Can P.R.I.M.E. acquire cards from the player's Dreamscape? +

In short, no. Unless specifically referenced, cards from the Dreamscape can only be acquired by spending Insight.

How do I know which player went first on the digital game? +

Players receive an equal number of turns when playing Ascension. As such, when playing the digital version of Ascension, understanding which player will take the final turn provides a strategic advantage. Thankfully, there's a subtle indicator often overlooked by newer players.

The image on the right displays the difference. The rightmost image has a slight "halo" around the player's avatar, which indicates he'll have the final turn!

How many Energy Shards should I use when combining sets? +

As your Ascension collection grows, players may begin to mesh the sets together. However, this raises the question: how many Energy Shards should I include in the Center Deck to keep the game balanced? Thankfully, there's a simple formula:

For every large set included in the Center Deck, include 30 Energy Shards. Chronicle of the Godslayer, Storm of Souls, Rise of Vigil, Realms Unraveled, and all future sets are considered "large sets".

For every small set included in the Center Deck, include 20 Energy Shards. Return of the Fallen, Immortal Heroes, and Darkness Unleashed are considered "small sets".

Can I transform a card by copying the effect of a transformable card? +

In a word, no.

Only cards that have the printed ability to transform may be transformed into another card. Cards like Twofold Askara cannot copy the effect of a transformable card and become another card.

How do I spend Runes, Power, and Energy?

All Ascension sets include two primary resources: Runes and Power. When you put a card into play, that card will likely provide you with one of these resources. For each card you put into play, you add up the corresponding values of those resources and then spend those resources to either acquire a Hero or Construct (using Runes) or to defeat a Monster (using Power).

Here's an example:

On your turn, you have one Mystic (which produces 2 Runes), 2 Apprentices (1 Rune apiece), and 2 Militia (1 Power apiece). In total, you have 4 Rune and 2 Power to spend.

The Center Row contains a Hero that costs 1 Rune. You spend one of your 4 Runes and place the newly acquired Hero into your discard pile. You now have 3 Rune to spend and 2 Power.

With your 3 remaining Rune, you now purchase another Hero found in the Center Row that costs 2 Rune, placing it in your discard pile. You now have 1 Rune and 2 Power.

Following these acquisitions, there are no cards in the Center Row that cost either 1 Rune or 2 Power. You use your 2 Power to defeat a Cultist in the Always Available section of the board. The remaining 1 Rune goes unused and your turn ends. The 1 Rune does not carry over to your next turn.

In the Rise of Vigil block, a new resource was introduced: Energy. Unlike Runes and Power, Energy is a pooled resource. In other words, it does not decrease when used. If you have multiple cards that require Energy, you can use the pooled Energy to energize each of the cards.

Here's an example:

On your turn, you have play three Energy Shards. This gives you a total of three Energy to use on your turn.

You have two cards in your hand: one requires 3 Energy to energize, the other requires 2 Energy.

Unlike Runes and Power, you do not need 5 Energy to energize the cards. Since Energy is a pooled resource, it does not decrease as you apply it to each card. The 3 Energy is enough to energize the card that requires 3 Energy and the card that requires 2 Energy.

When you turn is over, just like unused Runes and Power, the pooled Energy does not carry over to your next turn.

Are Mystics and Heavy Infantry infinite?

Many players enjoy mixing their Ascension sets together. Considering each set comes with additional Mystics and Heavy Infantry, it's difficult to determine how many should be included in a single, "mashed up" game.

In short, if you're playing with 2 players, the limit is 30 Mystics and 30 Heavy Infantry. If either pile runs out, you cannot add to it. If you're playing more than 2 players, we recommend including 10 additional Mystics and 10 additional Heavy Infantry per player. In other words, if you were playing a 4 player game, you'd include 50 Mystics and 50 Heavy Infantry.

In the event that you're playing with more than 4 players, capping the total at 50 Mystics and 50 Heavy Infantry should be more than enough to accommodate all players.

Can I transform a card after it has been put into play?

Play, all effects on the card must be played out (including Energized effects). In other words, a player cannot transform a card after it has been put into play.

Can I combine different Ascension sets?

Prior to answering that question, it's important to understand how each Ascension release is designed.

Each individual Ascension game is referred to as a "set" and, across our first 6 sets, we created a large and small set, which form one "block":

Chronicle of the Godslayer (Set 1) and Return of the Fallen (Set 2) formed Block 1

Storm of Souls (Set 3) and Immortal Heroes (Set 4) formed Block 2

Rise of Vigil (Set 5) and Darkness Unleashed (Set 6) formed Block 3

Each set within a block is developed together and both sets are optimized to be played with one another. However, Ascension is designed in a way that allows you to mix-and-match all of your sets together, so you're never restricted by the block format. All of the core gameplay mechanics remain the same within each set and each of the sets are only differentiated by 1-2 gameplay elements that are unique to that set/block (i.e., Events in Block 2, Energy in Block 3, etc).

In other words, if you'd like to mash up Chronicle of the Godslayer, Rise of Vigil, and Darkness Unleashed, there's nothing stopping you from doing so. The gameplay will be fluid and fun even though those two sets were designed independently.

Moving forward, future Ascension sets will only have one large set box, rather than a pairing of a large and small set. Thankfully, this means you'll get two large sets each year, rather than a large and small set. Realms Unraveled (Set 7) marked the first step in this direction, followed by Dawn of Champions (Set 8), Dreamscape (Set 9), and War of Shadows (Set 10). The individual large sets will build off of the set that preceded it, allowing for a natural pairing between two large sets.

Ascension also includes a wide variety of promo cards. Promo cards are typically bundled in release years that correspond to specific sets. However, much like the sets themselves, promo cards can be mixed-and-matched with any Ascension set. Also, promo cards do not include a defined rarity, however, you can follow these guidelines to determine how many of each promo you should add to each game.

What are the timing rules for Ascension?

There have been plenty of questions involving the timing in how effects resolve if they happen at the same time. The most common of these is Monster rewards and Fate triggers happening at the same time.

To answer these questions, we wanted to show you the order in how effects resolve when you acquire or defeat something in the Center Row.

The Center Row card is acquired and goes to your discard pile or is defeated and put in the Void.

If playing with Dawn of Champions, add a Reputation token to your Champion placard if you have met correct criteria. If you have reached one of the final two Champion levels, it will trigger immediately.

Replace cards in the Center Row until there are 6 cards in the Center Row from the Center Deck moving outward. The Dawn of Champions "Rally" effect will trigger at this point unless it is superseded by another effect on the card.

Resolve Monster rewards from the Center Deck moving outward.

Resolve anything that triggered off of defeating or acquiring the card/cards in the Center Row (such as Voidthirster).

Resolve any Fate triggers in the order they appeared in the Center Row. If multiple Fates appear in your starting Center Row, they are resolved in the order of closest to the Center Deck and then moving furthest away.

Resolve any effects triggered from Multi-Unite.

How can I determine a card's rarity?

The rarity of a card can be determined by the color of the icon printed on the bottom righthand corner of each card.

Yellow/Gold = 1 card Blue = 2 cards White = 3 cards Red = 4 cards Purple = 5 cards Orange = Promo card

Promo cards do not have a distinct rarity value, but most players follow these general rules:

If its Rune cost is six or more or it's a named card (i.e., "Vedah, Sage of Swords"), limit it to one card If its Rune cost is 4 or 5, limit it to two cards If its Rune cost is less than 4, limit it to 3 cards if the card is a Hero or a Monster If it's Rune cost is less than 4, limit it to 2 cards if the card is a Construct

What do the icons on the Energy Shard card mean?

The two icons on the Energy Shard card indicate:

+1 energy, which will add to your energy pool for that turn +1 card, which will allow you to immediately draw another card when the Energy Shard is put into play

Can you copy an energized effect?

Yes. If a card is energized, both the primary effect and the energized effect can be copied.

What happens to Treasure when the top card is banished?

Treasure cards become permanent fixtures of the Center Row when they enter play. As such, Treasures remain in play despite banishing the card covering the Treasure.

Are Soul Gems considered Heroes?

Despite including Heroes from previous Ascension sets, Soul Gems are not considered Hero cards. When encountering cards that allow you to copy the effect of a Hero,, Soul Gem cards cannot be copied.

What happens if I copy Moonveil Clique with Premonition Bell? +

If a player uses Premonition Bell to copy a Moonveil Clique from the Center Row and triggers it's Unite effect, the player does not automatically acquire Moonveil Clique. Effects that allow you to copy a card's effect implicitly do not refer to the source of the effect.

How does Moonveil Clique work? +

When Moonveil Clique's Unite effect triggers, it raises an interesting question: do I draw up to 5 cards and add Moonveil Clique or do I draw up to 4 cards and add Moonveil Clique?

As always, you draw up to 5 cards. Once you've drawn back up to 5 cards, add Moonveil Clique to your hand, for a total of 6 cards.

Does Alset, Reactor Savant's effect apply to one Construct or multiple Constructs? +

Alset, Reactor Savant's effect, "When you acquire a Construct this turn, you may put it into play", applies to multiple Constructs. In other words, while Alset is in play, every Construct you acquire on that turn will immediately go into play.

What happens if I defeat a banished, transformable card with Emri, Demonsbane? +

f a player defeats a banished card that can transform while it's in the Void, the card will transform. Note that a transformable card is not placed at the bottom of the deck; it will be removed from the game.

How does Voidforged Paladin work? +

Voidforged Paladin's effect is fairly straightforward when you put it in play and defeat a Monster. However, what happens if you defeat a Monster, put Voidforged Paladin into play, and defeat a second Monster? Does the effect trigger?

The short answer is, "Yes". Cards that include the text, "The first time...", only have their effect trigger once it's put into play. In other words, the card has no "memory" of actions that have taken place prior to the card being put into play.

So, in the case of Voidforged Paladin, it would not be aware that you previously defeated a Monster in the Center Row. If you've defeated a Monster, played Voidforged Paladin, and then defeat another Monster, the effect will trigger in full.

When do Multi-Unite effects trigger? +

Multi-Unite effects always happen after resolving the effect of the most recently played card.

In the example above, the player would fulfill the effects of Snapdragon Witch before gaining the reward from Everbloom Clique's Multi-Unite effect.

Does Adayu the Serene's Multi-Effect apply to itself? +

No, it does not. All Multi-Effect effects implicitly apply to other cards.

Can you place a Monster on top of your deck with Honey Siren and Samael the Fallen? +

Fallen is in play, all defeated Monsters become acquired Heroes. As a result, cards like Honey Siren or Stone Circle allow the player to place a Monster on top of their deck.

When do acquired Mechana Heroes become Constructs if Assimilation Plant is in play? +

Assimilation Plant immediately converts your Mechana Heroes into Constructs when it's put into play. As a result, Mechana Heroes that are recently acquired can be put directly into play with a Construct like Repurposer since they are now considered Mechana Constructs.

Can you stack Dark Energy Shards to defeat Erabus the Exiled? +

The text on the card refers to a single Dark Energy Shard. As such, Dark Energy Shards cannot stack to lower the cost to defeat Erabus the Exiled.

Does Askara of Fortune force me to shuffle my discard pile? +

If the current player or an opponent plays Askara of Fortune and the player does not have a draw pile, he must shuffle his discard pile in order to fulfill the effect of the card.

This same rule holds true for cards like Covetous Kraken or any other card that requires the player to draw a card. One exception is Nook Hound, which explicitly makes the shuffle optional.

Do the Treasure cards found under Smoke Tyrant count toward Moken, the Huntmaster's final total? +

Since the Treasure cards found under Smoke Tyrant are not part of a player's deck, they do not count toward Moken, the Huntmaster's end of game value.

How does The Looking Glass work? +

The Looking Glass can be impacted by various cards that enter the game. For example...

If the top card from the Center Deck is an Event, it immediately goes into play.

If the top card from the Center Deck contains a Fate, it will trigger and affect all players.

If the top card from the Center Deck is a Treasure, place the Treasure card(s) under The Looking Glass and continue to draw cards from the Center Deck until you reach a non-Treasure card.

If a Vault Lich enters gameplay after the player has already placed a card with a Treasure under The Looking Glass, that card is not impacted by the Vault Lich's Fate effect.

Note that only the player that has The Looking Glass in play may interact with it.

Can I decide when to active Repurposer? +

If a player has Repurposer in play, he may decide when to trigger Repurposer's effect after playing another Mechana Construct. For example, if a player plays Cog Maw and destroys Cog Maw for an additional Rune, he may then decide whether or not to trigger Repurposer's effect.

Does Vault Lich banish itself if there's a Treasure under it? +

Yes, Vault Lich's Fate also impacts itself.

If a transformed card changes ownership, does it remain transformed? +

In the event that a transformed card changes ownership (e.g., The player defeats Xeron, Duke of Lies and takes a transformed card), the transformed card remains transformed. Transformation is a permanent effect and the card does not revert to its original state.

Can a card be transformed if it's not in a player's hand? +

Unfortunately, no. Cards that can transform can only be transformed if the card is in the player's hand. As a result, using a card like Tarik, the Trickster to copy a transformable Hero card in the Center Row will only copy the base effect of the Hero; the Energized effect is ignored.

Can you copy Wandering Askara to take two additional turns? +

If a player encounters a scenario where he or she has played three Wandering Askaras and then copies one of them, the player is not allowed to take two additional turns following the current turn. "Additional turns" do not stack.

How does Miles, Golden Prodigy work when using Ring of Life? +

When a player has put the Ring of Life Construct into play and names "Enlightened" as the other faction that will also serve as the "Lifebound" faction, this prevents Miles, Golden Prodigy from drawing an additional card when another Lifebound card is played.

What happens when I copy Jakeb, Cobra King's effect?

Jakeb, Cobra King allows a player to gain twice as much Honor from any card (Hero, Construct, or Monster) that rewards the player with Honor. When copying Jakeb, Cobra King's effect, the player will gain 6 honor and receive another 6 honor immediately based upon the effect of the originally played Jakeb, Cobra King card. In other words, the player gains 6 Honor for playing Jakeb, Cobra King, gains another 6 Honor since the "Gain 6 Honor" effect is copied, and the effect from the original Jakeb, Cobra King ("When you gain Honor from another card this turn, gain twice that much Honor instead.") doubles the "Gain 6 Honor" copied effect.

What happens when I copy Wandering Askara with Twofold Askara? +

Wandering Askara says, "If you have played another Wandering Askara...," which the player has done in this case. The player has played "another" Wandering Askara (the original card) when it's copied by a card like Twofold Askara. When this occurs, the player may banish both cards to take an additional turn.

Can I purchase a Pot of Gold from the End of the Rainbow zone? +

The Pot of Gold card sits in an independent area named the "End of the Rainbow" zone. As such, a player's ability to acquire a card is limited to the Center Row, meaning a player cannot use Runes to acquire a Pot of Gold. In addition, since some Monsters have the ability to force players to "destroy the lowest cost Construct", a printed cost was included on the Pot of Gold.

Can I defeat a Monster for less using Temple Guardian and Void Militia?

Void Militia lowers the cost to defeat a Monster. In other words, if the player has accumulated 6 power on a turn and six cost Monster appears in the Center Row, the player would only need to spend 5 power to defeat the Monster. However, Void Militia's effect does not impact cards like Temple Guardian. Cards like Temple Guardian can only defeat Monsters with a printed cost that matches Temple Guardian's effect since the player is not paying any accumulated Power to defeat the Monster.

This same rule can also be applied to Aiyana's Messenger and Stone Circle Elder. Stone Circle Elder can only acquire cards with a printed cost for 5 or fewer Rune.

Does copying Miles, Golden Prodigy with Tarik, the Trickster draw 5 cards? +

Miles, Golden Prodigy allows you to draw a card and then draw an additional card of another faction played this turn. This effect allows a player to draw a total of 4 cards (Draw 1 card + 1 card for Mechana, Void, or Lifebound). However, when using Tarik, the Trickster to copy Miles' effect, the player is allowed to draw 5 cards. Note that you're copying the effect, not the entirety of the card.

The distinction in this instance is that Tarik is a Monster and "Monster" is not considered a faction. As a result, the player is allowed to draw a card and then draw a card for each other faction played this turn. Since Tarik is a Monster, the player would also be allowed to draw a card when playing an Enlightened card, bringing the total to 5 cards.

In addition, in the rare case where the player has used Tarik to copy Miles and happens to have Monsters in his/her deck after defeating Samael the Fallen, playing a Monster would not trigger drawing a card since "Monster" is not considered a faction.

How does Truth Seeker work when a Treasure appears with a Treasure in the Center Row? +

If a player banishes a card with a Treasure under it and the player subsequently reveals a new Treasure card from the Center Deck, the player only acquires the revealed Treasure card. The Treasure card already in the Center Row is not acquired nor banished.

What happens when you copy Cobra, the Sordid with Twofold Askara? +

When copying the effect of Cobra, the Sordid with Twofold Askara, the player may only collect the honor associated with the defeated Monster once.

Cobra's effect uses the word "instead," so it is a replacement effect. When you defeat a Monster, you collect its Honor reward only once, so there is only one thing for the effects to replace. In short, defeating a Monster with two Cobra effects "floating" should result in the player collecting the honor reward from their opponent only once.

How does copying Arha Medium with Tarik, the Trickster work? +

Copying Arha Medium with Tarik will have no effect, since the text is "You may banish this to acquire...". Technically, the card isn't banished from your hand - it's banished from your played zone, since you've played the card already and it's no longer in your hand. The operative part is "to acquire" because it indicates that the effect is predicate on the cost, which is banishing the card that you played.

What happens if you draw a Monster with Xeron, Duke of Lies? +

In the event that defeating Xeron, Duke of Lies results in you drawing a Monster from an opponent that has Samael the Fallen in play, the Monster card is considered a dead draw in your deck. In other words, you will keep the Monster in your deck and it will have no effect.

What happens if Vedah, Sage of Swords draws an Event? +

In the event that playing Vedah, Sage of Swords results in the player drawing an Event from the Center Deck, the following steps should be taken:

Banish the Event. The Event does not enter play. Draw another card from the Portal Deck. If the player draws another Event, repeat Step 1.

What happens when you copy Syril, Runic Alpha with Twofold Askara? +

If you copy the effect of a Lifebound hero with Unite, you'll gain the Unite effect if you play or have played a Lifebound hero that turn. Copying the effect of a Lifebound hero will not trigger Unite, however.

For instance, if you play Syril, then copy Syril, you'll get 3 Rune from the original Syril, then 3 Rune+3 Power from the copied Syril. If you play another Lifebound hero in the same turn, you'd gain the 3 Power from the Unite effect of the original Syril since you'll have actually played another Lifebound hero.

Does defeating a Monster under Nethersnare trigger Voidthirster's effect? +

"As though it were in the center row" means to treat it as thought it were in the Center Row for all cases of triggered effects.

So when you kill a monster under Nethersnare, it would trigger Soul Collector, Voidthirster, etc...

What happens when the card under a Giant Rat reveals a Fate card? +

f the player defeats a Giant Rat and the revealed card is a Fate card, the Fate does not trigger when it's revealed again. Fate effects only trigger when they enter the Center Row via the Center Deck.

How does Kythis, the Gatekeeper work? +

If Kthis is banished and has a Hero, Construct, or Monster under it, the card found under Kythis will replace it in the Center Row.

If Kythis has an Event card under it when defeated, banish it. If Kythis is banished, the Event card attempts to enter the Center Row and becomes the Event and is then replaced with the next card.

If Kythis has a a Fate card under it when defeated, it does not trigger. However, if Kythis is banished, the Fate card beneath it will trigger.

In the event that a Rat Queen enters the Center Row while Kythis is in play, set the reward card under Kythis to the side prior to shuffling the Center Row cards and placing Giant Rats on top of them. When the Giant Rat covering Kythis is banished or defeated, place the reward card back under Kythis.