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KeyForge by Richard Garfield - The first Unique Deck Game (can't modify decks)

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XShagrath

XShagrath

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,198
piratepwnsninja said:
I meant games.

I think part of the appeal of the game is learning your deck over more than just a single game. It does raise an interesting question as to how best to demo without a deck feeling far inferior to another.
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Oh, I absolutely feel I would have had a better grasp on my deck with more plays.

I didn't feel like it was a bad game mechanically, but it seemed imbalanced. Again, I don't know if that's due to the decks or the players. The person I was playing with was very much a seasoned MTG player, so they probably had an advantage in general. They even hit the "rule of six" a couple times, whereas I was never able to combo a card at all.

I think I was more intrigued with the idea of the game. FFG has announced a "unique" board game that has a unique assortment of elements to create quests and scenarios coming out as well. I think this is probably more up my alley. But then, the barrier of entry on that is many times higher than that of Keyforge.
 
The Watcher

The Watcher

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Oct 29, 2017
1,349
BigJeffery said:
What do you mean by "too much gate-keeping?" for MTG?
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I'm not a white guy so I constantly got surprised looks about my interest in the game. Not only that, the community didn't particularly seem interested in helping novice players and I felt I was being taken for a chump when building a deck or selecting cards. It's entirely possible that my experience is not the norm, but I didn't want to deal with that drama anymore so I haven't played in years ( this was back in the late 90's, early 2000's).
 
DiceHands

DiceHands

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Oct 27, 2017
4,636
The Watcher said:
I'm not a white guy so I constantly got surprised looks about my interest in the game. Not only that, the community didn't particularly seem interested in helping novice players and I felt I was being taken for a chump when building a deck or selecting cards. It's entirely possible that my experience is not the norm, but I didn't want to deal with that drama anymore so I haven't played in years ( this was back in the late 90's, early 2000's).
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If race was that big of an issue at your LGS then fuck them. You dont wanna play with people like that anyway.

I do agree though that MTG is not kind to novice players. You will run up against someone who has poured thousands into the game and get crushed and most of them will have little remorse.

Keyforge can strike a nice balance between hardcore and casual play through the unique deck mechanic. The people you usually see at your LGS that always win arent going to be able to buy their way into that position with this game. They will have to buy a deck, learn it and play it to the best of their ability rather than just going online and buying the best netdeck out there.
 
DiceHands

DiceHands

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Oct 27, 2017
4,636
XShagrath said:
I didn't feel like it was a bad game mechanically, but it seemed imbalanced. Again, I don't know if that's due to the decks or the players. The person I was playing with was very much a seasoned MTG player, so they probably had an advantage in general. They even hit the "rule of six" a couple times, whereas I was never able to combo a card at all.
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I have been playing a ton of this game with the decks I printed as well as on TTS and I have never come across the rule of 6 yet. Any idea what combo of cards they were using? Was this online or IRL?

And yeah the game can feel imbalanced at times. There are definitely some cards out there that can snowball (hunting witch for example) into a real problem for opposing players. I think a lot of it is knowing what combinations are possible with a given house and snuffing them out as soon as they hit the board. That just takes time and practice.
 
XShagrath

XShagrath

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,198
Gurrry said:
I have been playing a ton of this game with the decks I printed as well as on TTS and I have never come across the rule of 6 yet. Any idea what combo of cards they were using? Was this online or IRL?
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I believe it was an action card that allowed them to draw a card for every card they played that turn.

This was at a local gaming store that had a few decks for demo.
 
DiceHands

DiceHands

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Oct 27, 2017
4,636
XShagrath said:
I believe it was an action card that allowed them to draw a card for every card they played that turn.

This was at a local gaming store that had a few decks for demo.
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Library access. He got the luck of the draw there for sure. If you play that and draw into nothing but Logos cards, you can def hit that rule of 6. Hopefully that didnt make you hate the game because I think that probably had more to do with luck rather than great strategy/broken decks.
 
Jambi

Jambi

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
516
I played this with a friend during a demo at pax west yesterday and used a dis, shadow, and untamed deck. The demo only went until someone forged two keys and it felt pretty balanced to me. I wouldn't say I'm a seasoned ccg player but I've played enough of them to know what I'm doing and while some of the mechanics are new and take some getting used to, I felt it was easy enough for most people to understand .
 
XShagrath

XShagrath

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,198
Gurrry said:
Library access. He got the luck of the draw there for sure. If you play that and draw into nothing but Logos cards, you can def hit that rule of 6. Hopefully that didnt make you hate the game because I think that probably had more to do with luck rather than great strategy/broken decks.
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He also had some Sanctum creature that allowed him to fully heal another creature when he reaped. And this dude had like 5-6 health, so it wasn't like he was something that could be taken out super easily.
 

Deleted member 733

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Oct 25, 2017
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Gurrry said:
Library access. He got the luck of the draw there for sure. If you play that and draw into nothing but Logos cards, you can def hit that rule of 6. Hopefully that didnt make you hate the game because I think that probably had more to do with luck rather than great strategy/broken decks.
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Library Access doesn't hit the rule of 6 because you're not using the card -- it's just an effect that got activated when you played it.
 
bangai-o

bangai-o

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Oct 27, 2017
9,527
I like the artwork. It looks like kids in 6th grade can play it without mom thinking it is from the devil.
 

Deleted member 733

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Oct 25, 2017
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bangai-o said:
I like the artwork. It looks like kids in 6th grade can play it without mom thinking it is from the devil.
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Well...some of it.

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Pilgrimzero

Pilgrimzero

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,129
I thought this was out. Was at the local game store and didn't see it so I grabbed the new Warhammer CCG.

Guess I'll keep waiting, looks cool.
 
Mikebison

Mikebison

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
11,036
The idea of this really appeals to me. The need to constantly buy new card and boosters, just for everyone to go online and find out the most OP predetermined deck set ups never appeals to me. Why I stopped playing Magic years ago. Having to take the deck you're given and work out the intricacies of it is really interesting.
 
CommandThrower

CommandThrower

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Oct 26, 2017
5,122
I don't believe I saw it in this thread until now, but the release date for Keyforge is November 15th, 2018. So, a little under a month from now!

I haven't been following the game too closely since it's initial announcement, but I am still very much excited to play this! I'll be pre-ordering the starter pack and two other decks.
 
OP
OP
SigmasonicX

SigmasonicX

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,468
CommandThrower said:
I don't believe I saw it in this thread until now, but the release date for Keyforge is November 15th, 2018. So, a little under a month from now!

I haven't been following the game too closely since it's initial announcement, but I am still very much excited to play this! I'll be pre-ordering the starter pack and two other decks.
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Thanks, added to the OP.
And yeah, I haven't been following this much either.
 
Menome

Menome

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Oct 25, 2017
6,394
CommandThrower said:
I don't believe I saw it in this thread until now, but the release date for Keyforge is November 15th, 2018. So, a little under a month from now!

I haven't been following the game too closely since it's initial announcement, but I am still very much excited to play this! I'll be pre-ordering the starter pack and two other decks.
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Does that include the U.K? I seem to recall there might be some disparity in release dates across the Atlantic, and it would be nice to try and get this in time for Christmas for my girlfriend.
 
CommandThrower

CommandThrower

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Oct 26, 2017
5,122
Menome said:
Does that include the U.K? I seem to recall there might be some disparity in release dates across the Atlantic, and it would be nice to try and get this in time for Christmas for my girlfriend.
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I haven't found a conclusive release date for the UK.

One thing I do know, is that there is a pre-release event for KeyForge at participating retailers. The date for the US and international pre-release is on November 10th: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/op/keyforge/pre-launch/

I guess keep tabs on that link and contact your local game stores for more information.
 
xclk07

xclk07

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Oct 27, 2017
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Chicago
Hopefully a bump here is better than a new thread. Anyone checking this out this weekend? I am looking to go to Dice Dojo in Chicago.
 
thezboson

thezboson

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Oct 27, 2017
1,250
I am very much into Gwent right now, but will keep tabs on this. Probably I will just buy the starter set and play with brothers/friends.
 
CommandThrower

CommandThrower

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Oct 26, 2017
5,122
xclk07 said:
Hopefully a bump here is better than a new thread. Anyone checking this out this weekend? I am looking to go to Dice Dojo in Chicago.
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All of the LGS that are holding pre-release events for KeyForge in Utah are very far from where I live, and I've got other commitments this weekend. So, I will not be going to the pre-release event.

I've still got my KeyForge stuff pre-ordered, though.
 

Deleted member 41271

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ToddBonzalez said:
Can't say I really understand what makes this concept appealing. Seems like a standard CCG with an added constraint that makes it less interesting. Would MTG or any other CCG be more interesting/ appealing in any way if you could only play with premade decks? I'd love for someone to explain why they think this is a cool idea...
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Any even remotely competitive group of CCG players ends up with constrained deck lists anyway. Meta nonsense and all. Decklists constrained by default cuts out degenerate combos and allows much more balanced decks, leading to a much higher variety of decks.
An approach like this would make MTG and similar card games MUCH more interesting and appealing to me than the current "meta or die" situation.
 
Jasonic

Jasonic

Member
Oct 30, 2017
29
I'm participating in a pre-release near me and I'm actually really excited. It's funny because I thought the game sounded dumb when it was announced; but after learning more about it and actually playing a few games online, I'm really looking forward to seeing what the game can offer. I just ordered some tokens that I will have for the pre-release and then I have the core set pre-ordered for the following week. Coincidentally, I'll be leaving for a gaming weekend in a cabin the day after release, so I'm hoping to get a chance to dig in to a couple of my decks.
 

Deleted member 733

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I don't know if anyone really used the Tabletop Simulator mod, but I plan to update it at least one or two more times with some usability improvements and the remaining cards.
 
shiftplusone

shiftplusone

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Oct 25, 2017
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my flgs isn't doing preorders but they are doing a prerelease, so I hope I can get a core set and playmat at least

I'm excited about it though.
 
Ultron

Ultron

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,763
I'm hoping there will be events for this after this first weekend. I'd like to try it, but will be out of town this weekend (at a different gaming event, but for RPGs, not cards) so won't be able to get to an event.
 
Repgnar

Repgnar

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Nov 4, 2017
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My FLGS had a pretty good turnout today according to the pictures they posted on Facebook. Was busy with other things today but they're having another event tomorrow at 3:30 I may go to. The 'set' deck concept is something I'm open to. Anyone end up going to an event today yet?
 
xclk07

xclk07

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Oct 27, 2017
1,329
Chicago
Went to one, the person running it had NO damn clue what the rules are and it got us pretty ticked off. However, my gf and I read the rules and played afterwards and it's making more sense to us.
I don't love the fact that it's less interactive than MTG (you are the only player doing anything on your turn and thus not doing anything on your opp's turn), but I can certainly start to see the depth of strategy that comes with knowing the card pool and knowing the synergies of your deck.
 
Silly names
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    • XShagrath

    XShagrath

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    Oct 25, 2017
    1,198
    So it seems that some words were left in the randomization pool that are going to lead to some very unfortunate deck names. These have already started showing up at pre-releases. FFG has put out a note that these decks will be auto-banned from OP, and you can send them back to get two new decks for the inconvenience.

    https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/11/9/archon-names/

    Here are a couple examples pulled from pre-releases this weekend (stolen from reddit)
    cspwcchn2jx11.jpg

    jme8f3pbljx11.jpg

    94w8n9vpcjx11.jpg
     
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    • Cymbal Head

    Cymbal Head

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    Oct 25, 2017
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    How in the world did they think putting "racism" into the name pool would end up being anything but unfortunate?

    On the other hand, I stan Empticate, the Antagonizer of Boys
     
    OrangeNova

    OrangeNova

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    Oct 30, 2017
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    They did a playtest of this yesterday at a gameshop in my city but I wasn't able to make it out to it.

    How is it for anyone that has played?
     
    Joeyjoejoeshabadoo

    Joeyjoejoeshabadoo

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    Oct 28, 2017
    4,147
    OrangeNova said:
    They did a playtest of this yesterday at a gameshop in my city but I wasn't able to make it out to it.

    How is it for anyone that has played?
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    I went to the pre-release at my store yesterday. The game is a lot of fun. It's fairly simple rules wise, you claim a house and do as many actions with that house as you like.

    The deck I pulled was Brobnar, Logos, and Shadow. So far I'm loving Shadow. Brobnar is OK but really bland playwise. They are just known for having big dudes that don't do much other than being big. Logos could be interesting, but I'm finding that some of their abilities are kind of lack luster. I'm still feeling out the strategy but I'm definitely looking forward to buying new decks.
     
    Supa Necta

    Supa Necta

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    Oct 25, 2017
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    Played a Star Wars Destiny sealed tournament yesterday and checked this out. I'll be heading back for the launch event next week.
     

    Deleted member 733

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    Deleted member 6056

    Oct 25, 2017
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    This sounds like a terrible concept for players that lopsides the landscape. It sounds like it only benefits card sellers looking to sell whole decks vs single cards.
     
    Bionic

    Bionic

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    Oct 27, 2017
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    shaowebb said:
    This sounds like a terrible concept for players that lopsides the landscape. It sounds like it only benefits card sellers looking to sell whole decks vs single cards.
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    Counter-argument: I don't have to ever worry about deckbuilding (which I hate), and yet I can still take part in all the rest of the fun of a card dueling game where a new weird deck that's just as valid as anyone else's is just $10.

    Loved the pre-release at my local store on Saturday. I love my two decks, they're both really different to play but have neat combos. Can't wait to grab another deck or two and play with my friends.
     
    hydrophilic attack

    hydrophilic attack

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    Oct 25, 2017
    21,430
    Sweden
    i'm thinking of getting this

    i don't know anyone who'd be interested in playing it

    i don't really play these kinds of games

    i don't know if it's good?

    what do you think? is it good? should i get it?
     
    borghe

    borghe

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    Oct 27, 2017
    3,112
    SigmasonicX said:
    I have heard people say it's selling out at their LGSs, so I wouldn't be surprised.
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    core set is sold out everywhere locally. decks are far from sold out. pre-release and launch events were reasonably attended. I think conceptually the game is terrific and deserves its initial success. However I also know FFG has to have its near and far future planned PERFECTLY. If a deck I buy today doesn't remain competitive after 1 or more expansions, does it just go in the trash? And how will expansions be handled? Not doomsaying at all, but yeah... they absolutely need to have the game's future at least mapped out a few years given the uniqueness (no pun intended) of the concept. You have neither the Big Bang of a new CCG expansion and rotation, nor the fine tuning of an LCG expansion.
     
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