Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Players: 2
Time to play: ~45 minutes
Official website: https://www.keyforgegame.com

Back in the day, I was really, REALLY into Magic The Gathering. I played with people who took top 8 at Worlds, got invites to Pro Tour - Kuala Lumpur, aaaand...I was never one of 'em. But I loved the way the game brought a bunch of really different people together. But over time, I lost interest. The people I played with stopped playing, had kids, you get it. And let's be honest, the game is vastly different than when it started. Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic, is not one to sit on his laurels. He's gone on to make a ton of other games, including this one:

Keyforge is a new Unique Deck Game published by Fantasy Flight Games out of Roseville, MN. Why do they call it a unique deck game? Because every deck is unique. That's right, this game doesn't have traditional deckbuilding. Instead of buying booster packs, you buy a complete deck, ready to go out the gate. Not only that, but each deck has a unique named "Archon" to go with it. So there's no switching things around, you HAVE to play the deck as it's created. It's an interesting idea, and they tout over 100 quadrillion different deck possibilities. That's a lot of decks!

In the Keyforge universe, there are Archons that are scrambling to forge keys that open a vault of untold treasure. Keys are forged by procuring enough æmber (normally 6, but this can change) to create a key at the start of their turn. Forge 3 keys before your opponent, you win. Simple, right? Well, as with any Richard Garfield game, it's never always that easy. Thankfully, the community has rallied together quite nicely to help newcomers to the game. Covenant gaming made a fantastic video covering the game:

If have the time, watch it in its entirety. They do such a good job of explaining the game, that I was able to play with someone from the local scene and know a good chunk of what I was doing. My first couple games were with experienced players, but I felt comfortable enough to hold my own with some semblance of decency. As far as learning curve goes, it's not nearly as difficult to learn as Magic. If you've played trading card games before, this should be really easy to grasp.

The game launched in the middle of November, and has been selling like crazy. Part of that is due to the nature of the game. Fantasy Flight published an official Keyforge app, which you can scan the QR code that comes with your deck. You can view the deck list, track organized play records as well as track casual games. Case in point, here's one of my decks:

It gives you a quick at-a-glance of your deck's win/loss record, the overall ranking, and you have a nice little counter for your casual games. It's neat to see that in a card game, but wouldn't be possible with most other card games. I like it!

With games of this nature, there's always a need for organized play. People will want to compete, show off their best deck, and meet other Archons. Fantasy Flight will be starting official organized play on January 22, which is coming up next week. That said, it hasn't stopped game stores from running their own tournaments, with reasonable success. Even Fantasy Flight runs tournaments. I stopped by one last Friday, and there were 26 participants. One of them, a guy who goes by moonpost, streamed his matches on Twitch and shared them with the community:

Kinda cool that he was able to do that!

During the tournament, I noticed something really fascinating. There are a LOT of different decks out there! Because every deck is unique, you really have to think on your feet. It adds a layer to this game that I don't think many people expect when they first try it out. It's definitely got something going for it.

And now, the verdict. Keyforge is a really unique and awesome game, competing in a play space that is dominated by another Garfield game, Magic. The hook is cool enough that I feel people are picking up on it, and Fantasy Flight really believes in the game. I know this, because I met the global head of Organized Play for FFG at the tournament on Friday. He took part, with a deck he just bought! I'm looking forward to seeing how this game fares, because I really want to see it succeed. Should you buy it? Definitely check it out. Watch the videos above, see if the game is right for you. I think it's worth buying a deck or three and trying out. Give it a go, you know?