Issue 159
What’s the Alternative!?
On Friday, Ghost Galaxy made a notable announcement regarding the side events at Vault Tours in the 2026 season, and introduced a companion document titled the Alternative Formats Guide (or AFG for short), which serves as a reference document for the various side event tournament formats.
In the AFG, the document outlines that Tournament Formats are created as a result of a combination between a Tournament Type and Tournament Method.
Tournament Types (of which Sealed, Archon, Alliance are examples) "define the rules by which a player obtains their deck(s), constructs/selects a deck, and how their decklists are handled." A new tournament type has also been introduced, called Draft. Sealed and Draft also have variants which adjust specifically how these are conducted.
Tournament Methods "define the rules by which games are setup, played, and/or won." The normal method of play that involves no modifications to the usual game rules is called Standard. Additional methods entered into the document are Adaptive, Oubliette, and QuickForge.
The document also goes on to detail the complete ruleset for drafting in KeyForge, the new Tournament Type introduced in the document.
The same announcement shared that the side event tournament formats that will be featured at the first Vault Tour in Portland will be Archon QuickForge on Friday, Sealed Adaptive on Saturday, and Pack Draft Standard on Sunday.
Entry into each side event will require an entry fee in the form of purchasing a KeyForge: Draconian Measures deck. These are used to form a prize pool for side event participants. For certain qualifying side events, Ghost Galaxy will also contribute a playmat for the winner and up to two displays of Draconian Measures decks for increased prize distribution.
Vault Tour Announcements
Ghost Galaxy has announced additional details on multiple Vault Tours, including revealing the art for the Early Blorb Bonus!
Additional information for all 2026 Vault Tours, including purchasing tickets and accommodations is available on the 2026 Vault Tour page.
Ask a Judge
— SPOILER ALERT! —
Starting with this issue and moving forward, Ask a Judge segments may feature cards from Draconian Measures to cover new topics and questions which may arise from the new set. If you’re looking to remain spoiler free for a bit longer, you may wish to avoid this segment for a period of time.
===
===
===
Q: During my turn, my opponent controls 3 exhausted creatures, but I am not overwhelmed. If I play Caught You Napping, do I still get to steal Æmber?
A: Yes, you resolve as much as you can. While there is a condition of being overwhelmed in order to exhaust an enemy creature, there is no condition required to steal Æmber. In this case, you would not exhaust an enemy creature (as you’re not overwhelmed), but you would steal a total of 3 Æmber as there are 3 exhausted enemy creatures.
Upcoming Official Events
est. Q2 2026: Draconian Measures Pre-release (LGS)
May 15–17, 2026: Vault Tour 2026 Portland (Portland, Oregon)
June 5-7, 2026: Vault Tour 2026 St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri)
July 3-5, 2026: Vault Tour 2026 France (Noisy-le-Roi, France)
July 10-12, 2026: Vault Tour 2026 Baltimore (Glen Burnie, Maryland)
July 30 – August 2, 2026: KeyForge at Gen Con 2026
August 1 – October 4, 2026: 2026 National Championships
August 14-16, 2026: Vault Tour 2026 Vietnam
August – September 2026: KeyForge Special Event (LGS)
October 2-4, 2026: Vault Tour 2026 Nashville (Nashville, Tennessee, at Tennessee Game Days)
est. Q4 2026: Shattered Reality Pre-release (LGS)
November 5–8, 2026: KeyForge Celebration 2026 & World Championships
KeyForge Play Wrap-Up
=== SAS Champions ===
SAS Champions, a King of the Hill open format event, is ongoing. Check out all the champions here and do your challenging and find out more information on the Archon’s Corner discord.
=== Random Access Archives League ===
Congratulations to Stigma, the champion of Season 7 of the Random Access Archives league.
Find out more information on the Miners 2.0 discord.
=== Keyforge Team League ===
KTL Season 6 is to the semi-finals of playoffs.
More information can be found in the Keyforge Team League discord.
=== B League ===
The finals of Season 2 of the B league is here and it will be Stigma vs autro. The A league just concluded with Zizzutti beating Panic with bids of 24 chains, 19 chains, and 20 chains in the 3 matches! Find out more in the Swindle-Tournaments Discord.
=== Alliance Leagues ===
The Alliance Super League Season 1 has reached the knockout stage.
Find out more in the Alliance Super League Discord.
=== KAGI ===
Congratulations to Kalosianfire, champion of KAGI 14.0! Find out more in the KAGI Discord.
=== TESLA ===
Congratulations to Moosemandude, winner of the first Tesla League over Unfathomable. Find out more in the Sloppy Labwork Discord.
=== Sloppy Triad BO1 ===
Season 2 of Sloppy Triad starts soon!
Find more information on the Sloppy Labwork Discord.
=== ABR ===
ABR League 14 has concluded. Congratulations to the winners, team Cosmic Rikupense, captained by Emperor Riku.
More information can be found on the ABR Discord.
=== NKFL ===
NKFL Season 27 has been announced, and you can register here. The start date has not yet been selected.
Find more information on the NKFL Discord.
Are you running an event you would like to see published here? Let us know!
Content Feature
VIDEO
Keyforge | Swindle A League Finals - Zizzutti vs Panic by Phlox’em All
Master Vault Numbers
As of May 3, 2026, a total of 3,550,400 decks were registered in the Master Vault. This reflects an increase of 4,245 decks in the last week.
