am now moving onto Brobnar:

Anger - This is such a simple card, but it has so much versatility. It gives you amber, which is pretty rare in Brobnar, and it allows you to ready and fight with a friendly creature, which can be from any house. Also remember, if your opponent has no creatures on the board, you do as much of the card as you can, so feel free to reap at that point!

Burn the Stockpile - I don't hear enough about this card. In 2 of my top 4 finishes in Sealed play, I had Brobnar that had this card, and it was instrumental in keeping me in the game. Your opponent will frequently have 7 amber on their turn, hoping to save them from a random steal, and this one knocks them down. I'll take 1.

Loot the Bodies - This is a quintessential Brobnar combo card. As long as you are destroying, you are gaining amber. This combos well with most cards and is a great way to generate amber. Plus, it has the game's best flavor text.

Punch - I love this card. So many nuisance creatures are 3 power, and this takes them out immediately. You don't have to worry about elusive, they are just dead, and you get an amber out of it as well! I would take as much as I could get of this card, but I've never seen more than 2, so I'll take them.

Pile of Skulls - This card disrupts opponents so well. It may not be great if you are also running Shadows or a lot of stealing, but I have seen games get finished in my favor simply because me opponent never gets 6 amber at a time. Plus, having your opponent finally getting all their captured amber back, only for me to play Burn the Stockpile next turn, is enough to rage quit. I'll take 1.

Firespitter - That 1 armor comes into play a lot, and that little wave of damage gets quite ridiculous in Brobnar when you start getting additional attacks in a turn. This also combos nicely with Loot the Bodies and Pile of Skulls, and helps get rid of Elusive creatures. I'll take 2.

Ganger Chieftain - I really like this guy, even though I frequently only have him in my hand. He just has so much flexibility in activating what you need, whether it's in Brobnar or another house. He's the creature version of Anger, and always a welcome addition to a deck. I'll take 2.

Smaaash - Although I like Tremor a lot, Brobnar needs a lot of creatures to be great, and this guy is the next best thing. Plus, the recent FAQ ruling allowing you to target someone that is already stunned makes him so much better. I'll take 2








So my list is as follows:

1x Anger
1x Burn the Stockpile
1x Loot the Bodies
2x Punch
1x Pile of Skulls
2x Firespitter
2x Ganger Chieftain
2x Smaaash

I could possibly be convinced of losing the Loot the Bodies in favor of another Anger or Punch, but I would have to hope for other house components with some good amber gains, gotta get those gains, bro. I feel as though different creatures could go in, these just happen to be ones I really like, but it's more important that Brobnar gets its bodies. I would be perfectly happy with this component though, as it gives me a lot of big bodies, some direct damage, and ways to disrupt my opponent. Houses I would love to pair this with would be Untamed for more creature fun and amber generation, Shadows for more amber manipulation, and maybe Sanctum, for the ridiculous board presence. And of course, Logos pairs well with everything.

So what do you think? Would you agree? What am I missing. Any Brobnar combos you really like that you look for every time? Let me know in the comments! And thanks for reading!

My Ideal Keyforge Shadows House Component

So you pop open a new Keyforge deck, check out the cool name, the 3 houses, and then flip it over to see the contents. Besides checking for maverick cards and the number of rares, if you've played long enough you most likely start looking for key stuff in each house and judge if you like the deck or not. After playing so many games I am now at the point where I think I can try and assess key cards in each house that could help make my ideal house component. So now if I see a certain house, I am looking for these main cards, and that is what I want to go over in this (and more) article(s). I am also trying to keep in mind how often cards show up in decks. Everything I will ask for is something that I've seen in decks already, to try and prevent silly wishlists like 4x Library Access and stuff like that. First up is Shadows.

What I look for in Shadows is a lot of manipulation. I need some good amber generation and ways to steal amber and stall my opponent. Shadows is probably my favorite faction (along with most I'm sure), and there are a few cards I would love to see in every deck.

Bait and Switch - This card is one of the best cards in the game. In both Sealed and Archon style events, this card can win you games, and you must be wary of it if your opponent has it. I will always take one in a deck. Plus, it's common, so it's fairly likely. I would love multiples, but I'm not sure I've ever seen that, so we'll go with 1.

Miasma - This is another amazing card. It is never a bad play, as it can give you more amber upon playing it, and it has won me a lot of games by stalling an opponent. My favorite is to play this, then naturally forge a key on my turn, and then play bait and switch to steal. It's devastating. I have seen and would like 2 of these in any deck.

Ghostly Hand - I have always found this card useful. Gaining 2 raw amber on a card is a solid thing, but this can also help you steal one. Why not? And again, like so many great Shadows cards, this is common. I'll take 1.

Treasure Map - This is my favorite opening play when going first. Play a card, gain 4 amber. Better than any other card in the game. This card won me my first sealed tournament. In an earlier round, I played it while going first, and that amber gain helped me forge an early key. But in the final match, we were tied in keys, and time ran out, and I had one turn left. My opponent had 7 amber, and the first tie breaker after time was forging a key for 6 amber, then after that whomever has the most keys, then amber, wins (with even more tie breakers after that). I played Treasure map to gain 4, and then used other shadow cards I already had out on the board to help me gain 5 additional amber and I ended up winning the tournament. But 4 amber from this single card is what really sealed the deal. That deck had 2 Treasure Maps in it but I'll be reasonable and just ask for 1.

Nexus - I had a new appreciation for this amazing card in an Archon tournament. I was running a very control oriented deck, that had several artifacts such as Lash of Broken Dreams, among others. My opponent played a couple of Nexuses, and I found myself constantly hamstrung by my own artifacts! It was devastating and I ended up losing the game. In the tournament I mentioned above, a Nexus was able to reap on that final turn, as well as use an opponent's artifact to allow me to attack with another friendly creature, which allowed me to gain 3 captured amber. In my tournament deck I had 3, but 2 would be fine.

Urchin - This little guy is so simple, yet so effective. Stealing is the staple of Shadows, and this little guy is the poster child. having elusive means they typically last another turn to help with reaping, or being targets of your own Seeker Needles and such. I could probably throw in Faygin for some synergy but that's not even that necessary. But I will take 3 of these things.

Seeker Needle - This is also very nice, as it helps with direct damage (which I am finding I need more and more often), as well as amber gain. My favorite is actually to use it to kill my own Bad Pennys or Urchins. So I'll take 2.









So right now I am looking at the following Shadows component:

1x Bait and Switch
2x Miasma
1x Ghostly Hand
1x Treasure Map
2x Nexus
3x Urchin
2x Seeker Needle

That looks pretty solid. I could probably be convinced to get rid of the Seeker Needles, in favor of doubles of some of the other cards, but this is probably a more realistic list. It gives 5 raw amber, which is actually fairly low, although almost everything steals amber, and Treasure Map will usually give 3 more. It only has 1 rare in it, with everything else being common. I think it has a good spread of actions, creatures, and artifacts. And people wonder why Shadows is so good? I feel as though Shadows can work with any faction. I think I would prefer this with either Untamed or Mars that has auto-key forging capability, and then probably Logos to help with that.

Do you agree? What cards do you think I'm missing? Do you have a deck that has this component? And if so, how much do you want for it? :) I hope you enjoyed this article and let me know what you think!

*Edit - After some wonderful feedback and discussion on Facebook, I decided to update this a bit.

 

There were several people that mentioned that Seeker Needle is a little too slow, and that there were better choices out there. Nerve Blast and Relentless Whispers got mentioned as substitutes, as they both generate amber and take out small creatures. I think either would work, although I might prioritize Relentless Whispers since it also gives a Raw Amber.

Subtle Maul was also a recommendation, and one I could agree with considering that I find random discard very powerful in Archon formats. Sneklifter was also mentioned for some Artifact hate, which is also a very solid choice. With these choices in mind, I've decided to alter my original list:

1x Bait and Switch
2x Miasma
1x Ghostly Hand
1x Treasure Map
1x Sneklifter or Subtle maul
2x Nexus
2x Urchin
2x Relentless Whispers or Nerve Blast

Thanks for the feedback guys!