Alliance
The Alliance format challenges both a player’s gameplay skills and deck-construction strategy by allowing Alliance decks to be created from up to three different Archon decks from the same KeyForge set.
Alliance Deck Creation: Prior to the start of an Alliance format tournament, each participating player must create an Alliance deck. An Alliance deck consists of three house pods from up to three different Archon decks from the same KeyForge set. Each selected house pod must be from a different house.
Additionally, each Alliance deck cannot contain more than one card by name from the Alliance Restricted List, and that card cannot appear in the Alliance deck in a greater quantity than specified in the Alliance Restricted List. If a player chooses to use a single unmodified Archon deck in an Alliance format tournament, that deck is not subject to the Alliance Restricted List.
A house pod is the group of 12 cards dedicated to a single house within a single Archon deck (each Archon deck always consists of three house pods of three different houses). For the purposes of resolving any card abilities, the list of cards in the house pod (as well as the houses of those cards) is considered to be on the deck’s Archon card.
If an Alliance deck is constructed from the Dark Tidings set, the deck must include the Tide reference card. Decks constructed from other sets cannot include the Tide reference card.
If an Alliance deck is constructed from the Winds of Exchange set, it must include exactly one token creature reference card from an Archon deck that contributed at least one house pod to the Alliance deck. Decks constructed from other sets cannot include token creature reference cards.
Each Player Uses: One KeyForge Alliance deck consisting of three house pods from up to three different Archon decks in the same KeyForge set. Alternatively, a player may bring one unmodified Archon deck.
Registration: Each player must register themselves and their deck at the event HQ. If a player is registering with an Alliance deck, the deck list card from every Archon deck used to construct the Alliance deck must be presented to HQ for inspection, and the player must register which house from each deck list was used to construct the Alliance deck. Alliance decks constructed from the Winds of Exchange set must also register the deck’s chosen token creature.
Deck Lists: Decklists are open information. Players must allow their opponent time to review their decklist prior to the start of the match, and at any time during the match if requested.
Qualifying Rounds: Alliance format tournaments use the Playstile 2LO structure and are played over a series of qualifying rounds, with each round featuring any number of two-player matches, and each match consisting of one game. The winner of each match is responsible for reporting the match result to the event HQ.
Players are eliminated after losing two matches, also known as “two loss out (2LO).”
Qualifying rounds continue until a predetermined number of players make the top cut (usually eight players). The size of the top cut and the number of qualifying rounds needed to reach it depend on the number of players at the beginning of the tournament. The event organizer will make these determinations prior to the start of the first tournament round.
Finals: After concluding the qualifying rounds, the remaining players who have qualified for the top cut proceed to the finals. The finals consist of single-elimination matches until only two players remain.
The final match is played as a best-of-three series. In other words, for the match to be resolved, players continue to play games until one player has won two games. The player who lost the previous game chooses which player will act as “first player” for the next game, if necessary.
You can read more about the Playstile 2LO tournament structure at keyforging.com/playstile-2lo-tournaments
Alliance Restricted List
Each Alliance deck cannot include more than one card by name from the following list. That card is known as the deck’s restricted card. Additionally, a deck’s restricted card cannot appear in the deck in a quantity greater than the Alliance Restricted List specifies.
An unmodified Archon deck used in an Alliance tournament does not need to adhere to the Alliance Restricted List.
| Card Name | Sets* | Quantity Allowed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Befuddle | WoE | Any number | |||
| Chronus | MM, VM23 | Any number | |||
| Control the Weak | CotA | Any number | |||
| Dark Æmber Vault | MM | 1 per deck | |||
| FOF Transponder | WoE | Any number | |||
| Ghostform | WC, WoE | Any number | |||
| Hallafest | WoE, VM23 | 1 per deck | |||
| Infurnace | WC, MM | Any number | |||
| Legionary Trainer | WoE | Any number | |||
| Library Access | CotA | 1 per deck | |||
| Martian Generosity | AoA | 1 per deck | |||
| Stealth Mode | WC, VM23 | Any number | |||
| Timetraveller | CotA, AoA, VM23 | Any number | |||
| United Action | WC, DT | Any number | |||
* Sets listed include sets where the card was printed. Legacy versions of any card on the list are subject to the same restrictions.
Example 1: Suppose you have three house pods, all from the Winds of Exchange set, that contain the following: Brobnar with one copy of Hallafest, Saurian with three copies of Legionary Trainer, and Unfathomable with two copies of Befuddle (and none of those three pods contained any other restricted cards). Since all of those house pods contain a card from the Alliance Restricted List, none of them can be combined into the same Alliance deck. However, any one of those pods could be used in an Alliance deck as long as that pod’s restricted card was the only restricted card, by name, in the entire Alliance deck.
Example 2: Suppose you have two house pods, both from the Mass Mutation set, that contain the following: Dis with one copy of Dark Æmber Vault, and Shadows with with one copy of Dark Æmber Vault. Those two house pods could not be combined into the same Alliance deck because Dark Æmber Vault is limited to 1 per deck.
Sealed
The Sealed format challenges each player to make the best deck combination from the house pods found in up to three sealed KeyForge decks.
Each Player Uses: Up to three sealed KeyForge Archon decks from the same KeyForge set. A sealed deck is one that is unopened and in its original packaging. The event organizer determines which KeyForge set from amongst the two most recently released sets will be used for the tournament. Each player decides how many sealed decks (one, two, or three) from that set they will use to create their Alliance.
Registration: Each player must register themselves at the event HQ and present their sealed Archon decks (as proof they are sealed), or obtain their sealed Archon decks if they are being provided by the event organizer.
Sealed Deck Creation: After registration is complete, the event organizer announces that all players may simultaneously open their sealed decks. Each player constructs a single Sealed deck by selecting three different house pods from amongst all house pods provided by their sealed decks. A house pod is the group of 12 cards dedicated to a single house within a single Archon deck. Each player must only use pods from the sealed decks they opened; swapping pods or decks with other players is not allowed. Each selected house pod must be from a different house.
Sealed decks do not need to adhere to the Alliance Restricted List.
If a Sealed deck is constructed from the Dark Tidings set, it must include the Tide reference card. Decks constructed from other sets cannot include the Tide reference card.
If a Sealed deck is constructed from the Winds of Exchange set, it must include exactly one token creature reference card from an Archon deck that contributed at least one house pod to the Sealed deck. Decks constructed from other sets cannot include token creature reference cards.
A player may choose to play with one of their sealed Archon decks in its original, unmodified state.
Deck construction must be completed within 30 minutes.
Deck Lists: Decklists are kept hidden from the opposing player during a match, but each player must make their available houses known to their opponent at all times. Players can choose to make their decklists visible to spectators but are not required to do so. Players must show their decklist to event staff whenever requested.
Deck Calibration: Between each round of a Sealed tournament, before being seated with their next opponents, players may calibrate their decks by substituting one or more house pods with one or more of their unused house pods from the Archons decks they opened at the beginning of the tournament. After calibration, a deck must consist of three house pods from different houses.
If a Sealed deck is constructed from the Winds of Exchange set, the player may also substitute the chosen token creature reference card with one of the unused token creature reference cards from the Archon decks they opened at the beginning of the tournament, provided that the newly chosen token creature reference card came from a deck that also contributed at least one pod to the Sealed deck.
Qualifying Rounds: Sealed format tournaments use the Playstile 2LO structure, with each round featuring any number of two player matches, and each match consisting of one game. The winner of each match is responsible for reporting the match result to the event HQ.
Players are eliminated after losing two matches, also known as “two loss out (2LO).”
Qualifying rounds continue until a predetermined number of players make the top cut (usually eight players). The size of the top cut and the number of qualifying rounds needed to reach it depend on the number of players at the beginning of the tournament. The event organizer will make these determinations prior to the start of the first tournament round.
Finals: After concluding the qualifying rounds, the remaining players who have qualified for the top cut proceed to the finals. The finals consist of single-elimination matches until only two players remain. The final match is played as a best-of-three series. In other words, for the match to be resolved, players continue to play games until one player has won two games. The player who lost the previous game chooses which player will act as “first player” for the next game, if necessary.
You can read more about the Playstile 2LO tournament structure at keyforging.com/playstile-2lo-tournaments