Keyforge's 5th set, Dark Tidings, is starting to be released around the world. Although I won't be getting it for another month most likely, I can at least start looking at the complete set thanks to the work of the community and especially Archon Arcana, for compiling all the spoiler information! For this little series, I want to look at the reprints for each House, and talk about my top 5 most impactful ones. I plan on looking at all the new cards as well, but I want to wait until we get English versions of the card images. So let's dive into Logos!
Here is a list of the 25 reprints that Logos will get along with their card number and rarity:
Hyde - 012 - R
Velum - 013 - R (fixed with Hyde)
Academy Training - 014 - R
Knowledge is Power - 019 - R
Library Card - 020 - R
Master the Theory - 021 - R
Mind Over Matter - 022 - R
Mobius Scroll - 023 - R
The Archivist - 026 - R
The Howling Pit - 027 - R
Universal Keylock - 029 - R
Vespilon Theorist - 030 - R
Zenzizenzizenzic - 031 - R
Anomaly Exploiter - 032 - U
Bouncing Deathquark - 035 - U
Brain Eater - 036 - U
Data Forge - 037 - U
Eureka! - 038 - U
Fila the Researcher - 039 - U
Novu Archaeologist - 044 - U
Positron Bolt - 045 - U
EDAI "Eddie" 4x4 - 051 - C
Infomorph - 054 - C
Information Exchange - 055 - C
Phase Shift - 57 - C
We have some very solid cards coming back, although I find it interesting that most of them are rare. That's not a bad thing, since it leaves more room for new cards, and it wasn't like you saw them in every deck in previous sets. But most, if not all, are cards that I won't be disappointed in getting in my decks. I wonder if Infomorph in particular was added late in development. We know that they have several Keyforge sets planned out in advance at any given time, and they are never sure if a set's mechanics will be popular. But after the amazing response of Mass Mutations bonus icons, I believe FFG said that they plugged in some of those "enhancers" as I call them, into this set. I wish they would have done it a lot more, as those enhancer cards really help make each deck completely unique, but I will take what I can get.
But anyway, there are a few cards that stand out to me. Read on to see my top 5 (really 6, lol), favorite Logos cards that are being reprinted in Dark Tidings:
#5 Positron Bolt 045
I actually originally had Bouncing Deathquark 035, as my #5, but changed it in favor of Positron Bolt. I love Bouncing Deathquark, but without Dis to be able to combo off Destroyed triggers, it isn't quite as good as it was in the past. Still a solid card, but Positron Bolt edges it out. It gives you a bonus amber, can ping off wards pretty cheaply, and if they are unwarded, can flat out take out creatures. And Dark Tidings seems to have a lot of high impact creatures that are at 3 power and below. I have a feeling this card will be greatly used as it always has been.
#4 (Tie) Library Card 020 and Zenzizenzizenzic 031
Ok, so for #4 I'm already going to cheat and make it a tie between the 2 best rares that Logos is getting back, Library Card and Zenzizenzizenzic. It is difficult to choose between rares because...well...they're so rare, so it's unlikely you will run into them a lot. But both of these cards will be very impactful. It's hard to argue that Z wasn't the better card in Mass Mutation. Those extra cards really help, and as long as you can maintain it being at the center, it just keeps on giving. The reason why I think Library card jumps up, and in my opinion even surpasses Z a little in this set is because of the combo options Logos is getting in Dark Tidings. There are several cards in this set that give you more for each card that you play in a single turn: Talmage Steelheart 007 and 062 (Translation?), Ruined City 024, Mind Bullet 043, Science! 059, and Keyforging Treaty 018 (Translation?).
Keyforging Treaty 018, is probably the biggest since it's a key cheat that gives you an amber, then allows you to forge a key at +7 amber, reduced by 1 amber for each card you played this turn (including itself). So having the pseudo Library Access turn could really combo off if you have the right stuff. As a side note, could you imagine if someone gets Library Card and a Legacy Library Access in the same deck?!
#3 Data Forge 037
Here is another combo card. This card was good in previous sets, but I feel as though it was a hard combo to pull off. It was more difficult to draw tons of cards and archive them... at least when compared to this set, lol. I think at least 28 out of the 63 Logos cards either archive or draw cards, not to mention the ones that can add amber. Also, there is a lot of card draw and archiving in other Houses as well with the likes of the insane card 412 (name not translated) from Untamed where you destroy a friendly creature and draw cards equal to half its power rounded up! You can set up to have a ton of cards in hand in order to pull off a free Data Forge. Heck, you can use Phase Shift 057 to help you play card draw cards from other Houses on your turn! There is also a bunch of recursive cards in the set like Think Again? 047, where you get to play an action card from your discard pile and then purge it. So you could forge multiple keys in a turn! I can't wait to dive into decks that contain this card!
#2 EDAI "Eddie" 4x4
One of my favorite cards from WC, and arguably considered to be one of the best (probably behind Infurnace?). But it's an amazing card:
1. It has ongoing amber control on play (meaning you can take someone off a key on the turn you play it). Being ongoing means it will remain to be amber control until it leaves play.
2. You can make your opponent pay exorbitant amounts of amber for their keys if they do forge.
3. It pretty much forces your opponent to deal with it, which can sidetrack their plans for their own deck.
4. It protects against multiple key forges in a turn by just increasing the cost of keys. I know I kind of mentioned that above, but this deserves its own point, because combo decks can be devastating, and I think they are making a comeback with this set. Having this card (or multiples) in play really put a hamper in combo decks.
5. Being 3 power actually makes it more difficult to get rid of than you might think, especially with this set having a lot of weaker powered creatures. A lot of direct damage in Keyforge is in the 1-2 damage range, which won't get EDAI off the board.
6. It can stack. If you archive more cards, or have multiple EDAIs, the value keeps getting better!
7. It's common, so it's pretty easy to get and get in multiples.
So yeah...look for EDAI in a lot of the top decks for this set, I'm calling it now.
#1 Phase Shift 057
You might be thinking it will be hard to top EDAI, especially after that glowing review I just gave, but I think this one edges even EDAI out. We haven't seen Phase Shift in a while, but it was considered one of the best cards in the game. It should be obvious, but a card that allows you to play outside your active House is really good. Let's go through what it gives you:
1. It allows for combos that wouldn't typically be allowed - I mentioned Phase Shift when I was talking about Data Forge earlier in the article. You can play Phase Shift in order to play 412 to allow you do draw a potential massive amount of cards (at least 50 cards if you get 321 on the table, lol). In the combo from the #4 card, playing Phase Shift (which allows for an out-of-active-House card to be played), results in 2 cards being played, which gets you closer to pulling off Keyforging Treaty 018. But there are combos everywhere in the set. One could write several huge articles talking about every single combo with which Phase Shift gives, but I will let you discover them yourself because that is way more fun for you. But playing out of House on your turn is a great way to combo in new and creative ways :)
2. It sets up future turns - Phase Shift allows you to drop that random creature/artifact/upgrade from another House onto the board, maybe allowing it to be activated on your very next turn.
3. It gets you out of trouble - Sometimes you can get stuck because of how many cards you have from each House in your hand. If you have the dreaded 2/2/2 spread, you can normally only play 2 cards in a turn, which may or may not be fixed the next turn. Phase Shift allows you to turn an unfavorable 2/2/2 House card spread in your hand by allowing you to get rid of all the Logos cards, as well as 1 from another House. Now, thanks to Phase Shift, you could be going into your next turn with a 5/1/0 spread, which probably means an amazing turn for you. It is less likely to get stuck in a 2/2/2 rut again.
4. By helping to empty your hand, it helps you draw more cards - Going through your deck quickly is powerful in Keyforge. Card draw is not quite as important in Keyforge as other card games since you get to refill your hand, but a Keyforge deck that can cycle through all of its cards faster than an opponent's is probably going to win more often than not. It allows you to get to your best cards more frequently, and helps you get what you need when you need it.
Plus, Phase Shift is also common, so it's very possible to have it with multiple copies, allowing you for cross-House shenanigans all over the place. I love Phase Shift, and any deck with it is better for it, guaranteed.
-
So that is my top 5 Reprints for Logos. Logos is looking pretty darn good in this set, and we've only talked about the reprints! Do you agree with my choices? Order? Please let me know in the comments, and join in my excitement as Dark Tidings grows ever closer! As always, thank you for reading and happy gaming!
No comments:
Post a Comment