Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn
The first Ashes product release was the 2015 master set Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn. It was popular and spawned expansions: nineteen standard hero packs, three deluxe hero packs (new dice types), tournament play, deckbuilding websites, forum chatter, and all the jazz one associates with a popular collectible card game. Anti-Magic: the Gathering in several ways, the master set offered players a complete, out-of-the-box TCG-esque play experience without the need to chase cards, worry about rarity, etc. The game's design is better for it. All the cover art for the products released during this cycle has a white background.
A important note: not all of the expansion hero packs are compatible with the dice in the core set. Many of the expansion heroes require dice released in one of the three deluxe hero packs. Ashesdb.com will help.
Despite the success, the game had a few issues, however. Some dice removal effects also removed some of the fun. Certain cards/effects were OP. And a couple hero special abilities, dominated. The usual TCG stuff. This prompted Plaid Hat Games to take a bold step in 2021: release a complete revision of the game. This is Ashes Reborn.
While almost every card was revised, the rules, tokens, dice, etc., however, remain exactly the same. Ashes Reborn is a 1.5 not 2.0. Many effects were tweaked, some cards were reworked entirely, and one hero was overhauled. Lessons were learned and rough edges smoothed, resulting in a game that is more competitive, balanced, fun, and satisfactory.
In terms of product releases, Ashes Reborn is one-to-one compared to v1.0. It likewise features a master set, nineteeen standard hero packs, and three deluxe hero packs. For people who owned all or any of v1.0, an Upgrade Pack was also released which allowed players to replace all their v1.0 cards without having to purchase new dice, tokens, etc. All products released as Ashes Reborn have the dark red background.
After re-balancing the full product, a new generation of Ashes players was born. Building on this second wave of success, Plaid Hat Games decided to break fresh ground in the v1.5 model. They created “Red Rains”, a series of seven individual releases that introduced PvE mode (cooperative and solo play) and new cards. Each “Red Rains” release is based on one of the seven dice types and contains all the boss cards players need for cooperative or solo play. Each also contains four heroes, each hero's specialty cards, and enough player cards to build one playable deck. Except the four hero cards, all cards released in “Red Rains” are entirely new to the game. They cannot be found in any master set or hero pack previously released. The “Red Rains” releases features the same dark red background as Ashes Reborn.
One important note is that only the first “Red Rains” pack, “The Corpse of Viros”, contains the components (dice, board, and tokens) needed to play PvE. It's possible to use substitutes, just be aware none of the other six “Red Rains” products contain the official Ashes “Red Rains” components.
Which brings us to the current state of Ashes: the 2025 release of Ashes Ascendancy.
Ashes Ascendancy is not Ashes v2.0. It is entirely in the v1.5 model and plays a dual-role there. It expands the product line to offer veteran players fresh, unplayed content. Simultaneously, it offers new players a two-player starter set, something Ashes never had. Everything needed for a 1v1 battle (tokens, cards, etc.) is available. As a whole, it's cheaper than the master set, offers new content, yet provides the complete Ashes experience to players, old or new.
Ashes Ascendancy introduces two new things to the Ashes world. The first is two new dice types and the heroes and player cards to construct two proper, competitive decks around those dice. Prior to Ascendancy there were seven dice types and twenty-eight heroes available; we're now at nine and thirty, respectively. Second is a new type of PvE for solo and cooperative play. Rather than the Chimera of “Red Rains”, Dragonborn are the bosses of Ascendancy. The “Red Rains'” DNA is palpable, but fights against Dragonborn streamline the Ashes PvE experience via a new ruleset, dice, board, and tokens. The components for battling Dragonborn are found only in Ascendancy, at least for now.
Summary
If
you are new player looking to get into Ashes, there are two
options to start (three, if you're truly open minded):
1. Ashes Reborn master set (dark red background) – This is a complete, out-of-the-box experience for competitive PvP play. It contains four dice types, six heroes, enough cards to play six full hero decks, and all the tokens and bits needed to track damage, exhaustion, status, etc. It's a bit more expensive than Option #2, but offers 3x the variety of heroes/styles to play.
2. Ashes Ascendancy starter set – This box contains two dice types, two heroes, enough cards to build two playable decks, and all the bits and tokens needed for tracking health, status, etc. It is 100% playable 1v1 out-of-the-box. Ascendancy also has all the boss cards, dice, tokens, etc. for PvE play versus a Dragonborn for one or two people. For people looking to try the game cooperatively or solo, start here. It is the cheaper of the two options, just with less hero/dice variety than the master set.
There is also a third option: pick up a cheap, used copy of the original Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn master set (the white background). The rules are 100% the same, the dice are 100% the same, and the tokens are 100% the same. The cards are not, thus be aware: 1) it's not strictly compatible with v1.5 Reborn content, 2) balance can be an issue (depending on the play group), and 3) there is no PvE content . It's 100% doable, but with limited future potential.
The Future
Looking ahead, Plaid Hat Games have announced they are going to be periodically releasing new content in the form of deluxe packs which contain both PvP and PvE content. Each release will have two new, never-before-seen heroes based on one of the nine dice types, a new Dragonborn for PvE play, and ten dice matching the relevant type. Ashes is not as big as Magic, so for the niche of people who love the game, it's great news that the options, of which there are many already, will expand. Let's see.
No shill!
I'm wary this post sounds like overt shilling for Plaid Hat. Thus be aware, by zero means am I sponsored, paid, or in any way compensated for tapping at my keyboard in this fashion. No shill here. We just love Ashes. It's top three TCG-type games ever made in my opinion. It delivers that dueling-magicians experience like no other card game out there, and we want to see more people discover it. Maybe this helps?
For a review of Ashes Reborn, see here.
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