I’m going to try a slightly different format for this write-up. It will be a little less detailed on each game, as I will try to hit just the highlights. I’ll try to single out key cards and plays that swung the game. If there is a demand for the other style of write-up, let me know.
As for the stream, we have once again improved the layout, with some more improvements on the way. We’ve added an aember betting feature, which is for bragging rights. Viewers accumulate aember by watching the stream, and you can earn more aember by correctly predicting the winner of each match. The points aren’t used for anything, but we have a leader-board so there are always bragging rights on the line.
Watch Keyforge Tournament of Champions POD 3! from tabletoproyale on www.twitch.tv
Here are the decks played in the third pod:
Quasimodo “Ms. Diesel” Fletcher
Imprisoned “Aurora” Aquarius
Jelika “Stew” Juggerdottir
Eternal Heatpeeve Rockshell
Game Reports
Game 1 – Quasimodo vs Aurora
One sentence summary:
A really close match that was swung by a timely Jammer Pack that bought the necessary extra turn.
Card of the Match: Soul Snatcher
This card warped the game in a crazy way. Both decks weirdly wanted to kill their own creatures to generate aember.
Notable Event:
This match probably had the most aember that has been generated in a game on our stream. At one point, the token supply had been exhausted.
Winner: Quasimodo
3 Keys to 2
Game 2 – Jelika vs Heatpeeve
One sentence summary: Heatpeeve pulled out all the stops and prevented Jelika from forging several keys, just not the three Jelika used to win.
Card of the Match: Bait and Switch
A Nepenthe Seed returned this to Jelika’s hand to steal 4 aember, eventually sealing the game away.
Notable Event: Lifeweb stole 2 aember after Bad Penny was played twice in a turn with a Nexus. This could be marked down as a play mistake, since the same amount of aember could have been generated by reaping with Mack the Knife instead of shooting Bad Penny to replay her.
Winner: Jelika
3 Keys to 1
Game 3 – Quasimodo vs Jelika
One Sentence Summary: Quasimodo tripped over some chains.
Card of the Match: Gateway to Dis
Powerful effect. Massive drawback.
Notable Event: A massive turn from Jelika allowed an Ancient Bear to wipe out the opposing creatures and generate 6 aember.
Winner: Jelika
3 Keys to 1
Game 4 – Aurora vs Heatpeeve
One Sentence Summary: Heatpeeve drew the right cards at the right time.
Card of the Match: Library Access
You know why.
Notable Event: The turn after Heatpeeve drew a turn of cards with Library Access, Justin chose to discard two Coward’s ends to free up space, noting at the time it could be a misplay. This probably was in retrospect, since the following turn Heatpeeve deployed some Sanctum creatures to clean up the board.
Winner: Heatpeeve
3 Keys to 1
Game 5 – Quasimodo vs Heatpeeve
Single Sentence Sumary: Another game dominated by Library Access.
Card of the Match: Chaos Portal
This card missed every other time it was used tonight, except in this game.
Notable Event: Chaos Portal hit Sergeant Zakiel to ready a Batdrone played that turn to kill Hunting Witch and steal an aember.
Winner: Heatpeeve
3 Keys to 0.
Game 6 – Aurora vs Jelika
Single Sentence Summary: A grinding match, with a thrilling conclusion.
Card of the Match: Miasma
This card won the game for Jelika, and could have stalled the game another turn if needed.
Notable Event: Jelika won the game, despite having two dud turns in a row.
Winner: Jelika
3 Keys to 2
Final Results
Jelika – *Advancing*
3 Wins – 0 Losses
The Shadows portion of this deck is oppressive and just simply wins games. Miasma will buy you turns you need to win, and the Brobnar portion of the deck can generate a lot of aember in the process of murdering opponent’s creatures. The Untamed portion felt like a drag in a lot of games with the notable exception of Nepenthe Seed, Pirahna Monkeys and Mighty Tiger. Cooperative Hunting looks better on paper than in practice, and Chota Hazri and Key Charge under-perform without Dust Pixies and Full Moons.
Eternal Heatpeeve Rockshell – *Advancing*
2 Wins – 1 Loss
The Little Archon that could proved us wrong. This deck proved to be a scrappy little contender after a few games. The deck wins when it can assemble a huge Library Access turn and buries the opponent in card advantage. One of the understated elements about this deck is how well it stays in the game with its aember control. Doorstep to Heaven and Terms of Redress have synergy. Lifeweb will randomly steal during an Untamed turn.
Quasimodo – *Eliminated*
1 Win – 2 Losses
While falling short, this deck generated some entertainment. The biggest problem is that this deck generates a lot of chains for itself. The cycle is:
1. The deck falls behind on the board.
2. It plays Gateway to Dis to catch up, and gains chains.
3. The chains choke the hand, so the deck plays fewer cards. Back to step 1.
Now, when this deck has its Soul Snatcher on the board, a lot of aember is generated. The Mars portion can tax the opponent heavily, and can do a good job of stalling games. Vezyma Thinkdrone gives you a way to get rid of Soul Snatcher when it is no longer welcome.
Imprisoned “Aurora” Aquarius – *Relegated to WotW*
0 Wins – 3 Losses
For what it is worth, I think this is the best deck of the decks that have gone without a win. It’s possible a few misplays cost this deck a chance at qualifying. The triple Mindwarpers in this deck wish they had some taunt creatures to hide behind. It has a lot of tricks and was very close to winning two games.
If you only watch one game: Game 6 – Aurora vs Jelika
If you only watch one more: Game 1 – Quasimodo vs Aurora
Known Errors: Not many missed rules with this bunch of games, but Lifeweb is a card to play around when given the option. In Game 4: Silent Dagger provides an aember when played. In that same game, there was a turn where aember was not generated by a Protectrix reap, but was balanced later when Snufflegator got an extra aember from reaping.
Meta Info: Justin takes a lead in the rivalry at 10 wins to 8. For the first time, there isn’t a tie in the going first or second data. Going first has jumped up to a 2 game lead with 10 wins to 8.
Tabletop Royale 