ARFIELD

N by R ICHARD G
GA ME DESIG

VERSION 1.4 - SEPTEMBER, 2019

Updates and changes from are New errata added
highlighted in Red. New Frequently Asked
Clarifications added to Questions
“Using Cards”
New entries and updates to
the Glossary
 ARFIELD
N by R ICHARD G
GA ME DESIG

STARTER SET COMPONENTS

The components included in a KeyForge: Call of the Archons starter set
are pictured here for identification purposes.

WELCOME TO THE CRUCIBLE…

You are an Archon. Hailed by some as a god, respected by others for
your wisdom, you were born—or perhaps created—on the Crucible, a
world in which anything is possible.
The Crucible is ancient, but ever renewed. An artificial planet hanging in
the center of the universe, the Crucible’s many layers remain constantly
under construction by the enigmatic and mischievous Architects. For raw
22 Damage Tokens 26 Æmber Tokens
materials, the Architects have harvested countless worlds, blending them
into a new whole both familiar and alien to the creatures that dwell there.
Whether lone specimens or entire cultures, the beings brought to the
gus the Supre “Onyx” Censorius
Crucible find themselves in a strange wonderland with no obvious means iant Ar me Miss
Rad

of returning to their former homes. Some thrive, building new societies

and developing new technologies with the aid of the mysterious psychic
substance known as Æmber. Some discard the trappings of their old
lives, adopting the ways and customs of new tribes discovered in this new
world. Others devolve, bodies and minds twisted beyond all recognition,
incorporating Æmber into their very bodies.
As an Archon, you have gathered followers in your journeys throughout
the Crucible, allies who find value in your ageless wisdom and your Logos Untamed Brobnar Shadows

ability to speak to all creatures. With the aid of these allies, you seek
Sanctum Dis

out Vaults hidden throughout the Crucible by the cryptic Architects. Radiant Argus the Miss “Onyx” Censorius
Each Vault can only be unlocked by Æmber-forged keys. Once open, a Supreme Starter Deck Starter Deck
Vault’s contents—the power and knowledge of the Architects—can be
consumed by only a single Archon.
When two Archons discover a Vault, only one can gain its knowledge.
Only one can move one step closer to the secret of the Crucible…

OVERVIEW
KeyForge is a two-player card game in which each player takes the role
of an Archon, and leads that Archon’s deck against their opponent.
When this creature is used, it
A player’s deck represents a team that is attempting to gain Æmber and This creature gets +1 Power. does nothing other than discard
all stun counters on it.
forge keys. The first player to gather three keys is able to unlock a Vault 6 Key Tokens
and win the game. +1 Power Stun

The defining feature of KeyForge is that no two decks are alike. This is
not a trading card game—you cannot craft a deck. Rather, each deck 10 Power Status 10 Stun Status
Cards Cards
must remain as it is. Every deck in existence is unique!

USING THIS DOCUMENT Chain Tracker

24 23 22 21 20 19 -4
CARDS

If you have never played a game of KeyForge before, start by using the 18 17 16 15 14 13 -3
Quickstart document included in the starter set to learn the basics of CARDS

the game. 12 11 10 9 8 7 -2
CARDS

After playing a game using the Quickstart, players can read the full rules 6 5 4 3 2 1 -1
in this document and learn more about the KeyForge setting. CARD

In addition to rules and setting information, this document includes a 2 Chain Tracker Cards
Glossary of important game concepts and terminology that will be useful and Tokens
while interpreting card abilities.
Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3
Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 9
Fiction and Setting Information. . . . . . page 15
Errata and FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 25 2 Unique KeyForge
Archon Decks

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 2
KEY CONCEPTS
This section introduces a number of foundational concepts to keep in
mind while playing the game.

THE GOLDEN RULE

If the text of a card directly contradicts the text of the rules, the text of
the card takes precedence.

OBJECTIVE
During the game, players use their cards to collect Æmber. Players use
Æmber to forge keys. The game ends immediately when a player forges
their third key, and that player wins the game.

READY AND EXHAUSTED

Cards that are in play exist in one of two states.
Ready cards are oriented upright so that their text may be read from left
to right. A ready card can be used during a player’s turn, causing it to
exhaust.
Exhausted cards are rotated 90 degrees to the side. An exhausted card
is not able to be used until it is readied by a game step or card ability.
All creatures and artifacts enter play exhausted.
4
player’s battleline.)
is on a flank. (The flank is either end of a
Staunch Knight gets +2 power while it
Mads Ahm

GAME SETUP
Staunch Knight
259

HUMAN • KNIGHT

Staunch Knight 2
4
CREATURE

CREATURE

HUMAN • KNIGHT
Radiant Argus the Supreme

Staunch Knight gets +2 power while it

is on a flank. (The flank is either end of a
To set up the game, perform the following steps, in order:
1
player’s battleline.)
Place all damage tokens, Æmber tokens, and status cards in a common
©2018 FFG

supply within easy reach of both players.

2

©2018 FFG
Mads Ahm 259 Radiant Argus the Supreme

2 Each player places their identity card to the left or right side of their
play area.
Ready Exhausted
3 Each player places three key tokens, one of each color, with the
unforged side faceup near their identity card.
4
RUNNING OUT OF TOKENS Randomly determine who is the first player. That player takes the first
turn when the game begins. (If players are playing a series of games
OR STATUS CARDS between two decks, in each game after the first, the player who used
the deck that was defeated in the previous game chooses who is the
There is no limit to the number of damage tokens, Æmber tokens, or first player.)
status cards that can be in the game area at a given time. If there is a 5 Each player shuffles their deck and offers it to the opponent for
shortage of the provided tokens or status cards, other tokens, counters, additional shuffling and/or a final cut.
or coins may be used to track the game state.
6 The first player draws a starting hand of seven cards. The other player
draws a starting hand of six cards.
7 Each player, starting with the first player, has one opportunity to
mulligan their starting hand by shuffling it back into their deck and
drawing a new starting hand with one fewer card in it. (This step is
skipped in the Quickstart game.)
The game is now ready to begin.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 3
 SUGGESTED PLAY AREA (MID-GAME)

Opponent’s Play Area

Common Supply

Forged Key
Valdr Ganger Chieftain The Terror Bad Penny
6 CREATURE
~ 5 CREATURE
~ 5 CREATURE
~ 1 CREATURE
~
GIANT GIANT DEMON • KNIGHT HUMAN • THIEF
Valdr deals +2D while attacking an Play: You may ready and fight with a Play: If your opponent has no A, Destroyed: Return Bad Penny to
enemy creature on the flank. (The flank neighboring creature. (That creature gain 2A. your hand.
This creature gets +1 Power. is either end of a player’s battleline.) may be from any house.) “I once thought that these creatures A Bad Penny saved is a Bad Penny earned.
could be redeemed. Now I know better.”

©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG
“Gather that Æmber! And you’re welcome.” It takes two to fight, but more is better.
When this creature is used, it – Champion Anaphiel
does nothing other than discard
all stun counters on it. Caio Monteiro 029 Miss “Onyx” Censorius Forrest Imel 033 Miss “Onyx” Censorius Matthew Mizak 101 Miss “Onyx” Censorius Nasrul Hakim 296 Miss “Onyx” Censorius
+1 Power

Stun
Battleline
“Onyx” Censorius
Miss
Status Cards
Gauntlet of Command
ARTIFACT

Æmber
1A each time a friendly creature fights.
Play: For the remainder of the turn, gain
Monztre
018

Warsong
ACTION

ITEM
Miss “Onyx” Censorius

Brobnar Shadows
Action: Ready and fight with a friendly
Dis
guussCtehthneesSoSuriupuprseremme
aadisdiasian“ntOtAnArygrx” creature. (That creature may be from any
RRM
Radiant Argus the Supremee house.)
“I said ‘take me to your leader’ and got a fist to the

©2018 FFG
face.” – Captain Val Jericho
©2018 FFG

Eric Kenji Aoyagi 022 Miss “Onyx” Censorius

Identity Card

Discard Pile Deck

Artifact

Unforged Keys

TURN SEQUENCE effect you control combined with the Æmber in your Æmber pool to
forge a key you must do so during Step 1.
The game is played over a series of turns. Players alternate taking turns
until one player wins the game. STEP 2: CHOOSE A HOUSE
Each turn consists of five steps:
Each KeyForge deck is composed of three different houses, which are
1 Forge a key. shown on the identity card. During this step, the active player chooses
2 Choose a house. one of the houses on their identity card to activate, making it the active
house for the remainder of the turn. This active house determines
3 Play, discard, and use cards of the chosen house.
which cards the active player can play, discard from their hand, and use
4 Ready cards. this turn.
5 Draw cards. After choosing a house, the active player has the option to take all
The player taking a turn is referred to as the active player. The active cards in their archives and add them to their hand. (See “Archives” in
player is the only player that can perform actions or make decisions; a the Glossary.)
player does not make any decisions when it is not their turn. If a player controls a card that does not belong to one of the three
Each step is described in the following sections. houses on their identity card, they may (if they desire) choose and
activate that house during this step instead of one of the three
houses in their deck.
STEP 1: FORGE A KEY A player cannot choose to activate a house unless it is either on
If the active player has enough Æmber to forge a key during this step, their identity card or they control a card that belongs to that house.
they must do so. To forge a key, the active player spends Æmber from If a card effect instructs a player that they must activate a house
the Æmber pool on their identity card, returning it to the common other than one in the aforementioned categories, that card effect is
supply. Then, that player flips any one of their key tokens over to its ignored (See Cannot VS Must/May.)
forged side, indicating that the key has been forged.
The default cost to forge a key is six Æmber. Some card abilities
may increase or decrease this number.
No more than one key can be forged during this step each turn, even
if the active player has enough Æmber to forge multiple keys.
Some cards have effects that allow Æmber on these cards to be
spent when forging keys. If there is enough Æmber on cards with this

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 4
STEP 3: PLAY, DISCARD, AND USE CARDS PLAYING CARDS
OF THE CHOSEN HOUSE The active player is permitted to play any number of cards that belong to
the active house during step three of their turn.
The active player may play or discard any number of cards of the active
house from their hand and may use any number of cards of the active ÆMBER BONUS
house that are in play under their control. Eligible cards may be played,
used, or discarded in any order. Many cards in the game have an Æmber bonus below the house icon.
When a card with an Æmber bonus is played, the first thing the active
A card’s house is determined by an icon in the player does is gain that much Æmber. Each time a player gains Æmber
upper-left corner. If the active house corresponds
to a card’s icon, that card is eligible to be played, Gauntlet o f C omany
(for mareason),
nd the Æmber is placed in that player’s Æmber pool (on
their identity card).
ARTIFACT
used, or discarded.
Rules for playing, discarding, and using cards are
described later. Æmber
Bonus
First Turn Rule: During the first player’s first
turn of the game, that player cannot play or
A Brobnar Card
discard more than one card from their hand.
Card effects can modify this rule.
PLAY ABILITIES
The active player may not play, use, or discard cards that aren’t of the
Some cards have a bold “Play:” ability. Such abilities resolve after
active house unless specified by a card ability.
the card’s Æmber bonus is collected, if it has any, and after the card
enters play.

HOUSES ITEM
CARD TYPES Mind Barb
Action: Ready and fight with a friendly
creature. (That creature There
may be arefrom
four anytypes of cards in the game: action cards, artifacts,ACTION
house.) creatures, and upgrades. There are different rules describing how each
card Play: Your opponent discards a random
“I said ‘take me to your leader’ andtype
got a is
fistplayed.
to the

©2018 FFG
face.” – Captain Val Jericho card from their hand.
Brobnar Dis Logos
Eric Kenji Aoyagi 022 Miss “Onyx” Censorius

ACTION CARDS
When an action card is played, the active
Grigory Serov 067 Miss “Onyx” Censorius
player resolves the card’s “Play:” ability
Mars Sanctum Shadows Untamed
and, after resolving as much of the ability
as possible, places the card in their
discard pile.
Warsong
STEP 4: READY CARDS ACTION

Play: For the remainder of the turn, gain

1A each time a friendly creature fights.
The active player readies each of their exhausted cards.

©2018 FFG
STEP 5: DRAW CARDS Monztre 018 Miss “Onyx” Censorius

Gauntlet of Command
The active player draws cards from the top of their deck until they have ARTIFACT

six cards in their hand. After a player completes this step, their turn ends.
ARTIFACTS
If the active player has more than six cards in hand, they do not
Artifacts enter play exhausted and are
discard down to six.
placed in a row in front of the player but
If a player needs to draw cards (during this step or at any other time) behind that player’s battleline, which is
and cannot because their deck is empty, that player shuffles their explained on the next page. Artifacts
discard pile to reset their deck, and then continues to draw (cards are ITEM

Action: Ready and fight with a friendly remain in play from turn to turn.
drawn one at a time). creature. (That creature may be from any
house.)
“I said ‘take me to your leader’ and got a fist to the
©2018 FFG

When a player’s turn ends, if that player has enough Æmber in their face.” – Captain Val Jericho

pool to afford a key, the player announces “Check!” so that their Eric Kenji Aoyagi 022 Miss “Onyx” Censorius

opponent knows the forging of a key at the start of that player’s next
turn is imminent.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 5
CREATURES UPGRADES
Creatures enter play exhausted and are placed in the front row of Upgrades enter play attached to (i.e., partially overlapped by) a creature
the active player’s play area. This row is referred to as the battleline. chosen by the player who controls the upgrade. Each upgrade remains in
Creatures remain in play from turn to turn, and they each have play from turn to turn and modifies the card to which it is attached.
power and armor values that they use to resolve fights, which are If the card to which an upgrade is attached leaves play, the upgrade
described later. is discarded.
If an upgrade cannot attach to a card in play, the upgrade cannot
enter play.

Protect the Weak

UPGRADE

This creature gets +1 armor

and gains taunt. (This creature’s
neighbors cannot be attacked
unless they have taunt.)
Power Value Armor Value

©2018 FFG
Staunch Knight 2
4 CREATURE

HUMAN • KNIGHT
Staunch Knight gets +2 power while it
is on a flank. (The flank is either end of a
player’s battleline.)
©2018 FFG

Mads Ahm 259 Radiant Argus the Supreme

3 Quixo the “Adventurer”

CREATURE
~
Creature HUMAN • SCIENTIST
Skirmish. (When you use this creature to
Jessada Sutthi 265 fight,Argus
Radiant it is
the dealt
Supreme no damage in return.)

Each time a creature enters play, it must be placed on a flank—at the Fight: Draw a card.

©2018 FFG
“...I’ll leave this part out of the memoir.”

far left or the far right of its controller’s battleline. Each time a creature
David Auden Nash 144 Radiant Argus the Supreme

leaves play, shift the battleline inward to close the gap.

The Protect the Weak upgrade is attached to

the creature, Quixo the “Adventurer.”

DISCARDING CARDS
The active player can discard from their hand any number of cards from
Valdr Headhunter Tocsin
6 5 3
Left Flank ~ ~ ~
Right Flank
CREATURE CREATURE CREATURE

GIANT GIANT DEMON

Valdr deals +2D while attacking an Fight: Gain 1A. Reap: Your opponent discards a
enemy creature on the flank. (The flank random card from their hand.

the active house during step three of their turn. Cards are discarded one
“I mean, I think it’s a head...”
is either end of a player’s battleline.)
©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG

“Gather that Æmber! And you’re welcome.”

Caio Monteiro 029 Miss “Onyx” Censorius Nicola Saviori 035 Miss “Onyx” Censorius Gabriel Rubio 102 Miss “Onyx” Censorius

at a time, at any point throughout this step. This lets players remove
cards that they do not want to play from their hand, freeing up space to
The Battleline
draw more cards at the end of the turn.

USING CARDS
The active player can use any number of cards from the active house that
they have in play during step three of their turn. Depending on a card’s
Bad Penny
1 CREATURE

HUMAN • THIEF
Destroyed: Return Bad Penny to
your hand.
~
type, the active player is able to do different things when using that card.
A Bad Penny saved is a Bad Penny earned.
©2018 FFG

Nasrul Hakim 296 Miss “Onyx” Censorius

UPGRADES
An upgrade modifies the creature it is attached to and is not used
your hand.
Destroyed: Return Bad Penny to
Nasrul Hakim

independently of that creature.

A Bad Penny saved is a Bad Penny earned.
296

Bad Penny
HUMAN • THIEF
CREATURE

Valdr Headhunter
Miss “Onyx” Censorius

Tocsin
6 CREATURE
~ 5 CREATURE
~ 3 CREATURE
~
USING ARTIFACTS
GIANT GIANT DEMON
Valdr deals +2D while attacking an Fight: Gain 1A. Reap: Your opponent discards a
enemy creature on the flank. (The flank “I mean, I think it’s a head...” random card from their hand.
~

is either end of a player’s battleline.) ©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG

“Gather that Æmber! And you’re welcome.”

There are two types of abilities that enable a player to use an artifact:
Caio Monteiro 029 Miss “Onyx” Censorius Nicola Saviori 035 Miss “Onyx” Censorius Gabriel Rubio 102 Miss “Onyx” Censorius

“Action:” abilities and “Omni:” abilities.

Creatures enter play on the flank
of the battleline. When a player uses an artifact, they exhaust the card and then
resolve its abilities.
A player can only use an “Action:” ability if it is on a card that
belongs to the active house.
A player can resolve an “Omni:” ability even if it is on a card that
does not belong to the active house.
Tocsin
3 CREATURE
~
DEMON
Reap: Your opponent discards a
random card from their hand.
©2018 FFG

Gabriel Rubio 102 Miss “Onyx” Censorius

Some artifacts require that they be sacrificed as part of the cost of
using them. When an artifact is sacrificed, it is placed in its owner’s
discard pile. A player must still exhaust such an artifact when using it.
Artifacts cannot be used to reap or to fight.
Valdr Headhunter Tocsin Bad Penny
6 CREATURE
~ 5 CREATURE
~ 3 CREATURE
~ 1 CREATURE
~
GIANT GIANT DEMON HUMAN • THIEF
Valdr deals +2D while attacking an Fight: Gain 1A. Reap: Your opponent discards a Destroyed: Return Bad Penny to
enemy creature on the flank. (The flank “I mean, I think it’s a head...” random card from their hand. your hand.
is either end of a player’s battleline.) A Bad Penny saved is a Bad Penny earned.
©2018 FFG
©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG

“Gather that Æmber! And you’re welcome.”

Caio Monteiro 029 Miss “Onyx” Censorius Nicola Saviori 035 Miss “Onyx” Censorius Gabriel Rubio 102 Miss “Onyx” Censorius Nasrul Hakim 296 Miss “Onyx” Censorius

If a creature leaves play, the

battleline is shifted inward.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 6
USING CREATURES OMNI
When a player uses a creature, that player must exhaust the creature, Any ready creature may trigger its “Omni:” ability, if it has one,
and the player has the option to reap, fight, trigger the creature’s even if it does not belong to the active house. When a creature is
“Action:” ability, or trigger the creature’s “Omni:” ability. Any card effect used to trigger its “Omni:” ability, the creature exhausts and that
that causes a creature to fight, reap, trigger its “Action:” ability, or to “Omni:” ability resolves.
trigger it’s “Omni:” ability is causing that creature to be used.
DAMAGE AND ARMOR
REAP When a creature is dealt damage, place an amount of damage tokens
Any ready creature of the active house may reap. When a equal to the amount of damage dealt on the creature. If a creature has as
creature is used to reap, the creature exhausts and its controller much or more damage on it as it has power, the creature is destroyed and
gains 1 Æmber for their Æmber pool. Then, all “Reap:” abilities the placed on top of its owner’s discard pile. If a creature has an armor value
creature has, if it has any, resolve. (to the right of the card’s title), the armor prevents that much incoming
damage each turn. (For more details, see “Armor” in the Glossary.)
FIGHT When a creature leaves play, any Æmber on that creature is gained
Any ready creature of the active house may fight. When a creature by the opponent. (See “Capture” in the Glossary.)
is used to fight, the creature exhausts and its controller chooses one
eligible creature controlled by the opponent as the target of the
attack. Each of the two creatures deals an amount of damage equal to CARD ABILITIES
its power (the value to the left of the card’s title) to the other creature.
Unless otherwise specified by the ability, the active player makes all
All of this damage is dealt simultaneously. After the fight resolves, if
decisions while resolving an ability.
the creature that is being used to fight survives, all “Fight:” abilities
the creature has, if it has any, resolve. For details on specific terminology that can be found in card ability text,
see the Glossary.
A creature cannot fight if there is no enemy creature that can be
chosen as the target of the attack.
RESOLVE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
ACTION While resolving a card ability, resolve as much of the ability as can be
Any ready creature of the active house may trigger its “Action:” resolved, and ignore any parts of the ability that cannot be resolved.
ability, if it has one. When a creature is used to trigger its “Action:” Example: Aaron plays the card Anger (COTA 001), that reads “Play:
ability, the creature exhausts and that “Action:” ability resolves. Ready and fight with a friendly creature.”, and chooses his friendly
Snufflegator (COTA 358) to resolve the ability on. However, the
Snufflegator is already ready, so Aaron ignores that part of the ability and
just uses his friendly Snufflegator to fight.

COMBAT EXAMPLE USING CARDS VIA OTHER CARD ABILITIES

If a card ability allows a player to play or use another card (or to fight or
Radiant Argus the Supreme 255 Caio Monteiro Radiant Argus the Supreme 255 Caio Monteiro
to reap with a card), the chosen card may belong to any house unless the
©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG

1 2 ability specifically states otherwise.

return that A to your opponent.) return that A to your opponent.)
this creature. If this creature leaves play, this creature. If this creature leaves play,
from the opponent’s pool and placed on from the opponent’s pool and placed on
Play: Capture 1A. (Captured A is taken Play: Capture 1A. (Captured A is taken
HUMAN • KNIGHT HUMAN • KNIGHT

2 Raiding Knight
CREATURE 4 2 Raiding Knight
CREATURE 4

When using a card via a card ability, any other requirements of using
the card (such as exhausting to reap, fight, or resolve its “Action:”
ability) must be observed, or the card cannot be used.
Players can only use cards they control, unless a card ability
specifically states otherwise.
5
gain 2A.
Play: If your opponent has no A,
Matthew Mizak
5
gain 2A.
Play: If your opponent has no A,
Matthew Mizak

could be redeemed. Now I know better.”

“I once thought that these creatures
could be redeemed. Now I know better.”
“I once thought that these creatures

– Champion Anaphiel
101

The Terror
DEMON • KNIGHT
– Champion Anaphiel
101

The Terror
DEMON • KNIGHT

The Terror
CREATURE

5 ~
THE RULE OF SIX
CREATURE

CREATURE
Miss “Onyx” Censorius

DEMON • KNIGHT
Miss “Onyx” Censorius

Play: If your opponent has no A,

gain 2A.
“I once thought that these creatures
could be redeemed. Now I know better.”
©2018 FFG

– Champion Anaphiel

Occasionally, a situation may emerge in which, through a combination

©2018 FFG
~

©2018 FFG
Matthew Mizak 101 Miss “Onyx” Censorius

of abilities, the same card may be played or used repeatedly during the
Tom, who has activated House The Terror has a power of 5, and same turn. A player cannot play and/or use the same card and/or other
Dis this turn, exhausts the Terror attempts to deal 5 damage to
to fight, and chooses to attack the Raiding Knight. The Raiding
copies of that card (by title) more than six times during a given turn.
his opponent’s Raiding Knight. Knight has a power of 4, and
attempts to deal 4 damage to CONSTANT ABILITIES
The Terror.
If a card has an ability that does
not have a boldfaced precursor,
the ability is a constant ability
Radiant Argus the Supreme 255 Caio Monteiro
©2018 FFG

3
return that A to your opponent.)
this creature. If this creature leaves play,

that is active so long as the card

from the opponent’s pool and placed on
Play: Capture 1A. (Captured A is taken
HUMAN • KNIGHT

2 Raiding Knight
CREATURE 4

remains in play and meets all

Prevented damage conditions specified by the ability. Mother
5 CREATURE
~
is not placed on Constant abilities on a card ROBOT • SCIENTIST

the creature, and is are active even while that card

During your “draw cards” step, refill
your hand to 1 additional card.
instead returned to the “Of course she’s necessary, she’s the mother of all
is exhausted. invention!”
©2018 FFG

common supply.
5
gain 2A.
Play: If your opponent has no A,
Matthew Mizak

could be redeemed. Now I know better.”

“I once thought that these creatures

Applying the effects of

– Champion Anaphiel
101

The Terror
DEMON • KNIGHT

JB Casacop 145 Radiant Argus the Supreme

CREATURE
Miss “Onyx” Censorius

a constant ability is not

~

considered using a card and The game text on Mother is an example of a

©2018 FFG

therefore does not cause the constant ability.

The Raiding Knight has 2 armor, so 2 of the damage assigned to
it is prevented. 3 damage is placed on the Raiding Knight, and 4 card to exhaust.
damage is placed on The Terror.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 7
CHAINS CHAIN HANDICAPS (OPTIONAL)
When playing a game between a weaker deck and a stronger
Chains represent supernatural bindings that are occasionally placed deck, players may use chains as a means to handicap the stronger
onto specific Archons by the Architects: sometimes in an effort to better deck. Chains are used when players want a fair game between two
challenge the Archon to grow and overcome greater adversity, and known decks rather than a potentially unfair competition between decks
other times to penalize the Archon for breaking a rule or a piece of that aren’t known. When playing with new decks, or competing in a
Crucible etiquette. tournament, players will not use this handicap.
A player may gain chains through card abilities during a game. When
a player gains chains, that player increases their chain tracker by the SUGGESTIONS FOR ASSIGNING CHAINS
number of chains gained. When the players have a sense that a particular deck is stronger than
the opposing deck, start it with four chains. From then on, every time
Chain Tracker the chained deck wins three games in a row against that opposing
24 23 22 21 20 19 -4 deck, adjust the number of chains up by one, and if it loses three
games in a row, adjust the number of chains down by one.
CARDS

18 17 16 15 14 13 -3
CARDS As a player plays more games with their collection, the number of
chains assigned to a deck will fluctuate up and down based on the
Number of 12 11 10 9 8 7 -2 Draw
matchup and how well the deck has performed against the opposing
Modifier
CARDS

Chains deck.
6 5 4 3 2 1 -1
CARD

CHAIN BIDDING
If players are reasonably familiar with two decks they can ignore the
Each time (including during setup) a player with one or more chains would suggested number of chains, and instead bid a number of chains for
draw one or more cards to refill their hand, that player draws fewer cards the right to use a particular deck.
(based on their current chain level, see below) and then sheds one chain Example: Terry and Julie decide to play Mother Mahospot against
by reducing their chain tracker by one. Chancellor Fisher. Mother Mahospot is a deck that both players are
The more chains a player has, the greater the card penalty becomes. very familiar with, feel is quite strong, and enjoy playing. Chancellor
Fisher is a newer deck, that the players are not as comfortable
Chains 1–6: draw 1 fewer card.
playing. The above guidelines suggest they begin with four chains
Chains 7–12: draw 2 fewer cards.
on Mother Mahospot. Julie looks at Fisher, considers a moment, and
Chains 13–18: draw 3 fewer cards.
says, “I’ll play Mother Mahospot at five.” Terry raises to six. Julie
Chains 19–24: draw 4 fewer cards.
goes to seven. Terry decides to let her play it at seven, and plays
Example: Tori has been assigned seven chains. During setup, Tori will Chancellor Fisher.
draw two fewer cards and shed a chain. Then, the next six times Tori
refills her hand, she will draw up to five cards and shed another chain.
After all of her chains have been shed, Tori will draw to the standard WHAT’S NEXT
hand size. You are now familiar with the basic rules of the game. The next section
of this book contains a Glossary of advanced concepts that can be
referenced while playing or interpreting card abilities.
An introduction to the KeyForge setting, with two short stories and
an introduction to each of the houses in the game, can be found on
page 15.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 8
GLOSSARY ARMOR
Some creatures have an armor value to the right of the card title. Armor
This Glossary includes a number of concepts and terms players may prevents an amount of damage equal to the armor value that the creature
encounter while playing the game, in alphabetical order. Instead of would take each turn. Armor prevents damage before it is actually dealt.
reading this section from beginning to end, players are encouraged to For example, if a creature has two armor and is dealt one damage, that
only look up new concepts as they are encountered during play. damage is instead prevented by the armor, leaving the creature with
one armor that can prevent damage left for the rest of the turn. If the
ABILITY, CARD ABILITY creature is later dealt three more damage during that turn, one damage is
prevented and the other two damage are dealt to that creature.
An ability is the special game text a card contributes to the game.
If a creature gains armor, the gains are additive and accumulate on top of
Unless an ability explicitly references an out-of-play area (such as a hand,
the creature’s printed armor value.
deck, archives, or discard pile), that ability can only interact with cards
that are in play. Abilities that interact with a card after it is destroyed can If a creature gains armor during a turn, the gained armor does not
interact with that card while it is in the discard pile. prevent damage already dealt that turn. If a creature loses armor during
a turn, it is not retroactively dealt damage that was already prevented by
Abilities on a creature, artifact, or upgrade are only active (and can
the armor.
only be triggered) while that card is in play, unless the ability explicitly
references being used from an out-of-play area. If a creature loses any amount of armor, it loses armor that has been
used to prevent damage this turn before it loses armor that has not been
ACTION ABILITY used to prevent damage this turn.
To use an “Action:” ability during their turn, the active player must If a creature has a “~” symbol in its armor field, the creature has no
exhaust the card. The ability then resolves. armor. Such creatures may gain armor through card effects.

ACTIVE HOUSE AS IF IT WERE YOURS/AS IF YOU CONTROLLED IT

The active house is the house that the active player has chosen for the If a card effect instructs you to use a card “as if it were yours” or “as if
current turn. you controlled it,” it causes you to use the card even if you don’t control
it. You never gain control of the card during this process, but you resolve
ACTIVE PLAYER the effect as if you controlled the card.
The active player is the player taking the current turn. The active player When using a card “as if it were yours/as if you controlled it” that
makes all necessary decisions for all card abilities or timing conflicts that instructs you to sacrifice the card as part of the effect, the card is still
need to resolve during their turn. sacrificed as if you controlled it.

ADJACENT ASSAULT (X)

When a creature card refers to a game element as being “adjacent” to When a creature with the assault (X) keyword attacks, it deals damage
that creature or being played “adjacent” to that creature, it is referring to equal to its assault value (i.e., “X”) to the creature it is fighting before the
a card being in or being played into the position to the immediate right fight resolves. (The active player chooses whether this occurs before or
or immediate left of that creature. after other “Before Fight” effects and keywords.) If this damage destroys
the other creature, the rest of the fight does not occur.
See also “Neighboring”
If a creature with the assault (X) keyword gains another instance of the
ALPHA assault (X) keyword, the two X values are added together.
When a card has the Alpha keyword, it can only be played if you haven’t
played, used, or discarded any other cards during the current step of ATTACK, ATTACKER, ATTACKING
your turn. See “Fight” on page 11.

ÆMBER BATTLELINE
Æmber is tracked by Æmber tokens, and is used to The battleline is the ordered line of creatures a player controls in play.
forge keys. See “Creatures” on page 6.
Only Æmber in your own Æmber pool is considered Æmber Token
“yours” for the purpose of card effects.
BEFORE
If the word “before” is used in an ability (for example, “Before Reap:” or
See also: Capture, Keys, Reap, Steal.
“Before Fight:”), that ability resolves before resolving the game effect of
the reap or fight (but after the card exhausts, if exhausting is required to
ARCHIVES
use the card).
A player’s archives is a facedown game area in front of that player’s
identity card. Card abilities are the only means by which a player is CANNOT VS MUST/MAY, CANNOT VS PERMISSIVE
permitted to add cards to their archives. During step 2 of a player’s turn,
If two card effects are simultaneously instructing a player that they
after they select an active house, the active player is permitted to pick up
“cannot” do something and that they “must” or “may” do the same
all cards in their archives and add those cards to their hand.
thing, the “cannot” effect takes precedence.
Cards in a player’s archives are considered out of play.
Example: Anna controls a Pitlord (COTA 093) which reads “While
A player may look at their archives at any time. A player is not permitted Pitlord is in play you must choose Dis as your active house.” On their
to look at an opponent’s archives. next turn Anna’s opponent plays Restringuntus (COTA 094) which reads
If the ability instructing a player to archive a card does not specify where “Play: Choose a house. Your opponent cannot choose that house as
the card is archived from, the archived card comes from that player’s hand. their active house until Restringuntus leaves play.” and chooses Dis for
its ability. On Anna’s next turn, she both must and cannot choose Dis,
but because cannot takes precedence over must, she only cannot
choose Dis and must choose one of her other
houses instead.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 9
If two card effects are simultaneously instructing a player that they DESTROYED
cannot do something and that they may do something, the “cannot” When a card is destroyed by a card effect or when a creature has
effect takes precedence. damage on it equal to or greater than its power, that card is tagged for
destruction. After it is tagged, then that card’s “Destroyed:” abilities
CAPTURE trigger, and finally the tagged card is placed into its owner’s discard pile.
Captured Æmber is taken from an opponent’s Æmber pool and placed If multiple cards are simultaneously tagged for destruction, the active
on a creature controlled by the capturing player. Players may not spend player chooses the order in which to resolve the “Destroyed:” abilities
captured Æmber. of any of those cards, and also chooses the order in which those cards
are placed in their owner’s discard piles.
When a creature with Æmber on it leaves play, the Æmber is placed in
the opponent’s Æmber pool. Once a creature has been tagged for destruction, the only thing that can
remove this tag is a replacement effect that uses the word “instead” and
Unless otherwise specified, Æmber is placed on the creature that
replaces the destruction of that creature. An effect that heals a tagged
captured it.
creature does not remove the destroyed tag. An effect may move a
tagged creature to a different out-of-play area (such as the hand or
CHAIN, CHAINS
archives), but that creature is still considered to have been “destroyed”
Some card abilities cause a player to gain one or more chains. If a player for the purposes of card effects.
gains chains, that player increases their chain tracker by the number of
If a “Destroyed:” ability causes more cards to be destroyed, they are
chains gained.
also tagged for destruction, and their “Destroyed:” effects will also
If a player has at least one chain when refilling their hand and would trigger before cards are placed in the discard pile.
draw cards based on the number of remaining cards in their hand, they
Players cannot choose to sacrifice or destroy a creature that is already
draw fewer cards according to the chart below. Then, they shed one
tagged for destruction. A card that is already tagged for destruction
chain by reducing the number on their chain tracker by one.
cannot be tagged for destruction again, and any effect that attempts
Chains 1-6: draw one fewer card. to destroy or sacrifice that card fails. That card still only triggers its
Chains 7-12: draw two fewer cards. “Destroyed:” abilities once.
Chains 13-18: draw three fewer cards.
A card only triggers “Destroyed:” abilities that it had at the time it was
Chains 19-24: draw four fewer cards.
tagged for destruction. If a card gains a “Destroyed:” ability after it is
While drawing an initial hand of cards during setup, if a deck has chains already tagged, that ability does not trigger.
assigned to it, the chains also apply to the initial hand of cards drawn as
Cards that are sacrificed also count as being destroyed. They are tagged
if you were refilling a hand during step 5. A chain is shed for this initial
for destruction following the same process outlined above.
draw as per the standard rules.
Example: Dan has Archimedes in the middle of 4 other creatures and
See ”Chains” on page 8.
his opponent plays Gateway to Dis, destroying all creatures. First, all of
CONTROL Dan’s creatures are tagged for destruction. Then Archimedes’ neighbors
A player owns the cards that begin the game in their deck. When a card “Destroyed:” effects trigger, archiving them. The battleline immediately
is played, it enters play under the control of the active player. collapses, but Archimedes’ new neighbors have already been tagged
for destruction and cannot gain a new “Destroyed:” ability, so they are
A player can take control of an opponent’s card. When this happens, placed in the discard pile along with Archimedes.
that card is placed in the new controller’s play area. If it is a creature, it is
placed on a flank of the new controller’s battleline. If multiple effects that Example: Emily has a Jehu the Bureaucrat, Duma the Martyr with 2
take control of a card are used on the same card, the most recent effect damage, and Commander Remiel with 1 damage in play. Her opponent
takes precedence. plays a Poison Wave, dealing 2 damage to each creature. This damage
causes Duma the Martyr and Commander Remiel to be tagged for
If a player takes control of a card that belongs to a house not in the new destruction. Duma the Martyr’s “Destroyed:” effect triggers, healing Jehu
controller’s deck, they can make that house the active house during step the Bureaucrat and Commander Remiel. Since Commander Remiel was
2 of their turn. already tagged for destruction, it still goes to the discard pile with Duma
If a card that has changed control leaves play for any reason, it moves to the Martyr, but Jehu the Bureaucrat survives unscathed.
its owner’s appropriate out-of-play zone. Example: Marcus has a Groggins with a Phoenix Heart in play. His
If an ability refers to cards that a player “has” in play, it is referring to opponent, Janelle, has a Dust Imp with a Soulkeeper, a Drumble, and
cards that player controls. a Shaffles in play. Marcus attacks Dust Imp with Groggins, causing Dust
Imp to be tagged for destruction. Dust Imp’s “Destroyed:” ability and the
COST, AT CURRENT COST “Destroyed:” ability that Soulkeeper grants it both trigger simultaneously.
The base cost to forge a key is six Æmber. This cost may be modified by Marcus chooses to let his opponent gain the 2 Æmber first, then trigger
card abilities. The modified cost is referred to as the current cost. the Soulkeeper, which will destroy Marcus’s most powerful creature—
Groggins. When Groggins is tagged for destruction, the Phoenix Heart
DAMAGE attached to it triggers, returning Groggins to Marcus’s hand and dealing
3 damage to each other creature. This damage then tags Drumble and
Damage a creature has taken is tracked by placing damage tokens on Shaffles for destruction. Finally, all the destroyed creatures still in play
the creature. If a creature has an amount of damage on it equal to or (Dust Imp, Drumble, and Shaffles) are placed in their owner’s discard pile
greater than its power, the creature is destroyed. Damage on a creature in the order of the active player (Marcus’s) choice.
does not reduce its power. If multiple creatures are damaged by a single
effect, that damage is dealt simultaneously.
For more details on damage and combat, see page 7.

DEPLOY
A creature with the deploy keyword does not need to be played on
the flank of its controller’s battleline. Instead, when it is played it can
be placed anywhere in its controller’s battleline, including between two
other creatures.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 10
DISCARD PILE Example: Red Planet Ray Gun reads “This creature gains, “Reap: Choose
When a card is destroyed or discarded, it is placed on top of its owner’s a creature. Deal 1 damage to that creature for each Mars creature in
discard pile. The cards in each player’s discard pile are open information, play.”” That damage must be dealt only to the chosen creature—it
and may be referenced at any time. cannot be distributed among multiple creatures.

The order of cards in a player’s discard pile is maintained during play, FORGE
unless a card ability causes this order to change.
For details on forging keys, see page 4.
When a player runs out of cards in their deck and are required to draw,
they shuffle their discard pile to create a new deck.
FRIENDLY
ELUSIVE If a card ability refers to a “friendly” game element, it refers to an
The first time a creature with the elusive keyword is attacked each turn, it element currently under the control of the same player.
is dealt no damage and deals no damage to the attacker in the fight.
Elusive only stops damage that would be dealt by each creature’s power;
HAZARDOUS (X)
damage dealt by keywords or other abilities still applies. When a creature with the hazardous X keyword is attacked, it deals X
damage to the attacking creature before the fight resolves. (The active
END OF TURN player chooses whether this occurs before or after other “Before Fight”
effects and keywords.) If this damage destroys the other creature, the
End of turn effects are resolved when a player’s turn is over—after step 5,
rest of the fight does not occur.
the “Draw Cards” step.
If a creature with the hazardous (X) keyword gains another instance of the
hazardous (X) keyword, the two X values are added together.
ENEMY
If a card ability refers to an “enemy” game element, it refers to an HEAL
element currently controlled by the opponent. If an ability “heals” a creature, remove the specified amount of damage
from the creature.
FIGHT
If an ability “fully heals” a creature, remove all damage from the creature.
When a player uses a creature to fight, the player exhausts the creature
and chooses an opponent’s creature. Both creatures deal an amount of Any creature can be chosen to be healed by a card effect that heals,
damage equal to their power value to the opposing creature in the fight, even if it does not have any damage on it. However, if no damage is
and both are “fighting” for the purposes of card effects. removed from the creature, it is not considered to have been “healed”
for the purpose of card effects that reference healing.
A creature used to fight is said to be “attacking” and can be referred to
as “the attacker” during that fight. HOUSE CHOICE
If the attacker is not destroyed, all “Fight:” abilities on the attacking Each turn, a player must choose one of the three houses indicated by
creature then resolve. If either creature in a fight has a constant ability their identity card, if able. Some card abilities may restrict a player’s
referencing the end of the fight (example: “after an enemy creature is house choice.
destroyed fighting this creature…”), the creature must survive the fight to
resolve the ability. Only the attacker can trigger “Fight:” abilities. If a player has gained control of a card that does not belong to one of
their three houses, that card’s house becomes an eligible choice for that
“FIGHT WITH” player while the player retains control of the card.

If an ability instructs a player to “fight with” or “ready and fight with” If there is no legal choice of house, the player plays the turn with no
a creature, the ability is granting the player permission to use the active house.
designated creature to fight. The fight is resolved following the standard If a player is faced with two (or more) “must choose” mandates, the
rules for fighting, against a creature controlled by the opponent. player may choose either of those options.

FLANK “IF YOU DO” AND “IN ORDER TO”

The creatures on the far right and far left of a player’s battleline are on If an ability includes the phrase “if you do” or “in order to,” the player
the flanks of the line. A creature in this position is referred to as a flank referenced by the ability must successfully and completely resolve the
creature. Any time a creature enters play or changes control, the active text that precedes that phrase before they can resolve or perform the
player chooses which flank of its controller’s battleine it is placed on. text that follows that phrase. In other words, if the first part of the ability
If a battleline only has one creature in it, that creature is on both the left is not successfully and completely resolved, that which follows the phrase
and right flank and is considered a flank creature. does not resolve or cannot be performed.

“FOR EACH” KEYS

Some abilities include an effect that uses the term “for each” to The first player to forge all three of their keys immediately wins
determine the magnitude of the effect. Unless otherwise specified, a the game.
player may choose to affect a different card with each instance of such The color of a key has no impact on the game. Future card abilities may
an effect. reference keys of a specific color.
Example: Shard of Pain reads “Play: Deal 1 damage to an enemy For details on forging keys, see page 4.
creature for each friendly Shard.” That damage may be distributed
among multiple creatures.
Some abilities specify that a player must “choose a creature,” then do an
effect to that creature using the term “for each.” Such abilities only affect
a single creature.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 11
LASTING EFFECTS MAY
Some card abilities create effects or conditions that affect the game for a If an ability includes the word “may,” the text that follows “may” is
specified period of time, such as “until the start of your next turn” or “for optional. If a player chooses to resolve a “may” ability, the player must
the remainder of the turn.” These are called lasting effects. resolve as much of the ability as they are able.
Lasting effects are treated as constant abilities that are active for the
duration specified by the effect. A lasting effect persists even if the card
MOST POWERFUL
that created the effect leaves play. A reference to the “most powerful” creature refers to the creature in play
with the highest power. If there are multiple creatures that qualify, each is
If a lasting effect affects cards in play, it applies to all cards in play during
considered “most powerful.”
the specified period, regardless of whether they were in play at the time
the lasting effect was established. If an ability requires the selection of a single most powerful creature,
and multiple creatures are tied, the active player chooses among the
LEGACY tied creatures.
This symbol indicates that a card is a legacy card. A legacy Groups of “Most Powerful”
card is a rare instance of a card that has been brought
If a card effect refers to a group of “the X most powerful” creatures,
forward from a previous set of KeyForge. It is legally part of
it is referring to a number of creatures in play that have an equal
the deck it is in for all game purposes, including tournament
or higher power than every creature that does not belong to that
play. group. If there are not enough creatures with the highest power
to fulfill the group, then a creature with the next highest power is
LEAST POWERFUL eligible to be considered a part of the group. This continues until
A reference to the “least powerful” creature refers to the creature in play the group has been filled or there are no creatures remaining. If at
with the lowest power. If there are multiple creatures that qualify, each is any point multiple creatures are tied at the same power that could
considered “least powerful.” qualify them for the group, but there is not enough space in the
If an ability requires the selection of a single least powerful creature, and group for each tied creature, the active player chooses which of the
multiple creatures are tied, the active player chooses one. tied creatures are part of the group.
Groups of “Least Powerful” Example: Tom plays the action card “Three Fates (COTA 071) which
reads, “Play: Destroy the 3 most powerful creatures.” In play there is
If a card effect refers to a group of “the X least powerful” creatures,
an 8 power creature, a 7 power creature, and two 5 power creatures.
it is referring to a number of creatures in play that have an equal
Tom must select 3 creatures to fill the group and must choose the
or lower power than every creature that does not belong to that
8 power creature as the first creature for the group. There are no
group. If there are not enough creatures with the lowest power
other creatures in play that are tied for most powerful. In order to fill
to fulfill the group, then a creature with the next lowest power is
the group the next most powerful creature is selected, the 7 power
eligible to be considered a part of the group. This continues until
creature. After this creature is selected, again there is no creature
the group has been filled or there are no creatures remaining. If at
in play that is tied at 7 power, so a creature from the next highest
any point multiple creatures are tied at the same power that could
power must be selected. Tom thus must choose one of the 5 power
qualify them for the group, but there is not enough space in the
creatures to complete the group.
group for each tied creature, the active player chooses which of the
tied creatures are part of the group. MOVE
When a card instructs you to move Æmber, take that Æmber off of that
LEAVES PLAY card/location and move it to another card/location. This does not count
If a card that is in play leaves play (is returned to hand or deck, as capturing, stealing, or losing Æmber.
destroyed, discarded, archived, or purged), all non-Æmber tokens and When a card instructs you to move damage, take that damage off of one
status cards on the card are removed, all upgrades on the card are card and place it on to another card. This does not count as damaging
discarded, and all lasting effects applied to the card expire. the second card, and is not prevented by armor or other effects that
When a card moves from an in–play zone to an out-of-play zone in which prevent damage.
the identities of cards are hidden from the opponent (such as a player’s When a card instructs you to move a creature, that creature must remain
hand, deck, or archives), any pending effects that are currently or about under its current controller’s control unless the card also specifies that a
to interact with that card no longer do so, unless a card effect explicitly different player is taking control of that creature.
states that it interacts with that zone.
If a creature with Æmber on it leaves play, the Æmber is placed in the
MULLIGAN
opponent’s Æmber pool. If a non-creature card with Æmber on it leaves During setup, each player, starting with the first player, has one
play, the Æmber is returned to the general token pool. opportunity to mulligan their starting hand. This is done by shuffling the
starting hand back into the deck and drawing a new starting hand with
When a card leaves play it is always put into its owner’s appropriate
one fewer card in it.
out-of-play zone, unless a card effect explicitly states that it interacts with
that zone. After a player chooses to mulligan, that player must keep the new
starting hand.
MAVERICK If a player is using a deck that has chains applied to it at the start of the
This symbol indicates that a card is a maverick. A maverick game and takes a mulligan, they do not shed a chain from the mulligan,
is an extremely rare instance of a card that has left its but do draw one fewer card than they had before the mulligan as per the
standard house and is now a part of a new house. For all normal mulligan rules.
game purposes, treat a maverick as belonging to the house
printed on its graphic template.
NEIGHBOR
The creatures to the immediate left and right of a creature in a player’s
battleline are its neighbors.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 12
OMEGA Note: Repeating an effect does not interact with the Rule of Six (see
After a card with the Omega keyword is played, the current step of the page 7), as the Rule of Six only applies to playing or using cards, not
game ends. The active player cannot play, use, or discard any more cards triggering their effect multiple times.
for the remainder of the step. Any pending effects and triggers complete
their resolution, then play continues to the next step. PURGE
When a card is purged, it is removed from the game and placed faceup
OMNI beneath its owner’s identity card. Purged cards no longer interact with
The active player may trigger any ”Omni:“ abilities under their control the game state in any manner.
during any of their turns, even if the card with the ”Omni:“ ability does
not belong to the active house. When a player uses a creature to trigger RARITY
its “Omni:” ability, the player exhausts the creature and then resolves the A card’s rarity symbol can be found at the bottom of the card, near the
“Omni:” ability. collector number. A card’s rarity (common, uncommon, rare, or special)
is used by the deck-generation algorithm to determine how frequently
OFF HOUSE it will appear in decks. Special cards have a different type of distribution
An off house card is any card that belongs to a house that is not the and do not obey the game’s standard rarity rules.
active house.

OPPOSING Common Rare

When a creature is involved in a fight (either because it was used to fight,
or because it was attacked by another creature), the other creature in the
fight is the opposing creature. Uncommon Special
OTHER COUNTERS REAP
Some cards may refer to counters that do not have official components When a player uses a creature to reap, the player exhausts the creature,
to represent them. Players can use any available resources to represent gains 1 Æmber for their Æmber pool, and then all “Reap:” abilities on
these counters such as coins, slips of paper, or even poker chips. These the creature resolve.
counters have no inherent rules, instead the card that creates them
provides context to how the counters function. REPEAT
LIST OF COUNTER TYPES: If card text instructs players to repeat an effect, the entirety of the effect
- Doom Counters resolves again including the text to repeat the effect. If the card that
is creating a repeating effect is removed from play, the effect can no
PAY longer repeat.
If a player must pay Æmber to an opponent, the Æmber is removed from Note: Repeating an effect does not interact with the Rule of Six (see
the paying player’s pool and added to the opponent’s pool. page 7,) as the Rule of Six only applies to playing or using cards, not
triggering their effect multiple times.
PLAY See also “Preceding.”
When a card has a “Play:” ability, the effect occurs any time the card is
played. For creatures, artifacts, and upgrades, the ability resolves after REPLACEMENT EFFECTS
the card enters play. For action cards, the ability resolves, and then the Some abilities completely replace the resolution of another effect or
card is immediately placed in its owner’s discard pile. game step. These abilities are referred to as “Replacement Effects” and
If an ability “plays” a card from a source other than hand, “Play:” can be identified by use of the word “instead.” A replacement effect
abilities on the card resolve. If an ability “puts” a card “into play,” specifies what part of an effect or game step it is replacing. When that
“Play:” abilities on the card do not resolve. effect (or part of an effect) or game step would occur, it does not occur
and the replacement effect happens in its place.
POISON If a replacement effect causes something that is being destroyed to not
Any damage dealt via the power of a creature with the poison keyword be destroyed, this removes the destroyed tag from it. The replacement
during a fight destroys the damaged creature. This occurs when the effect remains as a lasting effect while any destroyed abilities are
damage is successfully applied to the opposing creature. triggering and does not fully resolve until the card would be put into the
Poison has no effect if all of the damage is prevented by armor or discard pile.
prevented by another ability—poison only resolves when one or more If no effect is specified by the replacement effect, it refers to another part
damage is successfully dealt. of the same effect the replacement effect is a part of.
Poison refers only to damage that would be dealt by the creature’s Example: Aaron plays Dimension Door, and then reaps with a creature.
power, not by damage that is dealt by keywords or other card abilities. Normally Aaron would gain 1 Æmber from reaping with the creature.
However, the Dimension Door has set up a replacement effect that
POWER COUNTER +1, POWER STATUS CARD replaces the gaining of an Æmber from reaping with stealing an Æmber,
When a creature is given a “+1 power counter,” one such status card is so Aaron steals 1 instead.
placed on the creature. For each of these cards that is on a creature, that Example: Katherine has a Commander Remiel with an Armageddon
creature’s power is increased by one. Cloak attached to it, and her opponent plays Gateway to Dis, destroying
each creature in play. The destroyed effect given to Remiel by the
PRECEDING, REPEAT THE PRECEDING Armageddon Cloak is a replacement effect that is replacing the
If card text instructs players to repeat a preceding effect, the entirety destruction of the creature. This destruction is being replaced with
of the effect before the text providing the instruction to repeat resolves healing the creature fully and destroying the Armageddon Cloak instead.
again. This causes the destroyed tag to be removed from Commander Remiel
and be given to the Armageddon Cloak.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 13
Example: Jamie plays Ronnie Wristclocks while her opponent has 7 SWAP
Æmber. Normally, Ronnie Wristclocks’s play effect steals 1 Æmber from If two game elements are swapped, they exchange places with
her opponent, but since Jamie’s opponent has 7 or more Æmber, the one another.
replacement effect kicks in and replaces stealing 1 Æmber with stealing 2
When two creatures are swapped, they exchange positions. This means
Æmber instead.
that each takes the position in the battleline of the other. The two
creatures swapped must always be controlled by the same player.
RETURN
When captured Æmber is returned, it is placed in the opponent’s Æmber If cards from two distinct game areas are swapped (such as a card in play
pool. and a card in hand), the cards switch game areas.
TAUNT
SACRIFICE
If a creature has the taunt keyword, any of its neighbors that do not
When a player is instructed to sacrifice a card, that player must discard have the taunt keyword cannot be attacked by an enemy creature that is
that card from play. being used to fight.
When a card is sacrificed, that card is considered to have been In the battleline, taunt creatures are slid slightly forward to indicate their
destroyed, and any “Destroyed:” abilities the card has resolve. presence to the opponent.
A player cannot sacrifice a card they do not control.

SEARCH
When a player searches a game area (such as a deck), that player looks
6 Champion Anaphiel 1
at all the cards in the specified area without showing those cards to the CREATURE

KNIGHT • SPIRIT
Taunt. (This creature’s neighbors cannot

opponent. A player may choose to fail to find the object of a search. 2 Hunting Witch
3 Quixo the “Adventurer”
be attacked unless they have taunt.)
CREATURE
~ “Steel thyself, knave. To harm them you must first
defeat me.”
CREATURE
~

©2018 FFG
HUMAN • WITCH HUMAN • SCIENTIST
Each time you play another creature, Skirmish. (When you use this creature to
gain 1A. Forrest Imel 239 Radiant Argus the Supreme fight, it is dealt no damage in return.)

If an entire deck is searched, the deck must be adequately shuffled upon “What is it? Is it food?” Fight: Draw a card.

©2018 FFG

©2018 FFG
“...I’ll leave this part out of the memoir.”

completion of the search.

David Auden Nash 367 Radiant Argus the Supreme David Auden Nash 144 Radiant Argus the Supreme

If a discard pile is searched, the cards are kept in the same order. Champion Anaphiel (center) has the
taunt keyword, and is pushed slightly
SELF-REFERENTIAL TEXT forward in the battleline.
If a card’s ability refers to its own title, that reference is only to itself and
not to other copies of the card.
“THIS WAY”
If an ability refers to an effect that occurred “this way,” it is referring to
SKIRMISH an effect that was produced by the same resolution of that same ability.
When a creature with the skirmish keyword is used to fight, it takes no
damage from the opposing creature when the damage from the fight
TURN
is dealt. A turn consists of one player performing the five steps detailed in the
game’s turn sequence, which are:
This applies only to damage that would be dealt by the opposing
creature’s power, not by damage that is dealt by keywords or other 1 Forge a key.
card abilities. 2 Choose a house.
3 Play, discard, and use cards of the chosen house.
SPLASH
4 Ready cards.
When an ability deals damage to a creature “with splash damage,” the
splash damage is dealt to each of the target creature’s neighbors. 5 Draw cards.

STEAL TRAITS
When an ability steals Æmber, the stolen Æmber is removed from the Traits are descriptive attributes (such as “Knight” or “Specter”) that may
opponent’s Æmber pool and added to the Æmber pool of the player be referenced by other cards. Traits are listed at the top center of a card’s
resolving the steal ability. text box.

If an ability steals more Æmber than a player has remaining in their pool, Traits have no inherent game effect, but may be referenced by
the ability steals only the amount remaining in the pool. card abilities.

STUN, STUN STATUS CARD UNFORGE

When a creature becomes stunned, place a stun status card on it. While If a previously forged key is “unforged,” flip the key token to its unforged
a creature is stunned, it cannot fight, reap, or use action or omni abilities. side. The key no longer counts toward its controller’s victory condition
and must be forged again to win the game.
A stunned, ready creature of the active house can be used by exhausting
it to remove its stun status card. USE
If a card effect would cause a stunned creature to fight, reap, or use an See “Using Cards” on page 6.
action or omni ability, instead that creature is exhausted and the stun
status card is removed.
Constant abilities and abilities that do not require the creature to reap,
fight, or be used are still active.
If a stunned creature is attacked, it still deals damage to the attacking
creature during the fight.
While a creature is stunned, it cannot have another stun status card
placed on it. If an effect attempts to stun a stunned creature that effect
does not stun the already stunned creature.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 14
THE LUCKY SIDE
by Daniel Lovat Clark
Dodger raced up the knife-edge of the crystal spur and ran himself right “Well its spines are Æmber, ain’t they?” said Dodger, flicking one
out of room. Behind, an angry mountain of scales, teeth, and hate—ahead purple-black finger to where the crystalline spines piercing through its
a fall to certain death. So Dodger hurled himself out into Luck-knew- scales glowed with a blood-red light in the gloom of the ravine. “And
what, felt his hands catch on a rough tangle of razorwhip vines, and herself needs Æmber, she said.”
swung himself out and up as the crystal shattered behind him.
“And you’ve brought it straight to us,” Valdr said as the thing began
The toothy thing behind him let out a roar so loud that Dodger’d swear climbing the rock wall toward them, all scrabble and snarl. “How
it gave his swing just the fling it needed to land him on the far side of thoughtful.” She lifted her rocket-hammer and thumbed the catch, wak-
the ravine. He teetered on that edge, saw the glimmering spears of the ing the engine that grumble-mumbled within its massive steel head.
crystal canyon below, the grand sweep of the golden plains beyond, She frowned as Dodger slipped behind her, all innocence, ma’am.
the shining swamp, the shadow of the Sanctum above, till he finally “What is it, do you know?”
tottered off his teeter onto the Lucky side of things.
“Well, it’s a snufflegator, ain’t it,” said Dodger.
Safe. For a moment.
“So you don’t know,” Valdr replied. As the snufflegator streaked over the
He took a deep breath and fiddled with his damn cloak. It was out of edge of the cliff, teeth-and-roar first, she brought her hammer down,
Æmber. No fading into the shadows for Dodger, not now anyhow. “Ah, a thunderbolt on its skull, bang! It twitched once, then lay still. “Gather
it’s no fun when it’s easy anyway,” he muttered, glancing down into the that Æmber,” Valdr said, turning to go. “And you’re welcome.”
ravine. The teeth with legs—too many legs—had scrambled down the
Dodger giggled and extended his wrist-knife as he crouched by the
cliff face and reared up, snuffling the sky with its scaly serpentine snout.
thing’s dead head. Maybe he could skim a little Æmber off the top,
“What did you do, tiny?” Valdr’s voice boomed with laughter as she recharge his cloak, spare a little for his guild back home? The Archon
stepped to the edge of the cliff, watching the beast scrabble forward. would never miss it, would she, wouldn’t grudge Dodger a little taste
Dodger looked up, and up, and up, two or three Dodgers high to where of the honey in the pot? He dug at the first spine, feeling it warm and
the Brobnar giant’s head was haloed by the sun far above. singing beneath his touch. But before he could decide whether to slip it
into a hidden pocket or not, she was there: Miss “Onyx” Censorius, the
He flashed his best grin, his getting-out-of-trouble grin, his teeth
Archon herself, leaning over him, as curious and beautiful and impossi-
white in the shadows of his inky-dark face, like a flashing knife in the
ble as ever.
shadows proper.
“Uh, hullo, m’lady,” Dodger managed, placing the Æmber spine on
the ground next to him and starting on the next and never dreaming
of taking a little of his own out, not faithful Dodger, no. “Plenty of good
Æmber here. Should be more’n enough to forge you one of them keys
you was asking for.”
“Yes,” she said. “But the material alone isn’t enough, Dodger. Courage
is what makes this key.” She reached out one perfect finger to touch
the broken beast’s broken snout. Dodger wondered what the others
saw when they looked at her, at Onyx. To him, she was a vision, an elf
like him but yet unlike, taller, radiant with light. Breath-taking, in the
literal sense. She had some of the strength of Valdr’s Brobnar giants,
too, powerful arms, broad shoulders…but the same dispassionate,
terrible focus of the worst of the demons of Dis. When she looked at
him, Dodger wasn’t certain if he was a bug on a pin in her collection,
or her best earner, or her next meal.
He realized she was still talking. “And for Courage, we must first have
Fear.” She stood, gathering up the last of Dodger’s Æmber
spines, then tucked one into the inside pocket of his coat.
“Be brave, Dodger. For me?” She smiled and Dodger
nodded, dumbstruck.
“Brave about what?” he wondered, as the first of the
snufflegator’s starving children squirmed free from its
body, teeth-first…

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 15
THE CRUCIBLE
“I got a pretty good look as the Quantum was breaking apart on approach. The answer seems to be the archons. Child gods, or manifestations of
A massive planet, an unfinished shell above, and that world-piercing, a central AI, or transcended mortals, or beings of pure energy. No one
impossible spire. And above even that, behind us—I think even from knows. The archons themselves don’t know or won’t tell. But they travel
space, we may have been inside the thing.” across the Crucible, studying the people and animals they find, always
— Captain Val Jericho, United Stars Starship Quantum eager to learn more about their surroundings.

“The Mintaran grub-ant has no concept that it is inside a terrarium, no The archons are strange beings, difficult for mere mortals to under-
awareness of the world outside. Some days, I wonder if I’m the grub-ant.” stand. They have bodies only when they choose to, existing at other
— Quixo the “Adventurer” times as a disembodied consciousness or glowing energy being.
The only trait that they all seem to share is their ability to speak to all
The massive world at the heart of the universe. The melting-pot, where sentient beings. Otherwise, they are as diverse in appearance and char-
ten thousand times ten thousand worlds meld together, aliens and AIs acter as the Crucible itself.
and ancient societies thrust together in unexpected ways. They call it
the Crucible. Archons commonly seek out companions for their journeys, and they
are always on the lookout for the mysterious vaults of the Crucible,
No one knows when it was built, save to say “long, long ago.” No one secret caches of wisdom, power, or understanding that only the archons
knows who built it, except to say “the Architects.” And no one knows its can access. To open a vault, archons must contest with one another
purpose, unless it is truly only what it seems: a place to bring parts of in a race to gather the necessary æmber and forge the keys the vault
every planet, every species, every culture in the galaxy together. requires. This contest has elements of a sacred ritual, a sporting event,
and a bareknuckle back-alley brawl, all mixed together. The exchanges
From the surface, it seems like any other planet. It has gravity (some-
almost inevitably turn violent, but deaths are rare. In fact, thanks to the
times more, sometimes less), an atmosphere (sometimes breathable,
advanced technology and unusual abilities available to archons, most
sometimes toxic). Plants, animals, mineral formations, ruins of civiliza-
such contests are advantageous to their followers. When the archons
tions gone by—to walk on the Crucible is to explore not just one alien
successfully open a vault, they find within a treasure trove of wisdom,
world, but all of them. From the floating cities of the Sanctum to the
technology, and some undefinable energy that the archons absorb
crystal forests of the Æmberwood, from the towering shoulders of
directly. Aside from this unique energy, the spoils of the vault are com-
Sleeping Giant Mountain to the quicksilver pools of Arygrum Bog, from
monly shared with the archon’s followers—a powerful incentive to join
the windswept red plains of Nova Hellas to the bottomless canyons of
an archon’s company.
Echoing Deep, there is no end to the wonders the Crucible has to offer.
For some, the promise of such treasure is reason enough to follow an
And the people! From a hundred thousand worlds and a hundred
archon into danger, but others have nobler intentions. Traveling with an
million cultures, all living shoulder-to-shoulder-to-tentacle across the
archon is always exciting, a never-ending cavalcade of the unexpect-
Crucible. Whether in roving bands or quiet villages or bustling cities,
ed. On the Crucible, “exciting” is often synonymous with “deadly,” but
towering fortresses or serene temples, merchants or brigands or kings
archons can possess powers and abilities to keep their followers (rela-
or scientists, the people! With so many different species and cultures
tively) safe, from healing powers to the gift of foresight. If nothing else,
living side-by-side, the old nations and empires of the homeworlds are
the archon’s gift of tongues can let their followers meet peaceably with
gone—mostly. The elves of the Shadows or the Brobnar tribes might still
other tribes and nations with whom they would otherwise have no way
keep their own communities aloof, but they also walk the streets of the
to communicate. Archons of a more warlike bent may attract followers
Crucible’s many cities, just like everyone else. The Martian Empire might
who wish to keep their communities safe, or who relish the chance to
be a bunch of conquering xenophobes, but their people still slip away
lash out against enemies known and unknown. There’s always someone
to catch the latest Rolling Bugs concert just like everyone else. The innu-
willing to risk everything in service to such a powerful and enigmatic
merable houses of the Crucible, many of them rose up on the Crucible
being.
itself, but even the ones that came from a homeworld, like the Shadows,
now count aliens among their number. The Crucible changes everyone, And when the archons open enough vaults and move on, to wherever it
given enough time. is archons go, their followers are usually left better off for the experi-
ence. And only rarely suddenly abandoned deep in a hostile part of the
If nothing else, it changes your perspective. Because above it all rises
Crucible where they will surely meet their doom.
the Spire, that impossible tower that rises from the pole and climbs to
space. And from the spire spreads, what? An unfinished layer of the
Crucible? A mighty spaceport, reserved for the use of the Architects?
Who can guess? But stare into the clear blue sky long enough, and
you’ll swear you see the trusses and scaffolding of a world under con- KEYS
struction. The Crucible, impossible and gigantic and artificial, and ever I helped Miss Onyx forge her third key. It…did not go the way I
growing, ever evolving. thought. I knew it would be made of æmber, that much I got right,
but I thought we would place it on my forge, strike a few blows with
the hammer, get the shape of the stuff just so, and that would be
ARCHONS that. But her ladyship couldn’t have been less interested in what it
looked like.
“To a shy lad from a tiny village, it was like an angel had come down to
walk among us. I was right, in a way, and yet terribly, terribly wrong.” She took the æmber, still glowing-hot, from my tongs. “This will
do,” she said. “Now, we must teach this key to experience joy. What
— Commander Remiel, Knight of the Sanctum
brings you joy, Valdr?”
“You look at us and think: you are as unto a god, but we look at you and I thought about that for a minute. “Those fluff pastries Dodger found
think: this marvelous being is something I can never truly understand. in the last village,” I said.
We are all here to learn from one another, whether in peace or in
conflict. That must be the Crucible’s purpose.” “Those were delicious,” Miss Onyx agreed. “Let’s see if Dodger has
— Miss “Onyx” Censorius, Archon any left.”

Life on the Crucible came from elsewhere. This is widely understood,

widely acknowledged. Disparate worlds, mashed together and nudged
along by the robotic fairies that most assume are creations of the
Architects, all kept in some sort of balance. Then what is unique to the
Crucible?

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 16
THE HOUSES OF THE CRUCIBLE
This section introduces the houses of the Crucible that players might encounter during play. Additional houses may reveal themselves in the future.

To the rest of the Crucible, the Brobnar are dangerous enemies and
BROBNAR valuable allies. Some warclans extract tribute from their neighbors, and
others hire themselves off as mercenaries. Many Brobnar spend time
Whether they’re descending from snowy mountaintops living with other peoples, showing off Brobnar strength and learning
to raid, riding grumbling motorsteeds across the blast- (sometimes painfully) about life on the Crucible. Every now and again,
ed wastes, or laughing in the rain on the stormy seas, one learns the most valuable lesson of all: that as strong as they are
the warclans of the Brobnar are always a fearsome apart, every giant, goblin, or other creature is stronger working togeth-
sight. A varied people, each Brobnar warclan is ruled er…and when this happens, the whole Crucible trembles!
by the strongest—whether that strength is shown on the
field of battle, in the Champion’s Ring, or demonstrated by SOCIETY
sheer force of personality and brilliance. Most Brobnar are giants, powerful humanoid creatures nearly 3 meters
Although the oral traditions of the giants describe a journey from the tall with mottled skin in a variety of shades. They tend to wear their hair
mythical land of Vanhalla, most scholars believe that the Brobnar cul- in brightly-colored crests, with long beards for those who care to grow
ture as it exists today was created on the Crucible, perhaps through a them, and adorn themselves with tattoos and sigils of their clan. The
merger of the early giants and the first goblin tribes they encountered. Gargantes clan, for example, decorates their bodies with blue tattoos
Through the centuries, the Brobnar have evolved their own unique to celebrate their escape from the Ice-Maze of the Robo-Sorcerer. (The
identity, independent of any of the member tribes they have absorbed. Gargantes treasure horde also features the Skull of the Sorcerer, which
looks almost exactly like a tin can.)
First, the Brobnar value strength above all. In Brobnar society, each is
entitled only to what their strength allows them to take, and an oppo- Long ago, a large population of small, clever goblins joined the Brob-
nent or rival without the strength to defend their property has no claim nar people. They are mostly relegated to second-class, servant status
to it. Second, Brobnar are very conscious of their image and the projec- due to their small size and perceived weakness, but goblins are a tough
tion of strength—to be seen as weak is the same as being weak. Third, gritty breed, and a handful of them have risen as respected leaders and
the Brobnar love loud music, strong alcohol, and shiny things. shamans even among the giants.
The Brobnar, on the whole, will accept anyone into their clans, so long
as that person is strong-willed and eager to fight!
TECHNOLOGY
Although they seem brutish and simple to some more civilized peoples,
Brobnar are great proponents of any technology that is loud, destruc-
tive, or preferably both. A violent people prone to injury and misad-
venture, they make widespread use of cybernetic replacements and
augmentation. They favor weapons that allow them to engage their
enemies directly and revel in their great strength, but even their axes,
hammers, and smashing gauntlets are often enhanced with engines,
rockets, and other innovations that make them louder and more pow-
erful. (Also, in many cases, more dangerous to the user, but Brobnar
don’t usually mind that.) Since they value strength, they use their
æmber as a source of power for certain machines, or even adorn
their bodies with it to make themselves stronger.
Brobnar goods are individually hand-made by artisans, with mini-
mal existing industrial infrastructure. As such, they are made to last
and an artisan whose products are durable, beautiful, and noisy
can be as esteemed as any warrior. Brobnar also have a keen eye
(and ear) for beauty…by Brobnar standards. Others may find
their art and music to be, mainly, “loud.”
ARCHONS
Brobnar are an intensely physical people and find the
more ethereal nature of the archons puzzling. If an
archon wants the respect of the Brobnar, they must
manifest physically and then display strength of either
will or body, neither of which is generally difficult for
archons. Once they have proven themselves, archons
find that the Brobnar are loyal and excellent companions,
jovial and direct. Many archons with Brobnar allies find
themselves wearing physical bodies more and more often,
enjoying the simple and universal pleasures of such a form.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 17
DIS The fact that these theories are exactly the same as the “superstitious”
stories with fancier words is one those same Theorists dismiss as hooey,
There are stories told across the Crucible of terrible repeating the exact same explanation, only slower.
monsters that dwell in the space between worlds.
These creatures burst forth from the ground to terrify SOCIETY
innocent people, their capering imps stealing æmber
and their powerful demons destroying any who The demons of Dis are, despite the myths, creatures of flesh and blood,
would oppose them. Those unlucky or foolish enough or at least skin (or insectile chitin) and ichor, in addition to the techno-
to travel to their netherworld home, known as Dis, are logical nightmare-horror of their many cybernetic augmentations. It
never heard from again. is not clear whether all demons are of the same species beneath their
cryptic masks, or whether demonhood is bestowed upon various crea-
The half-living demons, the stories continue, are creatures of the tures through some sinister process. Volunteers to study the question
between-worlds and so they have no life, no pain, no joy to call their are, understandably, in short supply.
own. Instead, they must steal these things from the innocent people of
the Crucible. They seek out the most extreme emotions and consume The demons are served by imps, chaotic and often mischievous robotic
them for sustenance. Where there is great rage, there lurks a demon, beings, driven by an intelligence scarcely less frightening than their
stoking the fires of animosity and harvesting the emotions, the very demonic masters.
soul, of the wrathful being. Greed, fear, suffering—all these emotions, The less said of humans who join the faction willingly, the better.
the demons cause in mortal folk in order to harvest them and return
them to their evil lairs. TECHNOLOGY
Dis machines are part sorcery and part high technology, and the
The Theorists of Logos deride such tales as superstitious folly, and
demons infuse æmber into every facet of their devices so that they, too,
explain that the demons are merely parasitic beings that make their
can capture the emotions of their victims. The furnaces of Dis burn with
home in the suprastructure of the Crucible that divides this layer from
intense heat, where their black iron is smelted, and “souls” (or imprint-
the one below it. Emotionally numb due to the lack of stimulus in this
ed emotions) are broken down into their core elements for demonic
space, the “demons” use the psycho-reactive properties of æmber
consumption. These same blasted æmber shards are then incorporated
to capture emotional and mental imprints of other residents of the
into the imps and other self-aware machines used by the demons, and
Crucible, returning them to Dis for later study or perhaps recreational
sent out to gather more æmber and more souls.
experience.
Even when not functionally required, Dis devices tend to have sharp
edges, a scalding touch, spikes, and a host of other opportunities for
the unwary to injure themselves.
ARCHONS
Archons are the only beings on the Crucible who can be said to truly
communicate with the demons of Dis, and many of them find the
demons endlessly fascinating. Dis’s devotion to the extremes of sensa-
tion and emotion may be particularly attractive to archons who struggle
with empathizing with the mortal condition—some archons have even
requested the demons introduce them personally to the concepts of
pain and fear.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 18
LOGOS SOCIETY
Logos divides itself, in very broad terms, into two groups: Theorists and
The self-proclaimed “foremost” intellectuals and Mechanists. Each considers the other to be their intellectual inferior,
scholars on the Crucible are all found within the and each is convinced that the most important contributions to science
Society of Logic and Reason, or simply Logos. and technology have been made thanks to their efforts.
Any Logotarian would happily confirm this fact if
asked, or if not asked, or if given any opportunity Theorists concern themselves with the realm of pure reason and
to speak at all. possibility, where new theories are constantly developed in an effort
to decode the secrets of the universe, both as it is and as it might be.
Logos has devoted itself to the advancement of scientific knowledge Anything that can be demonstrated through math and reason is seen
and understanding, putting aside as many earthly (or at least fleshly) as potentially true; everything else is to be regarded with suspicion and
concerns as it can manage through use of its advanced technology. attacked rigorously until a theoretical model is found. Mechanists, on
Individual Logotarians often replace some or all of their bodies with the other hand, deal with empirical data and the world as-it-is. A theory
machines over the years, allowing them to escape the distractions of is useless if it cannot be tested, and a technology is unproven until it is
a physical form, and continue their work long after sickness or death built and shown to work.
would otherwise claim them. In fact, the use of cybernetic bodies is so
widespread that no one outside the Society can recall what the physical Logos is happy to accept brilliant members of all species into its ranks;
bodies of the original Logotarians looked like, or even if they came to after all, few of them keep their organic bodies for more than a century
the Crucible in their cybernetic forms to begin with. Logos itself remains or two anyway.
silent on the matter.
TECHNOLOGY
While some call Logos’s zealous commitment to advancing knowledge Logos technology is among the most advanced on the Crucible, and it
at any cost unethical, and describe some of their more inventive exper- is incorporated into every phase of their lives—indeed, it is rare to find a
iments as “deranged,” “catastrophic,” or “really very bad,” true Theorists Logotarian who doesn’t have Logos technology built into their bodies.
scoff at such backward thinking. They understand that the secrets of the Whether it’s mag-tethered floating limbs (for easy modularity) or a
Crucible are far more important than the lives of any one individual or quantum dissonance modulator (for…reasons), Logos machines are
city, and that no progress was ever made without a few naked singulari- built for every conceivable purpose and also for some that aren’t.
ty pinhole events warping local spacetime.
Because Logos is continually pushing the frontier of knowledge, many
of their technologies are experimental or prototypical; some are
never replicated because they do not work as well as desired (or work
entirely too well in the wrong way). Some of these “machines” may have
originated as organic beings—there is minimal ethics oversight on the
experiments of the Logotarians.
Many Logotarian machines incorporate æmber into
their function, either as a power source or to harness
some of its more esoteric properties. Others are
designed expressly to investigate and ana-
lyze æmber, a project which has remained
stubbornly difficult no matter how advanced
Logos’s science becomes.
ARCHONS
For Logos, archons are one of the ultimate
unsolved puzzles of the Crucible. They
eagerly study archons and are happy to
work with them to learn more of their
nature. Since archons are also generally
curious about their own nature, many
join in Logos’s quest for knowledge.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 19
MARS SOCIETY
Unlike many other factions on the Crucible, Mars remains committed to
Mars, as an empire, is exceptional in that it has genetic and cultural purity, that Mars may never die. Even before their
remained a more-or-less unchanged political and translocation to the Crucible, Mars was using genetic enhancement
cultural bloc after its relocation to the Crucible by the technology and extensive cloning to divide their culture into two dis-
Architects two centuries ago. Perhaps due to the fact tinct castes: the taller, more intelligent Elders, who rule over the smaller,
that the transition occurred during the final days of the weaker, and far more numerous Martian Soldiers.
Fall of Mars, or perhaps simply based on Mars’ rela-
tive-newcomer status, the Martian Empire has remained While the Soldier caste are expected to display utter loyalty to Mars and
intact on the Crucible. It is still under the control of the Martian Elders are discouraged (sometimes with cranial electro-correction) from devel-
and still aggressively dominating as much of the Crucible as they can oping unique personalities, Elders are varied in their areas of expertise
manage in their xenophobic crusade to ensure that Mars Lives On. and interest, and have considerable leeway to indulge their personal
desires. Some develop new biological weapons (whether plagues or
Now powered by æmber, rather than the cavorite that poisoned their horrifying monsters), some study the lesser beings and the Crucible,
home planet, Mars’s war machine has found some success, but also others archive Martian culture and history. Together, the Elders collec-
more difficult and dangerous foes than they could have expected. tively rule the Martian Empire—all for the glory of Mars!
New life forms on the Crucible mean more opportunities for Martian
biological engineers to breed a perfect monster. New elements, such TECHNOLOGY
as æmber, provide more fodder for Martian scientists and engineers. Martian technology was highly advanced when they were translocated
But Martian soldiers with their ray guns and Martian vehicles with their to the Crucible and, despite needing to completely re-invent itself for
blasters are not always victorious when pitted against Brobnar war- its new context, has only become more sophisticated since. Martian
riors or swarms of Niffle apes. For Mars to have true victory, they must soldiers go to war armed with powerful and mysterious weapons and
reclaim the skies with their flying saucers. Unfortunately, they have had piloting highly advanced, lethal walkers and ships, while genetical-
only limited success in rebuilding the Martian fleet, and some mysteri- ly-modified monstrosities are turned loose as a vanguard, hopefully
ous force keeps their spaceships from rising above the atmosphere. against the enemies of Mars. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, most Martian
technologies are either purpose-built for war, or soon turned to that
Still, by maintaining large cloning facilities and dropping their soldiers
purpose.)
into combat from hovering motherships, the relatively weak (in a phys-
ical sense) Martians have established themselves in Nova Hellas, and While Mars once relied on cavorite to power its rayguns and levitate
now control three entire cities. Tremble before the might of Mars! its flying saucers, it has found a suitable substitute in the æmber found
only on the Crucible. The psycho-reactive æmber seems to have
unlocked the psychic potential of the Martian race, and new experi-
ments in mind control, telepathy, and other psionic technologies prom-
ise great things for the Martian future.
ARCHONS
To the Elders of Mars, archons are both potential threat and ally. Their
wisdom and power is undeniable, but they carry with them an unde-
niable potential to corrupt Martian purity with their foreign ideas and
companions. Still, the threat is acceptable when the payoff is so high,
and so the Elders tolerate fraternization with the archons (not that they
have much of a choice). For their part, archons seldom get a chance
to explore a society that has remained so wholly itself. And of course
the gleeful belligerence of the Martian war machine is attractive in its
own way.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 20
SANCTUM SOCIETY
The religion of the Sanctum teaches that through meditation, learning,
Floating as if by magic above the surface of the Cruci- and spiritual growth, a being can become enlightened and transcend
ble are many large islands, improbable paradises their need for an earthly body. Many of the knights and the higher-rank-
of water, stone, and green growing things. Some ing clergy are spiritual beings of pure energy; indeed, the mighty suits
believe that these islands are but the beginnings of powered armor worn by the knights are necessary containment
of a new layer of the Crucible, to be assembled by devices for their spiritual selves, who otherwise could not affect the
the Architects over the following millennia; others spec- physical world at all. The gleaming wings and golden swords wielded
ulate that this new layer is already under construction and by the knights to such impressive effect are the spiritual (some might
these islands must be leftovers from that process. say “psychic”) projections of the believer’s will, made possible by use
In any case, many of these islands are governed by and collectively of the sacred æmber, and further evidence of the divine and spiritual
referred to as the Sanctum. A theocratic nation-state unified by their nature of all beings.
gnostic faith and protected by the angelic Knights of the Sanctum (as Most of Sanctum’s spirits can only manifest in the hallowed halls of their
well as various other knightly and crusading orders), the Sanctum is cathedrals or through the sacred armor of the knights. The most power-
safe, clean, and pleasant, which is a rare combination for any realm on ful spirits of the Sanctum, called “angels,” are no longer bound by such
the Crucible. Wherever the golden wings of their knights spread, the limitations, and seem to manifest their selves and will directly as beings
innocent and just can rest easy, knowing that they are protected by the of shining golden luminosity.
Church of the Opened Eye. (The definitions of the terms “innocent” and
“just”, of course, are determined by the Church itself.) There are still many creatures of flesh and blood within the Sanctum’s
ranks, however. Enlightenment is not found easily, and for many is
The bulk of the Sanctum’s flesh-and-blood adherents are human more about the journey than the destination. Some even profess that
beings, but certainly the Church of the Opened Eye does not have its Sanctum’s spirits were always energy beings and that Enlightenment
origins on the human homeworld. It’s possible that the Sanctum and and Transcendence are impossible, a scam that has been propagated
their faith were both created on the Crucible, perhaps in imitation of throughout the ages to oppress the masses, but such heretics are swiftly
the archons with which early adherents must have been familiar. If the silenced within the Sanctum itself.
scholars and Grey Monks know, they are not sharing those secrets with
the unenlightened. TECHNOLOGY
Sanctum’s signature technology is the glorious armor of its knights,
Although they are sometimes literally above earthly concerns, the
powerful cybernetic suits that make flesh-and-blood wearers stron-
Sanctum has regular communication with the world below. Missionar-
ger, healthier, and faster, and enable great feats on the part of
ies, ambassadors, and even merchants walk through the streets of the
knightly spirits.
Crucible’s villages and cities, or even travel to wild
and inhospitable places to bring the Sanc- Much of Sanctum’s technology relies on the “spiritual energy” of its
tum’s truth to the unenlightened. Usual- user, and æmber is incorporated to act as a conduit. For the knights,
ly, these travelers are welcomed, and this energy is often channelled into wings and halos of golden light,
when they are not, well, that’s what which give the warriors superior mobility and tactical awareness on the
the Knights are for. battlefield. Their weapons, too, are enhanced by golden energy, creat-
ing blades of pure light, shields that pulse with power, and other effects
that reflect and enhance a knight’s purpose.
Aside from their knights, much of the Sanctum seems almost pastoral in
its asceticism. The architecture is beautiful, but built with time-honored
techniques that date from ages past. Records are maintained by hand
and on paper, food is grown through honest toil, and in general virtue,
simplicity, and peace are valued. At least for the laity; the cathedrals
themselves are monuments to inner light and the glory of the Sanctum,
of course, and for them no expense shall be spared.
ARCHONS
The difference between a powerful Sanctum angel and an archon
seems subtle to the point of meaninglessness to most believers of the
Sanctum. From the point of view of the Church, archons are everything
they believe made manifest: a pure soul, a perfect consciousness free
of any limitations of physical form. Sanctum knights are eager to learn
from such beings, and the archons, for their part, are often eager to
be looked upon, treated, and worshipped as deities. Indeed, some
archons are even up to the task, and strive to enhance the spiritual lives
of their followers.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 21
SHADOWS SOCIETY
Most of the thieves in the Shadows are from the Svarr tribe of elves,
The Svarr elves that dwell in the Shadows are a motley a diminutive, dark, large-eyed people with wicked grins and sharp
collection of rogues, confidence artists, thieves, and senses. Clannish and suspicious of outsiders, the Svarr dominate every
sometime-assassins. Physically unimposing, the elves Shadows guild. Svarr can also be found living and working alongside
make up for it with speed, cleverness, and a light-fin- beings of all species in all sorts of places and under all sorts of creeds
gered approach to other people’s possessions and and governments. But these individuals may also be Shadows, because
technology. a good thief can blend in anywhere.
Loosely organized into a series of like-minded guilds, the Svarr are Humans and other aliens sometimes fall in with the Shadows guilds.
a curious mixture of selfish and selfless. They will sacrifice much for After all, crime isn’t unique to the Svarr and they’ll recruit any asset that
the good of their guild, and yet ruthlessly exploit any opportunities seems useful. Some of these recruits find themselves more at home in
presented by outsiders, robbing, cheating, and stealing for their own the Shadows than in their homelands, and eventually join a guild full-
advantage without hesitation or regret. time, where they are, after proving themselves, as welcome as any Svarr.
Svarr histories hold that they once dwelled in a land of light and peace, TECHNOLOGY
but were exiled to the Shadows, where they were forced to hide and
Most Shadows technology is stolen or scavenged from someone else
scavenge in order to survive. It isn’t clear whether this exile predates
and then repurposed for Shadows use. Some Shadows operatives have
their translocation to the Crucible or if the myth (if myth it is) is directly
even managed to reprogram the faeries that steward the Crucible’s
based on that translocation, but whatever the case they hold the story
biospheres, using them as scouts, saboteurs, assistants, and simply as
as justification for any and all misdeeds. Fortunately for the Svarr, they
pets (they are cute, after all).
are extremely talented in all arts of stealth, misdirection, and repurpos-
ing other people’s tools. If the Shadows have one piece of technology that is uniquely theirs, it is
their cloaks, clever stealth emitters that surround them with an invisibil-
Many are confused by what, precisely, the Shadows are—a nation, a
ity field. Shadows elves frequently wear the distinctive three-dot stealth
place, a state of mind? The Svarr are pragmatic about it: anyplace they
emitters all over their outfits for complete coverage of invisibility or illu-
hide, anyplace they do their business, that’s the Shadows. The best
sion technology, as required. Using their cloaks, the thieves and rogues
thieves can find the Shadows anywhere.
can always return to the Shadows whenever they need.
ARCHONS
The Svarr have a simple means of assessing anything that isn’t of their
guild: can it help, or is it a threat? Archons are clearly both, so they must
be approached with care. But if one can be turned to an ally, then the
dividends paid to the guild could be extreme. If nothing else, archons
can apparently speak to anyone or anything, so they can help arrange
deals and trades in the Shadows. Archons, who have to be introduced
to the concepts of “personal property” and “ownership” by others at
some point, find the Shadows interpretation of such concepts intrigu-
ing. The balance of “me first” and “anything for a mate” that defines
Svarr culture is one that many archons find eminently sensible.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 22
UNTAMED SOCIETY
Since the Untamed includes, by definition, every wild creature, plant, fungus,
The Architects brought together plants, animals, or other living thing on the Crucible, its diversity is impossible to overstate,
and other lifeforms from all across the universe to but we’ll try: it’s very diverse. As for the sentient beings best described as
populate their Crucible. In fact, they continue to do “people” (of whatever species), they have more commonalities. Some were
so, blending together alien biomes into something, raised in civilized societies and turned away from them. Others have only
if not quite harmonious, at least verdantly and bois- ever lived in the wild. All are more comfortable under the open sky of the
terously alive. Crucible than in the cities of stone and steel, more able to converse with the
The various wild creatures of the Crucible are tended to beasts and birds than with their fellow sentients.
by mechanical faeries, quirky automatons that do their best to keep a Some of these sentients, perhaps thanks to liberal consumption and use
semblance of balance in place. But while they struggle to maintain this of æmber, have developed a near-supernatural ability to speak not only to
balance, the faeries make no attempt to keep the wildlife segregated, animals, but to plants and fungus as well. Their abilities seem like magic, and
and so wolves from Earth may soon find themselves hunted by Martian many call these people “witches,” or by other names drawn from their own
snekgarrs, Niffle apes from Regulus Prime hang from the branches of mythologies. But they are harmless. Mostly.
the slow-blooming nepenthe tree of Visgard, and Alpha Centaurian
sugar ants are consumed by Venusian flytraps. (Not to be confused TECHNOLOGY
with the surprisingly-similar plants from Earth.) Over time, these species The Untamed as a whole do not use technology, since most scholarly
evolve to find a comfortable home on the Crucible, even blending distinctions between sentient being and wild beast revolve around its
and interbreeding with aliens where they find compatible biology use. Still, there is some blurriness at the edges, and while Niffle apes
(sometimes aided by faeries and the strange mutations wrought by may be considered animals, they do fashion crude jewelry and use
wild æmber). While some of these animals may still be recognizable simple tools when appropriate. The faeries of the wilderness are all
as similar to the beasts on their planets of origin, others are wholly and machines, as well, and there are some truly strange examples of syn-
forevermore creatures of the Crucible, and found nowhere else in the thetic life in the galaxy that confuse the line ever further.
universe.
Many of the sentients who might be considered Untamed have walked
Collectively, these wild creatures are referred to as the Untamed. away from most technology, but even in the wild places of the Crucible
Together with the humans and other sentients who reject civilization there are machines and tech to be scavenged and repurposed. Most
and retreat to the wild, they form a large and chaotic faction of their civilizations will eventually succumb to the wild, after all.
own. With no central organization (indeed, in many cases with no true
intelligence) to speak of, the only constant to the Untamed is that they ARCHONS
live true to their natures, whatever those natures may be. The minds of the animals present a unique test of an archon’s vaunted
ability to communicate with any denizen of the Crucible. Some are
drawn to the uncomplicated thought patterns of the Untamed, consid-
ering them a calming influence and a source of comfort. Other archons
are drawn to the sense of wild and natural freedom these creatures
exhibit. For the most part, the Untamed beasts are happy to ignore
anything that is neither predator nor prey, but some particularly social
animals (and people) enjoy the undemanding company of an archon
during their travels.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 23
ON RADIANT WINGS
by Daniel Lovat Clark
He felt the Vault’s presence like a chord that thrummed music through- determined that it had stood when this part of the world had been
out his body. Not that he had a body, exactly, not like the humans and added to the Crucible. Its makers were a mystery; perhaps they had not
the cyborgs and the creatures who followed him. In that way, at least, come along with their temple when the Architects brought it here.
he felt a closer kinship to the ethereal spirits of Sanctum, but their wispy
Zakiel, blind to these mysteries, continued speaking. “Miss ‘Onyx’
forms of pure psyche, bound as they were in heavy suits of knightly
Censorius,” he said. “She has her own cadre of warriors, demons, and
armor, were still more limited than him.
thieves.”
He could become anything. He knew that, felt that, deep inside. But
“A rival,” said Argus. He felt the music of the Vault shift, the chord tauten
becoming that anything—it was out of reach until he opened the Vault.
within him. The greater the struggle to open a Vault, the greater the
Some part of himself was still locked away, waiting for him to find it.
reward. Did the Vaults reveal themselves explicitly to provoke these
He could be anything, even wear a body for a time, but he couldn’t be,
challenges? Or did the rewards within shift in response to the difficulty
fully, until he was whole.
the Archon who opened it faced? He didn’t know. Who could guess
Argus pulled himself inward, fell back into the body-shape he wore the motives of the Architects? Perhaps that knowledge was locked in a
most often, radiant wings fluttering behind, white robes billowing Vault.
around a form held together by gleaming energy. It was an impressive
“We must act swiftly.” He could feel her now, reaching out, a dark and
look, and the reason they called him Radiant Argus the Supreme. He
dissonant presence. She was ahead of him, had already gathered
stepped forward, to where Sergeant Zakiel knelt with his dimmed aura.
Æmber for her first key. But if she opened the Vault, then that part of
“Rise,” Argus said, his voice thrumming through mind as much as air.
himself that was locked away would go to her instead. “Zakiel, find two
“There is another Archon near the Vault, sire,” said Zakiel, falling into of the batdrones and take to the sky. Strike down upon her coterie,
step alongside his Archon. Together, they walked past the remains of an while we gather the Æmber in this valley.”
ancient structure, plated in gold dataweave, part temple, part comput-
“It’s to be battle, then, my liege?” Zakiel asked, his aura flaring and his
er. Argus had been studying the ruin when he felt the Vault’s call, had
wings flickering into existence.
“It’s always battle,” Argus said, looking toward the Vault. Its song
grew louder still. “How else are we to forge our perfect selves in
the Crucible?

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 24
THE ORIGIN OF KEYFORGE CREDITS
Game Design: Richard Garfield
In the early days of trading card games, they were played in many ways
– and some of my favorite ways disappeared over time. Among those Game Development: Brad Andres, Skaff Elias, and Nate French
were sealed deck and league play. Both were awkward to manage with Daniel Schaefer
because cards had a tendency to get lost in one’s collection. Also, play- Producer: Erik Dahlman
ers could only play with trusted friends because it was easy to cheat by
Fiction: Daniel Lovat Clark
improving one’s deck surreptitiously.
Editing: Adam Baker and Kevin Tomczyk
I have often wondered if I could get back some of that really exciting
play, which was characterized by tools that weren’t universal. Each play- Card Game Manager: Mercedes Opheim
er had treasures no other player had, but also had less powerful cards Story Manager: Katrina Ostrander
that needed to be used in clever ways to get the most value. One’s
sealed or league deck was never ideal – but it was unique, and there Graphic Design: Christopher Hosch with Monica Helland, Michael Silsby,
was a great deal of skill in getting the most out of it. and Neal W. Rasmussen
Graphic Design Coordinator: Joseph D. Olson
While I enjoy constructing or drafting decks, I am often longing to play
cards that are not powerful enough to compete within these formats. Graphic Design Manager: Brian Schomburg
When playing with sealed or limited decks, these cards often become Cover and Concept Art: David Kegg
viable, since you can’t just replace them with top tier cards. I find special
pleasure in winning a game using cards that many people ignored Art Direction: Andy Christensen and Taylor Ingvarsson with
or overlooked. Crystal Chang

I have always been attached to good procedurally generated content. Managing Art Director: Melissa Shetler
Game worlds generated in this way really feel as if they belong to me, Technology Implementation: Lukas Adrian Peregrine and Evan Hall
the player – I am discovering them as I play; the designer didn’t even
Quality Assurance Coordinator: Zach Tewalthomas
know they existed. Often games without such content are extremely
managed experiences; everyone goes through the same story lines Production Management: Jason Beaudoin and Megan Duehn
and can experience the same gameplay by making the same decisions. Senior Project Manager: John Franz-Wichlacz
Everything they experience feels planned. The contrast feels to me like
the difference between exploring a jungle and walking in an amuse- Senior Manager of Product Development: Chris Gerber
ment park. When trading card games first came out the feeling was like Executive Game Designer: Corey Konieczka
exploring a jungle – and as the cards became more like commodities, it
Publisher: Andrew Navaro
became more and more like an amusement park.
Special thanks to Koni Garfield for countless hours of playtest, support,
In the amusement park there are experts telling you how to play the
and good ideas.
game, the safest strategies, what net decks to use. In the jungle you
have the tools you have. There is every chance that you are going to be
the best in the world at playing your decks – you can’t just look up what
PLAYTESTERS
the synergies are or the weaknesses; you will only find out by playing. Aaron Haltom, Alex Davy, Allie, Andrew Aarestad, Andrew Fischer,
Andrew Gross, Benjamin Bottorff, Boyd Bottorff, Brian Weissman,
Welcome to the jungle! Brodie Bensend, Bryden Cole, Bubbles the Hammer, Caleb “Bulldog”
Grace, Carl Anderton, Carl Beyer, Chasina Beyer, Chris Bizzell Clough,
Richard Garfield Christopher Bates, CJ Heintz, Cyd Gardner, Damon Stone, Doug Keester,
April 2018 Edward West, Elliot Murray, Emeric Dwyer, Erika Baraišytė, Giedrius
Čeniauskas, Grace Holdinghaus, Ian Moore, Jacqueline Anderton, Jake
Ryan, Jason M. Wallace, Jason Walden, Jeremy “Niffle” Zwirn, Jim
Cartwright, Jim Lin , Josiah Leis, Julia Jannace, Katie Leis, Kayli Ammen,
Ken Uy, K.F.B. Fletcher, Kortnee Lewis, Liam MacDonald, Luca Chilefone,
Lukas Litzsinger, Luke Eddy, Margaret Miller, Martin Vroom, Matrim
Charlebois, Matt Lansdowne, Matthew “Ratt” Newman, Matthew Pjecha,
Matthew Watson, Michael Bernabo, Michael Boggs, Micah Crosley,
Miglė Pučetaitė, Nathan Gardner, Nathan Karpinski, Nicholas Cyr, Nick
Howard, Paul Klecker, Quinn Waller, Rick Reinhardt, Reuben Fries, Ron
Beyer, Russell Jones, Ryan Anthony Wolohan, Schuyler Garfield, Scott
Lewis, Sean Monson, Terance Taylor, Tim Huckelbery, Tobin Lopes, Tony
Fanchi, Ugnius Dovidauskas, Weston Garrett Bradley, WiL Springer, and
William Morton
Special thanks to all of our beta testers.

www.FantasyFlightGames.com

© 2018 Fantasy Flight Games. Fantasy Flight Supply and the Unique Game logo
are TM of Fantasy Flight Games. KeyForge, Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG
logo are ® of Fantasy Flight Games. Fantasy Flight Games is located at 1995
West County Road B2, Roseville, Minnesota, 55113, USA, 651-639-1905. Actual
components may vary from those shown. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT A TOY. NOT
INTENDED FOR USE BY PERSONS 13 YEARS OF AGE OR YOUNGER.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 25
ERRATA Wild Wormhole’s effect can be resolved. The First Turn Rule specifies
that players cannot play or discard more than one card from their hand.
This section contains the official errata that have been made to individual However it does not prohibit cards from being played or discarded from
cards in KeyForge. Errata overides the printed information on the card it other game areas, such as your deck.
applies to.
I have 2 chains and 7 cards in hand when moving to my draw cards
Library Access (COTA 115) step. Will I shed a chain during this step?
Should read: “Play: For the remainder of the turn, each time you play No, you will not shed a chain during this draw cards step. Chains are
another card, draw a card. Purge Library Access.” only shed when a player would draw cards during the draw step and the
chains prevent them from doing so (see “Chains” on Page 8). Since you
Biomatrix Backup (COTA 208) already have 7 cards in your hand, you aren’t going to be drawing any
cards, and thus don’t lose any of your chains.
Should read: “This creature gains,”Destroyed: Put this creature into its
owner’s archives.””
I have 2 chains and 5 cards in hand when moving to my draw cards
Bait and Switch (COTA 267) step. Will I shed a chain during this step?

Should read: “Play: If your opponent has more A than you, steal 1A. Yes, you will shed a chain during this step. Chains are only shed when
Repeat the preceding effect if your opponent still has more A than you.” a player would draw cards during the draw step and the chains prevent
them from doing so (see “Chains” on Page 8). You only have 5 cards in
Drummernaut (AOA 006) hand, and normally you would draw a card to refill your hand. However
because of the chains you are prevented from drawing that card. Since
Should read: “Play/Fight/Reap: Return another friendly Giant creature you would normally have drawn the card and the chain prevented it, you
to your hand.” then shed 1 chain.

Magda the Rat (COTA 303) I have chosen house Logos to be my active house this turn and start
Should read: “Elusive. Play: Steal 2A. If Magda the Rat leaves play, your off by playing Library Access (CoTA 115), I then play Wild Wormhole
opponent steals 2A.” (CoTA 125). In what order do I resolve this combination of effects?
When you play a Wild Wormhole after playing a Library Access the
following happens in this order:
Yzphyz Knowdrone (AOA 210)
1. You gain 1 Æmber from Wild Wormhole’s Æmber bonus.
Should read: “Play: Archive a card. You may purge an archived card. If 2. Library Access’s effect and Wild Wormhole’s play effect are
you do, stun a creature.” simultaneous, so you may resolve them in either order.
3. You gain Æmber from any Æmber bonus on the card played from the
Life for a Life (AOA 273) top of your deck.
4. If there are any play effects on the card played from the top of your
Should read: “Play: Sacrifice a creature. If you do, deal 6D to a deck, they are simultaneous with Library Access’s effect. You may resolve
creature.” them in either order.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS I have the card Pitlord (CoTA 093) in play and my opponent plays
This section provides answers to a number of common questions that are the card Restringuntus (CoTA 094) and chooses house Dis. What
asked about the game. These questions are presented in a “Question happens when I try to declare my house on my next turn?
and Answer” format, with the newest questions at the end. On your next turn, during the choose a house step, you will be in a
position where you must choose house Dis (because of the Pitlord), but
My opponent has 14 Æmber in their pool and I have 0 in mine. At also cannot choose house Dis (because of the Restringuntus). Cannot
the start of my turn I select Shadows as the active house and play effects have precedence over must effects, thus you cannot choose Dis.
the card Bait and Switch (CoTA 267). How many times does Bait and (see “Cannot Vs Must” on Page 9.) You may still choose either one of
Switch trigger? your other houses though.

In this situation, Bait and Switch’s effect will be triggered 2 times. When
the effect is triggered for the first time time it checks if your opponent I have a Faygin (CoTA 300) in play and my opponent has an Urchin
has more Æmber than you, and if they do it will repeat the first effect (CoTA 315) in play. I reap with Faygin and with its reap effect I
again, stealing another Æmber. However, since the card says to repeat choose my opponent’s Urchin. What happens?
the preceding effect and not the whole effect it can only ever trigger Faygin’s effect causes the Urchin to try and go into your hand, however
twice. when a card leaves play it always goes to its owner’s corresponding out
of play zone (See “Leaves Play” on Page 11) unless the card causing it to
Its the first turn of the game and I am going first. I choose house leave play specifies otherwise. The Urchin is returned to your opponent’s
Logos to be the active house and play the card Phase Shift (CoTA hand instead of yours.
117). Does this allow me to play another card this turn even though
the First Turn Rule (see page 5) is in effect? I have 0 Æmber in my Æmber pool and have chosen house Logos to
Playing Phase Shift will allow you to play another card from your hand be my active house this turn. I play Wild Wormhole (CoTA 125) and
this turn, since the First Turn Rule can be modified by card effects. try and play the top card of my deck is Kelifi Dragon (CoTA 037).
What happens?
Its the first turn of the game and I am going first. I choose house The Kelifi Dragon is returned to the top of the deck. Kelifi Dragon has a
Logos to be the active house and play the card Wild Wormhole play requirement of needing to have 7 Æmber in your Æmber pool, and
(CoTA 125). Can Wild Wormhole’s effect be resolved even though since you didn’t have any initially (you now have 1 from
the First Turn Rule (see page 5) is in effect?

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 26
playing the Wild Wormhole) you don’t have enough to be able to play if the artifact cannot be used. You just resolve as much of the card effect
the Kelifi Dragon. Since you can’t play the card it is returned to the place as you can (see “Resolve As Much As You Can” on Page 7), and to
you tried to play it from, in this case the top of the deck. resolve this situation you just destroy the artifact.

On my opponent’s turn they use their Yxilo Bolter (CoTA 204) to I have no creatures in play and my opponent has two. Can I play the
reap and choose to resolve its reap effect on my Bad Penny (CoTA card Lost in the Woods (CoTA 327) even though I don’t have two
296). Is the Bad Penny purged or does it end up back in my hand? creatures in play?
The Bad Penny goes back to your hand. “Destroyed:” effects (see Yes you can. The “Resolve As Much As You Can” rule (see Page 7) says
“Destroyed” on Page 10) happen immediately before a creature is that you resolve as much of a card effect as possible and any part of a
destroyed, meaning that Bad Penny is back in its owner’s hand before card you cannot resolve is ignored. In the context of Lost in the Woods,
the Yxilo Bolter can try to purge it with its reap effect. At that point, it means that you shuffle in as many of the creatures as you can. So in
any pending effects waiting to resolve on Bad Penny no longer do. This the case that your opponent has two or more creatures in their battleline
is because Bad Penny is moving to an out-of-play zone in which the and you have none, you will shuffle in two enemy creatures and no
identity of cards is hidden from the opponent (see “Leaves Play” on friendly creatures.
Page 11).

I have an exhausted Bumpsy (CoTA 030) in play and my opponent

I have a stunned creature in my battleline, play the card Anger has no creatures in their battleline. I play the card Anger (CoTA 001)
(CoTA 001), and choose to resolve its effect on that stunned and choose to resolve it on Bumpsy. What happens?
creature. What happens? The Bumpsy will be readied by the effect of Anger, but since there are no
If a card (such as Anger in this case) allows you to use a creature and enemy creatures in play it cannot be used to fight so it stays ready. The
if the creature you are trying to use is stunned, you remove the stun creature can then be used as per the standard rules.
instead of doing anything else. Since Fighting is a type of being used the
creature is exhausted and the stun counter is removed.
I control a Spangler Box (CoTA 132) that has purged my own Kelifi
This will even work if your opponent has no creatures in play, because Dragon (CoTA 037). The Spangler Box is returned to its owner’s
unstunning replaces the normal “use” (in this case fight) of the card hand with Grasping Vines (CoTA 324), but I don’t have any Æmber.
before it begins. Do I get my Kelifi Dragon back?
Yes. The Kelifi Dragon is not being played when it is returned by the
I have chosen house Logos to be my active house this turn and play Spangler Box, it is being put into play. Being put into play bypasses the
a Phase Shift (COTA 117) then play another copy of Phase Shift. normal play restrictions, meaning that the Kelifi Dragon is put back into
How many non-Logos cards can I play this turn? play no matter how much Æmber you have.
You can play two non-Logos cards this turn. Each copy of Phase Shift that
you play allows you to play an additional non-Logos card. I play Smaaash (CoTA 046), but each of my opponent’s creatures
is already stunned. Do I have to resolve the effect against
I have a Stealer of Souls (CoTA 098) in play and my opponent has a Smaaash itself?
Valdr (CoTA 029). I use my Stealer of Souls to fight Valdr and both No. You may still choose to resolve Smaaash’s “Play:” effect against one
creatures are destroyed. Does the Stealer of Souls’ ability trigger? of your opponent’s creatures, however you cannot put a stun counter on
No, the Stealer of Souls’ ability will not trigger. In order for the Stealer of an already stunned creature so nothing will happen.
Souls ability to trigger it must be in play, so if both the Stealer of Souls
and the creature it is fighting die, they die simultaneously and the Stealer My opponent puts two of my creatures into their archives using the
of Souls ability cannot trigger (see “Destroyed” on Page 10). card Sample Collection (CoTA 175). On my next turn I play the card
Dysania (CoTA 141). What happens?
I have a Combat Pheromones (CoTA 180), “John Smyth” (CoTA Playing the Dysania will cause each of your opponent’s archived cards
195), and Mindwarper (CoTA 196) in play. I sacrifice the Combat to be discarded, however since the Sample Collection states that when
Pheromones and reap with the Mindwarper, and then reap with these creatures leave the archives they are put into their owner’s hand
“John Smyth” and use “John Smyth’s” reap effect to ready the instead these cards are returned to your hand. Since these cards were
Mindwarper. Can I use the Mindwarper again? not discarded by Dysania’s effect, you will not gain any Æmber from the
Yes, Combat Pheromones is granting permission to use a creature resolution of that effect.
during that turn. If you have an effect that readies one of the Mars cards
affected by the Combat Pheromones (Such as “John Smyth”), you will be I have Shadow Self (CoTA 310) with a Raiding Knight (CoTA 255) as a
able to use that card again. neighbor. My Raiding Knight is then attacked by a 4 power creature.
How much damage does each creature take in this situation?
I play King of the Crag (CoTA 038) while my opponent has a Looter In this case, the Shadow Self will take 2 damage, the Raiding Knight will
Goblin (CoTA 041) in play. What happens? take no damage, and the 4 power creature will take 4 damage and be
The rules for damage state that “If a creature has as much or more destroyed. This happens because before the damage can be dealt to
damage on it as it has power, the creature is destroyed and placed on the Raiding Knight, two of it is prevented by its armor. Then when the
top of its owner’s discard pile.” When a creature has 0 power, if it has 0 damage is actually being dealt, the damage that would be dealt to the
damage on it, it is destroyed. Raiding Knight is dealt to the Shadow Self instead. At the same time as
the Shadow Self is being dealt damage, the 4 power creature takes 4
damage from the Raiding Knight’s power.
My opponent has a Banner of Battle (CoTA 020) in play. Can I play
the card Poltergeist (CoTA 069) to destroy the Banner of Battle,
even if the artifact can’t be used?
Yes, you can resolve the effect of Poltergeist on any artifact in play even

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 27
I have a maverick Pitlord (CoTA 093) in play in a deck without house I use my Hallowed Shield (AoA 218) to protect my Maruck the
Dis. Am I forced to choose house Dis as my active house? Marked (AoA 220) from damage and then I attack my opponent’s
No. You cannot choose an active house unless it is on your identity card 3-power creature. Do I capture an Æember with Maruck’s ability?
or you control a card of that house. This restriction overrides Pitlord’s No. Protection effects like Hallowed Shield prevent damage before
effect, allowing you to choose any of your houses as your active house. armor. Maruck still has 1 armor left after the fight.

What happens if I use Spectral Tunneler (CoTA 133) on a non-flank If my Jargoggle (AoA 131) is destroyed on my turn and its
creature (causing it to be considered a flank creature), then play “Destroyed:” ability lets me play a card with Omega, can I still play
Positron Bolt (CoTA 118) on that creature? cards afterwards?
Positron Bolt will deal 3 damage to that creature. You will choose one of Not usually. If Jargoggle was destroyed during your Step 3 you may not
that creature’s neighbors to deal 2 damage to, and then deal 1 damage play or use any more cards—just finish triggering any more triggered
to the other neighbor of that second creature. effects and then move on to the next step. If Jargoggle was destroyed
during your Step 1, however (for example, because you forged a key
while Strange Gizmo (CoTA 134) was out), you only move on to Step 2,
If I use Gabos Longarms (CoTA 86) to attack a creature without where you may then choose your house and move on to Step 3, where
elusive, can I use Gabos’s “Before Fight” ability to deal damage you are allowed to play and use cards again as normal.
to an elusive creature instead, or will the elusive keyword prevent
the damage?
Gabos Longarms can deal damage to an elusive creature using its ability. I have Pingle Who Annoys (CoTA 43) and my opponent plays King
The elusive ability prevents damage only when the creature is attacked— of the Crag (CoTA 38). Will King of the Crag take a damage before
because Gabos is not actually attacking the elusive creature, the elusive Pingle is destroyed?
keyword will not protect it. No. Because King of the Crag’s ability is a constant, its effect applies
as long as it’s in play and destroys Pingle before Pingle’s “after it enters
play” effect can trigger.
What happens if I use Replicator (CoTA 150) to trigger the reap
effect of an opponent’s Sanctum Guardian (CoTA 256)?
Sanctum Guardian’s reap effect will do nothing. A creature cannot be If I have a 2-power creature with a Soulkeeper (AoA 83) attached, my
moved from one player’s battleline to the other player’s battleline except opponent has a 6-power creature and a 5-power creature, and I play
by effects that explicitly change control of that creature. Opal Knight (AoA 260), do both of my opponent’s creatures die, or
just the 6-power one?
Just the 6-power one. Since Soulkeeper’s effect triggers before the
If I play Mimicry (CoTA 328) as a copy of an action card in my destroyed creatures actually leave play, it will target the 6-power
opponent’s discard pile, which card does the Rule of Six apply to? creature for destruction even though that creature is already tagged
For the purposes of the Rule of Six, you are considered to have played for destruction.
the copied card.

I have 2 Æmber in my pool and I reap with a creature. My opponent

I have Grasping Vines (CoTA 324) under Masterplan (CoTA 288). If I has 2 Sir Marrows (AoA 223) in play. Do both Sir Marrows capture an
use Masterplan’s “Omni” effect to play Grasping Vines, can I return Æmber, and if so, where does the second one come from?
Masterplan to my hand before it is sacrificed? Sir Marrows can only capture the 1 Æmber that was just gained from
Yes. Masterplan’s effect allows you to play the card beneath it before reaping. The active player determines which Sir Marrows captures
sacrificing Masterplan. Masterplan is still in play at the time you play the Æmber.
Grasping Vines, and therefore can be returned to your hand using
Grasping Vines’s effect.
A Scowly Caper (AoA 313) that I own and my opponent controls is
purged with Spangler Box (CoTA 132). Later, the Spangler Box is
If Duma the Martyr (CoTA 242) and another of my creatures are both destroyed. When Scowly Caper returns to play, whose control will he
destroyed by a damage effect like Poison Wave (CoTA 280), can be under?
Duma the Martyr save my other creature from destruction? When the Spangler Box returns Scowly Caper to play, this counts as
No. If the damage causes Duma the Martyr and your other creature to “entering play” again, so Scowly Caper’s ability again causes you put it
both be tagged for destruction, healing that creature afterwards will not into play under your opponent’s control.
prevent its destruction.

I play the card Sack of Coins (AoA 312) with 3 Æmber in my pool.
If a card like Gateway to Dis (CoTA 59) destroys multiple creatures Can I divide the 3 damage among multiple creatures?
and Tolas (CoTA 103) is one of those creatures, does anyone gain Yes. Because Sack of Coins deals 1 damage “for each” Æmber in your
Æmber off of Tolas’ ability? pool, each point of damage may be assigned to a different creature.
No. Tolas’ ability does not trigger until cards are actually put into discard
piles, at which point Tolas is already destroyed.
I play the card Nerve Blast (CoTA 276) while my opponent has 2
Æmber in their pool and controls a Po’s Pixies (AoA 362). Am I able
If I have out a Tolas (CoTA 103) when my Bad Penny (CoTA 296) is to deal 2 damage with Nerve Blast’s effect?
destroyed, do I gain Æmber even if Bad Penny goes to my hand Yes. Po’s Pixies has a replacement effect that changes where the stolen
instead of my discard pile? Æmber is taken from (the common supply instead of its controller’s pool).
Yes. Cards still count as being destroyed even if their “Destroyed:” effect However, that Æmber is still considered to be “stolen,” and therefore the
moves them out of play. “if you do” condition of Nerve Blast has been satisfied.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 28
I reap with Nexus (CoTA 305), which allows me to use an opponent’s My Gabos Longarms (CoTA 86) attacks my opponent’s Æmber Imp
artifact “as if it were” mine. I choose to use my opponent’s Shard (AoA 53). Is Gabos Longarms’ damage prevented by Elusive, or can I
of Greed (AoA 315), which lets me gain 1 Æmber “for each friendly deal that damage to another creature?
Shard.” Shard of Greed is the only Shard in play. How much Æmber You may still deal Gabos Longarms’ damage to another creature. Elusive
do I gain? only prevents damage dealt to the creature with the elusive ability during
1. You are using Shard of Greed as if it were yours, so Shard of Greed the fight.
counts itself as a friendly Shard for the purposes of its ability.

My opponent plays Shadow of Dis (AoA 103), forcing me to treat my

I reap with Nexus (CoTA 305), and use my opponent’s Spectral creatures’ text boxes as if they were blank until their next turn. I play
Tunneler (CoTA 133) to give Nexus the ability “Reap: Draw a card.” Silvertooth (CoTA 311). Does Silvertooth enter play ready?
Can I then trigger that “Reap” ability? Yes. Shadow of Dis only affects creatures while they are in play.
Yes. You are still at the timing point to trigger Nexus’s “Reap” abilities, Silvertooth’s ability modifies how it enters play, so it is in effect before the
so it can now trigger the ability granted by Spectral Tunneler. Shadow of Dis effect applies to it.

I reap with Replicator (CoTA 150), and use its ability to trigger the My opponent plays Shadow of Dis (AoA 103). I have two copies of
reap effect of my opponent’s Sequis (CoTA 257) as if I controlled it. Glimmer (AoA 323) in my hand. May I play them both?
Which player’s pool does Sequis capture Æmber from? No. Alpha is a play restriction that is active while in your hand before
Sequis captures 1 Æmber from your opponent’s pool. You are using playing the card. After you have played a card in a step, you may not
Sequis as if you controlled it, so the default capture rules cause the play an Alpha card even if its text box will be considered blank once it is
Æmber to be captured from your opponent’s pool. in play.

My opponent has Sir Marrows (AoA 223) in play. If I play Dimension My opponent plays Shadow of Dis (AoA 103). I have a Duskwitch
Door (CoTA 108) and then reap with a creature, does Sir Marrows (AoA 320) in my hand. May I play Duskwitch, then play other
capture the Æmber from the creature reaping? cards afterwards?
No, in this case the effect of gaining the Æmber from reaping is being Yes, you can continue to play, use, and discard cards after playing
replaced by stealing Æmber from your opponent. This means that you Duskwitch. Omega is an effect that occurs after a card is played. By
aren’t getting Æmber directly from the reap and your opponent’s Sir that point, Duskwitch is in play and under the effect of Shadow of Dis,
Marrows will not be able to capture it. meaning it no longer has the Omega ability.

My opponent forges two keys on their turn. On my next turn, I play I have a Ronnie Wristclocks (AoA 276) next to a Little Niff (AoA 289).
Key Hammer (CoTA 66). What happens? I attack one of my opponent’s creatures with Ronnie Wristclocks, but
Key Hammer only affects a single key. You will choose one of the two he is destroyed during the fight. Does Little Niff’s ability still allow
keys your opponent forged on their previous turn and unforge it. me to steal 1 Æmber?
Yes. Little Niff’s neighbor does not need to survive in order for Little Niff
to steal the Æmber.
I choose Logos as my active house. I play Phase Shift (CoTA 117),
then play a Mimicry (CoTA 328) as a copy of Foggify (CoTA 110). Can
I still play another non-Logos card using Phase Shift’s effect? My opponent has two creatures in play and I have none. I play
No. Phase Shift grants you permission to play 1 non-Logos card this turn. Neutron Shark (CoTA 146) and use its play effect to destroy an
Playing Mimicry uses up this effect, as you would not have been able to enemy creature as well as the Neutron Shark. If the top card of my
play Mimicry without Phase Shift’s effect deck does not belong to house Logos, can I repeat Neutron Shark’s
ability and destroy my opponent’s other creature?
No. The destruction of Neutron Shark and the first enemy creature
Can I play Mimicry (CoTA 328) as a copy of Eureka (AoA 128) if I have resolves fully before you proceed with the rest of Neutron Shark’s ability.
already played another card this turn? Because Neutron Shark is no longer in play, its Play/Fight/Reap ability is
No. If Mimicry is played as a copy of Eureka, it will have the alpha no longer active and cannot be triggered again.
keyword. Since you have already played another card this turn, you are
not able to play an alpha card this turn and so the Mimicry will not be
played and will go back to your hand instead.

Can I play Mimicry (CoTA 328) as a copy of Eureka (AoA 128) as the
first thing I do during step 3 of my turn?
Yes. Mimicry is being played as a copy of Eureka and will have the Alpha
keyword. Since you haven’t done anything else (played a card, discarded
a card, or used a card) this turn you can still play the alpha card.

My opponent has 10 Æmber and is about to forge their second

key. I play Interdimensional Graft (CoTA 112). My opponent has
Forgemaster Og (AoA 38) in play. On their turn they forge a key for 6
Æmber. What happens to their remaining 4 Æmber?
The effect of Interdimensional Graft and Forgemaster Og both occur at
the same time step (after the key is forged), so the active player (your
opponent) chooses which to resolve first.

KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 29
 Text in black indicates game steps and text in RED lists
common card effects and exactly when they happen.

Whenever two or more effects occur at the same time

This chart provides a detailed timing structure for all step on this chart, the order that those effects resolve
standard game steps and a number of frequently used in is determined by the active player. Note: Effects that
card abilities. Use this information to determine the use the term “each time” occur at the same timing
proper sequence of card abilities and game steps. point as effects that use the term “after.”

1 FORGE A KEY
DAMAGE
»» “START OF TURN” EFFECTS TRIGGER.
The following steps occur each
1. Check to see if you are able to forge a key.
time damage is dealt to one or
2. If able, spend Æmber equal to the current forging cost and forge a key. If you more creatures:
forge your 3rd key, you immediately win the game.
»» “AFTER A KEY IS FORGED” EFFECTS TRIGGER. Apply effects that
prevent damage.
Use armor to prevent damage.

2 CHOOSE A HOUSE Deal all remaining damage.

1. Choose which house will be the active house for this turn. Creatures with damage equal to
»» “AFTER YOU CHOOSE A HOUSE” EFFECTS TRIGGER. or greater than their power on
them are tagged for destruction.
2. You may take all the cards from your archives and put them in your hand.

3 PLAY, DISCARD, OR USE CARDS

You may perform these actions in any order and repeat them any number of times.

PLAY A CARD. USE A CREATURE TO REAP.

1. If your card is a creature, artifact or upgrade, put it into play. 1. Exhaust the reaping creature.
If your card is an action, reveal it (after you play it, discard it). 2. Gain 1 Æmber.
2. Resolve the Æmber bonus on your card. »» “REAP:” EFFECTS, “AFTER A CREATURE REAPS” EFFECTS, AND “AFTER A
»» “PLAY:” EFFECTS AND “AFTER PLAY/ENTERS PLAY” EFFECTS TRIGGER. CREATURE IS USED” EFFECTS TRIGGER.

USE A CREATURE TO FIGHT. USE AN ACTION OR OMNI ABILITY.

1. Exhaust the attacking creature and choose the creature they 1. Exhaust your creature or artifact with the “Action:” or
are fighting. “Omni:” ability.
»» “BEFORE FIGHT”, HAZARDOUS X, AND ASSAULT X TRIGGER. 2. Resolve the effects of that ability.
2. Creatures deal their damage to each other simultaneously. »» “AFTER A CREATURE IS USED” EFFECTS TRIGGER.
»» “FIGHT:” EFFECTS, “AFTER A CREATURE FIGHTS” EFFECTS, AND “AFTER
A CREATURE IS USED” EFFECTS TRIGGER.

DESTROYED
4 READY CARDS The following steps occur each time one or more
1. Ready each of your exhausted cards. cards would be destroyed:

Cards are tagged for destruction.

» “DESTROYED” EFFECTS TRIGGER.

5 DRAW CARDS Each destroyed card is put into its owner’s discard
1. Draw cards until you have six or more in your hand pile. (The battleline immediately shifts to fill in
(adjusting for chains or card effects).
each destroyed creature’s place.)
»» “END OF TURN” EFFECTS TRIGGER. » “AFTER A CREATURE IS DESTROYED” EFFECTS TRIGGER.
KEYFORGE RULEBOOK 30