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Ascension: Deckbuilding Game
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Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
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Purchase options and add-ons
Brand | Stoneblade Entertainment |
Material | Cardboard |
Theme | Cards |
Genre | Strategy |
Number of Players | 6 |
About this item
- The hit deckbuilding game with over 50,000 copies sold worldwide
- Designed by Magic: the Gathering Pro Tour Champions Justin Gary, Brian Kibler and Rob Dougherty
- Combines with any other Ascension sets for unlimited replayability and support for up to 6 players
- 1-4 players out of the box
- 30-45 minutes
Frequently bought together
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Product information
Product Dimensions | 13.5 x 8.5 x 3.25 inches |
---|---|
Item Weight | 2.2 pounds |
ASIN | B0040QE5YC |
Item model number | GGS 001 |
Manufacturer recommended age | 13 - 17 years |
Best Sellers Rank | #319,898 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games) #10,937 in Board Games (Toys & Games) |
Customer Reviews |
4.7 out of 5 stars |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Release date | August 1, 2018 |
Language | English |
Manufacturer | Flat River Group |
Warranty & Support
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Product Description
Product Description
Ascension is a fast paced deckbuilding game designed by Magic Pro Tour champions Justin Gary, Rob Dougherty, and Brian Kibler, with artwork by Eric Sabee. Ascension is a deckbuilding game where players spend Runes to acquire more powerful cards for their deck. It offers a dynamic play experience where players have to react and adjust their strategy accordingly. Gameplay is similar to other deckbuilding games, with the player adding cards to their deck by purchasing them from a shared center deck, which has the top six cards revealed and available for purchase. When cards are removed, they are replaced with a new one from the top of the deck. Honor points are earned in three ways: firstly, each card purchased is worth one or more Honor; second, Honor can be gained by defeating monsters with a Power resource featured on several of the cards; finally, some cards give Honor directly each time they are played.
From the Manufacturer
Ascension is a fast paced deck building game designed by Magic the Gathering Pro Tour champions Justin Gary, Rob Dougherty and Brian Kibler, with artwork by Eric Sabee. Ascension is a deck-building game where players spend Runes to acquire more powerful cards for their deck. It offers a dynamic play experience where players have to react and adjust their strategy accordingly. Each player starts the game with a 10-card deck comprised of eight Apprentices and two Militias. Apprentices provide Runes when played, which can be used to recruit Hero and Construct cards during the game. Militias provide another type of resource, Power, when played, which is used to defeat Monsters. The game revolves around the Center Deck that contains Heroes, Constructs and Monsters. Contents 200 cards, game board, storage tray, 50 deluxe honor tokens and rulebook.
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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the game enjoyable to play, fun, and wonderful. They also say it's easy to learn and play, with excellent card designs. Customers also appreciate the expansions, which allow them to customize their game experience. They mention the theme offers depth and strategy.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the board game enjoyable to play, fun, and easy to learn for non-gamers. They also say it's a great pickup and go game that doesn't tax the brain too greatly. Additionally, customers describe the game as a classic with infinite replay value and hard to beat.
"...The cards seem thick enough to stay sturdy but I also opted to put the whole set in card sleeves...." Read more
"...Well, you're in luck. Ascension is one of the easiest, most accessible Eurogames I've played that also offers this level of depth and strategy...." Read more
"...Which makes for more games to play. 7. Replay value is super high for me. Each game offers a different strategy as the cards unfold...." Read more
"...Overall, this is a very fun game with a unique perspective on deck building, card drafting, and hand management...." Read more
Customers find the game easy to learn and play. They say the directions are easy to read and understand. They also say the game has simple enough rules that are easy for beginners to pick up in just one play session.
"...Overall, I recommend this game. It does not take a long time to play, usually. It is fair, varied, and interesting...." Read more
"...I did mention a digital game earlier, and this is a great way to learn the rules, preview the game, and play the game with the convenience of having..." Read more
"This game is well put together. 1. Directions are easy to read and understand. Even a caveman could understand it...." Read more
"...The game time was short. Only 30 - 45 minutes.4) There weren't too many options during your turn...." Read more
Customers like the appearance of the board game. They mention that the artwork is neat, the card designs are excellent, and the graphics are great. Some say that the victory points are strangely shaped but interesting.
"...While they look sort of different, they aren't anything that I see and *want* to have...." Read more
"...5. Interesting artwork that helps add the flavor to the game. It gives its own style that separates it from other card games I've played. 6...." Read more
"...game play, interesting mechanics and interactions, neat art, excellent card designs, different dynamics with varying numbers of players... this game..." Read more
"...Beautiful design and great construction, this has become a favorite game for us to bust out when we need to kill 20 minutes." Read more
Customers find the expansions of the board game interesting and allow them to customize their game experience. They also mention that the different dynamics with varying numbers of players, and the different play styles are interesting. Additionally, they say the game is great with 2 players and that the player interaction is great.
"...The artwork is consistent from card to card. The factions that are available are interesting and allow you to customize your game experience...." Read more
"...Best part about this, is also there are expansions to add to the game for more different cards and more palyers, for more fun. :)..." Read more
"...little more confusing, but the game plays very smoothly and has enough similar elements that it's not really any harder to teach than Dominion...." Read more
"...This game has more of a random element that I'm down with, really mixes up how things go...." Read more
Customers find the theme of the board game to be deep and full of strategy. They also say it's easy to learn, and continues to offer layers of strategy and customization. Customers also mention that the game is incredibly deep strategically speaking, with many strategies to master. They say it provides just the right amount of challenge to make them come back over and over.
"...Strategy in this game is fun. There's a lot of room for tactical decision making, and you may need to make changes to your strategy mid-game..." Read more
"...world of Eurogames--it's easy to learn, and continues to offer layers of strategy and customization...." Read more
"...This is a step up from Dominion, adding a couple of more complex elements...." Read more
"...This game has more of a random element that I'm down with, really mixes up how things go...." Read more
Customers find the board game Ascension to be a great investment that offers tons of replay value. They say it improves valuation skills in every other game they play, and that the expansions are well worth it. They also say the game is smart, crafty, and strategic, and good for all skill levels.
"...Everything you need to play is all there. One shot price. The price is excellent for all the cards you get, nice sturdy game board and red and white..." Read more
"...variant that after a few goes I can say its not bad, good for getting to know the cards and combinations well...." Read more
"...Ascension is a smart and crafty card game that doesn't tax the brain too greatly. A game usually takes between 20-25 minutes for two people...." Read more
"...It plays great by itself but the expansions are well worth it if you like the game and want more variation or additional mechanics...." Read more
Customers like the cards in the board game. They say the physical cards are great for deck building, drafting, and hand management. They also appreciate the awesome cardstock.
"...is a very fun game with a unique perspective on deck building, card drafting, and hand management...." Read more
"...Even the cardstock is awesome, to touch, smell, and shuffle! (Sleeve your cards though, unless you view cards as consumables)...." Read more
"...The game comes with a nice board\card mat with locations to set up the card game...." Read more
"...a computer or other people, but the solo variant and having physical cards is just great...." Read more
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Ascension is, of course, a deckbuilding game. Players compete to build an army and garner resources to vanquish evil from the land! At their disposal are heroes and resources from various factions that have synergy with one another and promote various strategies to build the most powerful army. Players do this by starting with identical decks and then drafting cards and defeating monsters from an ever-changing central pool of cards. Once you take a card from the center, a new one is drawn to replace it. This means that you must worry about the cards that you need, but also about the cards that your opponent may want.
Theme is pervasive in this game. The artwork is consistent from card to card. The factions that are available are interesting and allow you to customize your game experience. Everything is tied together very well thematically.
The components are good to great. The crystals that represent victory points are strangely shaped but interesting. I suppose the only drawback is that they serve only to represent points, something that could easily be done with a pen and paper. If they were more ornate, perhaps this wouldn't stick out to me. While they look sort of different, they aren't anything that I see and *want* to have. The cards seem thick enough to stay sturdy but I also opted to put the whole set in card sleeves. They take up a lot more room this way, but cards in deckbuilders get so much use and I don't want to pay to replace the set of cards. The player board is thick and sturdy. It perhaps isn't necessary in this game and other companies may have offered instead a paper or cardboard playmat instead of this nice board. It has a place for every type of card to sit and a concise version of the rules printed on it. While it isn't necessary, it's functional and certainly adds to the theme.
Strategy in this game is fun. There's a lot of room for tactical decision making, and you may need to make changes to your strategy mid-game depending on what cards you have managed to find and/or which ones are available. There are multiple paths to victory for certain, and you have the opportunity to change your opponents plans by impacting the pool of available cards, thus denying them to your opponent.
Overall, I recommend this game. It does not take a long time to play, usually. It is fair, varied, and interesting. The theme is strong, and really spoke to me (as a former Magic: The Gathering player). I find it to play very well with two players, though more are allowed. The included player board is built for two players to use most comfortably, though that doesn't necessarily have to be the case.
Ascension, for those of you who haven't played, is a "deck building" game. Most folks who read this word immediately think Magic the Gathering and get overwhelmed (unless you're already a MtG player like myself), however it's really a different beast entirely. The basic object is to gain as much honor as possible by the end of the game (when the pool runs dry) by either killing monsters on the board with power, or buying heroes and constructs with money. Power and money are the two basic forms of currency in Ascension, and are granted every turn based on cards in your hand and on the board.
You begin the game with a 10 card generic deck and slowly build a larger and more effective deck by buying cards from the board and trimming your deck (weeding out less valuable cards). In addition to the basic strategy of buying or killing things for honor, you'll also begin learning about the various factions (Void, Enlightened, Mechana, Lifebound) and their synergies in order to start setting up "chains". Think of a chain like playing one card that then triggers an additional effect if you play another specific card. The better you pay attention to your deck's construction, the more synergies and chains you can roll out during your turn. You'll also be watching the board to see what your opponents are buying in order to mess with their game by denying cards. Like I said, Ascension is an incredibly deep game full of strategy.
Speed-wise, a 2 player game runs about 30min to 1hr and allows the most freedom in customizing your deck since each player tends to focus on a faction or faction combo that the other player isn't. Throw in some more people, however, and things get really interesting as it becomes harder to tune your deck exactly as you'd like (due to competition). With this core set, you can play with 4 people and not run out of cards. Buy some expansions and the potential is nearly limitless.
One major question with games such as this, especially for people who are just now getting into the whole "Eurogame" phenomena, is... How hard will it be for my friends to learn? Nobody likes to bring an awesome game to a party or game night only to have it bomb. Well, you're in luck. Ascension is one of the easiest, most accessible Eurogames I've played that also offers this level of depth and strategy. After receiving CotG in the mail last week, I immediately brought it over to my girlfriend's place and played with her and her roomies--none of which have really toyed with Eurogames at all. After a single game, I'd say everyone was competent with the basic turn pattern and strategies and were already moving on to think about deeper strategies. Impressive.
How is this different from Magic the Gathering? For one, you build a deck in Ascension as you play the game, in real time, whereas in Magic you build a deck before the game. When playing Ascension, you're all drawing from the same set of cards, preventing anyone from gaming the system by buying boat loads of cards (money=advantage) or having a ton of rares that you don't. You can buy expansions and get promo cards for Ascension, but all players have equal access to all cards from the beginning. This, in my opinion, is a HUGE win for Ascension vs. other card games in the market.
I did mention a digital game earlier, and this is a great way to learn the rules, preview the game, and play the game with the convenience of having all your resources and available cards auto-calculated and highlighted for you. The digital version makes game play much faster, and the clean-up much easier, but if you go that route I highly suggest doing so on a tablet (the phone version is too tiny). But, as all of us gamers know, there's something to be said about touching and interacting with a physical game.
In short, Ascension is a fantastic gateway drug to the world of Eurogames--it's easy to learn, and continues to offer layers of strategy and customization. For experienced gamers, this is one of the best tools to have in your belt when nobody's in the mood for a 5hr long game of Dungeon Keeper. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.
Grab your friends for some fun fantasy deck building game, that doesn't destroy your wallet over the long run and offers tons of replay value. Best part about this, is also there are expansions to add to the game for more different cards and more palyers, for more fun. :)You can also check this game out by watching video reviews on you tube.