Slashfest

A tournament using the Coal-Off game mode in Ashteki.Ashteki where both players play Coal using a randomly generated deck.

The Coal-Off format was born of the idea that a player can win with Coal using a deck of thirty random cards. Coal’s Slash ability makes every card in his deck playable. Also, Coal is simply the best of all the Phoenixborn (citation needed).

The Coal-Off mode in Ashteki deals both players one copy of One Hundred Blades and 29 other random cards. Dice pools are generated with the play costs of those cards in mind, but it is rare that a player will be able to play all the cards they are dealt. Except that they can play all the cards they are dealt because Slash. (Is the concept starting to make sense now?)

To date, there have been two official Slashfest tournament events played over Askteki. The inaugural Slashfest in June, 2023 and Holiday Slashfest in December, 2023, were both won by Brian_B, making him the undefeated, undisputed Slashfest Champion of the world.

While a Coal-Off  is largely luck-based, fans of the format enjoy the challenge of piecing together a winning strategy from a random pile of cards. Many players also enjoy discovering cards that never see play and later finding homes for them in “real” decks. Still others just really love Coal.