Shanghai. The city’s name, when translated from Chinese, means “above the sea.” We would like to posit that, for 67 brave Archons, it meant “a place to forge keys” for three action-packed days of gaming and competition. Congratulations to our partner, Asmodee Trading (Shanghai). Co. Ltd, for running a successful event and loudly declaring the return of KeyForge in China!

At the conclusion of the event, two new champions were crowned and each awarded the top prize of $3,000—one for the Archon tournament and one for the Alliance tournament. The two runners-up in each tournament received a $1,000 prize and the third and fourth-place finishers in both tournaments walked away with $500 each. The top four finishers in each tournament who didn’t already have invitations to the 2023 KeyForge World Championship received invitations in addition to the cash prizes. This accommodated the invites that would have been given out during a Nationals tournament, but could not be ran due to scheduling constraints.

Archon saw 53 participants. Winds of Exchange was the most popular among them at 24 decks, while Mass Mutation was the only other set to make double digits at 14 decks. All other sets were single digits with the exception of Dark Tidings, which was absent entirely.

Shanghai Archons did the math, and it told them to go with Logos, which appeared in 23 decks. It was not the witching hour for Untamed as it was the least represented only 7 decks. Full house breakdown is:

1. Logos (23 decks)
2. Dis (19 decks)
3. Saurian (17 decks)
4. Star Alliance (16 decks)
5. Ekwidon (15 decks)
6. Unfathomable (15 decks)
7. Shadows (13 decks)
8. Brobnar (12 decks)
9. Mars (12 decks)
10. Sanctum (10 decks)
11. Untamed (7 decks)

The top 12 cards that appeared most frequently in Archon decks were:

1. Steward Su-Uzyanĕ (21 total)
2. Kelpminder (14 total)
3. Covetous Hema (13 total)
4. Fresh Marks (12 total)
5. Infurnace (12 total)
6. Mark of Dis (12 total)
7. Mass Buyout (12 total)
8. Closed-Door Negotiation (11 total)
9. Daughter (11 total)
10. Dthoshră, Recruiter (11 total)
11. Effervescent Principle (11 total)
12. Generous Offer (11 total)

316 different cards appeared only once across all Archon decks.

There were 14 participants who tested the Alliances they’d forged. Winds of Exchange was also the favorite among sets at 8 decks, but only two other sets saw any representation at all: Mass Mutation at 4, and Worlds Collide at 2.

Ekwidon wheeled and dealed itself into the top spot among factions, with representation in 6 decks. Sanctum and Untamed were at the back of the pack with only 2 appearances each. The house breakdown was like so:

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

The top 12 cards that appeared most frequently in Alliance decks were:

1. Befuddle (7 total)
2. Infurnace (7 total)
3. Brikk Nastee (6 total)
4. Shock Herder (6 total)
5. Q-Mechs (6 total)
6. Auction Off (5 total)
7. Closed-Door Negotiation (5 total)
8. Dthoshră, Recruiter (5 total)
9. General Ză-Orhă (5 total)
10. Generous Offer (5 total)
11. Ironyx Vatminder (5 total)
12. Scoop Up (5 total)

A total of 175 different cards appeared only once across all Alliance decks.

Archon Results

Champion: Exina* playing “顽童小姐”摩根·斯文森 from Winds of Exchange

Runner-Up: Black* playing “子夜苏丹”​多比雅·威尔森 from Mass Mutation

Top 4: Jacktomyw* playing 孤行者洛佩兹 from Worlds Collide

Top 4: Tinoke* playing “黄金”​威尔森伯爵 from Mass Mutation

Top 8: Saltsalesman playing Uniformly Overrated Saltsalesman from Winds of Exchange

Top 8: Interdu playing 进击公会教导者​B·穆尔 from Worlds Collide

Top 8: Xdlll playing “锻炉”瓦尔雷特·潘 from Winds of Exchange

Top 8: Srwyan playing “Poivre”, devin de Shatover from Mass Mutation

* Received an invitation to the 2023 KeyForge Archon World Championship Tournament

Alliance Results

To provide a longer and more satisfying tournament experience, Asmodee Trading chose to run Shanghai Alliance to a Top 4.

Champion: Vaivi* playing an Alliance of Mars, Unfathomable, and Ekwidon from Winds of Exchange with Grunt as the token creature

Runner-Up: Cai Junyan* playing an Alliance of Brobnar, Ekwidon, and Star Alliance from Winds of Exchange with Cadet as the token creature

Top 4: Sobatou* playing an Alliance of Dis, Shadows and Saurian from Mass Mutation

Top 4: Lotus Xuan Xuan* playing an Alliance of Untamed, Star Alliance, and Logos from Mass Mutation

* Received an invitation to the 2023 KeyForge Archon World Championship Tournament

SPECIAL THANKS AND EVENT IMAGES

Our partner Asmodee Trading (Shanghai). Co. Ltd ran an amazing event with an Alliance tournament, an Archon tournament, Second Æmber, and many side events. They produced signage, prizing, and other things over and above what Ghost Galaxy expected. All of this created an exciting, wonderful atmosphere for the those who attended the event. We could not be more grateful. Thank you, Asmodee Trading (Shanghai). Co. Ltd!

If you didn’t get a chance to attend the event, or you just want to see some pictures of lots of folks having KeyForge fun, check out the gallery below! All images are brought you by Asmodee Trading (Shanghai). Co. Ltd.

THE ULTIMATE VAULT AWAITS

The tour concludes with the 2023 KeyForge World Championships (Invitation-Only) hosted at KeyForge Celebration in Roseville, Minnesota. Archons participating in the tournaments will compete for a total prize pool of $50,000 ($25,000 each event)!

There’s KeyForge fun for everyone! Even if you never secured a spot for the World Championship tournament, casual events and even a Last Chance Qualifier are open to all. Get your tickets to Celebration today by following the link below!

KeyForge Celebration in Roseville, Minnesota is November 10-12