The discovery of dark æmber has reshaped the entire Crucible, as its mutative power creates startling changes in every House. New abilities are developed, creatures grow far beyond their normal sizes, and even familiar faces may have developed into unnatural new forms. It’s a world of possibilities, each more unusual and interesting than the last, and it’s also the world of Mass Mutation, the fourth set of Archon Decks for KeyForge!

Even if you’re new to KeyForge, Mass Mutation is the perfect place to start playing. A single player can leap into the game for the first time with a Mass Mutation Deluxe Deck, which contains a 36-card, read-to-play Archon Deck along with the rules and tokens you need to play. Alternatively, you could join with a friend by picking up a Mass Mutation Two-Player Starter Set—which offers two unique Archon Decks, along with enough tokens for two players to track  their damage, æmber, and other effects.

But whether you’re just exploring the game now, or you’ve been playing since Call of the Archons, there is so much to explore and enjoy in the Mass Mutation set. Today, we’ll preview some of the game’s new Mutants and the strange new abilities wrought by dark æmber!

MUTANTS!

The entire face of the Crucible, along with countless creatures, have been altered by the advent of dark æmber. Many of these take the form of once-familiar creatures, such as Bot Bookton (Mass Mutation, 67) replacing Doc Bookton (Call of the Archons, 139). These new iterations invariably bear the Mutant trait, as do many of the other creatures in this set, including creatures with the new enhance keyword like Maleficorn (Mass Mutation, 40) and gigantic creatures like Deusillus (Mass Mutation, 244). These creatures are united by the Mutant trait, but is this connection a boon or a curse? As with many mutations, the answer can be both.

Each House has its own unique philosophy when it comes to Mutants, and that philosophy shapes whether some of their cards are beneficial or harmful to Mutants. Despite the Mutants among their own ranks, some Houses, like the Sanctum, take a rather dim view of Mutants, choosing to keep them off the board with cards like Burning Glare (Mass Mutation, 128) or Gizelhart's Wrath (Mass Mutation, 163). Similarly, while they may not be embarking on a crusade like House Sanctum, the Star Alliance can easily clear out a single Mutant with Particle Sweep (Mass Mutation, 327).

Some other Houses, however, are overjoyed for the chance to work directly with the Mutants and the new advantages that their mutations unlock. House Untamed, for example, wants to reward you for having more Mutants than your opponent. Trimble (Mass Mutation, 389) gives every Mutant creature skirmish, and while this boosts your opponent’s Mutants as well, it’ll certainly go better for you if you’ve been building an army of Mutants. Following that same thread, Vault's Blessing (Mass Mutation, 391) lets both players claim an æmber for each Mutant that they control, potentially skyrocketing you to victory on the power of your Mutants!

Logos is another House that’s eager to find out what these new Mutants have to offer. Professor Terato (Mass Mutation, 95) gives your Mutants a new Reap ability to keep your hand full of cards, while Mutagenic Serum (Mass Mutation, 91) lets you use all of your Mutants on a single turn. You may even destroy all non-Mutant creatures in play, simply by playing Krrrzzzaaap!!! (Mass Mutation, 90). It’s plain to see that if you can find a Mutant-focused deck that combines the powers of Untamed and Logos, your Mutants could be a force to be reckoned with. Just hope you don’t run into a deck allied with House Sanctum!

Enhanced with Great Power

The powerful changes coming with Mass Mutation are not limited to Mutants, however. With the new enhance keyword, any card can gain new bonus icons, setting it apart from other copies and making even the specific cards in your deck unique. There are four distinct bonus icons in Mass Mutation:

Æmber: When a card with an æmber bonus icon is played, you add that æmber to your pool.

Capture: When a card with a capture bonus icon is played, you capture one of your opponent’s æmber on any one of your creatures.

Damage: When a card with a damage bonus icon is played, you deal one damage to one creature in play.

Draw: When a card with a draw bonus icon is played, you draw a card.

How are these new bonus icons added into your deck? You simply need a card with the new enhance keyword, such as Mutagenesis Researcher (Mass Mutation, 325), Fission Bloom (Mass Mutation, 87), or Dark Queen Gloriana (Mass Mutation, 397). Unlike other keywords, the enhance keyword does all of its work when the deck is first generated. For example, when a deck including Fission Bloom is first generated, the enhance keyword triggers, and a draw bonus icon is added to a random card within the deck!

Ultimately, the enhance keyword brings an added layer of uniqueness to the decks in the Mass Mutation set. Every Archon deck was already unique and different from every other deck in existence. Now, however, individual cards can be enhanced with a combination of bonus icons that sets them apart even from other copies of the same card. It’s just one more way to push the uniqueness of every KeyForge deck with the Mass Mutation set!

Mutation Is Coming

Change is coming to the Crucible, and the decks that you discover are about to become more unique than ever before. Look for Mass Mutation at its wide release on July 10!

You can pre-order your own copies of Mass Mutation Archon Decks (KF09a) at your local retailer or online through our webstore today.