KeyForge Adds Two New Houses, New Mechanics in Worlds Collide Expansion

KeyForge's next expansion will add two new houses and several new abilities in its next expansion. Earlier this week, Fantasy Flight Games announced Worlds Collide, the second expansion for its popular "Unique Deck Game" KeyForge. Worlds Collide will add two new Houses to the game - the Saurian Republic and the Grand Star Alliance - as well as several new mechanics that add additional offensive and defensive options to consider when battling opponents to construct keys.

The popular card game, in which players battle with pre-made decks comprised of random cards from one of several houses, was first announced last August and centers around the creation of Keys. Each turn, players collect aember from a common pool, which can then be forge into Keys. The first player to forge three Keys wins the game, making the game less about combat and more about utilizing your cards to gather aember effectively while hindering opponents.

Worlds Collide adds three new abilities to cards. Certain cards can now create Wards that serve to negate damage, protecting creatures from hard and allowing them to remain in the field of play longer. Other cards can also be used to Enrage creatures, forcing them to attack instead of using actions or reaping Aember. Finally, some cards can now exalt a creature, which moves aember from the common pool onto a creature. Once an exalted creature is defeated, the aember moves from its card to their opponent's pool. But while exalting paints a target onto a creature's back, it also gives them special abilities that could turn the tide of battle.

Perhaps the biggest change that Worlds Collide brings to KeyForge is its two new houses. The Saurian Republic is a collective of evolved dinosaurs that boasts both a physically imposing presence and an enlightened philosophy. The Saurian Republic seems to be a dinosaur mash-up of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece, claiming both a large army and great thinkers who advance their causes without violence. The Grand Star Alliance consists of a group of stranded space explorers with advanced technology. A pastiche on Star Trek, the Grand Star Alliance is dedicated to exploration and boasts a diverse set of beings from every corner of the galaxy.

While KeyForge now consists of nine Houses, Worlds Collide will continue the tradition of previous sets of using only Seven Houses when constructing decks. Worlds Collide won't feature cards from House Mars or the Sanctum, although players can still use decks featuring those houses in competitive play and against Worlds Collide decks. Fantasy Flight promised that Mars and Sanctum cards would return in future expansions, so it appears that the game's future will consist of swapping out Houses when new expansions are announced.

Worlds Collide will be released during the fourth quarter of 2019. In addition to new Worlds Collide decks, Fantasy Flight will also release a new Starter Set, a Deluxe Deck that comes with tokens, keys, and other accessories needed to play KeyForge, and a new Premium Box that includes storage boxes for players to store their decks.