The most obvious thing to do with a deck you own is to play it against other people with the decks they own. This comes naturally, especially if you’ve come from other card games. But it often devolves to players only playing their one top deck that has the best matchup against the widest variety of decks, especially in competition.
I always say that what I like about competitive KeyForge and dislike about other card games is that the pool of decks is so varied. But is that true of your own collection? What if you only have 1-2 decks that are archon competitive? The pool of decks you play against is varied, but your own top decks are not. And the only thing to really shake it up, just like other card games, is a new release.
Luckily, KeyForge comes built-in with a few other formats and variants that help keep things fresh. The list of official formats and variants is not very long and the community was not satisfied with this variety and came up with a lot more. So many more that it may be a little daunting to find your hands and feet (or tentacles) in all this mess. This guide is an overview of the different formats and variants and what I think their strengths and weaknesses are. And because this is my blog and I can do as I please, I’ll also tell you my personal preference.
This will be a living and expanding article because there are too many variants out there for me to even reasonably write them all in one sitting. So do come back to check if it was updated, and feel free to poke me on discord or twitter if you want me to cover a variant.
What is a Format?
At this time there are only two official formats in KeyForge. Archon and Sealed. Archon is any game or event where you bring one or more decks from your collection. A deck you have probably practiced and know well. Sealed is any game or event in which you open one or more decks specifically for the event and play it without having a chance to practice it.
You might ask yourself why I mentioned those are the only two official formats when it seems like it covers everything. Well, not quite. Drafting is a different format than sealed, and while there is no official drafting format, people have been setting up cube drafts. Also, FFG has announced KeyForge adventures. A PVE mode where players can play together against a common enemy. I’m not sure if this qualifies as another Format, but I definitely think it is!
What is a Variant?
A variant is the rules of engagement outside of the single-game of KeyForge that later either the matchups or the tournament structure. This can define the number of decks you bring. How you pick which decks to play. Who plays which deck. And sometimes it includes little mini-games prior to the actual game of KeyForge.
Variants have a major impact on the game, how you pick your deck, and what skills you need to master to win in them. Some variants are more casual and some are more competitive. Generally speaking, a variant that increases variance is considered less competitive, while a variant that eliminates non-skill factors is considered more competitive. Not everyone agrees with this though. But that’s fine, you can play the variants you like!
A format on its own is assumed to be of the Solo variant. Since formats are very limited in scope (Archon or Sealed), it is better to refer to the variant than the format. This has been a running joke when Alex Watkins was the head of organized play at FFG and insisted on correcting people when they erroneously referred to variants as formats.
Archon variants
I will start off with the official and most common variants and work my way down to the more obscure and less played ones. Sealed variants later on.
Archon Solo
In Archon Solo, each player brings a single deck to the match or event. Before each match, players are allowed to review their opponent’s Identity card for 2 minutes.
This is the most natural and straightforward variant of KeyForge. Play the deck you think will perform the best against other players playing their best.
Strengths: Because this is the most natural way to play KeyForge, people have a lot of practice in it. If you run an Archon Solo event, most people will already have a deck picked out. People with large collections may have several decks that they think can take down an Archon Solo events. Those decks are commonly referred to as Archon Competitive. When choosing among several Archon Competitive decks, players might attempt to predict the metagame at the event, and bring a deck that can defeat what they think will be popular.
Weaknesses: While I believe most players have Archon Competitive decks or should be able to acquire one for a reasonable price ($50), there are definitely gaps in power level at the very top. The top 0.1% of decks are undoubtedly better than the top 1% of decks (anyone with 100 decks has on average one top 1% deck). And while I maintain that this gap does not prevent a great player from winning with a 1% deck, there is no denying that players that have access to more resources have an advantage in Archon Solo.
While there are players who don’t like playing Archon Solo competitively, mostly due to the aforementioned power disparity, I don’t think there is anyone that doesn’t like just bringing a deck and hashing it out with their opponent. It is a fun no-fuss way to enjoy the game.
Archon Reversal
Each player brings a deck to the tournament which they believe is challenging to win with. Before each game, players temporarily swap decks for that match with their opponent, and try to win the round with the deck their opponent brought.
Archon Reversal is a very polarizing variant. People either love it or hate it. The official description has very particular wording “challenging to win with”. This wording is not very forthcoming representation of the variant, as in reality, people are going to bring the absolute shittiest decks in existence.
Strengths: Playing against your own deck with an unfamiliar deck is a very interesting experience. It tests your ability to pick up and play a deck like in sealed, but also allows a lot of strategy that comes from knowing your opponent’s deck very well. In casual play it can be a eye-opening, as you see someone else pilot your deck. You might even learn a few things!
Weaknesses: Similar to Archon Solo, there is a definite edge to large collections. Large collections have a high chance of having really bad decks. Someone with resources can go out and buy one. It is arguably much harder to find a truly horrible reversal deck than it is to find a supremely awesome archon solo deck. However, those very shitty decks, if you know how to identify them, likely going to cost a lot less than those high end Archon Solo decks. At least while top level play doesn’t include reversal.
I don’t enjoy reversal for several reasons. The first being that there are certain styles of decks I simply don’t enjoy playing. If someone hands me a deck like that, I get frustrated, and I don’t play well when I’m frustrated. Which is frustrating. The other reason is that bad decks clashing with one another can be compared to trying to knock someone out with pool noodles. You will eventually get there, but it is going to take a while.
That said, one of my fondest KeyForge memories is from an archon reversal side event at UKGE 2019. I brought whatever bad deck I had, and I was absolutely destroyed with it round after round. Playing at the bottom tables and joking with other people about my deck being too good and theirs being absolute trash was honestly one of the best parts of that Vault Tour.
Archon Adaptive
There are three separate variants grouped together, Adaptive best-of-three (official), Adaptive best-of-one (Adaptive short/Appraisal), and Reversal First. Each of these formats has a portion of chain bidding, which works as follows: Both players bid on a deck. The owner of the deck opens with a bid of 0 chains. Players then take turns bidding chains until a player declines to bid higher. The player with the winning bid then plays that deck with a number of chains equal to their high bid applied at the beginning of the game. The other player will play the deck not bid upon with 0 chains.
In Adaptive best-of-three players play a game with their own decks, then swap decks with their opponent. If the same deck won both games, the third game is opened with chain bidding on the winning deck.
In Adaptive best-of-one players open by simultaneously picking which of the two decks they wish to play. If both players pick the same deck, bidding commences on that deck. Otherwise, each player plays the deck they picked.
In Reversal First players play game one with their opponent’s deck, then play a game with their own deck. If the same deck won both games, the third game is opened with chain bidding on the winning deck.
Adaptive is considered by many to be the purest skill-testing format.
Philosophy:
Chains are a balancing mechanic built into the base rules of KeyForge. They can be utilized to allow two decks
Formats and Variants
with a large difference in strength to play at roughly even footing. This helps to emphasize the skill of the player
over the strength of an individual deck and allows each player the chance to do well with whatever deck they
happen to use.
Strengths: As the official document says Adaptive allows players to bring decks of any strength. It tests not only the ability to play unknown decks but also the ability to assess the matchup.
Adaptive best-of-three – The full best-of-three variant allows players to learn from their opponent how to play their deck if they pay attention. Playing well and winning both game one and two means avoiding chain bidding, which is ideal.
Adaptive best-of-one – It is more difficult to assess a matchup without having played it, which is arguably more skill testing. The best-of-one variant is also much quicker in tournaments, taking 35 minutes per round instead of 90.
Reversal First – Similar to the official format, but forces the players to figure out their opponent’s deck without getting a free lesson in how to play it.
Weaknesses: Many experienced players say that deck choice for archon adaptive is meaningless, which goes against the idea of archon. However, there is no doubt that familiarity with a deck is still an important factor that can give a player an edge. The official variant being best-of-three is another weakness of the format, but there is hope that FFG will make adaptive best-of-one an official variant as it is very popular.
I dislike archon adaptive and have been outspoken about it. I have tried many times to put into words backed up by math why I think that the best-of-three variant is a major waste of time. While I cannot prove it, I feel it is prone to be an even worse offender in the variance department than other variants. I am of the opinion that adaptive should be a sealed variant only. That said, if I were to play adaptive, I strongly prefer the best-of-one variant. It still suffers from some issues with chains, namely that the more chains on a deck, the more random the hand draws are, but at least it is quick and doesn’t feel as bad when your deck would high roll for your opponent.
Note: I have started experimenting with Æmber bidding instead of chain bidding and it looks promising.
Sealed Variants
I’ll speak about sealed variants as opening decks right before the event. Although in online play decks can be randomly fetched from the master vault to simulate sealed play. On TCO, the sealed option picks a random deck from the pool of decks other players have registered, this somewhat skews the power level of decks upward.
Sealed Solo
In Sealed Solo, each player receives one or more sealed decks. The player chooses one deck from their available choices and plays it for the entire event. In sealed, you are generally allowed to look at your own deck list but not your opponent’s.
Sealed solo is a fantastic way to explore a new set and a very common way for stores to promote selling products. Sealed is usually played only with the most recent set, but tournament organizers have been known to mix it up.
Strengths: Sealed Solo allows players to explore a new deck thoroughly. By playing several rounds in an event like a local tournament, you can be sure to at least get a taste of what a deck does. A lot of players with large collections have unplayed decks and playing some sealed with every deck you open is a good way to make sure you never have unplayed decks. Sealed Solo tests a players ability to pick up a new deck and pilot it well from the get-go.
Weaknesses: Sealed Solo has a lot of variance. Opening a deck with glaring weaknesses can spell doom. In low-level competition, this is not an issue, but in high-level play, it can be. One way to mitigate this is by supplying players with more than one deck and letting them choose which to play for the event. Vault Tours have standardized pick one of three. While three is a comfortable amount of decks to open for a large event like a Vault Tour, you wouldn’t want to open 3 decks every time there is a sealed event at a local tournament. That shit will get expensive fast.
I love playing sealed to get to know a set, and I play at least one game of sealed with Techslut whenever we open decks. For competition, it can be a little frustrating, especially when only opening one deck. I feel like pick one of three is a good balance point. I think a great player on a good day should consistently make day two of a vault tour when picking one of three. However, winning day two is much more luck-dependent. The single-elimination structure means that not only getting knocked out by a stronger deck, but also the potential of losing due to one bad matchup or a bad draw. I strongly prefer a double elimination top cut.
Sealed Reversal
In Sealed Reversal, each player opens a single deck for a match or event. Before each game, players temporarily swap decks for that match with their opponent, and try to win the round with their opponent’s deck. There are two common variants of sealed reversal. Blind sealed reversal means you are not allowed to look at the list of the deck you are playing. Open sealed reversal allows you to look at your own list before and during the game.
Sealed Reversal is a light and fun variant that is exceptionally well suited for local play. It is also a fun way to explore a new set just like Sealed Solo.
Strengths: Playing sealed reversal in a local tournament generally means that you either opened a bad deck and then have a good chance of winning or you opened a good deck and you have little chance of winning. But hey, if you lost, at least you got a good deck! This is a much nicer experience than the potential of opening a bad deck and losing in sealed solo event.
Weaknesses: Just like in sealed solo, there can be quite a lot of variance here. In local play just having opened a good deck is a great consolation prize, but you wouldn’t really be happy with just that if you went to a premium event. People come to premium events to win, and you can certainly have your chances harmed by opening a good deck.
I absolutely love playing sealed reversal at the local level. Besides the win-win situation it also results in some really good laughs. There is something really joyful about sharing just how bad a deck is with someone else.
Speed Sigil (Blind Sealed)
In Speed Sigil, each player opens one deck and plays a single game against their opponent. Unlike in sealed solo, players are not allowed to look at their own decks or their decklists.
This is an official side event at Vault Tours. It’s a great way to get some shards and play a quick game with a friend while opening decks bought at the venue.
Strengths: It changes the game from the strategic to the tactical. Since neither player knows what cards are likely to come up, planning ahead is hard. You do what you can with the hand you’ve been dealt. Literally.
Weaknesses: This variant only really works for a single game so it can’t be played as a full event. Since once you play your deck you’ve likely seen most of the cards. I guess it is possible to pass decks around to other players such that nobody has seen the decks they are about to play. But that’s not very realistic, scouting being somewhat of an issue in sealed solo as well.
I don’t love the purely tactical nature of speed sigil, but it can still be fun from time to time. If you’re at a vault tour, this is a great way to get a few more shards you need for a prize.
Sealed Adaptive
The next section is identical to Archon Adaptive, feel free to skip to “In Sealed” below if you’ve already read the Archon Adaptive section.
There are three separate variants grouped together, Adaptive best-of-three (official), Adaptive best-of-one (Adaptive short/Appraisal), and Reversal First. Each of these formats has a portion of chain bidding, which works as follows: Both players bid on a deck. The owner of the deck opens with a bid of 0 chains. Players then take turns bidding chains until a player declines to bid higher. The player with the winning bid then plays that deck with a number of chains equal to their high bid applied at the beginning of the game. The other player will play the deck not bid upon with 0 chains.
In Adaptive best-of-three players play a game with their own decks, then swap decks with their opponent. If the same deck won both games, the third game is opened with chain bidding on the winning deck.
In Adaptive best-of-one players open by simultaneously picking which of the two decks they wish to play. If both players pick the same deck, bidding commences on that deck. Otherwise, each player plays the deck they picked.
In Reversal First players play game one with their opponent’s deck, then play a game with their own deck. If the same deck won both games, the third game is opened with chain bidding on the winning deck.
Adaptive is considered by many to be the purest skill-testing format.
Philosophy:
Chains are a balancing mechanic built into the base rules of KeyForge. They can be utilized to allow two decks
Formats and Variants
with a large difference in strength to play at roughly even footing. This helps to emphasize the skill of the player
over the strength of an individual deck and allows each player the chance to do well with whatever deck they
happen to use.
In Sealed, at least officially, players are not allowed to look at their opponent’s decklist before the game. This means in Sealed Adaptive best-of-one you need to assess your opponent’s deck based on the house combination only. Both the best-of-three variants avoid this problem by virtue of allowing the players to play with their opponent’s deck prior to bidding (if the game reaches bidding).
Strengths: While Archon Adaptive allows bringing a deck without regard to power level, Sealed Adaptive means that any deck you open can get you to the finish line with some clever bidding and good play. You will be out of contention due to opening a bad deck.
Adaptive best-of-three – Adaptive best-of-three retains the Sealed aspect of a hidden list in game one.
Adaptive best-of-one – The best-of-one variant is quicker in tournaments, taking 45 minutes per round instead of 110, which makes it suitable for local tournaments.
Reversal First – Similar to the official format, but forces the players to figure out their opponent’s deck without getting a free lesson, but removes the hidden decklist property of sealed games.
Weaknesses: The best-of-three official sealed variant doesn’t really have any weaknesses aside from the fact it is best-of-three and takes a long time to complete. 110-minute rounds can be daunting. Sealed best-of-one with hidden lists is kind of a crapshoot, as you can’t really properly bid with so little knowledge. Reversal First is not really needed, because your opponent probably doesn’t know their deck that well, only having played it a handful of times, and it does eliminate the hidden list property.
Sealed Adaptive is probably the best sealed variant in existence for large-scale tournaments. I am personally fond of Sealed Auction, but it is very difficult to run large-scale tournaments with that variant. The best-of-three official variant is potentially very good, as the majority of decks will be of roughly median power level, resulting in lots of interesting games. Still, I am not a fan of best-of-three variants in general, and prefer the best-of-one variant, so long as players are allowed to review their opponent’s decklist before picking which deck they wish to play.
Note: I have started experimenting with Æmber bidding instead of chain bidding and it looks promising.
