"I once thought that these creatures could be redeemed. Now I know better."
   –Champion Anaphiel

KeyForge takes you to the world of the Crucible, an artificial planet where anything is possible. Over the ages, the Architects have constructed this planet in layers, constantly rebuilding and renewing. But just below the surface, the Crucible houses a dark secret. Demonic creatures scuttle amidst the superstructure that divides layers of the planet, turning it into their personal playground of prisons and hellish furnaces.

Little is known about the creatures who call these dark tunnels home, but when they crawl from the darkness to join the team of a chosen Archon, few can deny the effectiveness of their ruthless methods. Today, we're proud to offer you a closer look at the demonic House Dis of KeyForge: Call of the Archons—now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through our website!

Soul Snatchers

For countless years, the mischievous Architects have drawn resources from planets across the galaxies to continue their construction of the Crucible. The planet appears to have been built in layers, though no one can really say for certain. Scattered across the Crucible, you will find the ruins of bygone civilizations, and beneath the planet’s surface is a twisting netherworld, where imps and demons thrive in the space that divides the current layer of the Crucible from the last.

Despite the rumors that run rampant on the surface, the demons of Dis are creatures of flesh and blood. However, their unusual make-up gives them only a strange half-life, where they cannot experience pain or joy on their own. Instead, they steal these emotions from the other creatures of the Crucible and use the psycho-reactive properties of Æmber to hold them. This greed and desperate hunger is shown in creatures like Pit Demon (Call of the Archons, 92) and Shooler (Call of the Archons, 96), which actively steal Æmber from your opponent’s pool and add it to your own. This precious substance may be the only thing that gives these demons anything close to empathy, so isn’t it only right that they should hoard as much of it as possible?

But more than simple greed, the demons of Dis are famous, or rather infamous, for their ruthlessness. In battle, their goal is not to defeat their opponent, but to crush them, and this thirst for destruction often leads to friendly fire. Events like Three Fates (Call of the Archons, 71) destroy the most powerful creatures indiscriminately, whether they're allies or enemies. Still more cards take this one step further by introducing a more permanent death than is normally seen on the Crucible. For example, after an enemy is destroyed fighting Stealer of Souls (Call of the Archons, 98), they are purged. Purging not only removes a card from play, but takes it out of the game entirely. In other words, your opponent can't use that card against you again for the remainder of the game. Even if they manage to empty their deck, shuffling their discard pile and resetting the deck, the purged card remains out of play. Of course, the regenerative nature of the Crucible will revive the card and return it to its Archon’s deck once the battle is over, but this is still a cruel trick that House Dis has mastered more than any other House on the planet.

Flame-Wreathed Warriors

Archons are the only beings who can truly communicate with the demonic members of House Dis, as they are blessed with the ability to speak with all living things. They find these creatures (and their devotion to chasing the most extreme emotions) to be truly fascinating. Some Archons who struggle to understand the mortal condition have even been known to ask these demons to introduce them personally to the concepts of pain and fear, and when you take control of your own Archon decks, you may find their natural savagery invaluable.

If you're willing to sacrifice your own team members to achieve your goals, you will find good company among the creatures of House Dis. Guardian Demon (Call of the Archons, 88) lets you judge and protect the most important creatures on the field, healing two damage from one creature and dealing that damage to another creature. You may choose to deal this to an enemy, but you can also use it to kill a friendly Dust Imp (Call of the Archons, 83), granting you two more Æmber!

Beyond their morally questionable methods of gaining Æmber, House Dis also holds the key to one of the deadliest traps that you can spring on your enemy in the entirety of KeyForge. If you possess the Library of the Damned (Call of the Archons, 76), you can archive cards and save them for the opportune moment. This is an ideal place to keep Key Hammer (Call of the Archons, 66), which has the unprecedented power to unforge an enemy key if they forged one on their last turn! Your opponent gains six Æmber in exchange, but as we have already seen, House Dis has plenty of tricks to snatch this Æmber away. But you must take care not to wait too long to use this action. If you opponent forges their third key, the game ends instantly and you won't have a chance to undo their victory.

Bound in Darkness

Most other Houses of the Crucible are understandably wary of the dark creatures of House Dis, but when they're united under the banner of an Archon these demons can prove to be valuable allies. While these creatures are undeniably flesh and blood (or at least skin and ichor), they do have unnatural abilities that none outside of House Dis can understand. Arise! (Call of the Archons, 54) can return all deceased creatures of a chosen House from your discard pile to your hand, while opening the Gateway to Dis (Call of the Archons, 59) destroys each creature in play! This destruction may prove most beneficial if one of your decks finds House Dis united alongside House Logos, which boasts characters like Dextre (Call of the Archons, 138) and Research Smoko (Call of the Archons, 151)—cards that have additional abilities that trigger when they are destroyed.

On the other hand, you may find a  Poltergeist (Call of the Archons, 69) in your deck, which gives the chance to use an artifact controlled by any player and then destroy it. While you can use this action to use an artifact controlled by your opponent, you may also use a non-Dis artifact from your own deck. House Shadows offers some particularly nice artifacts, playing into the idea that House Dis will sacrifice anything to get their claws on Æmber. Seeker Needle (Call of the Archons, 290) can deal a small amount of damage to a creature, friendly or opposed, and gain an Æmber if the creature is destroyed, while Skeleton Key (Call of the Archons, 291) allows a friendly creature to capture an Æmber. Of course, these cards are more powerful when you can use them multiple times, but using an artifact at just the right moment could prevent your opponent from forging a key on their next turn. In a fast-paced card game like KeyForge, this can make the difference between victory and defeat. The deadly possible combinations between these two Houses just goes to prove that nothing goes together like darkness and demons!

Creeping Oblivion

When the Archons lead their teams into battle, emotions are sure to run high, and the members of House Dis are ready for the feast of feelings that will be laid before them. If you dare to trust these dark creatures, they are sure to make your enemies disappear if you can make the most of their demonic powers. All it will cost you is the small price of your soul.

You can pre-order your copy of KeyForge: Call of the Archons (KF01) and your collection of Archon Decks (KF02a) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here! Otherwise, be sure to look for the game when it hits shelves in the fourth quarter of 2018!