Ducky makes some beautiful keyboards but this one might take the top spot for me. It's a limited edition in celebration of the year of the dragon, and only 999 will be sold. One may be stolen at Computex 2024, however.
The most immediately noticeable feature of this keyboard has to be the keycaps. These are a composite design—the PBT legends in the middle are surrounded by a clear polycarbonate around the sides. The result is a floating keycap that shouldn't wear down too much on the tops but looks absolutely gorgeous.
Also provided in the box are two extra keycaps, and I mean extra in the sense that they're 3D effect keycaps.
Beneath each key is a tactile-feel Cherry Purple key switch. If you're not familiar, that's one of Cherry's new MX2A switches. The board is hot-swappable as well.
The underside of this keyboard is where things get really interesting, however. The shell of this keyboard is one and the same with the Ducky Outlaw65, the do-it-yourself keyboard kit that I have tinkered with previously. Unlike the Outlaw, the year of the dragon keyboard will come preassembled.
The shell is a weighty block of anodised aluminium, and that came with its own challenges in trying to detail the exterior of this board with that fantastic dragon motif.
"So with the normal anodizing techniques, it can only do one colour," Ducky representative Erik tells me.
"So the full colour [anodising] that we're trying to do is that it can go with a different layers, different patterns on just one single plate."
At the upper right of the booth is the image that Ducky is using for its "Soaring Dragon" pattern. I think it's definitely done it justice in the finished keyboard, too.
While pricing wasn't confirmed by Ducky, some pre-orders for the keyboard available online list it for $9,290 NT, which is around $287 USD. That said, it may end up a limited release in Asia.
