Updated on June 1, 2023, with deck ownership information.
There are many reasons you may have stopped playing KeyForge. Maybe your Age of Ascension experience underwhelmed you, your local scene dried up, or Flesh and Blood just charmed you too much (I can't blame you, and a win for Legend Story Studios is a win for independent card game studios everywhere - like Ghost Galaxy).
The most important part of this journey is that you're back here, now, considering or already committed to playing KeyForge again. Welcome! The following list will help you be informed and equipped with all the resources you need to engage with KeyForge as deeply as you want to.
Acquire Winds of Exchange
Winds of Exchange is KeyForge's sixth set, and the best one for you to use as you re-engage. The set is expected to arrive at retailers during summer of 2023 (likely July), so if you didn't purchase decks from the Gamefound fundraising campaign you won't be waiting much longer. Message or call your Friendly Local Game Store and ask if they're planning on stocking KeyForge, and ask if you can preorder a display.
Winds of Exchange is a brilliantly fun set for sealed play, and early testing indicates it should have competitive viability against older sets in Archon or Alliance formats (which matter for the 2023 Organized Play season, where all sets are allowed). Instead of finding older sets from various retailers online, focus on picking up Winds of Exchange decks - the only set with Ghost Galaxy's experienced touch.
Create or log back into your Master Vault account & claim your decks
Ghost Galaxy took control of the KeyForge Master Vault in January 2023, where all registered KeyForge decks are stored digitally. Before that, your Master Vault account was tied to an email your gave the previous company. Find the full instructions and context for migrating your account here on this official blog post. Here's the most important section related to your new account:
Migrating the information from Asmodee to Ghost Galaxy means your current Asmodee account will no longer access KeyForge digital products and information. When logging into the website, you will be asked to create a Ghost Galaxy account. This effectively means you will be asked to reset your password and agree to new terms and conditions for our authentication provider. You will need to continue using the same email address as previously used for your Asmodee account. Click on “Forgot Password” to reset your password. Once you change your password and agree to the terms and conditions, your Ghost Galaxy account will be created. It’s important to note, this does not mean you will lose your Asmodee account. Your Asmodee account will still be used for all Asmodee products like before.
Ghost Galaxy is taking the integrity of this game seriously with regards to the unique decks, and now scanning a KeyForge deck grants you ownership in the Master Vault - marking the deck as yours. Any decks scanned before May 31, 2023, will need to be re-scanned to claim ownership. If you posted photos online of your deck lists and the QR code was visible, make sure to take those down. Someone else could wrongfully claim ownership in the Master Vault simply by scanning the QR code.
For more information on ownership, ordering copies of decks, and the processes around theft mitigation, find Ghost Galaxy's official deck ownership page here.
Bookmark Archon Arcana, the community-run KeyForge wiki.
Archon Arcana is the most consistent community-powered content, and is a reliable source of game updates, rulings, card images, and so much more. Use it to find errata and rulings on specific cards (like when I looked up exactly how Pain Reaction works while at my local store) and - one of its best feature - you can type in the name of a registered deck, and Archon Arcana generates a page listing all rules clarifications related to cards in your deck specifically. Check out this page for one of my favorite Dark Tidings decks, Evil Twin of Tirman the "Sorcerer".
Create or log back into your Decks of KeyForge account
The Master Vault is the first place you need to dust off and make sure your collection is current. Next, head over to DecksOfKeyForge.com and explore your collection there. If your Decks of KeyForge account doesn't include all your decks from the Master Vault, one easy way to sync those is the Library Access extension for Chrome.
Ignore the SAS score of your decks for now; the intent of SAS, and the best use, is to help you guess which decks in a large collection might be worth attention for high-end competition. The SAS system is more finely-tuned for older sets, and the system doesn't take into account how well the deck will do in different matchups - which is a huge part of competitive success in KeyForge.
Message a friend and play some KeyForge
This is the most important item on the list. Have a board game friend who's open to trying the game? Someone you used to play KeyForge with in years past? Grab some Winds of Exchange and jam some games at your kitchen table or your local game store.
Lastly, if posts like this from KeyForge Public Radio are helping you on your KeyForge journey, make sure you're following the podcast itself on your preferred podcast platform. We have a merch store and a Patreon if you're looking for ways to support our KeyForge content. And remember: the most important part of a game of KeyForge is the person across the table.
