Every KeyForge: Prophetic Visions deck will come with all-new Prophecy cards, which let you set up puzzles and surprise traps for your opponent. Let’s take a closer look at how this new game mechanic works.

Deciphering The Details

Each Prophetic Visions deck comes with two double-sided Prophecy cards for a total of four different Prophecy cards per deck. Prophecy cards are their own card type, are never shuffled into the deck, and they are never “in play.” They are simply either inactive or active. At the start of the game, you set aside your Prophecy cards in an inactive state.

During step 3 of your turn (where you play, discard, and use cards), you may choose one of your inactive Prophecy cards, flip it to the side of your choice, and make it active by moving it near the center of your play area where your opponent can easily read it. At the same time, you must choose one card from your hand and place it facedown under the Prophecy you just made active. In this way, over the course of two or more turns, you can have up to two active Prophecies at a time, each with exactly one of your facedown cards beneath it.

Each Prophecy card describes a specific situation that may or may not happen during your opponent’s turn. When the situation or condition described by the Prophecy card is met, the Prophecy resolves. Some Prophecy cards can be avoided by careful gameplay, others will be inevitable at some future point. But, the common feature of all Prophecy cards is they will always resolve during your opponent’s turn, never your own.

What happens when a Prophecy resolves? That depends on the facedown card beneath the Prophecy. Many Prophetic Visions cards will feature “Fate:” effects. When a Prophecy resolves, your opponent (who will be the active player at the time) reveals the facedown card beneath the Prophecy and must resolve any “Fate:” effects on the card. If the card has no “Fate:” effect, it is placed in its owner’s discard pile. After that, the Prophecy card is returned to an inactive state and can be made active again on one of your future turns. After the “Fate:” effects are resolved, the card with the “Fate:” effect is placed in its owner’s discard pile, unless the “Fate:” effect itself put the card somewhere else.

Example

It’s your turn, and you decide to make one of your Prophecy cards active. You choose Expect the Unexpected and slide it towards the middle of the play area where your opponent can easily read it. Then, you choose a card from your hand, Ensign Clark, and place it facedown beneath Expect the Unexpected.

Your active Prophecy card reads: “After your opponent reshuffles their discard pile into their deck during their turn, they resolve each fate effect under Expect the Unexpected.”

A few turns later, your opponent is nearing the end of their turn and must draw three cards during their “draw cards” step, but they only have two cards remaining in their deck, which forces them to reshuffle their discard pile into their deck. This reshuffle causes Expect the Unexpected to trigger, so your opponent reveals the facedown card beneath the prophecy and resolves the “Fate:” effect on Ensign Clark, which reads “Destroy a friendly artifact.” Because your opponent is the active player when this effect resolves, they must destroy one of their own artifacts. Afterwards, Ensign Clark is placed in your discard pile, and Expect the Unexpected is returned to you as an inactive Prophecy.

Note that facedown cards under Prophecies are not played, therefore any bonus icons or “Play:” effects on them will not resolve.

Fulfill the Prophecy

Prophecy cards and “Fate:” effects add exciting moments of uncertainty and tension to your opponent’s turns. Will your opponent shift their strategy to avoid a Prophecy resolving? That’s probably a good thing for you! Or will your opponent charge ahead and let the Prophecy happen? That’s also probably a good thing for you!