New Keyforge Set Announced: Age of Ascension!

Keyforge news has been crazy today, with a livestream showcasing the new set called Age of Ascension, along with the official announcement on the main FFG page. This set will be released in Q2 of this year, so preorders will be up soon at local retailers I'm sure. Here are some highlights:

This new set "mixes up the cardpool with 204 brand-new cards, joining 166 cards first introduced in Call of the Archons to create an entirely new pool of 370 cards and billions upon billions more Unique Decks for you to discover, learn, and master". Some cards are "rotated out" from the first set, although they can sometimes show up in a maverick sort of way as "legacy" cards. So, the first set will have some cards in it that the second doesn't, and vice versa. This set is not really an expansion, or replacement, but rather an extension. So the decks you have already bought are still usable, as are the new ones, as are future ones. They all work together and we have been told they should be balanced with each other. Also, more commons and uncommons were replaced in the new set, rather than the rares, so getting a new deck in the new set should have you seeing a lot of the new cards.

With the new set are a couple of new keywords, although nothing too crazy:

First we have Deploy, which allows you to play the creature with the keyword anywhere on the battle line, rather than being forced to play on a flank. I would assume all of these creatures have neighboring buffs such as this new card.

 

Next, we have Alpha and Omega, which simply mean that they have to be the first, or last, cards to be played on a turn.

It was also said on the stream that none of the new cards will interact or deal with the colors of the specific keys. They have mentioned that one day they will, though. Also, there are no new houses yet.

There will be a new starter set, priced much better at $25, that will include all of the tokens/keys/chain trackers/wound markers, etc needed to play, along with 2 unique decks. So no starter decks, which is for the best, as well as actual tokens for power and stun markers instead of cards, which is so much better in my opinion. The starter set will also come with paper playmats.

I am very excited to hear about new stuff for Keyforge, and I can't wait to delve into some of these new cards and strategies. If you want to check out some more of the new cards, check out the various Facebook groups for the game as they are posting the spoilers. Stay tuned for more information as it comes out, but let's get excited! Thanks for reading and happy gaming!

My Ideal Keyforge Untamed House Component

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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








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

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

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

My Ideal Keyforge Dis House Component

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

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

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







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

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

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

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

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








So let's see:

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

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

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

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

My Ideal Keyforge Brobnar House Component

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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








So my list is as follows:

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

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

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

My Ideal Keyforge Shadows House Component

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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









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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Keyforge: Stuff I look for in a New Deck

Okay, so you have a Keyforge deck. Whether this is your first or 40th, it's ok, we are all addicted. But is your deck any good? We all look at a new deck with anticipation and wonder. And I don't know about you, but for a while I found out that after looking at a deck, I still had no idea if it was good. Now it is true, you really won't know if a deck is good or bad until you play it. However, after looking and playing with many decks, I have started to see combos and cards that I like, and it has given me a strategy for looking at a deck and seeing if it fits my playstyle. Of course, my preferences may be different than yours, and that's great! I hope you find what works for you! This is what works for me, currently, but I'm betting there are plenty of other people that also think like I do. So these are some of the things I look for in a new deck. (images of the cards were grabbed from here)

Houses

The first thing you will notice is what 3 Houses you got. After you play for/against each faction a couple of times, I am sure you will start to like some factions over others. I, for example, am currently favoring Shadows/Dis/Untamed. Shocker, right? That's pretty much everyone's favorite combination currently. But, I can never be sad about getting Logos, as they fit with everything, and Sanctum is a solid faction that also contains the sought-after Horseman of the Apocalypse cards, which if you have 2x copies of them in a deck, you could be $2000 richer?!

I currently don't care for Mars. I don't feel as though they have a solid identity yet, and I believe Richard Garfield even said that Mars is the faction they just stuck cards in that didn't fit in the other Houses. Brobnar is also not a favorite of mine, although they at least are a lot more thematic. They are hilarious, mind you, and can be really good on the board, but their playstyle doesn't interest me.

 I love Dis because of the board sweepers, as well as several creatures and actions that can mess with your opponent like Control the Weak, Key Hammer, and Drumble to name a few. I love Shadows because of all the stealing. Cards like Urchins, Nerve Blast, and of course Bait and Switch can really swing games in your favor. And I love Untamed because of the combos they can pull off with stuff like Full Moon, Dust Pixies, and Chota Hazri.





Combos

The main thing that I look for after noticing the Houses are certain combos. I currently feel like each House in your deck needs to have a strong personality. Decks will not always have this, and I have many that just have a hodge-podge of less-than-ideal combinations, but the good ones will be synergistic. I already mentioned a couple above, but here are some again:

For Untamed, getting a bunch of creatures with good Amber generation like Dust Pixies, along with cards that give Amber every time you play a creature like Full Moon or Hunting Witch, and combo those with creature recurring cards like Nature's Call and Troop Call, and top it off with actual Keyforging with Chota Hazri, and you have my dream Untamed combo. In fact, you can even forge a key on your first turn (ie going second), with this combo.

 

For Logos, I typically look for stuff like Library Access along with Wild Wormhole or Timetraveller for the insane card draw.

For Sanctum, I like seeing Cleansing Wave alongside the Horseman of Pestilence or anything that damages multiple creatures. 

For Shadow, my favorite combo currently is using Seeker Needles to pick off my own Bad Penny, and then just replay her for easy Amber generation and bodies on the board.

For Brobnar I like Loot the Bodies with anything that destroys lots of creatures such as Coward's End.

For Mars I just look for a ton of creatures along with cards like Key Abduction, Mating Season, and Psychic Network.

For Dis I don't typically go for combos, but having a bunch of Dust Imps alongside board sweepers such as Gateway to Dis is always fun, and it fills two roles in Amber generation and board clearing.

 

Toolbox Cards

This references a style of deck originating in Magic, I believe, but it has since then been used in many card games like my favorite, Epic. In general, a Toolbox deck is a deck that has a tool for every job, meaning a card to answer anything your opponent can throw at you. There is no deckbuilding in Keyforge, at least not officially, but that doesn't mean that one shouldn't be looking out for cards that can answer stuff that your opponent throws at you. Still confused? Don't worry, I'll give some examples of what I look for. These types of cards fill certain roles in a deck and my favorite decks have these roles filled in some capacity.

Board Sweepers - Cards like Gateway to Dis, The Spirit's Way, Coward's End, Save the Pack. Any card that helps get opponent's creatures off of the board. This is especially apparent when fighting Brobnar and Sanctum, who have very resilient creatures that are not going away easily when fought. Or sometimes your opponent just has a great draw and gets out tons of Martians or creatures with Elusive. If you don't deal with those creatures, your opponent can at the very least continually Reap and generate tons of Amber, help to make sure that none of your creatures that enter play last for long, or do any other crazy combos out there. Board Sweepers help level the playing field, and I look for these in every deck I get.

Amber Manipulation - This one is really broad, but this has to do with cards that can manipulate your opponent's store of Amber. Any card that captures, forces your opponent to lose, or preferably steals, Amber, can fall into this category. Shadows is the best at stealing, and an army of Urchins would be amazing. But other cards like Burn the Stockpile and Doorstep to Heaven can prevent your opponent for maintaining that 6+ Amber needed to forge a key at the beginning of their turn as well. Stealing is the best as you not only force your opponent to not have the Amber, but you get it as well, which leads to the next role.

Amber Generation - This is similar to the combos that I talked about above, as many of the best combos have to do with Amber generation, since Amber generation is how you can forge keys, which is how you actually win the game, regardless of board state. But in addition to that, cards that just give you lots of Amber are really good. While going first, I have played a Treasure Map, which just got me 4 Amber. Virtuous Works, a simple +3 Amber, won me a game in a local sealed tournament with 15 players when we went to time and had to go to a tiebreaker of how much Amber we had. My opponent had 3 more Amber than I did, but I played Virtuous Works and another action that gave me Amber, and I won. Probably my favorite is Bait and Switch, as that fills two roles: One, it is amber manipulation, and can lower my opponent's store and prevent them from forging a key, but it also generates amber for me by stealing it. This card is a devastating swing that can win you games, and even just having it around can cause your opponent to fret so much they make a mistake, or force them to make sub-optimal plays.

Stalling - This is not as crucial in my opinion, as I would prefer to have a deck that is filled with the toolbox cards above, but these cards can still help win you games. I am talking about Keyhammer, Lash of Broken Dreams, Miasma, Shatter Storm, etc. These are cards that can take away opponent's forged keys, increase the cost of keys, prevent them from being able to forge keys, and even some amber manipulation/elimination can fit this role. Anything that stop your opponent from forging keys for a turn. Sometimes your opponent will get that Untamed combo, or generate enough Amber in order to forge a key on your turn, meanwhile you have just not gotten your engine running. Stalling cards can help slow your opponent down and give you time to catch back up. Stalling can take many forms though, as board sweepers function in a similar way too. Even though you may lose your creatures, a well-timed Gateway to Dis can sweep the board, and slow down your opponent by leveling the field.

The Name of the Deck

Ok yeah, I am very competitive, but I can't help but look at my deck's name, and hope for something hilarious or controversial. I have not had the pleasure of opening an invalid name deck that most likely has racism in it (why was that word ever in the pool to begin with?!). But I have had some gems. My most memorable one so far was actually the very first deck I opened: Bradbear the Carefully Robotic. For one, my name is Brad, and the fact that the very first deck I opened had my name in it felt very prophetic. Two, Bradbear is Carefully Robotic, which I find hilarious. I picture this adorable little bear, hands against his robotic chest, timidly waddling around, worrying that everyone will think he is too robotic for the culture. It's dumb, but I like it. I also like She who Reads about Hedonism.

But anyway, this has been my tl;dr article about what I look for in a deck. I am sure you look for different stuff, but let me know in the comments! What do you look for in a deck? What are your toolbox cards? What are your favorite combos? Best deck names? I hope you liked this article, and as always, happy gaming!

Keyforge: Differences when you get the same Houses

Keyforge has been released, the dawn of discovery is here! I have been looking forward to this for a while. I was very glad to get my starter and 4 additional decks, and although 3 of the 6 unique decks I got had the same exact 3 houses, they were at least ones that I like. But this is the perfect opportunity to look at the variance of decks that have the same houses. How similar are they? It's bound to happen to all of us if we collect Keyforge. It was one of my worries getting in to the game, so let's dive in! I'm going to post the deck contents, and then look at some stats. I will look at the number of creatures/actions/artifacts/upgrades in the deck, the amount of raw amber (the automatic amber you get when you play a card), and then a short summary of how the deck works.

My first deck is Victoria "Countess Hulker" Mundy

Creatures: 11
Actions: 20
Artifacts: 5
Upgrades: 0
Raw Amber: 12

Analysis. So this deck is Action heavy. With 3 Gateway to Dis, Key to Dis, and a number of other actions, we have some serious board sweeping power and removal. It feels like a control deck. The Raw Amber count is a little misleading since if I just play Treasure Map on a turn, it guarantees me +3 more Amber. There are also several cards that allow me to steal Amber when played, and a few that capture them. It looks like controlling the board and stealing are going to be my win conditions. Shadows has several ways of stealing Amber alongside one of my favorite cards in Bait and Switch. I can take away a key with Key Hammer, slow down my opponent with Miasma, and of course draw tons of cards with Library Access in Logos. It feels like a very solid deck and I did win my one game I have played with it so far 3-0.


My second deck is She who Reads about Hedonism

Creatures: 11
Actions: 12
Artifacts: 11
Upgrades: 2
Raw Amber: 10

This deck feels like an Artifact deck to me, although actually looking at the numbers it is pretty even. It was a very slow moving deck, but once I got going, I was unstoppable. In my game my opponent got 2 keys before I got any. However, I was able to survive, put out a bunch of artifacts, and then I was able to eliminate any board presence from my opponent, slow down their production while increasing my own, and eventually come out on top. For my playstyle, unless I really got good with the deck, I am sure we would go to time in a tournament. It just takes a long time to play in order to win. The Bad Penny/Seeker Needle combo worked very well at the end of the game, and Key Hammer was crucial in slowing down my opponent in the early game. I also feel like this deck would be a little swingy due to how few duplicates there are in the deck.


My third deck is Second R. Kominajila

Creatures: 22
Actions: 9
Artifacts: 4
Upgrades: 1
Raw Amber: 10

This deck felt kind of generic. It has a massive amount of creatures, or double the previous two anyway. It feels a little disjointed, with few combos and obvious ways to win. With so many creatures, it comes down to having a large board presence, and reaping/killing with it until you win. It has the potential to become really good, but it does suffer from strong board houses like Sanctum, as well as board clears. In my opinion this is the weakest deck, but that could just be because of my playstyle. I did lose with it, although it only lost 3-2. It jumped to a good lead, but couldn't do anything once my opponent had a good Sanctum presence on the board.




So let's look at these decks: Comparing the simple stats I actually have a lot of variety right off the bat, which is pretty cool. My first deck is mainly actions, the second deck is evenly split between creatures/actions/artifacts although it plays like an artifact heavy deck, and my third has mainly creatures that swarm the board. Upgrades are minimal and the raw amber is very similar in all three decks. After playing with all three, I mainly want to play some more. I am extremely happy that each deck plays differently though. If there can be this variety within decks that have the same houses, how different will other houses be? That is exciting for the game.

This was hardly a controlled experiment mind you, as I played these decks against different decks each time, and against some different people. I did find out some of my personal preferences when it comes to playing, so that was very nice, and that is the best advice I can give when it comes to this game. If you want to know if you have a good deck, try it out. I do think there are some ways you can tell a "good" deck from a "bad" deck, but it is much harder to figure out. I think somewhere it is in the amount of Amber you can generate/deny your opponent, and how easily your deck can adapt to changes, but that will be hard to quantify.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this article. Which deck is your favorite? Currently, mine is the first one, Victoria, but we will see after some more games. Happy gaming!