Keyforge’s next expansion Mass Mutation transforms old cards into dark new threats

Get reintroduced to classic Keyforge cards given a genetic twist in the latest expansion for the card game, Mass Mutation.

Keyforge is a ‘unique deck game’ that unlike trading, collectible, and expandable card games such as Magic: The Gathering - whose designer Richard Garfield created Keyforge - has randomly-generated decks that are designed to be used straight out of the box.

Featuring 250 brand new cards, the Mass Mutation expansion sees previously-released creatures get reinvented as mutant versions of themselves. For example, Bad Penny, which has been part of the Shadows house since Keyforge was released in 2018, is now Rad Penny - which means that rather than going back into a player’s hand after being destroyed, it instead gets shuffled into the player’s deck. The card also steals an æmber after being played.

Alongside this, Mass Mutation introduces the ‘Enhance’ keyword mechanic, which not only adds additional bonus icons to cards beyond gaining æmber - including capturing æmber, dealing extra damage and enabling additional card draw - but also allows players to use those icons to enhance other cards in their deck.

For example, a player may draw Armory Officer Nel - a card from the Star Alliance house - and see that it has a draw bonus icon, which would then allow them to give another card the draw ability, allowing them to draw another card after playing it. These icons are added randomly during the algorithm stage and can be applied to almost any card.

Another new mechanic found in the Mass Mutation expansion are gigantic creatures, which require players to draw and place two cards to make up the complete creature. In the case of Deusillus, a Saurian creature, players will have to lay the top and bottom cards to play it - but gain the benefits of a sizeable health pool and the ability to capture all their opponent’s æmber in one move.

The final addition Mass Mutation brings to Keyforge is the return of House Sanctum, which had been replaced by the Saurian and Star Alliance houses in the previous expansion, Worlds Collide. House Sanctum will take the place of the Brobnar house in the expansion and focus on a defensive playstyle, as well as having immunity to damage from mutant and high-powered creatures.

Mass Mutation is the third expansion for Keyforge - following on from last year’s Age of Ascension and Worlds Collide, after the original Call of the Archons set in 2018 - and will release as a two-player starter set, a Mass Mutation Deluxe deck (which includes player tokens) and a series of Mass Mutation archon decks on May 1st 2020.

In the meantime, you can find out why you should play Keyforge from our very own Michael Whelan below.