Vault Tour 2024 continued in Baltimore, Maryland. For three action-packed days Games and Stuff, a store with over 20 years of history in the area, welcomed 76 players to the Bay to reap Æmber, forge keys, and compete for the ultimate KeyForge title: Vault Warrior.

Three tournaments were completed across the weekend in each of KeyForge’s competitive formats: Sealed, Archon, and Alliance. Champions who did not already hold the Vault Warrior title attained it and were awarded an invite to the KeyForge 2024 World Championship in November in addition to all their other prizes.

Across all three main tournaments held over the weekend, we narrowed down to the Top 8 of each and crowned three tournament champions. Several players managed to snag top spots for different formats, as was the case with Vault Tour Roseville, Vault Tour Rochester, and Vault Tour San Antonio. New and old champions rose to prominence, forging their legends and writing their stories into the pages of history.

Sealed

Baltimore showed how much KeyForge players love having Sealed as a major competitive format, seeing 70 players sign up on Friday to play in the event. This is currently the highest attendance for any Vault Tour main tournament this year!

Players were expected to compete using 1-3 sealed KeyForge: Grim Reminders decks constructed using the Alliance deck mechanics.

Sealed allows players to swap house pods from their three decks between rounds. Because of this, we do not have a detailed breakdown of the houses used, pod selections, or top cards of this tournament.

Sealed Results

Below are the Top 8 competitors for Sealed at Vault Tour 2024 Baltimore.

Champion: Siaka* using The Prisoner that Harasses Events; Banished Urban of the Peak; and The Sgt. of Barbecuerock Falls

Runner-Up: FlamingHobo using Yuangibbon, the Dimwitted Hill Pioneer; Twoska of the Chef's Archives; and Meteorsu of the Fugitive's Jungle

Top 4: Miggy9001 using H. Kimura, the Resort Safety Officer; "Gnat King" Osk, Rift Assembly Rep; and Quill the Lumbering

Top 4: CatMarrow using Fraulein K. Protrunk; Yumi, Number of the Vigorous Track; and The Hacker that Deters Artifice

Top 8: JJ using Zilla, Arboretum Traveller; Libhad, the Cat-like Obelisk Trader; and Rattacon, Bayou Specialist

Top 8: Jovi using The Urchin that Changed Deer; Nicollete, Bountivault Unifier; and One who Treads Upon The Spire

Top 8: King-of-Bling using Wistari, Marsboro Cloak; The Stoppable Agent of Invaforest; and Florsnap, the Barrister of the Spaceport

Top 8: Commander Zhao using Surgeon Mercatius; Satlyst, the Æmber-bearer of the Pond; and The Glove that Purifies Tentacles

* – This person received an invite to the KeyForge 2024 World Championship for this format, and the coveted title of Vault Warrior!

Unlinked decks in the listing are not yet scanned into the Master Vault and are therefore not public.

Archon

Archon welcomed 60 participants on Saturday. The specter of KeyForge: Grim Reminders continued to loom, representing 47% of the total field. KeyForge: Winds of Exchange stormed into second place, taking a respectable 22% of set representation. Most of KeyForge’s major sets were represented by at least one deck. Here’s the full field breakdown:

Geistoids continue to haunt the KeyForge competitive scene, but this time their best allies turned out to be the folks of Star Alliance. Both houses tied for 21 deck representations. Mars, often a favorite choice, slipped quite a bit in popularity to just 15 deck representations. Here are the top 10 houses:

1. Geistoid (21 decks)
2. Star Alliance (21 decks)
3. Brobnar (20 decks)
4. Unfathomable (18 decks)
5. Ekwidon (17 decks)
6. Logos (16 decks)
7. Mars (15 decks)
8. Untamed (14 decks)
9. Saurian (11 decks)
10. Sanctum (10 decks)

The top 10 cards that appeared most frequently in Archon decks were:

1. Junk Restoration (20 total)
2. Reaver (19 total)
3. Open the Seal (17 total)
4. Boo! (16 total)
5. Berserker Slam (15 total)
6. Ironyx Rebel (15 total)
7. Winds of Death (15 total)
8. Gemcoat Vendor (14 total)
9. Generous Offer (14 total)
10. Be Our Geist (12 total)

Alliance

Alliance ran simultaneously with Archon on Saturday. It saw 14 participants forge alliances. Because of the smaller attendance number, Ghost Galaxy decided to “run out” the 2LO rounds without a Top Cut. Players played until they had two losses, which continued until only two remained. Those players then played a best-of-three final match.

KeyForge: Winds of Exchange blew away all the other sets, having the most representations among the sets fielded. KeyForge: Grim Reminders still cast a shadow, fielding three. Nearly every other KeyForge main set was represented. The full set breakdown is:

Untamed ran wild in Alliance, taking spots in six of the decks. Not far behind were the scientists of both Logos and Star Alliance, finding spots in five decks each. Geistoid found itself in the bottom few of house selection despite being in all Grim Reminders alliances. The house breakdown is as follows:

1. Untamed (6 decks)
2. Logos (5 decks)
3. Star Alliance (5 decks)
4. Brobnar (4 decks)
5. Mars (4 decks)
6. Dis (3 decks)
7. Ekwidon (3 decks)
8. Geistoid (3 decks)
9. Unfathomable (3 decks)
10. Sanctum (2 decks)

The top 10 cards that appeared most frequently in Alliance decks were:

1. Legionary Trainer (6 total)
2. Rant and Rive (6 total)
3. Abyssal Sight (5 total)
4. Brikk Nastee (5 total)
5. Medic Ingram (5 total)
6. Blernean Hydra (4 total)
7. Boo! (4 total)
8. Control the Weak (4 total)
9. Crushing Deep (4 total)
10. Infurnace (4 total)

Additional photos of the Alliance Top 8 including players Hammersmythe, MooseManDude, and Toasterfire are unavailable due to circumstances outside of Ghost Galaxy’s control. We wish these players all the best, and congratulations on your Top 8 finishes!

Ghost Galaxy must give a special thanks to our host, Games and Stuff. This gaming store has been a fixture in Baltimore’s gaming communities for over 20 years, and now is in the biggest and coolest location they’ve ever had. Paul, the owner, has also been involved with game industry initiatives for decades. His experience shows in the games the store supports, and the welcoming and inclusive staff that he has put together. Working with the store was a top notch experience, and we’re happy to recommend checking them out if you’re ever in the area. If you do, don’t forget to ask about their local KeyForge team, the Bay Witches. Thanks so much Paul, all his staff, Game and Stuff, and the local team for being such wonderful hosts!