Ascension expansions: every set in release order

1. 2010 · Base set

Chronicle of the Godslayer

The original Ascension. Samael, the Fallen God, has returned with an army of Monsters, and players recruit Heroes and build Constructs to defeat them and earn Honor.

Players: 1–4 (solitaire and team play included) · 200 cards

What it adds

• The core game: a six-card Center Row, Heroes, Constructs and Monsters
• Runes to acquire cards, Power to defeat Monsters, Honor to win
• Always-available Mystics, Heavy Infantry and the Cultist
• Solitaire against Samael and a 2-vs-2 team variant

2. 2011 · Small set

Return of the Fallen

The first expansion. Samael returns and a Godslayer must take up arms a second time.

Players: 2 on its own; 2–6 combined with Chronicle of the Godslayer · 120 cards

What it adds

• Fate: effects that trigger the moment a card enters the Center Row

Designed to pair with Chronicle of the Godslayer.

3. 2011 · Stand-alone set

Storm of Souls

A full stand-alone set, set after the fall of Samael. It introduces Kythis, the missing Gatekeeper.

Players: 1–4 on its own; up to 6 combined · 200 cards

What it adds

• Events: global cards that change the rules for everyone while they are in play
• Trophy Monsters: take the Honor now, keep the Monster and banish it later for its effect
• Fanatic: an always-available Monster whose reward depends on the current Event

4. 2012 · Small set

Immortal Heroes

A small set designed to be played with Storm of Souls. Kythis steals heroes' spirits from the Well of Souls.

Players: 1–2 on its own; up to 6 combined · 184 cards

What it adds

• Soul Gems: a separate deck of one-shot cards you gain and play the same turn
• Ongoing Trophies: defeated Monsters whose effect keeps working while you hold them
• 20 new Events, with an optional rule that keeps Events out of the center deck

Designed to pair with Storm of Souls.

5. 2013 · Stand-alone set

Rise of Vigil

Set years after Kythis was defeated. The set that introduced Treasure and Energy.

Players: 1–4 on its own; up to 6 combined · 259 cards, including 60 Energy Shards

What it adds

• Treasure: bonus cards that sit under a Center Row card and go to whoever takes it
• Energy Shards: a Treasure that gives Energy, a resource you collect but never spend
• Energize: card effects that switch on once you have gained enough Energy this turn
• An 11-card starting deck with one Energy Shard

6. 2013 · Small set

Darkness Unleashed

A small set designed to be played with Rise of Vigil. Erabus, son of Samael and Nyx, escapes his crystal prison.

Players: 1–2 on its own; up to 6 combined · 196 cards

What it adds

• Transform: cards that permanently turn into a stronger card once their Energize threshold is met
• Dark Energy Shards: Energy Shards with a Fate effect that lets every player banish a card

Designed to pair with Rise of Vigil.

7. 2014 · Stand-alone set

Realms Unraveled

Adayu, protector of the five realms, is losing his mind, and the realms begin to collide. New alliances between factions form to stop him.

Players: 1–4 on its own; up to 6 combined · 100-card center deck, plus 50 single-sided Transform cards

What it adds

• Multi-faction cards: cards that belong to more than one faction at once
• Multi-Unite: a bonus for every other Hero of the same faction you play that turn
• Transform: cards that change into a new card when their condition is met

Read more: How did we find ourselves in the Severed Sea?

8. 2015 · Stand-alone set

Dawn of Champions

Set in New Vigil after Adayu's Unraveling. Each player leads a Champion who grows stronger over the game.

Players: 2–4 on its own; up to 6 combined · 96-card center deck, plus 4 Champions

What it adds

• Champions and Reputation: an oversized Champion card whose four powers unlock as you gain Reputation in its faction
• Rally: the next matching card to enter the Center Row is free to acquire or defeat
• Multi-faction Constructs and Monsters with factions

9. 2015 · Stand-alone set

Dreamscape

Pasythea becomes guardian of the Dreamscape, a realm of dreams with its own private market for each player.

Players: 2–4 on its own; up to 6 combined · 98-card center deck and a 35-card Dream deck

What it adds

• Your Dreamscape: a personal, hidden set of Dream cards only you can buy
• Insight: a new resource that carries over between turns, spent on Dream cards
• Dreamborn cards: give Insight when they appear and when you acquire them
• Visions: one-shot or ongoing effects from the Dream deck

Designed to pair with Delirium and Deliverance.

10. 2016 · Stand-alone set

War of Shadows

Aklys, the Scourge, leads a dark legion against New Vigil.

Players: 2–4 on its own; up to 6 combined · 96-card center deck

What it adds

• Day and Night: Light and Dark cards in the Center Row decide whether it is Day or Night, switching card bonuses on and off
• Dual-cost cards: acquired by paying Runes and Power together

11. 2017 · Stand-alone set

Gift of the Elements

Elementals awaken across New Vigil.

Players: 2–4 on its own; up to 6 combined · 107-card center deck, plus 10 single-sided Transform cards

What it adds

• Empower: when you acquire the card, banish a card you already played this turn
• Infest Monsters: defeat one and put it in any player's discard pile instead of the Void
• Transforming Events: pay to claim an Event and gain its powerful Transform Hero

12. 2017 · Stand-alone set

Valley of the Ancients

A fight for control of the ancient Temples, designed for a high level of interaction between players.

Players: 2–4 on its own; up to 6 combined · 99-card center deck and 3 Temples

What it adds

• Temples of Life, Death and Immortality: worth Honor at the end, and opponents can steal them
• Keystones: the resource that claims or steals a Temple
• Echo and Serenity: faction keywords that reward what is (or isn't) in your discard pile
• Center Row effects that are active while a card sits in the row

Read more: Ascension Online: Valley of The Ancients

13. 2017 · Add-on

Alliances

A team-play add-on. It can only be played combined with another Ascension set.

Players: Teams of two; needs another Ascension set · 28 cards

What it adds

• Alliances: two-player teams that share an Honor pool and take their turns at the same time
• Banners: cards with two costs, one paid by each ally, that affect both players
• Ally Unite: a bonus when your ally has played a Hero of the same faction

14. 2018 · Stand-alone set

Delirium

The corrupted Dreamscape floods into the world through a gate in the Valley of the Ancients. The first half of a two-set story with Deliverance.

Players: 2–4 on its own; up to 6 combined · 99-card center deck and the Delirium Die

What it adds

• Insight and Dreamborn cards return from Dreamscape
• Recur: pay Insight to use a card's effect a second time
• Fate Auctions: players bid Insight to copy a card's effect as it enters the Center Row
• The Delirium Die: spend Insight to roll for a random effect

Designed to pair with Deliverance and Dreamscape.

Read more: How did we find ourselves in the Severed Sea?

15. 2018 · Stand-alone set

Deliverance

The conclusion of the Dreamscape story begun in Delirium: Pasythea is reborn and seals the gate.

Players: 2–4 on its own; up to 6 combined · 100-card center deck, plus Pasythea, Redeemed

What it adds

• Pasythea, Redeemed: a Hero above the board that every player races to afford
• Dreamseeker: an 11th starting card that helps everyone gain Insight
• Phantasm: pay Insight to play a Hero straight from the Center Row
• Dreambind Monsters: defeat one and pay Insight to add it to your deck
• Transform with Insight, and Plunder bonuses for acquiring and defeating in the same turn

Designed to pair with Delirium and Dreamscape.

Read more: Ascension: Deliverance Preview · The Dice Tower gives "Ascension: Deliverance" its Seal of Approval!

16. 2019 · Stand-alone set

Skulls & Sails

Pirate Ascension in the Severed Sea. Each player sails a ship around the board, and where your ship sits matters.

Players: 2–4 · 200 cards

What it adds

• Ships and Crew: move your ship around the Center Row and spend Crew on the card at your ship's space
• Anchor: bonuses when your ship is on a card's space as you take it
• Raiding: take Treasure from an enemy ship sharing your space
• Treasure cards, and Thukal the Kraken lurking in the Deep

Designed to pair with Curse of the Golden Isles.

Read more: How did we find ourselves in the Severed Sea?

17. 2021 · Stand-alone set

Curse of the Golden Isles

The second Severed Sea set: race for the cursed treasure of the Golden Isles while the Ghost Pirate of the Crimson Askara hunts you.

Players: 2–4 · 180 cards

What it adds

• Ships, Crew, Anchor and Raiding from Skulls & Sails
• Cursed Treasure: coins on the board you claim by sailing to them, each worth 2 Honor
• The Ghost Pirate: chases the newest coin and costs ships Crew
• Navigator: a new starting card

Designed to pair with Skulls & Sails.

18. 2025 · Stand-alone set

Legends

The Muses of Malevolence threaten Vigil, and Legendary Characters from Ascension's past return to guide a new generation of heroes. An all-new stand-alone set for newcomers and long-time fans, crowdfunded on Gamefound in 2024.

Players: 1–4 (solitaire against the Cult included) · 175 cards, plus 8 Legendary Character cards

What it adds

• The Legendary Track: acquiring or defeating a card earns Renown with its faction and moves you up that faction's path
• Legendary Characters and Boons: one Legend per faction each game, whose Boon you trigger at the 3rd, 6th and 9th spaces
• Legendary status: reach the top of a faction's path to acquire or defeat one card of that faction free each turn
• Renown Threshold effects: card bonuses that switch on once you are far enough up that faction's path
• Multi-faction cards return, plus Unite-Emissary bonuses for playing two Emissary Heroes of any factions

Read more: Coming Soon! Ascension Legends