Spend any time in the dark corners of Cirrus or Port Halyard and you’re bound to hear the legend of Old Flint. His story reigns supreme among the Stormkin, those outcasts who covet Æmber. He stashed his bounty on a remote rock, guarded by a map from the Lord J’reen. Even death couldn’t quench his thirst for treasure; he roams the skies eternally, his spectral ship a haunting reminder. While many perish chasing his legend, safer fortunes await in the skyrealm: join the merchant’s guild, seek the patronage of the great barons, or triumph in the annual Great Hunt. Just avoid Flint’s pursuit, lest it becomes your own. 

In the vast expanse above the clouds of the Crucible, where the sky meets the horizon, lies the domain of the Skyborn. A loose confederation of baronies, merchant guilds, hunter clans, and pirates that navigate the endless azure aboard their prized skyships, each vessel a marvel of engineering and ingenuity. Guided by the whims of the wind, the Skyborn carve out their existence amidst the billowing clouds, their way of life dictated by trade, adventure, and the pursuit of power. From the grandiose palaces of the high-ranking barons, to the rugged decks of the daring sky pirates, life in the sky holds both peril and promise. With alliances forged and broken as swiftly as the gusts that propel their ships, the Skyborn stand as masters of their domain, where the horizon knows no bounds and the sky is the only limit.

Skyborn is Keyforge’s newest house and makes its debut in the set, KeyForge: Æmber Skies. Let’s take a look at what this house can do:

Key Color Choices

To win a game of KeyForge, a player must forge three keys before their opponent can do the same. The rules of the game specify that each player must use a set of keys in three different colors, one each of red, yellow and blue. For most of the game’s existence, the color of a key a player chose to forge had no real impact on the game, with the exception of a single card: The Red Baron, which first appeared as an ultra-rare anomaly card in the game’s third set, KeyForge: Worlds Collide.

Skyborn features many new cards that will interact with key colors. These abilities add an interesting layer of choice for both you and your opponent each time a key is forged. Tying abilities to key colors can also provide interesting ways for cards to scale in power as the game progresses. An excellent example is the common card Skulking Saboteurs.

Early in the game, when you don’t have any forged keys, Skulking Saboteurs won’t do much for you. They have the elusive keyword, which makes them a little more likely to survive from turn to turn (the first time a creature with elusive is attacked each turn, no damage is dealt in the fight). But, once you’re ready to forge your first key, you have an interesting choice. What’s your biggest headache on your opponent’s side of the table? Creatures, artifacts, or maybe a particular upgrade? Whatever it is, Skulking Saboteurs can provide the solution. And once you forge a second key, Skulking Saboteurs can provide the solution to two of those problems!

How’s Your Battleline?

Skyborn is a loose confederation of shifting alliances filled with daring individuals possessed with a fierce sense of independence and relentless competition. In game terms, this is represented by their ability to manipulate battlelines and capitalize on creatures being in specific positions. Consider the cards Pirate Champion and Silver Linings.

Plunder for the Taking

Stealing your opponent’s Æmber is one of the most powerful effects in the game. When you steal Æmber, you’re not only gaining it for yourself, you’re denying it from your opponent, which simultaneously speeds up your forging and slows down theirs. House Shadows were the original champions of stealing, but Skyborn is pushing to claim that title for themselves. We’ve already seen The Red Baron’s steal effect, but take a look at the common card Raiding Party and the rare card Black Tempest.

Twice the Fun

KeyForge: Æmber Skies introduces the new concept of a single card belonging to two houses. Every KeyForge card belongs to one house by default, but most cards can be assigned a second house during the deck generation process thanks to a new type of card enhancement. Take a moment to consider the implications of one of your flank creatures belonging to two different houses when you play a card like Silver Linings!