Everyone is excited about all the new cards in the new set from Keyforge, Mass Mutation. And why shouldn't they? There is some amazing stuff coming our way! But while looking through the card list and checking out what to expect, I have come across some old cards that are returning in this set, and I think they should be talked about too. Card games are very interesting, in that you can see them grow and change with each expansion. In one set a certain card may be considered weak, and then in a few expansions it is highly sought after. I think the best games manage to do that. They manage to make older cards newly relevant. Now these cards I will be talking about I doubt were considered garbage cards, but I'm sure they will be appreciated more in Mass Mutation. I wanted to showcase one card from each House. As a side note, I've decided against showcasing cards from the Saurian Republic and the Grand Star Alliance, simply because they have no cards that are returning from a hiatus, like the other Houses. So without further ado, let's dive in!
1. Gateway to Dis - This card was hardly hated in the first set. In fact, it was quite necessary for some top tier decks, especially those that had tons of Dis creatures, maybe a Lifeward, and an Arise! But it wasn't loved by all, simply because the board state was not the biggest thing in the first set. It was all about Shadows stealing, powerful action card combos, and more of that, rather than a powerful board presence. And those chains that Gateway to Dis gave hurt more because of needing to "go off" on any given combo.
When Age of Ascension came around, the board state became a little more important, but we lost Gateway to Dis in favor of Unlocked Gateway. Now that card didn't have the chains, but it could only be played at the end of the turn, and so you couldn't pull off the Arise shenanigans as easily or effectively. But still, I don't think Gateway to Dis was missed that much.
Then came World's Collide, and the meta as we knew it shifted drastically. The action-heavy and stealing meta was taken over by the newest House, the Saurian Republic. Board presence was everything. The Saurians captured your amber, held onto it, and attacking them felt fruitless a lot of the time, because of how huge they were. The other Houses also all fared better with board presence. It was a clear design change for the game. I think it was for the better. But one thing was obvious, if you were playing against a WC deck, you better have a way to deal with the board. In the first 2 sets, you could get away with playing a sealed game without a board wipe. But in WC, it was almost a death sentence, unless you had a considerable board presence yourself. We still had Unlocked Gateway, but I really missed Gateway to Dis. Since the game was more dependent on the board, rather than action cards, I felt as though the chains would not hurt as much as well. And whenever I play in a WC sealed event, I hardly ever worry about chains.
Now we come to Mass Mutation. Gateway to Dis is back. The Saurians are back, scary as ever, and every other House is continuing the board presence importance. We also have new gigantic creatures, that really cannot be taken out by attacking, so I think board clears will be vitally important again. I think the introduction of the Enhancing cards is also very important. If you remember from WC, Warding was a big reason why Saurians were so dominant. And even a basic board clear might not even take out a creature. And even Gateway to Dis is not a good card to play if all you are getting is a couple of Wards removed. But Enhancing cards could allow for some ways around that. The damage bonus icon is among the most common, so expect to see that on a lot of cards, and that little damage is enough to remove Wards. I think that, along with Gateway to Dis coming back, is going to be a really powerful and needed combo in this set.
2. Effervescent Principle - Wow, Dis went on a long time, didn't it? I doubt the others will be so in depth, don't worry. Our next guest is that old favorite: Effervescent Principle. This was another card that was hardly hated, but in sets where stealing was the preferred method of amber control, this card wasn't a favorite. It hit both you and your opponent, gave you a dreaded chain, and basically just set things back for everyone. The card hasn't changed, but the meta has. Stealing is not as great as it once was, thanks to cards like Odoac the Patrician. So sometimes you need something else to help get your opponent off a key. Back comes Effervescent Principle, which is a great way to guarantee that your opponent will lose something. I feel as though there are several combos out there that allow an opponent to burst their amber gain, giving them huge amounts, and this card can help against that. At the very least, it will cause an opponent to be very wary of gaining tons of amber. The chains don't matter as much anymore either, which is nice. I will be a lot more excited about Effervescent Principle in this set than before I think.
3. Equalize - Sanctum as a House is coming back from a hiatus, so you could put all of their cards into this article, but that would be silly. This is one card in particular I am looking forward to getting back. I was thinking how awesome it would be to get a Legacy Maverick Equalize in WC, so you can imagine my excitement about hearing it was coming back for this set. Now this card was hardly thought about in the first two sets. It wasn't awful, but there were tons of times it wasn't that effective, and played only for the bonus amber. As soon as Saurian came around, manipulating amber became hugely important. How many times have you lost a game because you couldn't steal any amber thanks to Odoac the Patrician? Or sat there helpless as your opponent eventually plays Sic Semper Tyrannus on his huge amber-filled Centurion Stenopius with an Imperial Scutum? Or have had to deal with a protected Senator Shrix with a ton of amber on him, able to forge a 3rd key on your opponent's next turn? Equalize gets around that. It allows you to dump all that exalted and captured and gathered amber onto a weak, unprotected, little creature, ripe for destruction. Sanctum is also more offensive than they were in the first couple of sets, so attacking those creatures should be easier as well. And Warding does nothing to protect from this, which is a big plus as well!
You can also use Equalize as a combo piece in your own deck, especially if you have Saurians. There is a ton of potential with this card. I expect it to be a big player in games now.
4. Old Bruno - I don't have much to say about Old Bruno. I missed him. Shadows took a huge hit in WC, and was pushed into arguably the worst House slot in the set. So many good cards were taken out, and Houses like Saurian had a ton of cards that seemed to specifically target Shadows strategy. I'm not saying that was a bad thing, but it was meta changing. I always liked Old Bruno, even though stealing was better at the time. But now, stealing is still risky as your only way of controlling your opponent's amber. Capturing is much more reliable, even though it may be temporary. Capturing 3 amber frequently will get your opponent off a key, and if you can manage to Ward Old Bruno? Well, there are few things more infuriating than spending 3 attacks to kill a single creature. You might as well just Reap at that point. So I welcome back Old Bruno with open arms, and hope that it balances out Shadows a little more than the previous set.
5. Word of Returning - As soon as spoilers started to hit with WC, and I was knee deep in competitive Keyforge, with aspirations to eventually go to Worlds (Hope that still happens someday), I immediately began scouring my decks for this card. I was giddy with excitement, thinking I might get a head start against the competition. I even bought one or two from the secondary market, which I rarely do, just in anticipation of testing this card against what I thought the new meta would be. I was proven correct, in that this card can be devastating to Saurians in particular. I didn't happen to get my hands on a great deck with it due to being poor, lol, but with it returning in this set, I can try again! Look at this card! It looks like it was custom made to go against Saurians. But on top of that, it is specifically geared to go against capturing creatures, which are all the rage. Sanctum is hit hard, and even my lovely Old Bruno above, is flat out killed. This card gets rid of Wards for good measure. You don't have to worry about any protection, as there is none that can get in the way of getting your amber from enemy creatures. This is an amazing card, and one that I will specifically be looking for in every Untamed deck I get.
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So those are my thoughts about the 5 best returning cards in Keyforge's latest expansion Mass Mutation. I can't wait to get my hands on the new set when it hopefully gets released in July in the US. To all of you lucky enough to have decks already, let me know what you think of my assessment? And everyone, do you agree? What cards are you most excited about that are returning from hiatus? I hope you enjoyed this article, and as always, happy gaming!
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