KeyForge Celebration 2024 featured a truly monumental KeyForge tournament line-up. We hosted the Last Chance Qualifier first, and with it welcomed 24 eager competitors into a World Championship of their choice. Fires of competition then forged six champions across three invite-only World Championships and three Open Tournaments. No less than 48 players made the various Top 8s of these six tournaments.

Below are the results of each tournament and the decks each Archon used to attain glory. If you are looking for a less competitive-focused recap of KeyForge Celebration 2024, check out our event recap article.

Our Last Chance Qualifier, or LCQ, was a Sealed event that acted as a way for players who were not yet qualified for a World Championship to secure a spot from the pool of unclaimed seats. A total of 129 hopeful participants joined us on Thursday to compete for their spots in the Sealed, Archon, and Alliance World Championships.

The tournament did not culminate in a definitive Top 8. Competition continued until the number of players remaining closely matched the available seats in the World Championships. Players were then ranked based on their losses and Strength of Schedule to determine who would claim the open spots.

Players utilized KeyForge: Grim Reminders for the event and received a pre-scanned packet of sealed decks, enabling Ghost Galaxy to meticulously track each deck used in the tournament. We believe these security protocols played a crucial role in maintaining the tournament’s integrity and facilitated a swift check-in process.

The Sealed format inherently limits a detailed analysis of the houses and cards in play, as players can modify their decks between rounds to take advantage of all nine house pods at their disposal. Only the decklists of undefeated players are provided.

Below are the competitors, selected format, and decks of the only players who were left undefeated at the end of the LCQ.

• DonKeyForge qualified for Alliance using Mystical Styr of the Plantation; First J. Ziechimera; and Recordkeeper Terry Jeetwhili
• Jovi qualified for Archon using MacIsaac of Penazan; Articulate “Spoof” Steinthor; and Orcagal Tournebut-Brèvedent, Demolisher
• Logan S qualified for Sealed using Dame “Armed” Hel; “Sarcastically” Far-sighted Orm; and Ranee Lawrtron Rummage
• Thytiom qualified for Archon using The Incubus who Purifies War; Wahker the Miserly; and Bobert, Coachman of the Glassy Memorial

Below are the additional players who performed well enough to qualify for a seat, sorted by the format chosen.

• Sealed Qualifiers: Easy Gallina, LdqSquash, Jelapenos, Fozmonot, Fillo the Meaple, DisThis
• Archon Qualifiers: Sundy, Anxious Pirate, Magic Duck, Bamboo29, NedMike, JuiceBox
• Alliance Qualifiers: Jomqacere, MathAndLove, Myrtani, Kymira, JTRussell, DragonMaster101, Dugt8r, d0me_bootcomplex
• Already Qualified/Passed on Invite: Dorian11, dammat, Donut’s Dad, King-of-Bling, DRSheep

A first for KeyForge, the Sealed World Championship on Friday saw the 24 best Sealed players from around the world compete for the title of Sealed World Champion and a place among the Vault Warriors (if not already inducted).

This was an invite-only tournament which players had to earn an invite for by winning a Vault Tour, taking first or second at a National Championship, or being one of the lucky top finishers in the Last Chance Qualifier.

Players utilized KeyForge: Æmber Skies in pre-scanned deck packets for the World Championship tournament. It also was the debut of KeyForge: Æmber Skies in the Sealed format. At the conclusion of each round, the judge staff took control and inspected all decks.

Since this tournament was Sealed format, a comprehensive analysis of the houses and decks is not feasible. We can again only share the deck lists that were utilized. The ones provided are for the Top 8.

Below are the Top 8 competitors for the Sealed World Championship at KeyForge Celebration 2024.

• Champion: Varghast* using Keyton the Eternally Insincere; Bruno, Tarmforth’s Fugitive; and Director Poldrill Farwander
• Runner-Up: Wei Do using The Autarch that Revitalizes Charm; Screamin’ Kaitlin of the Floating City; and Emperor B. Dongam
• Top 4: HurricaneRelic using “Raydeth” Alcott, Restaurant Wretch; Rutter the Too Unpopular; and Hunrodr, Long-armed Boardwalk Head
• Top 4: Meepleoz using Europost, the Guildmaster Decurion; I. Popens, Cremeade’s Ugly Underling; and Orlok of Capriver Spaceport
• Top 8: Gorlami using Scuti, the Actor of The Clairvoyant; Garcia the Infernally High-strung; and Lock of Flowermata
• Top 8: Isfet using Bhagat Klifftrice Vis-de-Louf; Norththus, Spawn of Vazhvale; and Shield of Crimsonrinth Emptiness
• Top 8: DisThis using Energetically Ribald Faline; Amarillo, Warlock of the High-strung Flux; and Mora of Calcslide Minefield
• Top 8: LordJudo using Pharaoh Steelnykus, the Winged Hacker; Artfully Fanatical Joreid; and Iocan the Essentially Inspirational

* – This player is invited to return to KeyForge Celebration 2025 and participate in the 2025 Sealed World Championship

Decks that are not linked are not scanned into the KeyForge Master Vault and are not available for public view

Friday saw the first-ever Sealed Open tournament, held for those who had not qualified for the Sealed World Championship. It was the largest Open tournament on the weekend, welcoming 120 participants.

Similar to the LCQ, the Sealed Open utilized pre-scanned deck packets to ensure security. Upon opening these packets, players discovered decks from KeyForge: Æmber Skies.

Due to the nature of the Sealed format, a comprehensive analysis of the houses and decks is not feasible, so we can only share the deck lists that were utilized. The ones provided are for the Top 8.

Below are the Top 8 competitors for the Sealed Open tournament at KeyForge Celebration 2024.

• Champion: Harmed* using Xzx. P. Jaggatoise; Silvyr Zinerg from the Despot’s Chasm; and Lancelot, Fuzzy Slum Spymaster
• Runner-Up: Sundy using The Worldly Reporter; Citizen “Rhino” Longshanks; and Nanase, Hookline Paleontologist
• Top 4: Jovi using Beacon the Tangled; Yongecount, Smithy Usher; and Recepta “Overboss Cece” Ainley
• Top 4: Dom Pham using Renegade Deltrami; Nomad Leza Keyum; and Hookpillar, the Focused Pub Khatun
• Top 8: Donut’s Dad using Destain, Upperiar’s Inquisitor; Lumbering “No Mercy” Ronja; and Self-indulgently Noxious Oddlaug
• Top 8: RandomJoe using F. Husher, the Clone-hab Oddball; The Ancient of Woolhearth; and “Unreal” Zarek, Cell Seneschal
• Top 8: Thytiom using Hervör I. Thudrab, the Defeated; P. P. Shadpie of the Wistful Route; and Le Berruier of Breshire Bastion
• Top 8: Quickdraw3457 using Einar R. Mirvachange, the Pure; Flava, Chameleonic Shoppe Margrave; and Underground of Eltgere Isle

* – This player is invited to return to KeyForge Celebration 2025 participate in the 2025 Sealed World Championship

Decks that are not linked are not scanned into the KeyForge Master Vault and are not available for public view

Archon returned to the World Championship stage on Saturday, inviting 24 of the best Archon players from around the world to compete for the title of Archon World Champion and a place among the Vault Warriors (if not already inducted).

This was an invite-only tournament which players had to earn an invite for by winning a Vault Tour, taking first or second at a National Championship, or being one of the lucky top finishers in the Last Chance Qualifier.

KeyForge: Grim Reminders was favored among the majority of entrants by a large margin, but newer sets like KeyForge: Æmber Skies and KeyForge: Tokens of Change saw use, as did the very first set KeyForge: Call of the Archons.

Geistoid haunted the top spot as the most prevalent house, but Mars battled for a close second place. Many of the other houses that showed up did so in multiples, with only a few houses not being present in any deck.

Below are the Top 8 competitors for the Archon World Championship at KeyForge Celebration 2024.

• Champion: Bamboo29* using Nghị P. Ðức, Biến Thể from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Runner-Up: Flaming Hobo using Y. Hayes, the Isle Carpenter from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 4: Anxious Pirate using Khúc Tùng Người Hầu Khoa Trương from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 4: Magic Duck using Citizen X. Xenovault from KeyForge: Tokens of Change
• Top 8: Easy Gallina using Funny “Gold Tooth” Unn from KeyForge: Tokens of Change
• Top 8: DRSheep using Adm. Inslang, the Pink Fraud from KeyForge: Call of the Archons
• Top 8: MikeFuni using Bandola, Archmage of the Spined Plateau from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 8: Willy510 using 宋国提督张安珊 from KeyForge: Grim Reminders

* – This player is invited to return to KeyForge Celebration 2025 participate in the 2025 Archon World Championship

The majority of the most used cards come from the most used houses, as expected. Many of them are centered around archiving cards or creating tempo plays (either by readying creatures or seeing more cards). Here are the 10 most used cards from the entire field:

1. Junk Restoration (13 total)
2. In Here Somewhere… (11 total)
3. Ironyx Rebel (10 total)
4. Distant Void Prober (9 total)
5. Memette (9 total)
6. Winds of Death (8 total)
7. Target Yynxzdyl (8 total)
8. Dr. Xyloxxzlphrex (8 total)
9. Berserker Slam (7 total)
10. Hallowed Eve Festival (7 total)

Held on Saturday for those who had not qualified for the Archon or Alliance World Championships, the Archon Open saw the participation of 77 players. It was the largest non-Sealed tournament on the weekend.

This tournament saw a wider diversity of decks than Archon Worlds, with KeyForge: Grim Reminders dropping to slightly over a third of the overall field and KeyForge: Æmber Skies and KeyForge: Tokens of Change taking up the majority of the other deck representations.

A truly spooky number of Geistoids were represented among houses despite the drop in KeyForge: Grim Reminders decks, but Untamed ran wild into the second spot. Brobnar, Ekwidon, and Logos were all basically tied for third in house selections.

Of special note is that this tournament featured at least one of every one of the Crucible’s great houses, including newcomers Skyborn and Redemption.

Below are the Top 8 competitors for the Archon Open tournament at KeyForge Celebration 2024.

• Champion: Emperor Riku* using Vi Ngh. Kiếm Đỏ Thẫm from KeyForge: Æmber Skies
• Runner-Up: LordJudo using Pastor „Ass“ Nimrod from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 4: Yoyomilkworm using Sayidah Octcrucian Tsana from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 4: Drazkor using Professor Thundrou, the Spirited Deuce from KeyForge: Æmber Skies
• Top 8: DevDev85 using Zera, Placid Cloud Ears from KeyForge: Tokens of Change
• Top 8: DD_Reaper using The Wanton Egghead Healer of Volgozas from KeyForge: Æmber Skies
• Top 8: LqdSquash using Laver of Firstpier’s Vault from KeyForge: Vault Masters 2024
• Top 8: DisThis using “Magus” Konul, Bush Chieftain from KeyForge: Grim Reminders

* – This player is invited to return to KeyForge Celebration 2025 and participate in the 2025 Archon World Championship

Tempo and archiving strategies were still prevalent among cards utilized in the Archon Open, but there were some standout disruption cards not seen in large numbers within the Archon World Championship, such as Recklessness and Against All Flags. Here are the 10 most used Archon Open cards:

1. Junk Restoration (33 total)
2. In Here Somewhere… (31 total)
3. Winds of Death (25 total)
4. Hallowed Eve Festival (25 total)
5. Boo! (22 total)
6. Recklessness (21 total)
7. Against All Flags (20 total)
8. Webstur (19 total)
9. Memette (19 total)
10. Reaver (18 total)

Alliance joined Archon in returning for a second year as a World Championship format and was held at the same time on Saturday. Due to an anomaly during registration, this tournament had 25 players, all of which were among the greatest Alliance players in the world.

This was an invite-only tournament which players had to earn an invite for by winning a Vault Tour, taking first or second at a National Championship, or being one of the lucky top finishers in the Last Chance Qualifier.

KeyForge: Grim Reminders was preferred by many entrants, but made up less than half of the decks registered. KeyForge: Dark Tidings was not absent here as it was in the Archon format.

Those ghouls in Geistoid had another wicked showing among houses and were the favorite house yet again. Star Alliance appeared to be the preferred secondary house and was not far behind Geistoid in total representation. Many houses only had singular representations in this format.

Below are the Top 8 competitors for the Alliance World Championship at KeyForge Celebration 2024.

• Champion: dammat* with an Alliance of Star Alliance, Unfathomable, and Geistoid from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Runner-Up: AV8R with an Alliance of Redemption, Untamed, and Dis from KeyForge: Tokens of Change
• Top 4: Ellimac with an Alliance of Unfathomable, Geistoid, and Star Alliance from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 4: Fakey with an Alliance of Geistoid, Unfathomable, and Star Alliance from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 8: Kymira with an Alliance of Untamed, Star Alliance, and Geistoid from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 8: Harmed with an Alliance of Geistoid, Star Alliance, and Unfathomable from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 8: CatMarrow with an Alliance of Geistoid, Ekwidon, and Star Alliance from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 8: DonKeyForge with an Alliance of Geistoid, Unfathomable, and Ekwidon from KeyForge: Grim Reminders

* – This player is invited to return to KeyForge Celebration 2025 and participate in the 2025 Alliance World Championship

The majority of Alliance strategies centered on controlling the board and opponent through replaying key creatures (like Bryozoarch or Kaupe) via archiving with In Here Somewhere or reaping with Retrotechnician Le. Classic control cards like Control the Weak were also present, and Well of Memory allowed many decks to purge their worst cards to make strategies more consistent. Here are the top 10 used cards:

1. Boo! (16 total)
2. Retrotechnician Le (15 total)
3. In Here Somewhere… (15 total)
4. Winds of Death (15 total)
5. Be Our Geist (9 total)
6. Reaver (9 total)
7. Control the Weak (9 total)
8. Well of Memory (8 total)
9. Kaupe (8 total)
10. Hallowed Eve Festival (8 total)

For those who prefer the Alliance format and had not qualified for the Archon or Alliance World Championships, we held the Alliance Open on Saturday. A total of 18 players competed in the tournament.

This tournament had the lowest representation of KeyForge: Grim Reminders decks and, like its World Championship counterpart, featured some of the sets that were absent or underrepresented in the Archon format (like KeyForge: Dark Tidings and KeyForge: Age of Ascension).

Untamed roared into first place among houses represented in the Alliance Open. Geistoid representation in this tournament slipped all the way to fourth placing as Logos and Mars took second and third respectively.

Nearly all of the Crucible’s great houses found at spot in at least one deck, including the newcomers Skyborn and Redemption.

Below are the Top 8 competitors for the Alliance Open tournament at KeyForge Celebration 2024.

• Champion: MarkH* with an Alliance of Mars, Logos, and Shadows from KeyForge: Age of Ascension
• Runner-Up: snek with an Alliance of Geistoid, Mars, and Untamed from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 4: Panic with an Alliance of Unfathomable, Brobnar, and Geistoid from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 4: AdZeBad with an Alliance of Geistoid, Untamed, and Mars from KeyForge: Grim Reminders
• Top 8: xjoaniex with an Alliance of Logos, Dis, and Geistoid from KeyForge: Æmber Skies
• Top 8: BotOrNot with an Alliance of Star Alliance, Untamed, and Logos from KeyForge: Dark Tidings
• Top 8: Dave C. with an Alliance of Star Alliance, Logos, and Untamed from KeyForge: Worlds Collide
• Top 8: Hammersmythe with an Alliance of Mars, Logos, and Untamed from KeyForge: Age of Ascension

* – This player is invited to return to KeyForge Celebration 2025 and participate in the 2025 Alliance World Championship

Key cheating through Key Abduction and increasing key cost through EDAI were some of the main strategies employed, although this tournament also had its fair share of archival-based strategy with In Here Somewhere and Memette. Here are the top 10 cards used:

1. Key Abduction (10 total)
2. EDAI “Edie” 4×4 (10 total)
3. Witch of the Dawn (7 total)
4. In Here Somewhere… (7 total)
5. Winds of Death (6 total)
6. Memette (6 total)
7. Junk Restoration (6 total)
8. Imp-losion (6 total)
9. Daughter (6 total)
10. Com. Officer Kirby (5 total)

Congratulations once more to all the outstanding players in every tournament at KeyForge Celebration 2024! A special shoutout goes to our champions: Varghast, Harmed, Bamboo29, Emperor Riku, dammat, and MarkH. You have elevated KeyForge to remarkable heights, showcasing exceptional skill and dedication. Your performances are the stuff of legend.

To all the other brave Archons, keep in mind that for every champion crowned, countless others must face defeat. Your names may not be etched in today’s legends, but your contributions are vital to the narratives we share. Fires of competition will once again ignite in 2025, and perhaps that will be your moment to forge your own legacy. Champions emerge from us, the people, and in a way, that means victory for one means victory for us ALL.

Thanks for an incredible 2024 Organized Play season.

See you in the Crucible!