Cardboard Corner: Review of Ashes Reborn (aka Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn)

Note: This is purely a review of Ashes Reborn. I have not played the original Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn. and therefore cannot comment on the differences between the two, except to say that many people call Ashes Reborn as Ashes1.5. The rules are apparently the same, but card effects have been better balanced.

It's been said before, and it's worth repeating to kick off this review: Magic: The Gathering is one of the largest inflection points in the tabletop games industry. Thirty years and counting, fresh content is still being released. The community and tournament system still exist. And with unique cards and rarity, the after market is literally a million-dollar industry. But it's not a perfect game. Obscure combos can destroy an opponent before they have effectively had a chance to play. The randomness of card shuffle is an extremely strong factor in outcomes. And mana screw is a real thing. As a result, many games have since looked to put their own spin on dueling wizards but optimize the model to better balance gameplay. One game which has done this extremely well yet in unique fashion is Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn, now being printed as Ashes: Reborn (2021).

While technically playable 3-4 players, Ashes is essentially a two-player, PvP game that sees players talking on the roles of powerful phoenixborn (magic wielders), trying to reduce their opponent's life total to zero. Players choose a phoenixborn (of which there are six to choose from in the core box), build a deck of cards around it (spells, events, upgrades, etc.), and try to defeat their opponent by playing said cards over a series of phased rounds. At this high-level, the experience is certainly Magic-esque. A level deeper, however, shows what makes Ashes special.

First is definitely resources. No more mana screw, the resources needed to play actions, spells, creatures, etc., are not determined by card draw. Instead, each player has a pool of ten dice which they roll at the beginning of a round to determine resources available. Customized with symbols, these dice exist in four different classes (in matching colors) that allow players to supplement their phoenixborn in specific ways. Charm dice, for example, weaken your opponent's minions (natch). Ceremonial dice allow the player to summon minions from their discard pile—at a price, however. And so on. Cards specify the die faces (symbols) needed to play the card, which can then be spent similar to resources in other games. Dice being dice, and not always coming up as desired, there are ways of manipulating them should the player roll poorly. Side actions allow a player to throw away one card to rotate one dice to a desired face. Certain cards allow for similar manipulations. And as a final option, players can use some of the symbols like cards, for example to do damage, exhaust the opponent's dice, etc.

Another major point which sets Ashes apart is that players can choose their opening hand of five cards. No more hoping to draw that card which is critical to your plans. Instead, players start with the cards they want. And again, the dice are open to manipulation, which means players can be reasonably confident they will start the game on firm footing. While this does render the first couple of rounds of the game semi-predictable, it also means players can get to the meat of the game faster on more even footing. Few people finish a game of Ashes thinking that determinism cheated them from victory.

And yet another key aspect is art. Comparing Magic art of yesteryear to today is like night and day. Magic art is now phenomenal compared to the high school scratchings of its early days. But it's still not as good as Ashes. Ashes is phenomenal. With white backgrounds and minimalist borders, there is “huge” space per card. The vibrancy of the colors, the usage of nature, the consistency of theme, and effective use of graphic design and formatting—this is the most beautiful card game I own, and that is saying a lot considering I own more than a dozen such games, and am familiar with many more. I simply cannot praise the art enough.

And the hits keep coming. Another great thing about Ashes compared to many other PvP expandable card games on the market is that it comes with six pre-constructed heroes playable out of the core box. A wide variety of experiences possible, there is no need for expansions or extra copies for a complete experience. If players do eventually find they want more, expansions have been packaged in a consumer-friendly way. Similar to Marvel Champions, Ashes Reborn's expansion content is based on hero packs. Players can read about a new release, decide if they like the hero, and buy it. That purchase will give them a new hero with pre-constructed deck, no need to hunt for cards. There is no rarity or randomness. And lastly, Ashes is now coming out with a PvE format ("Red Rains: Corpse of Viros") in which one or two players can tackle an enemy, controlled by the game, cooperatively.

But what about the game experience itself? This review has been one long comparison to Magic, which is not fair. Ashes is great fun that stands strongly on its own two feet. It's clear designers put significant time into giving players multiple paths to victory. Each of the core-box heroes feels unique and requires practice to pilot. Good decisions are rewarded long and short term. Theme comes through extremely well in the manner in which spells are played, then used for conjurations.  The decks are tight with 95% of cards feeling useful. With maximum two actions per turn, gameplay is fast, bouncing back and forth between the players. Overall, it's optimization of a game system to the point it becomes its own enjoyable entity.

In the end, Ashes Reborn is a game which exists in the footsteps of Magic: The Gathering, but offers its own, unique take that addresses many of Magic's issues to create an identity of its own. Whether or not Ashes is “better” will depend on the player/group, of course. What can objectively be said, however, is that game design is sound. The rule set is simple, yet card play allows for excellent back and forth, brain-engaging gameplay at multiple levels. The resource-generating dice are not only tactile and colorful, but add a dimension of non-determinsim unlike any other expandable card game on the market. And the art, oh the art, it is top 3 on the market—all time, at least from my perspective. It's truly a superb game. If you like such games, or have never tried such a game, Ashes Reborn offers an excellent experience worth at least trying.