My Top 4 Richmond Vault Tour Report

Hello again, it's another Vault Tour tournament report from yours truly, a Team Fuzzy Gruens member. This was my 4th VT, and my 3rd AoA Sealed VT (Which seems to be the format majority anywhere near me). I finished in the top 4, which is the best I've done (tying with top 4 at Columbus, and beating my top 16 in Sealed at Gencon Indianapolis and going 4-2 in Archon at Gencon). There were some really interesting things that happened during the tournament that I want to mention, as well as the obligatory deck assessment part, which is probably everyone's favorite. So let's get going!

Fuzzy Gruens logo created by Brice Hutchinson, a local player

So I entered in a side event since I had some free tickets, and got to play a Sealed Survival tournament. I used a nifty 4x Plague Rat/3x Dharna deck to beat Rachael Trimble, who was as friendly and gracious as can be, but nonetheless it still felt great to beat such a high caliber player. :) After that deck lost due to me playing a Plague Rat and then my opponent playing their own Dharna for 6 amber, I went with a Grump Buggy deck that allowed me to win my last 2 games and I went 3-1. It was a fun time and a good warmup for the main event. I went back to my Airbnb apartment across the street from the Convention Center, and proceeded to hardly any sleep due to it being around 85 degrees in my room for some reason that I couldn't fix.

 

Anywho, I met up with my two local friends and teammates for Team Fuzzy Gruens, Nick and Charles, and we excitedly waited getting our choices for the Sealed Vault Tour. Once again I felt a lot of pressure, since I had managed to make it to Day 2 in both of my previous Sealed VTs, plus I wanted to make a good showing for Team Fuzzy Gruens, but mainly I was trying to pad my standing on the VT Leaderboard. I was #39 on the list and every VT I dropped several slots, and I knew that pretty soon I would really start to drop hard as I got further down. FFG had recently announced that the top 100 would receive Worlds invites, so I really wanted to help cement my chances.

As I usually do with Sealed events, there were a couple of things that I mainly look for when choosing a deck:

Amber Control - This has always been huge for me. If I don't have amber control, then my opponent can do whatever they want and I run the risk of just losing to any little burst of amber. And of course the best amber control is stealing, so keeping my eye out on Shadows is a big thing. Along these lines, I really like to look for the big amber control cards, ie the ones that can get my opponent's amber down from any amount, such as Doorstep to Heaven or Too Much to Protect (or a Legacy Effervescent Principle in the case of my Gencon Sealed deck, lol). But really, I feel like a deck NEEDS some kind of amber control, especially with there being so many good AoA combos.

Creature Count - This has become almost the most important thing for me in Sealed events. It wasn't always so, but in AoA I just found that a large creature count could win me a ton of games. Board wipes are hard to come by in AoA, and so a big board can frequently allow you to do what you want. You don't have to worry as much about action card burst amber as much as you did with CotA. But controlling the board and getting your amber that way is a very legitimate way to win in AoA.

Creature Control/Board Wipes - And piggybacking off my last point, if creature count is important, then creature control is just as important. I have found that most good sealed decks need a get-out-of-jail-free-card, which in AoA is usually a board wipe of some kind. Sometimes your opponent flops down 5+ creatures, and if you don't have a way of answering that, you can lose. And with this format needing to be 5-1 to make it Day 2 (and with it being single-game matches), you cannot afford to have that happen often.

Raw Amber/Big Amber generating combos - I still count the number of raw amber pips on my cards, since that can really help how quickly you get to keyforging, which is the name of the game. I also look for big combos that can really help me win such as Binate Rupture/Interdimensional Graft, Ganger Cheiftain/Drummernaut, Martian Generosity, etc.

Artifact Control - This has also become very important in my eyes. There are a lot of important artifacts in AoA that need to be addressed. Proclamation 346E in Sanctum, Grump Buggy in Brobnar, Redacted in Logos, Lash of Broken Dreams in Dis, etc. I have found that games are won and lost depending on if a player has these or doesn't. I also look for these artifacts in my decks as well.

So, with that in mind, let's look at my options:

Silverhand of Supermanor

Ok, I wish that I had DoK (Decks of Keyforge) available while looking at my decks, lol. But this pic at least shows a little better at what a deck can do. In my eyes in just looking through the deck, I looked at my parameters:
Amber Control - Not really seeing a lot. Cuttthroat Research is the only thing that allows me to affect my opponent's amber. Not great.
Creature Count - 20 is very decent. I typically want to see 16+. Anything less than that and I'm almost always pitching it, unless it has some insane card combos.
Creature Control/Board Wipes - No solid board wipes such as Coward's End, but it does have some good stuff with Lava Ball and First Blood in Brobnar, as well as a Poke for Duskwitch. And Mars has some Motherguns, Orbital Bombardment, and Destroy Them All!, so not too bad. Plus, those King of the Crags can really help against a mirror match.
Raw Amber/ Amber generation - I am counting 8 pips, which is awfully low. I am also not seeing a Drummernaut in Brobnar, to team up with Ganger Chieftain, and I'm not really seeing any other burst options.
Artifact Control - This has a Destroy Them All!, which I really like. This is a really good removal card.

Batzorig "Cannonade" Engikrieg

I see Shadows, so that already gets me excited!
Amber Control - I am seeing a lot of good stuff here. Doorstep to Heaven is one of those cards that let me get rid of any amount of amber, not matter how big.  Isee an Aubade the Grim, Maruck the Marked, and a Bordan the Redeemed, all which are pretty solid amber control cards, and we haven't even gotten into Shadows yet! Technically Anahita  the Trader as well, but with only 1 artifact that is not really going to realistically happen, and I've never seen it happen before so I basically ignore that (foreshadowing!). Shadows has a double Nerve Blast, which is an awesome card, and a Brend the Fanatic with 2 Life for a Life, which is awesome amber control as well as creature control! And there are a couple of other cards that can steal as well. Untamed doesn't have anything, which is a shame, but Glimmer can help me get stuff back if I need to.
Creature Count - 20 is another solid number
Creature Control/Board Wipes - I'm not seeing a lot here, unfortunately. I have the Life for a Lifes and Throwing Stars, Curiosity (which only pays off against Logos), and a Smite, along with a ocuple other little things. I don't have any real big board wipes, so it looks like I would have to depend on my creatures to destroy everything. That being said, this deck has some really solid options with that ridiculous Untamed board, 2x Abond the Armorsmith for protection.
Raw Amber/Amber generation - 11 is not awful. It's no 18, but it's competent enough to get by. I usually want to see at least 10. I'm also not really seeing any burst abilities besides Soldiers to Flowers, but I have to be careful with that since it can benefit my opponent as well.
Artifact Control - I have 2 Rustgnawers. Not the best removal but it is at least removal, and I have a lot of protection for them with the Abonds and Grovekeeper and especially Anga Panpaca.

Norberg of Nighthell Museum

Ok, despite not having Shadows, this House combination has a lot of potential.
Amber Control - Crap. A single Charette?! Seriously? Where is my Lash of Broken Dreams, where are my Nyzyk Resonators, where is my Shatterstorm? This does not bode well.
Creature Count - 16 is on the low end, but it is still manageable. I really wish I had more Brobnar creatures, though. I'd totally remove the Into the Frays for some creatures.
Creature Control/Board Wipe - Oh boy this has everything! Coward's End and Unlocked Gateway and even Carpet Phloxem provide the hard board clears (with Lifeward being an awesome combo to go along with them), and we have tons of little removal for Duskwitches and Sutterkin removal and such. That 4x Collector Worm has me really excited as well, especially because it looks like I don't really ever have a need to collect my archives. I have removal for days. Nothing is staying alive for long. This is looking real solid. I suppose that is why I only have 16 creatures.
Raw Amber/Amber generation - 14 raw amber is very decent. Not a lot else when it comes to amber generation though. I suppose Neffru could work with so many boardwipes, but I'd be afraid of helping my opponent too much, and with so little raw amber, I'd probably be too afraid to do it.
Artifact Control - Yeesh, not seeing any. That could be really rough. Some of those amber control artifacts could really mess me up like Lash of Broken Dreams and Proclamation 346e

Alrighty, here are my options, and I had 15 minutes to decide. I decided pretty early on that I did not want Silverhand. That lack of amber control really had me not liking it. And looking at it now I see that it has lots of creature control, but at the time I was more looking at big board wipes. In retrospect, I think this deck could have been as debatable as my other ones (and probably better than the one that was contending with the one I went with), but I don't regret my decision. My biggest debate was between the other 2. I really loved the creature control of Norberg along with the raw amber, but that lack of amber control really had me scared. On the other hand, I loved the amber control and amber generation of Batzorig, but the lack of a board wipe made me really scared. After going back and forth for several minutes, I ended up going with Batzorig. This deck is my only option with amber control, and I just think that if you want to go far, you have to have something, and the other decks just didn't have that.

 

After I picked my deck, I started to formulate my plan to win each game. I knew I had the amber control to keep my opponent's off key, so that was nice. My main plan as I was looking at my deck, was to help against the lack of board control. I knew that if my opponent were to get a large board, there was little I could do to get rid of it. So I would have to really dig for all my creatures and establish my own board, so I could dictate play that way. In terms of little reminders, I knew that I would be looking for Life for a Life to go with Brend the Fanatic. But other than that, I felt I was as ready as I was going to be. I did not feel super confident. I figured my lack of board control was going to get me some losses, and I especially thought that would be the case the further I got into the tournament, but I felt confident enough in thinking I'd go 3-3, which would be good enough for me. I resolved myself to my deck, and concentrated on getting my mindset to just enjoy the tournament and have fun (because I can get pretty competitive).

Here is where my mind goes fuzzy. I really wish we could take notes during games. I don't recall most of my early games. I stuck to my gameplan and just flooded the board with creatures. I used my amber control to keep my opponents off of their keys, while using my board to generate amber and control the board. I remember realizing pretty early on how powerful my Untamed board could get. Panpaca could make it quite ridiculous, and my double Knox were tearing things up and never dying. I luckily did not face a lot of board wipes or Brobnar or Sanctum in those early rounds. But I was waiting for the ball to drop as we got further in. After round 3 I was 3-0, while my teammates were both 1-2 I believe, which was quite sad as that meant they could not make day 2. They had some pretty rough opponents with both of them facing some of the best players from the various teams that were there. Their decks had similar issues to mine, and fell victim to large boards. After lunch we hurried back (although I did not get to start eating my lunch as we only had 30 minutes).

In round 4 I faced someone who just literally came sprinting in from lunch. He also lost his deck in between the rounds and so was a little flustered after finally finding it. I think a lot of this changed the game. I did what I normally did and flooded the board. My opponent played some amber control and creature control, but I remember several turns where he only played 1-2 cards per turn. I don't know what his hand looked like, but I can't imagine that was the right play. And these weren't big single card turns like a board clear or a Swindle or anything. I got a huge board out and used my control to deny him a key, and managed to win 3-0 on keys.

I felt pretty good going 4-0 so far, and knew that I just needed to win one more game to make it to day 2. But if I lost the remainder that would still be ok as I would have more wins than losses. My opponent in round 5 was Ben Wallace from Team SAS. Just the kind of person I did not want to run into, lol. I knew he was a very skilled player, and he had recently trounced my teammate by flooding the board with Brobnar while controlling amber with Shadows, so I knew I was in for a struggle. I actually resolved myself to a loss before starting, which I know I shouldn't do, but I was trying to be realistic. He was playing Brobnar, Logos, Shadows, which is an amazing House combination to get in AoA. I lost the roll to go first, and interestingly enough, I had gone second in every game so far. This, I think was really good for my deck, since I really need to establish a board early. Well I established a board early and Ben promptly wiped it with Coward's End. He then dropped a bunch of Brobnar creatures including Ganger Chieftain, and I got worried. I quickly dropped a bunch of Untamed creatures, and used Brend and Life for a Life to get rid of the Chieftain (before Drummernaut could get down), as well as getting him off a key. I wiped most of his board and was sitting pretty with a ton of amber.

 

I had I think 10 amber, and I was really afraid of Ben playing Too Much to Protect. He also had his own Brend the Fanatic out, and I didn't want to get decimated. So, thinking I was so clever, I actually killed his Brend, allowing him to steal 3 of my amber, and so hopefully helping me to avoid a huge TmtP play. Well, he then goes into Logos, plays Binate Rupture, increasing my amber to 14, then he plays a Helper Bot that allows him to play Too Much to Protect to steal 8 amber, lol. He plays some other stuff that gets his amber to more than 20 I think, but I'm still standing there dumbfounded. It was an amazing play. I forged my first key and my mind snaps back. I now have 3 turns to fix this or he is going to win. I already played my Brend the Fanatic, but I haven't played my Doorstep to Heaven yet. I know that is my only chance. Boy, that would have been amazing to play DtH right after he did his play, lol. He might have quit right there, lol. But alas, I did not. I began dumping whatever house had the majority of cards and tried to get to my DtH. I think I still managed to generate a decent amount of amber, as well as control the board with my Untamed, but I knew it would be for naught without DtH. He gained his first 2 keys easily before I finally hit it when I was almost out of cards. I breathed a sigh of relief. I believe I forged my 2nd key around this time. Now, I just had to figure out how to get my 3rd key.

He was threatening to forge his last key, or at least very close to it, and I wasn't sure if he had a Nightforge or anything. I really wanted to try and threaten to forge a key, but I was having trouble figuring out and I believe I was sitting at 2 amber, but then I saw it. Stupid Anahita the Trader was on the board, and I had my one artifact in hand, lol. I played my Sigil of Brotherhood (3 amber), I reaped with Anahita (4), then gave my Sigil to Ben, forcing him to give me 2 of his amber (6). He did not have the amber control to stop me, and I won, lol. It was a crazy game, I couldn't believe I won, especially after his brilliant play to gain tons of amber. It was one of those games that I wish was on stream, because it was very exciting. Ben played a great game. I wonder now if playing Coward's End on turn 2 was the right call, especially considering the board I had later on, but who knows. I was now 5-0 and guaranteed to make day 2.

In the final round there were 3 5-0s, and I got matched up with Alex Carroll from Archons of Atlanta, while I believe Nathan Starwalt got paired down. We were on stream, so you can watch the game here, but of course I would not personally recommend it, lol. Ugh, I never do well on stream. But anyway, at least the match didn't decide on if I would make day 2 or not. I mulliganed into a bad hand with a bad house split, and spent the first couple of turns catching up. Meanwhile, Alex did his thing and slowly gained amber. I think he got 7 amber before playing Martian Generosity, which gained him 14 cards. Yeesh. You can watch the stream, but I was in a lot of trouble. I actually managed to get to 9 amber with 1 key already. My opponent had a huge board, and he had just shuffled Martian Generosity back into his deck. I was afraid of amber control, and I was afraid of him taking me off a key or just outracing me. He had enough amber to forge his second. I had Nightforge in my hand. I decided to play it to forge my second key, and I was hoping for a miracle to get me to 6 amber before my opponent could reap out. I forged my second key and he ended up just easily racing me for the win. I did have some creatures on the board. If I had just played Nightforge and not forged, he would have forged his second and then gained some amber. If he did not threaten to forge a key then, I would have forged my second key and had at least 4 amber. If he did not kill my creatures, or even if he did, I might have been able to gain 2 amber to threaten my 3rd, and it's possible he would not have the answers to take me off. In retrospect me forging a key was definitely the wrong call, as it almost guaranteed me the loss. If I had just sat there and logically thought the game out I should have seen the conclusion. But alas, now I know better.

I was 5-1 and ranked #4 going into Day 2. This surprised me, because after round 3 I think I was #4, but then after I won, I dropped down several spots, and then after that I dropped down even more after winning. I figured some of my early opponents had dropped from the tournament, and that was hurting my strength of schedule. So I thought my loss in round 6 would have caused me to be in the bottom of the list, but I suppose losing to the only undefeated person left, along with Ben winning his last game, allowed me a much higher place. This was good, because it meant I was getting a first round bye on day 2, which meant even more leaderboard shards automatically, lol. Charles, my one teammate, managed to win the rest of his games and ended up 4-2, which is very respectable. We ended up playing in the team event, which was a ton of fun. We did well, and went 2-2 I think in matches, but the last match was a questionable.

My friend's opponent was playing a Heart of the Forest deck (booo). My friend forged 2 keys before HotF was played. My friend had no artifact control, but he did have a dominant board with his opponent having no way to remove it, and my friend having lots of amber control in his deck. He felt confident that he could stall his opponent until time (and the time clock was visible). His opponent accused my friend of slow playing, and said that since he played HotF, my friend had no win condition since he had no artifact control, and therefore he automatically wins. He said it is illegal to play to time and that is not a win condition. Time eventually ran out and my friend won easily on tie breakers. The other guy complained for a while. We eventually just gave them the win because it was just a side event and we were hungry. But afterwards we thought about it more and were a little agitated. The next day we would go ask a judge how they would have ruled it and they said they would have ruled in our favor. The slow-playing would simply be timed to 1 minute turns, which my friend was perfectly fine and claimed he didn't even go that long. The judge said that time is definitely a win condition. Not only that, but the regular win condition of the game was still in effect, since the opponent could always accidentally generate too much amber and just get to 2 keys, allowing my friend to win (something the opponent said would never happen because he was too good, lol). So anyway, we probably should have won the match. The only reason I care more is because I hate Heart of the Forest. It is an awful card that never should have been printed. It leads to an awful game experience and stupid situations like this. What was my friend supposed to do? He had 2 keys, could generate an infinite amount of amber, and could stall his opponent until time. He had no other choice, his opponent forced him to do that. All because of a stupid card. Hopefully Worlds Collide and all the Dis purging just eliminates those dumb decks from competitive play.

We all went out to a wonderful BBQ place that evening and I managed to get a little more sleep than the previous night, although I still had to contend with whatever random flatmate was putting the heat on so high.

So after my first round bye I find out that I am playing Asher Knopp, who I had actually played in the last round of the team event. He was a very nice player and we had an exciting game, especially since we had almost identical Archon decks. It was an interesting mirror match that I eventually won. Luckily, neither of us talked about the sealed event nor even realized who we were playing. So this was the top 8 match for day 2. I started out going really fast right away, and never really looked back. I dominated the board and kept him off of his keys for several turns. I must have taken him off a key 5 times I think? Everything really worked out for me. I got a huge board out and my opponent just couldn't do very much against me. He stalled me using the same Charette like 4 times in a row by using Exhume and Glimmer, but I was never too concerned about it. An Angwish came out but Life for a Life answered that. I eventually won 3 keys to none. I felt bad, as I did get some very good draws, and Asher had several key cards that were at the bottom of his deck, but I suppose a win's a win. He was very nice and gracious and I wish him well on future events.

 

I then moved on to the top 4 match...and saw that I had to face Alex Carroll again, lol. Oh bother. It was a best of 3 match, and not even adaptive. We were not on stream thank heavens. The games we had did not feel close. I think I lost 3-2 and 3-1 in keys, but they felt worse. He just waited out until he got Martian Generosity, and then dominated after that. He had enough creature control and a huge board presence to slow my deck down, and Bouncing Deathquark was huge in doing that. I managed to pull off some sweet Curiosity turns by one-sidedly sweeping his board, which felt cool, but I didn't really think I stood a chance. It was a very bad matchup. In retrospect, it is possible I could have won a game or two if Bouncing Deathquark and Martian Generosity were at the bottom of his deck, and if I started off strong with a large board and controlled it from there, but I think it is a long shot. He also had Redacted, which got him his first win I believe. And besides, I got 3 chances at doing this and failed every time, lol. Oh well. I lost in the top 4. Alex would go on to play a sort of mirror match in the finals against the eventual winner Nathan Starwalt from Tabletop Royale, who also had a Martian Generosity deck. I have not watched the stream yet but I heard it was very exciting and Nathan won 2-1.

So I ended up getting another top 4 finish, gaining another 255 shards, and catapulting me from #39 on the leaderboard, to #20. Hopefully that should keep me in a good position, because I'm not sure how many more Vault Tours I will make before the season is over. I think my deck overperformed. Looking at it now in the new SAS, it is rated at a 63, which is very average. I think it had just enough of everything that I needed to succeed. With a lot of luck in the games, and definitely some humble experience and skill, I was able to do well. I hope that continues, but who knows. This next set looks daunting. It looks awesome and I can't wait, but it looks difficult. I have not had a jump start to it like others have, so I'm not putting my expectations high for the new sealed play. I also feel like I finally was getting a handle on AoA, and now it is rotating out of sealed events, so that makes me sad. I shall have fond memories of sealed play with AoA, and I hope WC holds up to the high bar in my opinion.

The Richmond, VA Vault Tour was a really fun event, and the people at Yeti Gaming did a wonderful job. They were energetic, fun, joking around, and yet serious enough in their craft and pulled off a very smooth event with no issues that I'm aware of. It was a great experience and I highly recommend anyone in playing in a Vault Tour. Also, I know there were several people there whose this was their first Vault Tour, and I know at least one first-timer made it to day 2. So be inspired, anyone can do well! Thanks to all the competitors at the Vault Tour, it was so nice meeting you, and many of you meeting in person for the first time. I feel like my connections and friends in this game grow exponentially at each VT. I apologize if I forgot anything. Thanks for being such an awesome community, thanks for reading this far, and as always, happy gaming!

Q&A with 2-time VT Winner, George Keagle!

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.

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?

Vault Tour Indianapolis in November. Hopefully I get to go to World's even though I wasn't able to make it to any of the National events. I'm getting married next year, so the closer we get to that, the less things I'll be able to do.
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!

Gencon '19 Vault Tour Top 16 Report W/ 67 SAS Rated Deck

I'm finally home after a very fun, and very long, Keyforge-filled Gencon 2019. First of all, congratulations to the eventual Vault Tour Sealed winner, Devin Chiriboga from Team Reapout! Awesome job! Now, I wanted to reflect on my Vault Tour experience, just like I did for Origins. My top 16 finish in this, as well as going 4-2 in the following Archon format VT, was enough to catapult me into #21 on the Vault Tour Leaderboard. That means...something hopefully, lol. We don't know the exact details yet. Go Team Fuzzy Gruens! And even though I only managed to make it to the top 16 (out of an original 250 I believe?) in day 2 of the Sealed event, I did it with a deck that I'm pretty sure is the overall worst rated deck to ever get that far. I'm not saying this to brag (okay, maybe a little, lol), but I wanted to show people that just because you have a poorly rated deck, does not mean it cannot win, or that you shouldn't bother trying to play in a competitive environment, especially when that environment is Sealed Keyforge. First of all, let me show you the screenshot of my day 2, top 16 VT deck, from the Rankey App, which nicely showcases its own rating system, as well as the popular SAS and AERC scores:

Just look at that hot mess, lol. You are reading that correctly, that is a 9.9 out of 100 for Rankey. That is a 67 SAS, which is normally reserved for the bargain bin, with most competitive decks, even in a sealed tournament, at least in the mid-70s, with winners in the 80-90s typically. Then you have an AERC rating of 41, where most competitive decks are in the 50s-60s. So you can see that on paper (or in this case on-app), this deck is well below what is considered to be a competitive score. To give you another way of looking at it, here are the SAS scores of the decks that made it to the top 8 of the event (As of this writing, only 7 have been entered into the Keyforge Vault):

#1: Maxima, Hunter of the Eloquent Strand 80
#2: Beaker Harker 79
#3 Hon T. Roogquimp, the Fourth 86
#4 The Mister of Burnminster 82
#5 The Ruffian that Antagonizes The Chosen 81
#6 Peacock, the Moneylender of Darklande 83
#7 Charbos, the Racer of Deer 90

Yeesh. But before we delve deeper into this deck, let's start at the beginning of the tournament.

This would be my second Vault Tour, and second attempt at the Sealed event. I felt a lot of pressure to do well, considering my very lucky success at getting Top 4 at Origins. As usual though, I try to go into it not expecting much. After all, there is a lot of luck in regards to what decks you get, what matchups you get, and then during play what draws you get. Representing Pittsburgh, PA, from my local store Mr. Nice Guy Games, and our loosely organized team name of Team Fuzzy Gruens, I wanted to try and at least win as much as I lost. Just like last time, there were a few things I look for in a deck when preparing for Sealed:

1. Look for Shadows and Dis  - These two are still the best Houses in AoA in my opinion. I believe I listed Dis at the top at Origins, but after playing at many local sealed events, I have been convinced that Shadows is once again on top, with Dis close behind. That Amber stealing and control, mixed with plenty of other really solid creatures, artifacts, and actions...These Houses can do it all.
2. Amber Control/Generation -  No matter what Houses you get, a main thing to look for is Amber generation and Amber control. That has consistently been the line between good Keyforge decks and bad ones, at least in my experience. It also is the most logical and easy way to win. If you can generate more Amber than your opponent, you will probably win. If you can control the Amber your opponent has, they cannot win. And you can achieve both with steal, so look for that.
3. Creature Count - A solid way of generating Amber in AoA is with a ton of creatures. There are so many little combos that creatures can pull off, as well as the obvious thing that if you have a ton of creatures on the board, that means you can probably Reap with them for a ton of Amber. Also, board wipes are few and far between in this set, so a large board can be hard to deal with. This is probably the best counter to Shadows that AoA has. Their steal may not mean as much if you can get a board with 6+ creatures on it, constantly Reaping. Also, you can control your opponent's creatures better when you have more. But with Sealed AoA especially, I have found that you can win plenty of games by just flooding the board with creatures, and trying to rush to the win before your opponent can gain control of the board.
4. Board Wipes - With creature count being very important, it becomes paramount to have an out in case your opponent floods the board. Enter the board wipe. AoA doesn't have a lot of good choices, with the most consistent being Brobnar having Coward's End, and Dis having Key to Dis and Unlocked Gateway. But I am always looking to see what I can use to clear the board if I have to.
5. Raw Amber - A good way of generating tons of Amber, and a way to consistently outrace your opponent, is to simply gain free Amber when you play your cards. When you have less than 10, you better have a decent creature count, but with greater than 15, you can start to maybe sacrifice that creature count in favor of racing with actions.

That being said, I did not feel confident upon seeing my 3 decks, lol:

Sov Grillaek Pagano

Ok, so the House combination isn't awful, but I am definitely concerned about Amber control. 14 creatures is on the low side, although 17 raw Amber is nice. I am not seeing any great board wipes with Piranha Monkeys taking the lead. Dharna is a nice combo to go with the Monkeys, and Mimicry can do some shenanigans (although I prefer that card in an Archon deck). The 3 Song of Springs and Soldiers to Flowers feel pretty lame considering there are only 3 Untamed creatures, especially when one of them is a Grovekeeper (who is better if he stays out a while). We do have a key cheat in Key Charge though, so that's good. The Sanctum in this deck is severely lacking in creatures as well. One Stood Against Many is a great card, but with only Sir Marrows as a feasible target in the whole deck, I am left underwhelmed. There are some good cards in here, but it's missing the creatures it needs, as well as Amber control that I fear is desperately needed. The Logos is ok, and it even sports a decent amount of creatures, but I don't like the 3 Titan Librarians. Without decent card draw, TL can be risky since you don't archive a card until AFTER you refill your hand, which means with multiples you are starting off with fewer cards. I could attempt with this deck and try to just win with that raw Amber, but without Amber control, consistent board wipes, or a large amount of creatures, I'm pretty positive I would be steamrolled by most other decks. I later checked the rankings of this deck and it was 71 SAS/47.5 AERC/29 Rankey, which was ranked my best by far, which is pretty sad, lol.

Magnusson of Warringey

This feels very similar to the above deck in terms of House combination, but I do tend to like Brobnar more than Sanctum in AoA, so let's see what we got. 7 raw Amber is pretty low, but 20 creatures is very decent. This has a number of ways of clearing the board, including my AoA favorite, Coward's End, the garbage Save the Pack (which is almost always bad unless you have other cards to combo with it), Bouncing Deathquark (which is awesome with a high creature count), and Standardized Testing. This also sports Mimicry, Tremor (which I love), and a couple of Regrowths to help with all of those creatures. Rustgnawer can be used against artifacts, and it also has 2 King of the Crags, which sounds pretty ridiculous against opposing Brobnar decks. The Curator with no artifacts makes me think the algorithm for that card is a little off. All in all, this is sounding like an ok deck. The biggest red flag though is Amber control. I think I am seeing 0 Amber control of any kind? That is not good at all. If my opponent is any good at all, they will quickly see based off my House combination that only Brobnar has the ability to control Amber. But alas, this deck doesn't even have that, and so I have absolutely nothing to slow my opponent down. In my experience, unless I draw all creatures, and my opponent doesn't, as well as them not having steal, I will lose most games. This rated at 67 SAS/45.5 AERC/15 Rankey.

Chancellor Oglestar Browning

Ok my last choice. Did I really not get a single option with Shadows or Dis?! My two favorite Houses (and the 2 best in my opinion), and I get nothing. I am thinking I will not last long in this Vault Tour. 9 raw Amber isn't the worst choice I have, but it isn't great. 22 creatures is very nice though. The first thing I see is a very decent Mars component. 9 creatures in Mars, including 2 Fixfingers and a Dominator for protection. I love the Proliferator, and if the Harvesters can get going or stay alive, they can give tons of Amber. The Resonator is amazing for Amber control, and Hypnotic Command can both control Amber and help generate Amber for me. The Amber Conduction Unit can also help in slowing down opponent's reaping. The Sanctum side is also not bad in terms of board control. 2 Lions and an Abond can help everyone. The Bordans can control Amber in a pinch if they can survive. I also really like Haedroth's Wall, as it will always help someone on the board. On the Untamed side I see a Key Charge and a Chota, which I always like to see for closing out matches. A Fuzzy Gruen is a welcome sight, especially since our team from Pittsburgh has been called the Fuzzy Gruens. In terms of board wipes I am only seeing Save the Pack with no help from cards like They're Everywhere. That will be an issue. I have no stealing, so I will have to depend on my creatures for Amber generation. Also without stealing, I don't have a ton of Amber control. Well, I have very little on-play Amber control, which is what is needed. I think I only have the Resonator and Hypnotic Command as on-play Amber control in case I do not have a board set up? Yeesh.

Ok, so I don't really like my choices. I am missing some of the best stuff I feel like most competitive decks have (no Shadows or Dis). Also, I feel like I am severely lacking in on-play Amber control and Amber generation. I have some consistent board wiping in Magnusson, but that completely lacks Amber control, which I feel is a death sentence. Sov has some raw Amber, but without creatures or crazy tricks, I'm afraid I will lose to anyone with a board. Also, all this Sanctum and no Aubade and the Grim?! That guy is a common and probably the best Sanctum card in the set. I suppose I have to go with the Chancellor. Right now I am feeling a little let down. This is a Vault Tour, and a sealed event, and I feel like my only real chance at succeeding (since I never favor myself in Archon due to not having great decks). But without Shadows or Dis, I really don't feel like I have a chance.

I was also a little sour at the way we began the tournament. We started out by being given 3 unopened decks, a slip of paper, and a baggie. We were told to leave the registration table, write down the archons on the slip of paper, and then return with it all in the baggie. These baggies would then be distributed at the start of the tournament at random. But what was stopping someone from opening their packs, seeing a really good deck, or at least one that could fetch a lot of money like a double Timetraveller, and then keeping it for themselves and replacing it with a crappy unscanned deck (like from the deck vending machine that was right there?)? Nothing was stopping them. There was nothing there to prevent it. I hope people wouldn't do that, but honestly the integrity of the tournament was completely brought into question with this decision. I told some of the upper-ups about this after the tournament, and they agreed with me. So hopefully this won't happen again, but nonetheless it was in the back of my mind.

Despite me not expecting to do well at the tournament, I was going to approach it like I always do: with the attempt to just go out, try my best, and to have fun. I knew I would get at least 30 shards for participating, and with such a large number of creatures in my deck, I figured I could maybe get a few wins against opponents that couldn't deal with them. I was going to use the AOAOAOA (Age Old Age of Ascension Organized Approach - bit of a stretch) I had no expectations of making day 2 (dramatic foreshadowing), but I wanted to at least try and get an even record. So I sleeved my deck, and was set to go.

 

My first match was against a young man from Brazil. He said English was not his primary language, and he apologized in advance for any barriers, but honestly he spoke quite well, and I don't think we had any issues understanding each other. In fact, I understood him better than a lot of Pittsburgh natives, or Yinzers, as they are called (for fun, look up a Pittsburghese accent). But anyway, I started out strong in Mars, and got my Invasion Portal out. Little did I know how important that card would be in my games. Pretty much every turn I stayed with Mars. I don't typically like to do that, since there is no cycle that way, but with Invasion Portal, there kind of was. And besides, if your opponent cannot address the 6+ creatures out there, you will just keep reaping for the win. Also, with my deck, I would just be playing more creatures in other houses, so it's not like I am missing some great action cards or anything. I forged my keys fairly quickly, and when my opponent threatened, I managed to pull out the Resonator. He eventually did forge a key at 10 cost, and threatened to forge a second, but by that time I easily had enough to forge my third. The only delay was that my opponent had Shadows, and so he would steal from me and slow me down, but I felt pretty dominant the whole time. 1-0

I really need to take better notes for my games, because the next two games were a blur. I know I won my second game very quickly, with me just flooding the board with creatures and controlling enough with the few cards I had. I believe I did forge my third key using either Chota or Key Charge, but it was mainly Mars, with a little support with Sanctum, that won that game. My third game was against a guy who had just learned about the game a few months prior, but who had never played in a tournament before. His deck had Brobnar in it, which scared me. Luckily though, I did what I always did and flooded the board. It got dicey a few times with those big Brobnar creatures, especially with him having a Drummernaut out there, but I managed to use my Sanctum to good effect. I believe Lord Golgotha with Smite and Shield of Justice helped clear out the board to give me the advantage at one point (A Lion might have also been present). After the game, I found out that his Grump Buggy and Burn the Stockpile were at the bottom of his deck. That would have made a big difference. I definitely would have been slowed down. And although I can get some decent sized creatures out there to slow him down too, it might have been the deciding factor in his favor. Luckily for me, the draws were on my side. 3-0.

So I figured I would soon be up against some really good decks, and this next one was no joke. I was playing Sydnie Steele, whom I met at Origins, who also made it to Day 2 of that sealed event. She was very friendly and bubbly, and also very good at Keyforge. I knew this would be a tough match, but at least I knew my opponent would be very nice either way. Our game was super close. She jumped into the lead early on, but I managed to scrape back, even when she wiped the board. I just kept on trying to flood the board and cause her to waste time to kill my creatures. Eventually we both had 2 keys and were in that Keyforge game state of constantly taking each other out of check. It could have gone both ways, but I eventually won out. Sydnie did not draw very well in the game. We played another friendly game, where she jumped ahead 2 keys to none very quickly, but I managed to get real lucky with my Resonator and Hypnotic Command I believe. Sydnie was gracious as always. I felt a little bad, as I felt that her deck was better than mine, but perhaps she just kept having some bad draws. 4-0

 

My friend, Pritika Dasgupta, a fellow Fuzzy Gruen, was also doing very well in the tournament. She and I were both 4-0. We both kept hoping we would not be matched up together but we knew it was a possibility. Unfortunately, we had to play each other. Luckily, we knew that we at least wouldn't eliminate each other from making Day 2, although we would be making it harder for the other. On another plus side, was that whoever won was guaranteed to get to day 2. I believe she ran Shadows/Logos/Mars. She started out extremely fast, generating 6 amber on her second turn. I think I had to use Maruck the Marked with a Smite just to capture an amber to slow her down. We kept going back and forth. I believe she forged first, then I tied it, then she got her second before I got mine, but I could be wrong on that timing. It was by far the closest match I had so far in the tournament. I don't recall whether it was a Key Charge, or just massive amounts of Amber that won me the game, but I knew that if it went on for another turn, she would have won. As gracious in victory as in defeat, Pritika was a great sport. She gave me my win to guarantee my entry into day 2. I really hoped that I didn't screw her over but she ended up losing her last match as well, leaving her at 4-2. I believe she was 4-2 at Origins as well. Solid turnout both times. Team Fuzzy Gruens is represented well. :) 5-0

 

Well, I could relax a little bit in my last match, knowing that I was guaranteed to make it Day 2. I knew I still wanted to win, because I wanted a first round bye if possible, but I wasn't going to kill myself trying to play. I was asked again to play on stream (I was also asked in the 3rd round, but declined), and this time I accepted. And thus started the curse, lol. I was playing Nathan Starwalte on the livestream (around the 1:10:00 mark). It was an embarrassing game, lol. I'm not sure if I just misplayed, or it was a horrible match. It was probably a wonderful mixture, lol. Well, I know one combo that spelled doom for me: Key to Dis and Lifeward. What a great combo, and so good against my deck, lol. And then he got the combo again after using it. Maybe my misplay was not shuffling his deck enough, lol. His deck was definitely better than mine though. I should have discarded Save the Pack way earlier than I did, that was a dead card for too long. I always misplay that dumb card. But anyway, I finished the day at 5-1, ranked #10 going into Day 2.

I got there early to make sure I wasn't late (Day 1 starting 2 1/2 hours late thanks to computer glitches. yay). I managed to notice Josh Massey and Alex Watkins sneakily playing a friendly game with some new decks from the next expansion, Worlds Collide. I took as many pictures as I could and shared them to Facebook that evening. Side note: I can't wait for it, everything looks awesome. Another article spoiling the new cards will be coming hopefully soon. But back to the Vault Tour, I found out I was not ranked high enough to get a first round bye. I was matched up against Erich Taylor of Team SAS. Erich informed me of his curse of making it to Day 2 and then losing in his first match, a curse I would have been happy to oblige, although I doubted winning with my deck still. He had Mars/Sanctum/Shadows. I was really scared about the Sanctum and Shadows because if he had big and strong Sanctum creatures I would have trouble, and Shadows could steal everything I had with me not being able to reciprocate. I started out flooding the board like I usually want to do, but Erich played Scowly Caper on me.

 

This was a great play by him, and it was something that would hound me almost the whole game. I have no direct removal, so unless he destroys it himself, or he plays something with Hazardous, that Scowly Caper will just keep killing my line. I think I probably played my best game of the tournament this game though. I had a lot of decisions to make. I knew I had to keep playing creatures each turn, in order to stay ahead of Scowly Caper's removal, or else I would never be able to play anything. There were times I played a Lion next to him, and with the help of Haedroth's Wall, I was swinging in with 6-power with skirmish creature every turn, to help clear my opponent's board. At one point Erich did have someone with hazardous out, but Scowly was actually too powerful to be killed by it, lol. I rapidly played some more cards to try and stay ahead of Scowly, but then Erich played Mars Needs Amber and Phloxem Spike on me after making sure everyone was wounded.

 

It was quite a dramatic turn around, and although Erich wasn't sure of the play, I think it was the right call at the time. He almost came back, but I managed to flood the board once again with Mars creatures and managed to gain enough Amber to stay away from his stealing Shadows. Rob's Gaming Table streamed the game. Check it out, here, because it was a pretty exciting game. 6-1.

I made it to the Top 16! Nobody was more surprised than I. I was riding this high when they asked if I wanted to be on stream and I unfortunately said yes. Being on Livestream (we start around the 1:17:00 mark) puts undo stress on me, plus there is the curse, lol. But actually, it would not have mattered anyway, because both my opponent and his deck were much better than myself and mine. Jason Scarrow from Team Reapout had Shadows/Dis/Sanctum, which was probably my worst kind of matchup. He was able to flood the board just as well, if not more, than I. He had some really strong creatures which included Aubade the Grim, 3 copies of Abond the Armosmith, and Charette. He also had 3 Exhumes and 3 Miasmas, lol. It was a crazy deck.

 

He just kept playing so many strong creatures, and I was just trying to stay alive and stop him from forging keys. I could not even trade with his. I made him wipe the board when I finally got ahead, and managed to grow another big board, but he just kept racing. At the end I needed Invasion Portal to get my Resonator to stop him, but I didn't draw it. I don't think it would have mattered though, as he just would have destroyed it and reaped the next turn. His deck was considerably better than mine I'd say. I don't think I would beat his deck even 1/10 of the time. But oh well. Thus ended my run. I ended the tournament at 6-2 in 13th place. It was enough to earn me a ton of shards, as well as push my silly deck to power 5, which is hilarious. The earned VT shards also pushed me to #21 on the VT leaderboard, which is pretty cool. I wonder how I would do if I ever got a Sealed deck with a SAS rating above 80 (my Origins top 4 was 76 SAS)? I'd probably lose faster or something, lol.

Side note: I also played in the Archon tournament. I managed to go 4-2, which was just shy of making it to day 2. My highlights were a loss to Kyle Coons who went 9-1 and finished in 3rd in the tournament, as well as giving Colby Gerrish his only loss of Day 1 (he went on finish 7-2 in 8th place). My teammates Pritika Dasgupta and Bill McIntyre also went 4-2, so it was a really great showing for Team Fuzzy Gruens! As a team, we have 2 Day 2 appearances (top 4 at Origins Sealed, and top 16 at Gencon Sealed), and between our members I think we have a collective record of 49-23 at the Vault Tours at Origins and Gencon (7 team members), which I think is amazing!

Going back to this Sealed VT, that is how I got a 67 SAS/41 AERC/9 Rankey deck to the top 16 at a Vault Tour. I still don't think my deck is good. It has way too many flaws for it to be competitive, especially in Archon. But this tournament goes to show there is something to be said for a high creature count. I don't think our current ranking metrics really account for that very well yet. I suppose in an Archon format, most decks run some board wipes, so it really hurts high creature decks. But still. With a high creature count, you can in theory win every game, just because of how the reaping mechanics work. I definitely got some good draws and good matchups that really helped me advance, but I think I probably miscalculated how good having all those creatures really was. So yeah, don't give up, and don't think you can't compete just because you don't have an amazing deck. I still love Sealed the most for Keyforge, and I can't wait to see what the new set brings. If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading, I hope it was entertaining, and as always, happy gaming!