Hello fellow Keyforgers! Welcome to another Q&A with a Vault Tour Champion! This is a special one, as I got to ask some questions from George Keagle, who is the the FIRST person to win TWO Vault Tours, both with the same deck! So thanks in advance to him for taking time to talk to yet another person about his experience. So let's dive in!
So, first of all, congratulations! Not only have you won a Vault Tour, but this is your SECOND victory! You are the first one to do this, so the bar has been set. How does it feel to win twice and to sit at the top of the Vault Tour Leaderboard?
It feels great! I've been fighting for that number spot all year, and it's a great accomplishment for me. I was able to prove Gasoline still has the competitive edge, as well as win without Shadows or a combo.
I have heard that your deck, "Gasoline" Maximiliano, Dungeon Keeper, was your second deck you ever opened? What were your initial thoughts upon seeing it? Did you know you had a powerhouse in your hand? Were you aware of the Library Access/Nepenthe Seed combo yet?
I didn't have much initial thoughts as the game had just been released. My only deck before that was from a prerelease. I didn't know about the combo, but it happened naturally in playing the deck against friends, and showed itself to be better and better the more KeyForge, and decks, I played. People hated whenever I played it, so that was a very good sign.
So your first Vault Tour win, Chicago Adepticon, was in the days before the LANS errata, what were your thoughts on those erratas and how did it affect your view of your deck and Keyforge on the whole?
I'm used to decks getting banned from Magic, and as being a combo player. I was against it, but the majority of players were for it, and rejoiced when it was announced. It didn't effect my view on KeyForge at all honestly. Things like that are bound to happen in a card game like this. Maybe players coming from a board game background aren't used to that. It will happen again surely. Be ready for it, and you won't be surprised that much. I do think it's slightly different in KeyForge as you can't ban a specific card, as it would do a wave of decks that people own that get banned because you can't change your deck at all. Erratas are much more likely in my opinion.
So what made you decide to use your same deck again, and can you explain what makes it competitive, despite not having Shadows (which has been considered to be the most competitive House so far) and it being in a post-errata world?
I don't buy into the concept that you need Shadows to win. Having aember control is definitely great, but I think Shadows best cards are in the removal anyway. I like to play my decks to see which ones are the best and how they play. Gasoline has been my best deck by far since I got it. What makes it so good are its insane tempo plays. Cards like Control the Weak, Restringuntus are obvious, but Teliga, Skippy Timehog, and Library Access are all extremely strong cards that either deny my opponents the lines of play they WANT to make, or increase my own powerful turns. Almost every card in the deck either slows my opponents down or speeds me up in a huge way. Even the Ancient Bears pull strong weight in fighting down opposing board states, clearing the way for a Restringuntus lock.
What is your routine when it comes to preparing for a big tournament?
Number one is making sure I have good sleeping arrangements. Getting a full nights rest is important. I always buy bottled water to put in my bag to stay hydrated. Specifically Smart water, because I like the tall skinnier shape for my bag. Granola bars of some kind, beef jerky, and typically some kind of mixed nuts/trail mix are there for not getting too hungry. Gameplay wise, I try to fit in as many games as I can to get ramped up. If Archon, you need to play your specific deck to be as familiar as possible.
What is your favorite format to play Keyforge?
Archon (Solo) and Sealed (Solo). I think Sealed is the best way to get new decks. Play them rather than only open and look at the list. I love Archon because I get to play my favorite decks, or at least decks that didn't get a fair shake either because I opened it not in a Sealed event, or I did horribly in the Sealed event because I didn't know the nuances of that particular deck yet.
What initially got you into Keyforge, and what has kept you interested in Keyforge? What excites you the most?
A friend texted me when he was at GenCon. I didn't think this type of unique thing could be mass produced at a cost efficient level. That was enough to sink my teeth in. Once I started playing I new this game was something special, but FFG does a great job making games. I'm excited for the possibilities this game has to offer. They keep coming up with new ways to make it even more unique, like the Anomaly decks. How neat is that concept?! I think the older this game gets, the harder Archon format will become, which is actually a good thing to me. When everyone is playing with decks from different sets, the games are going to be extremely interesting and unique experiences. This game has so much going for it. I hope it has the longevity there as well.
What are your thoughts about the Keyforge competitive scene? Do you think it is in a healthy state? Is there anything you would like to see implemented?
I think it's great actually. I know some people are upset about teams and the same people being on top, but that generally means that they are the best players, when they can get those results consistently. I think it adds something to look up to if you want to get better at something. Come take us down! I'd like to see it get MORE competitive, honestly. I want to go to some $1k's or other big cash events that aren't Officially sanctioned Vault Tours. These types of events generate hype for the game and get peoples attention to check the game out. Get's more players into the game and grows the community, as well as is an awesome, fun time.
What do you think is the most powerful House in Keyforge? What is the most powerful card right now? What is your favorite card in the game and why? What is your favorite combo right now?
I think that is a loaded question. The obvious answer is "Shadows", but I think Shadows is the most consistently good house. I think Dis or Logos might be the most POWERFUL house. Dis can win a game on its own, and Logos makes a deck run smooth as butter regardless of what else. I think it's mostly irrelevant as decks are unique, so it's better to look at an individual list than say "Shadows is best, Mars is worst". You can have the best Mars and worst Shadows and it doesn't matter anymore.
Restringuntus wins more games by itself than any other card in the game I think, so best and favorite. My favorite combo right now is GenKa, but I don't have any Martian Generosity deck. I'd like one with Nepenthe Seed ideally.
What are your thoughts about teams in Keyforge? Are you on a team? Are you planning on joining/creating a team?
It makes sense and gets attention. Most card games that are played competitively get that. Maybe people didn't expect or were surprised by it. FFG is more a board game company, even though they do make competitive card games. KeyForge crosses both together. Overall I think it's good for the game to grow mechanically, as well as community. Most people probably interact with their friends as a team would and don't realize it because they don't wear matching shirts.
Not on a team officially. I am writing for Reapout, so if any team it would likely be them. I think I'm a guest right now, like Spider-Man on the Avengers. They are doing a great job creating content, and that's what I would like to do and be a part of.
I would love to create a team, but the people I'd like didn't seem into it. They are still secretly my team though.
What are your thoughts about the various rating systems Keyforge has? Do you value one over another? Are there specific aspects of a deck that you look for (ie amber generation, amber control, combos, etc)?
I think they are generally near the mark, but vaguely? Like a horoscope. They can say your deck is an Aries, but what does that mean really. You need to play your deck to find out. I think all types of decks, and ratings, can succeed, and the rating systems can't inherently measure the combos the game has. It can give a value to each card, and maybe even say card A+B is worth MORE points, but when you get to combos that are 4+ cards deep, or overall extreme synergies, I think the ratings fall flat.
I value them all equally. Each is trying to put a different measurement on decks to try to be more accurate than the others, which is good for competition in that arena of trying to be the best rating system. I love combo decks, or decks with high synergies. I don't care much what TYPE of deck it is, as long as it's interesting in that way.
I value them all equally. Each is trying to put a different measurement on decks to try to be more accurate than the others, which is good for competition in that arena of trying to be the best rating system. I love combo decks, or decks with high synergies. I don't care much what TYPE of deck it is, as long as it's interesting in that way.
What are your thoughts about Age of Ascension, when it comes to the competitive environment?
Not enough of it is opened. People want to say that AoA is worse, but in really it's 300k AoA decks versus 1 MILLION CotA decks. If cream rises to the top, 1 million is going to produce a lot more cream than 300k.
Other than that the theme of AoA, which is Fighting/anti-reaping, is so prevalent that I think the decks FEEL less Unique than CotA decks, but maybe we're all getting used to the game and it's blurring together.
Power wise I think AoA is on point. I haven't had any problems in that regard. Certain houses powered down, and others powered up. There's just less AoA decks in the wild overall. When the NON-CotA decks outnumber the CotA decks, things will get very interesting.
What are your thoughts about Worlds Collide so far? Do you have any cards or strategies you are most looking forward to? How/if do you think the set will affect the meta?
Saurians and Star Alliance are going to shake things up in a big way. I think Exalt is powerful. Ward is going to be very annoying. Imagine when I get to Ward my Restringuntus! I'll have to see the whole set before I start looking forward to strategies or deck combos. Right now I'm excited for dinos and space, two things I love. I think and hope people will be excited for new houses and buy a ton like the did CotA. Likely not 1 million, but it would be cool. The more people buy the more it will effect the meta. Ward sounds strong enough that people will probably jam a ton of it. It feels like the amount of Fight forcing and anti-reaping in AoA may have been a preemptive counter to the hard to kill stuff we've seen in WC. It may counter and make AoA more popular than it was.
What mechanics, theme, or strategy would you like to implemented in a future Keyforge set?
I think FFG needs to chill with the more tokens, but that likely won't happen. I want to see some key color matters stuff happen since they kinda hinted at it. I'd love to see a full on tribal theme. Like Mars/Logos has a ton of scientists and robots. Dis/Sanctum could combine with some Knights action as there are a few demon knights. They could make more. Beasts are maybe too generic. I think cross-house special rares would be cool. I started thinking if I got to be a card, what would I want, and imagine if there was a card like Time Traveler that tutored up a Dis card, and then you play it on your Logos turn. Something like that. There could be a special character or something that came with a special artifact type thing. If Archimedes is Quixo's companion, it's a missed opportunity to me to not have every Archimedes come with a Quixo etc. They've shown that the algorithm can do things like that. The more things like that, the more decks feel unique to me. Maybe they secretly do that in the algorithm and we just don't know about it though.
What is next for you?
I want to write content about more advanced strategy things to help players get better at the game. I want to produce other content as well, but I am very unsure on what I want to make. I considered doing a YouTube video reviewing "Gasoline" Maximiliano and how I do things with it. Let me know what you would like from me as well! Deck openings and reviews, videos, podcasts, articles whatever! I want to grow this game I love!
These questions were great! Thank you for the opportunity to put my thoughts out there!
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Well, you heard him, folks! Let him know what kind of stuff you'd like to see from him! Give him some ideas in the comments! But congratulations on your upcoming nuptials, maybe you can get your spouse in on some Keyforge! And thank you so much for taking time out of your very busy schedule to chat with the community! We all really appreciate it. Me, like you, want to see this great game grow, and it's open people like you that really make it work! Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing you and how you do at future events (but don't beat me, please), lol.
I hope you all enjoyed this interview as much as I did. Thanks for reading, and as always, happy gaming!
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