This post originally appeared on the KeyForge blog Cosmic Crucible where Zach was a guest author. We’ve posted it here to the KeyForge Public Radio blog for archival purposes.
The KeyForge Vault Tour in Atlanta was a blast, and for many people including myself it was the first time we played a “take three pick one” sealed tournament. Deck selection was critical, the field of Archons was fantastically varied, and the community was a joy to be around. I attended with my friend and primary KeyForge training buddy Asher. Snacks and hydration were critical to staying sharp. Here is the play-by-play of my day, where I went 3-3:
- Deck Selection. 15 minutes go by fast when you’re selecting your Vault Tour deck. My training buddy Asher and I were prepared with paper & pencil so we could tally creatures, aember pips, methods of aember control, and other stats to help guide our decision. My three choices were:
- Satuhar Amber-Gruger, Convert. This deck, with everything counted, was left on the table. The only steal cards are Batdrone, Umbra, and Magda; two very removable, and one that steals back, and only Krump for loss and Skeleton Key for capture; low creature count in Brobnar locked in my decision.
- Faithful “Griffin” Vitalis. Twenty creatures fits my usual playstyle, but only 6 aember pips and a just a little capture scared me off of this deck. It looked like it could be consistent and hold a board, but the third deck had some tricks I could not pass up.
- Uninistive, Spawn of Hitoice – the deck I chose. Aside from a name unpronounceable in any earthly language, 12 aember pips, huge capture ability in Sanctum, and a few key combos made this deck very attractive. The creatures spread wasn’t ideal – 6, 5, and 4 – which would make it hard to hold a board. However, 2x Miasma, 1x Interdimensional Graft and 1x Doorstep to Heaven were too good to pass up. 2x Bouncing Deathquark and 2x Bad Penny also looked good.
LET’S GOOOOOOOOO #VaultTourATL #vaulttour #KeyForge pic.twitter.com/0xj1qdSgyt
— Zach Armstrong (@zacharmstrong88) May 25, 2019
- Round 1 vs. Josh (The Sov of Pokerail): Loss. Josh was a really fun opponent. He opened with some Untamed aember burst, getting to one key quickly. I attempted to use my small board to fight back, and sacrificed cycling through my deck to do so. Josh was able to keep me down with steal-from-hand in Shadows through his third key, and I learned that I needed to prioritizing drawing cards above board presence more so that I could see my tricks – namely, Miasma into Graft or Doorstep.
- Round 2 vs. Cassie (Cursor of Barrapath): Loss. Three Titan Mechanics came out on flanks by turn two, and game got interesting. I played my deck much better and made it to one key, but she came back with plenty of steal and removal from hand backed up with Dis tricks and took the game. She was a great opponent whom I enjoyed meeting and didn’t feel bad about losing to.
- Round 3 vs. Casey: Win. Casey of Team Reapout was running Shadows/Brobnar/Mars. We hardly saw his Mars cards, and I pulled off a successful Miasma > Interdimensional Graft and pulled out a win.
- Round 3 Interlude! My two losses were to Josh and Cassie, whom I spotted talking together off to the side of the event. Both had mentioned Keyforge-playing spouses; as it turns out, the two players who had beaten me so far were married to each other. It was a lovely surprise!
Oh and btw the two people who have beaten me at #VaultTourATL… ARE MARRIED! #keyforge #VaultTour @FFGames pic.twitter.com/c3PvjZOLCt
— Zach Armstrong (@zacharmstrong88) May 25, 2019
- Round 4 vs. Adam of Cardboard Box Games: Win. Adam played Shadows/Brobnar/Logos, and messed with my head by playing three cards to his archives and not picking them up until I threatened my 3rd key. While he had no Bait & Switch, he did knock me down from my third key and got to 7 aember. I had no cards in my deck, so I called Sanctum and used Inspiration on a Doc Bookton to see if I drew something in a desperate Hail Mary – and got Terms of Redress, taking his aember below forging level and sealing the game. It was one of the most intense moments in Keyforge that I have ever had! Adam was a fantastic opponent and a loss to him would have been just as memorable.
- Round 5 vs. Anonymous: Loss. My opponent was late, coming in 2 minutes before the cutoff for an automatic win, and played with his keys behind his token storage (not intentionally). I didn’t notice they weren’t in sight, and was unaware that he had gotten to two keys. I believe he played fairly, but with a lack of communication about how he played, a late start and hidden keys, this was the only negative experience of the day.
- Round 6 vs. Marcus: Win. I had heard of Marcus’s Brobnar/Shadows/Mars deck already, as it runs 9+ artifacts. He was a really fun opponent, and kept hitting his Brobnar creatures with Cannon to increase key cost via Iron Obelisk; I responded by capture 12+ aember on my various Sanctum creatures. The match nearly went to time, but I was able to play two Cleansing Wave in a single turn and go to 19 aember, and as Marcus was without a way to stop me I took the victory after a long and hilarious game – a true Keyforge match.
My record of 3-3 placed me 60th out of 127. I had picked a complicated deck, and was quite honestly happy with how I had done with it. Asher and I processed the experience with Ryan, Steve, and Brian of the Key Chains Podcast, and I came away with a few lessons from our successes and failures at a Get-Three-Pick-One Sealed Vault Tour:
- Lesson 1: Take Care of Yourself. Snacks, water, and time away from the tournament area when possible will all help your physical, mental, and emotional well-being, enabling you to both better enjoy your time at the event and perform at a higher level.
- Lesson 2: Have a Deck Evaluation Plan. Know how you will evaluate the decks you are given. Types of cards, amount of aember pips, aember control, creatures-per-house, and many other metrics are all helpful to know when selecting a deck that will serve you well that day.
- Lesson 3: Know Your Best Archetype. When picking a deck, it may be temping to take what has the most tricks; however, if you have a chance to pick a deck that’s familiar, I would recommend it. I picked a complicated deck that is much more suited to Archon Adaptive than sealed, as it takes practice to use well. The deck Faithful “Griffin” Vitalis, an option I passed on, was more my style. While it does not have much aember control, it had board control and burst built in. There is no guarantee I would have done better, but I believe my mistakes would have been less.
Thank you to Fantasy Flight Games and Cascade Games for an amazing Vault Tour experience. The event was run well and the staff was professional, and the community – as always – was a joy to be around. Keep forging, Archons!
