Cardboard Corner: Review of Ashes Ascendancy

If capitalism weren't what it is, I would attribute the re-emergence and re-emergence of Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn to poetic manifestation... Regardless, the game as undergone effective revision throughout its history. It was popular, is popular, and though a niche game, is going strong. Ashes Ascendancy (2025) adds fuel to that fire.

Ascendancy is an Ashes product that sits in the Ashes Reborn (v1.5) model. It is both supplementary to and complementary of the Ashes Reborn core set, and all the hero expansions, deluxe or otherwise, that go with it. The box is intended for both Ashes veterans and players who just want to try the game. I'll start with the latter.

For new players, Ashes Ascendancy is a two-player starter set that contains all of the cards, tokens, and dice to play a complete, proper, unabridged game of Ashes. There are two heroes, two dice types, and all the cards two players need to build full decks. The Ascendancy box also contains the board, tokens, dice, and cards needed to play the solo/cooperative version of Ashes for two players. Whether it's PvP or PvE, Ascendacy covers the full play experience in a small/medium box.

For veteran players, Ashes Ascendancy offers two new, never-before-released heroes, along with two, never-before-released dice types, along with two, never-before-released complete decks. Total Ashes dice types jumps from seven to nine. If there has been any single evolution of Ashes the past decade, this sits just after the Reborn re-release in terms of size. The two new types are Astral dice and Artifice dice. For PvE (solo/cooperative) play, Ascendancy offers a new format, Dragonborn. Dragonborn are similar to but different than the Chimera of “Red Rains”. Gone are Ultimate effects, the method for adjusting difficulty, dice with only two possibilities to roll, the twelve-sided die, and Red Rains tokens. In their place are once-per-round status effects, a more direct method to set difficulty, dice with three sides (power, class, and basic), and boss behavior that is dependent on said die rolls. In addition, there is a new type of boss card: block. (Cards with this symbol will step in and block player attacks on the Phoenixborn.)

So how are the new heroes and dice types? How is the new PvE experience? The new heroes and dice types are good, not only because they break fresh ground, but because they're fun—the ultimate litmus test. Artifice dice act like batteries, or charges. Most of the related units and effects are not active unless powered by an Artifice dice. This makes for a slower playstyle, but a playstyle that hits hard when the effects are charged. Astral dice likewise often need to be assigned to units or spells, but rather than building up power, they instead act as defense, blocking one HP for whatever unit or conjuration the power die has been assigned to. That being said, many of the cards for the new Astral hero are full on aggro, offense available left and right.

For PvE, the DNA of the previous “Red Rains” format is visible. If you push me into a corner, I'd say battling Dragonborn is 70% similar to Chimera. It's still good fun with a friend and a great way of testing decks. But for me personally, I need to see more Dragonborn before judging the new format. In “Red Rains” I enjoyed the burst damage of Ultimate, something which Dragonborn do not have in such an unpredictable manner. Also, I liked the spread of possibilities inherent to the twelve-sided die, something Dragonborn don't have. That being said, the Dragonborn experience is more streamlined, and the fact Dragonborn now have dice with a similar structure to Phoenixborn opens up interesting future possibilities. As stated, it's fun, but my jury is still out until I've played the next few Dragonborn iterations.

In the end, Ashes Ascendancy is something for everybody interested in Ashes. For new people who want to try the game, it's a complete two-player experience, nothing preventing two players from experiencing the full game, either PvP or PvE. For veterans, it's two new heroes, decks, and dice types, something our community hasn't seen in literally seven years. The new dice types offer new playstyles, and it will be interesting to see in the future how Plaid Hat build new Phoenixborn combining them with the existing dice types. (Astral + Natural might be OP if not handled correctly...) For me personally, the new PvE mode is smoother, more streamlined, still fun, but not as dynamic as “Red Rains”. We'll see—gladly.