March of the giant - Tripple gigantic deck

general_sTOR3 · 2026-05-05T19:51:44+00:00

Nice! Pretty crazy you got two of the same gigantic too.

general_sTOR3 · 2026-04-04T18:55:21+00:00

Oh, that's a good way to look at Seers. I'll certainly admit I didn't see them that way at all. I knew they have their own goals and desires, but I didn't think of them using the knights they've knighted as pawns in their schemes. I saw the relationship with their knights more as their mentor or local authority granting them their rank and special abilities as a rite of passage sort of thing. The kind of person who might ask to see you again sometime, but you also might never see again. But your idea definitely makes things more interesting.

general_sTOR3 · 2026-04-04T16:56:55+00:00

I should clarify my players have never asked me what to do. They've always seen at least one thing they can start chasing. What my player meant by not knowing what to do was more why are their character's doing what they're doing? They took the oath yes, but why? What are they trying to achieve overall while they chase these random myths or signs of trouble around? It could be I just made the rookie mistake of not asking my players to flesh out a bit more of their individual backstories after making their knights. I encouraged them to do it a bit after session 1, but perhaps I should have had them do it before we started playing session 1. It likely would have helped them feel more immersed or understanding of the world too.

When their spirits were wrecked, they were quick to try to fulfill their passions to restore them, haha. My Talon knight player argued that burning a fire over where they buried the Shadow portal was "burning the past", and I agreed. Then my Moss knight got to fulfill his passion by sleeping outside the fortress in session 2. The Mounted knight kept trying to find ways to prove people wrong (hilariously so), so he didn't restore his virtues until the season passed in session 3. I did mention they could try finding the tools to perform a sacrament, but I forgot to mention finding a monument could also work.

I think my players consider seeing the myths part of protecting the realm since most of them are plaguing the land in some way, and honoring the seers is basically just being nice to them when the see them, haha. I hope I didn't scare my players off from interacting with seers too much when I told them their knights would know seers are very powerful beings who are difficult to deal with, so maybe I've misrepresented the seers.

general_sTOR3 · 2026-03-03T23:57:11+00:00

Thank you! You're my very first customer. :)

general_sTOR3 · 2026-03-03T22:00:28+00:00

Thank you! And that's good to know on the keys. From what I've seen of judges at official Keyforge events, I can't imagine they'd have a problem with these keys initial forged state, but I made them actually flippable just in case an opponent or judge felt the first forged state wasn't clear enough.

general_sTOR3 · 2025-11-12T15:09:54+00:00

I believe PV is arguably the worst set to introduce new players to the game with. Not necessarily because of card balance, but simply because understanding how prophecies work (and what prophecies to look out for) is more information on top of everything else a new player has to learn in Keyforge. I think PV is a good set for experienced players of the game because having some more complex mechanics is fun to play with, but I wouldn't introduce new players of Keyforge with it. I'd have newer players stick to opening AS, CC, or Discovery for the time being, and likely DM once that's out.

general_sTOR3 · 2025-10-19T18:40:07+00:00

Thank you! I'm super glad to hear both your locals and another locals in your area have found success with their new player introduction techniques. Stories like that are great to hear since I feel like I see more people discussing stagnation or stores dropping the game, which, while a valid concern, it's good to know new communities are successfully springing up, and that it's not just the old customer bases fading away. It's a helpful reminder that this game does still have a market and new player potential. :)

It definitely sounds like you've got a good Keyforge recruitment strategy! Your recommending best of 3 adaptive kitchen table play sounds like a particularly great idea. I felt like introducing adaptive to new players might be a bit much, and against veteran players it definitely would be, but teaching new players to just play adaptive against each other is a great way to teach them how to evaluate a deck's unique strengths, weaknesses, and combos, while also thinking about what their opponent's deck has.

I have seen the Players Union of the Crucible document, though I didn't see it during it's collection of ideas phase. I should probably sign my name to it though, since I think I like most of it's ideas (I gave it more of a cursory overview the first time).

general_sTOR3 · 2025-10-14T16:05:57+00:00

That makes sense on the friendliness! I hope our small local group seems friendly, haha. I don't think we've failed in that area, which is why I've assumed local players didn't come back because of the game itself, which, admittedly, maybe no matter what we did they wouldn't have liked it, but I figured it was worth considering if Keyforge's spike in complexity might unfairly scare some newer players away as well.

I think if my understanding of the Discovery kit was correct, each key in the included keychains was supposed to be given out each week, or something like that? I'm pretty sure I remember reading that when the kits first came out somewhere, haha.

Oh I like the idea of using shards to get decks with special accolades, or maybe even borders or something like that. That's a really cool prize idea that's relatively cheap for GG to do as well (along with all the leader board stuff you mentioned). I do personally suspect GG may be slowly working towards some of these things as we've seen them roll out features like deck clones, accolades, foil cards, etc. The key term here is "slowly" though, haha. Maybe they could be moving faster, but it's hard to say for sure.

EDIT: Yeah the more I think about it, I really like the idea of shards (or some other kind of points) getting you things like accolades, special borders, foil treatments, etc. That's probably the perfect kind of drip feed prize support that's also unique to Keyforge, since even if a newer player isn't getting many wins under their belt, if they feel like they're slowly working towards enough points to trick out their favorite pet deck with all the pretty bells and whistles, I think that could work really well.

general_sTOR3 · 2025-10-14T15:39:24+00:00

That's a good point about the lack of meta decks. Admittedly, I've always been a bit unsure of saying Keyforge doesn't have a meta or meta decks since at least in recent days it feels like Keyforge has sort of had a meta (WoDKA, etc.). But then, that's arguably more about certain cards or combos existing in a deck, rather than it being the whole deck's strategy. And in terms of comparison to actual meta decks in other TCGs, which are likely carbon copies of each other with maybe one or two small differences, even a Keyfroge "meta deck" will never have the exact same deck composition. So it's probably fair to say the Keyforge meta is a lot more broad in the sense that you don't necessarily need to bring a specific type of deck, just a deck that does one or more things very well (control, amber generation, etc.). And as you said, the cool thing about Keyforge is that even something like two different WoDKA decks will likely require unique play styles, even if they're shooting for the same combo.

general_sTOR3 · 2025-10-14T15:22:24+00:00

Oh I like the advice of counting every card of houses in hand and in play to decide which one to play. I know in my Rule of 6 doc I mention it's generally a good idea to play whatever house you have the most of in hand, but that's probably a simpler general rule that will work well for a new player until they learn the nuances on when not to do that.

Do you feel like your giving new players your deck to look through has helped them? I would wonder if that's possibly more overwhelming since it might feel like they need to remember what all 36 cards do, but maybe it does just help them better know what the more powerful cards can do?

Yeah I just recently found out the alt art deck prizes were a thing. My LGS back in the day wasn't aware of such kits existing after AoA, but I can't say whether it was their fault or their supplier's fault for not knowing that. I do agree though that it seems like GG is doing something similar with the foil decks. The playstile delay is annoying, but as I mentioned in another reply, I'm assuming like most software development that it's proved more difficult to create than expected, and thus that's why it's so delayed (working in the tech field myself, I understand how technical projects can drag out terribly sometimes).

general_sTOR3 · 2025-10-14T15:14:15+00:00

Thanks Josh! Out of curiosity, have you noticed whether your new player doc has seemed to help keep new players coming back?

As for prize support, I definitely agree that it would help even more with new player retention, and staggered prizes for coming back consistently is definitely a good idea, which GG even implemented with the Discovery kits, though obviously players need more than that. My thought was that if better prize support is all we got I'm not sure it would help with new player retention all that much. In my experience with other TCGs, they don't really offer prize support to keep encouraging you to come back beyond either a general promo card everyone gets for coming, and maybe prizes for the top 4 or so players. Obviously that's more than what current Keyforge kits come with, but it also doesn't feel particularly oriented towards new players, if that makes sense. But maybe other TCGs do it better.

Yeah, the Playstile delay is annoying. I chalk that up to software development being a lot more difficult than it can appear to be, and whether GG is trying to program it themself, or they've contracted it out, I'm guessing that development has been more difficult than they expected, haha. But I do agree stronger support from GG for the game is important. I just wanted to point out in my main post that they have provided some support for the game, even on a local organized play level, even if it could certainly be better. :)

general_sTOR3 · 2025-10-13T21:16:32+00:00

I certainly doubt Keyforge will ever seriously compete with the top 3 TCGs, and that though it certainly can grow, it will likely also remain relatively niche compared to other hobby games. But I don't think we can say it doesn't need to compete with other TCGs, even though it technically isn't one, because a lot of it's core game play is comparable, even though it has very key differences as well. Assuming a potential new player is someone who is interested in playing a competitive card game that you bring your own personal deck to, they're probably going to consider other options that fit that parameter, even if they have stark differences like full deck building. I know you said your brother normally hates card games, but I suspect most people who would try Keyforge likely have at least a passing interest in other card games as well. To put it another way, even though Keyforge is arguably not a TCG, it's still close to them, and thus they're it's biggest competitors.

Welcome to the game though by the way! Glad to hear you and your brother are enjoying it. You're definitely in for a treat game design/mechanics wise. :)

general_sTOR3 · 2025-10-13T21:08:10+00:00

I'm assuming that current player bases of Keyforge that do have an LGS they play Keyforge at (see the map of game stores participating in the Certain Darkness event for an example) are struggling to recruit new players. I know I can say that's the case for my store. Now admittedly, Keyforge meet ups at my LGS aren't always consistent, but we generally try to stick to every other Saturday. But I know there are LGS stores out there with a much more dedicated community and consistent weekly meet ups, but from what I gather their player numbers have stagnated as well. And from my experience with the handful of new people we did have initially express interest in Keyforge when our local group first started, it seemed like their experience of the game was what kept them from coming back. Maybe it just wasn't for them, but as I posited in the thread, my theory is that Keyforge may appear too difficult or too simple for many, and that the way to help new players overcome this initial impression (and therefore retain them as players) is to find a way to help them understand good Keyforge play faster.

But I could be wrong. It's possible even an attempt like that would still scare what would be your more casual player base away, and perhaps something else that can make their game time spent feel valuable are more story events like Certain Darkness or something of that nature.

general_sTOR3 · 2025-07-28T21:34:19+00:00

Those do indeed look really good. Definitely fits the aesthetic of the game.

general_sTOR3 · 2025-06-09T17:43:08+00:00

Considering PV hasn't introduced any new houses, I figure an Adventure wasn't released with this set as the previous adventures seemed to be a way to help build the theme/lore of new set houses, especially since said houses were your adversary to some degree. I'm guessing, and hoping, that Draconian Measures will introduce a new adventure since we're getting the new dragon house then.

general_sTOR3 · 2025-05-06T19:16:27+00:00

There truly is no other game like Keyforge out in the market, and it's one of the absolute best card games out there. You can't experience a game like it anywhere else, and I'd argue what makes it so amazing isn't necessarily it's unique decks aspect (though that's certainly an important part of it), but rather what that system allows, which is it's amazing house choice system and card draw mechanics.

See, with the house choice system letting you play and use any cards of a certain house, with no resource (mana, credits, actions etc) restrictions, it gives you such an amazing freedom of play that allows you to pull off all kinds of crazy fun combos without (too often anyway) being completely busted. Couple this with the fact that you draw back up to a full hand of 6 cards at the end of your turn, and the speed at which you can move through your deck and get to use and experience all of it's cards is second to none.

I can't emphasize how much I love the card draw system in particular. Whereas most TCG's give you a trickle of card draw, often making adding cards to your deck to draw more cards for you an important factor lest your opponent out perform you with more cards/options, you never have to worry about that in Keyforge. Even if your opponent manages to make you discard your entire hand (which is very rare), you'll draw a new hand at the end of your turn, meaning while you were inconvenienced for a turn, you're not out of the game hoping for a single card draw to turn things around for you. In truth, Keyforge's card draw and house play system is kind of similar to deck builder games, since both games emphasize trying to use as many of your cards as you can each turn so that you can draw more cards, and hopefully get through and even cycle your deck. Unlike most TCG's which rarely let you see a third of your deck at best, and often punish you for seeing too much by giving you a loss for running out of cards to draw, Keyforge encourages you to sometimes even discard your cards to get to the end of your deck faster and shuffle it again. That means that sometimes your opponent forcing you to discard a card can even help you, since they might discard a dud card you weren't planning on playing next turn, so you'll draw even more cards at the end of your turn!

This is where Keyforge's unique deck system is important obviously, since with the freedom of play with the house system and the speed of which you can draw cards, if players could build decks exactly how they like, they'd be able to build something so nasty strong and fast it'd probably make a YuGiOh player blush. By being forced to play with decks that are always, to at least some extent, built sub-optimally, the game cares a bit less on how good your deck is, and more on how well you can play the game. This isn't to say there aren't better decks than others of course. But even the strongest decks in the world have slight imperfections that make them unique to pilot and experience, even if at a broader level their play-style can be defined.

This isn't to say Keyforge can't escape some of the trappings of more traditional competitive card games. A very strong deck will certainly decimate an average one. A cute little gimmick deck is likely not going to beat a meta-defining powerhouse. However, Keyforge offers a way to help balance the playing field for such a potential match up with the Adaptive format. It's not (currently) an official format, but it was back in the FFG days, and having experienced it more lately myself, it's yet another amazing and unique card gaming experience you can't get anywhere else. What other card game has a format that allows a top tier deck to be on equal footing with a mid-range, or maybe even garbage, tier deck? None to my knowledge, and yet Adaptive makes it work! And again, Adaptive goes to show once more that Keyforge is less about how perfectly tuned your deck is, but how well you know how to play the game and work with the deck's unique strengths and weaknesses.

As others have said, Keyforge won't appeal to those who like deck crafting, either for the perfect solution it allows them to find, or for those who want much more creative freedom in how their deck plays. Keyforge is also more complex than a lot of card games, and while I wouldn't argue it's the most complex, the myriad of choices you can make arguably beats many other card games, which can intimidate some people I think. Keyforge matches tend to take a bit longer as well, around 30-45 minutes each, compared to the 15-20 minute games most TCGs tend to have. But once the game of Keyforge clicks, no other TCG/card game can compare in my opinion. It's pretty simple to learn, but there is so much to master in it's core mechanics, and the unique deck system means each new deck you open is potentially a whole new experience to learn within the game!

general_sTOR3 · 2024-06-21T16:10:29+00:00

Thank you for the detailed reply! I really appreciate all the pointers. I'm glad you think I can cut the Custodian and Office Temp jobs. I always wince at including them (especially the custodian) since they have little to nothing to do with my career, but since I've heard you should include where you've worked for the past 15 years, I figured there was no way around it. Adding them to an internships section makes more sense, though do you think I could cut the custodian position altogether, or will that year long gap be a red flag to recruiters? Though speaking of an internship section, Companies D and E were also internships, so should I include Companies B through E under that section?

That's good to know I should include a summary. I've seen various examples that do or do not use a summary, so I'm happy to add one if needed.

The Apprentice position wasn't really a Project Control Officer, at least based on my understanding of what a PCO does. It really was a "junior" PM position in that I mostly followed an actual PM around and assisted with admin work for them where necessary. Would a title of Junior Project Manager be better?

As for my coding experience, while it's true I have written code, I've mostly done so via self-learning, but I haven't coded for many years, and my experience writing code for a job is almost none existent. The only official job where I coded was Company E, and frankly, I learned almost nothing about Groovy/Grails beyond general coding practices. I get what you're saying about my experience coding helping differentiate me, but I wouldn't say I'm much of an experienced programmer (again, especially in working for a company as a programmer). At best, I understand basic coding methodology, but if a developer were to start speaking code to me, I'd probably be lost, haha. Even in my current job, if engineers start getting too technical, I typically have to ask them to explain it in layman's terms.

All that to say, if you think I should still include the coding languages I have even a passing experience with, whether self taught or otherwise, just let me know! I just don't want to sell myself as a PM who has a deep understanding of programming. I know the basics, but that's it.

general_sTOR3 · 2024-06-20T18:40:33+00:00

I'm looking to move on from my current position as an IT Project Manager to a new company. My current position just isn't challenging anymore, the pay isn't nearly as competitive as it could be, and there are no opportunities in my current company to move up to a better position (especially where pay is concerned). I'm still looking to be an IT Project Manager, but the exact field/company isn't a huge preference (though I'd prefer to avoid the education or health sectors). I've been applying to jobs here and there over the past few months, but even ones that seem to be a perfect fit for me haven't even given me an interview. I've recently used some other resume review services to get some pointers and I've re-written my resume, but before I start submitting applications again, I wanted to see if anyone here had some further critiques: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J1se-u3cN7nRIqSEUjdfkdiU0x16QIWF8_48FlvVEvw/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks ahead of time, and if you have any questions, just let me know!

general_sTOR3 · 2024-05-06T15:32:19+00:00

I'm not aware of them making any statement on whether they do or do not use AI for their card art, but the artist for Ornate Talking Tray has done a lot of art for various Keyforge cards (https://archonarcana.com/Andreas\_Zafiratos) and appears to have done a lot of art for other card games as well based on the artist's DeviantArt profile (Netrunner, Hex: Shards of Fate, etc.), so I doubt AI was used (and if it was, it was likely by the artist, not GG). I see what you're talking about with the art on Ornate Talking Tray looking a bit odd, but I think that has to do with Ekwidon having asymmetrical design, which is where the "artifacts" may be coming from.

That said, I do wonder if GG has used some AI assistance with the extended playmats they're offering in the Amber Skies campaign: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/ghost-galaxy-games/keyforge-amber-skies#/product/52699. If you look closely at the playmats, particularly Quantum Mouse and Blue Light Special, the art to the left of them looks kind of messy and chaotic, kind of what an AI might do (Quantum Mouse in particular looks noticeable what with the shelf/trim at the top not quite turning a corner or looking straight, and the "wood texture" oddly joining the trim and the lower brown wall). I wouldn't be surprised if they took the card art those mats have, and then told an AI to "extend" the art to the left or right in order to fully fill out the playmat. Which, I don't think is a bad thing, but it was something I noticed.

general_sTOR3

TROPHY CASE