Competitive Scene
Try-hard mode activated!
Information on competing at the highest level; sometimes for prizes, sometimes just for bragging rights.
If you are looking for deckbuilding restrictions for Organized Play events, the banned list and the chained list can be found under Rulebook->FAQ.
Phoenix League
A COMPETITIVE ASHES CIRCUIT
Phoenix League is new for 2023!
Ashes: Reborn is a game with a strong competitive lineage. Since the launch of 1.0 all the way through the latest Shufflebus Invitational, players have fought their hardest and brought their best when the opportunity arose. With that legacy in mind, we see a torch in need of picking up. That torch is Phoenix League. Phoenix League is a competitive Ashes circuit with qualifying events, which follow PHG's OP rules.
Phoenix League
Random weekly pairings in a competitive setting. Track your wins and sharpen your game in a drop-in, drop-out format that still expects you to play your best. This League will coexist with FFL.
Phoenix League games are:
- weekly
- played online using Ashteki.com
- timed at 60 mins following sudden death rules
- ranked (affecting your Elo rating)
- KIND - with zero-tolerance for bad actors (see the discord rules of play for details)
Phoenix Pods
Quarterly, week-long closed-list pod tournaments that will feature a top cut. These events will pause Phoenix League pairings.
Competitive outlets from other tournament organizers, events like AIL, will be partnered with to feature official Phoenix League support and integration.
Collection of Ashes
Phoenix League's "World Championship" level event
The event is invitation only, and qualifying steps for this event include:
- 12 Wins in Phoenix League
- Top Cut in a Phoenix Pod
- Top Cut in a Community Event
- Top X in Ashteki ELO (cutoff TBD)
To Join
You can join the league by typing !phx join in the Ashes Discord #bot-chatter channel.
To Drop
You can drop from the league by typing !phx drop in the Ashes Discord #bot-chatter channel.
Ashes International League (AIL)
The Ashes International League is an event that has multiple paths to the top.
Deck construction obeys the chained list, but is otherwise open ended.
What makes this different from other events is the tiebreakers. In order, they are:
- Phoenixborn diversity - the number of different Phoenixborn a player used
- Overall wins of your played Phoenixborn - how many wins your Phoenixborn have overall (the less popular the PB, the more it counts here)
- Strength of schedule
- Blood point differential - Blood Points earned minus Blood Points given up
Play is organized as per other tournaments.
Team Tourney - TODO
Blitz
One critique of Ashes games is that they can take anywhere between 45-60 minutes, sometimes longer. The Blitz format imposes a strict limit on game length.
Deck building follows normal rules, including use of the chained list.
Games are set up using a chess clock with the time set to 13 minutes per player. A game loss is given to the player who uses the entire 13 minutes.
Shufflebus (discontinued)
Tournaments were run by The ShuffleBus (https://theshufflebus.com/) for a few years. They were the premiere competitive scene for Ashes Reborn until they decided to close shop at the end of 2022 following the World Championship invitational.
This section is dedicated to preserving player deck lists, and ideally the results, from each SB tournament in case the individual players ever delete them from Ashes.live.
Shufflebus (discontinued)
Tournament Deck Lists
For posterity these are being cloned to The Jankyard's Ashes.live account. Rather than republish all of them, they are tracked in a Google Doc with the associated player and result (where available).
ShuffleBus Deck Lists
The Meta
The "meta" in Ashes is not as well defined as it is other card games such as Pokemon or Magic The Gathering. This is in part due to the depth and viability of the card pool for deck building, the nature of it being an extendable card game without rotation, and a smaller community resulting in a lower volume of data.
That said, there are definite trends in Phoenixborn and cards that get repeated play and have shown across multiple tournaments that they are always competitive. Here's a listing of articles written by various community members on the topic:
Tournament Results Overview
Legendary Knockout Arena 10 May 2025
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
 1 |
ebfritz |
James |
Swarm Aggro |
 |
 2 |
Brancus |
Jessa |
Burn |
|
 3-4 |
Shadowfire |
Hope |
Swarm Aggro |
|
| Ghhinman |
Odette |
PACT Midrange |
|
Game Replay
Collection of Ashes 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Fred |
Rin |
Battlefield Midrange |
|
| 2 |
Brian B |
Hope |
Shadow Hound Battlefield Aggro |
|
| 3-4 |
Under Rug Swept |
Dimona |
Dragon Fallen |
|
| Abby |
Koji |
Aggro Swarm |
|
Phoenix League 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Number Of Wins |
| 1 |
Under Rug Swept |
31 |
| 2 |
Ninja Dance Mat |
29 |
| 3 |
Carl Diaz |
28 |
| - 4 |
ebfritz |
25 |
| - 5 |
Brancus |
24 |
Legendary Knockout Arena 9 November 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Mbauers |
Odette |
Paladin Battlefield Spindown |
|
| 2 |
Redentor |
Rowan |
Paladin Control |
|
| 3-4 |
Ninja Dance Mat |
Harold |
Paladin Battlefield |
|
| Brian B |
Harold |
Paladin Battlefield |
|
One and Done
| Placing |
Player |
| 1 |
Under Rug Swept |
| 2 |
Killercactus |
| 3-4 |
Wavesey |
| Abby |
Legendary Knockout Arena 8 July 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Brian B |
Odette |
Paladin Battlefield |
|
| 2 |
Ninja Dance Mat |
Saria |
Removal Mill |
|
| 3-4 |
Carl Diaz |
Saria |
Paladin Battlefield |
|
| Mbauers |
Odette |
Battlefield Spindown |
|
Ashes International League 2024
| Placing |
Player |
| 1 |
Brian B |
| 2 |
Carl Diaz |
| 3-4 |
Inquisitor |
| Ninja Dance Mat |
Legendary Knockout Arena 7 June 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Ebfritz |
Dimona |
Dragon Aggro |
|
| 2 |
Fred |
Rimea |
Prison Mill |
|
| 3-4 |
Brancus |
Jessa |
Burn |
|
| Carl Diaz |
Rin |
Battlefield |
|
Release of The Siege of Lordswall.
Legendary Knockout Arena 6 May 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Ninja Dance Mat |
Xander |
0/2 Fatigue |
|
| 2 |
Brian B |
Leo |
PACT Battlefield |
|
| 3-4 |
Mbauers |
Rin |
Spindown Battlefield |
|
| Alfred |
Leo |
Spindown Fatigue |
|
Legendary Knockout Arena 5 April 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Carl Diaz |
Hope |
Shadow Hound 0/2 |
|
| 2 |
Brancus |
Xander |
PACT Battlefield |
|
| 3-4 |
Mbauers |
Coal |
Battlefield |
|
| Ninja Dance Mat |
Astrea |
Burn |
|
Legendary Knockout Arena 4 March 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Carl Diaz |
Tristan |
Battlefield Burn |
|
| 2 |
Brian B |
Leo |
Fatigue |
|
| 3-4 |
Ebfritz |
Jessa |
Burn |
|
| Brancus |
Jessa |
Burn |
|
Heroic Knockout Arena 4 March 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Wicked Walt |
Jessa |
Burn |
|
| 2 |
Jolienw |
Aradel |
Battlefield |
|
| 3-4 |
Alfred |
Brennen |
Control |
|
| Reef |
Noah |
Draw Aggro |
|
Legendary Knockout Arena 3 February 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Brian B |
Tristan |
Swarm Aggro |
|
| 2 |
Ninja Dance Mat |
Saria |
Burn |
|
| 3-4 |
Mbauers |
Saria |
Battlefield Fatigue |
|
| Lark |
Orrick |
Prison Awakened State |
|
Heroic Knockout Arena 3 February 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Lexaeus |
Astrea |
Burn |
|
| 2 |
Reef |
Noah |
Aggro |
|
| 3-4 |
Wicked Walt |
Jessa |
Burn |
|
| Delementary |
Saria |
Burn |
|
Release of The Blight of Neverset. 2024-01-25 Golden Veil and Hypnotize added to the chained list. Massive Growth, Exhortation, and Summon Sleeping Widows removed from the chained list.
Legendary Knockout Arena 2 January 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Fred |
Rin |
Aggro Battlefield |
|
| 2 |
Brian B |
Aradel |
Creeper |
|
| 3-4 |
Brancus |
Jessa |
Burn |
|
| Ninja Dance Mat |
Rin |
Battlefield |
|
Heroic Knockout Arena 2 January 2024
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
95chins |
Rin |
Battlefield |
|
| 2 |
Lexaeus |
Noah |
Battlefield |
|
| 3-4 |
Ebfritz |
Koji |
Swarm Rush |
|
| Delementary |
Harold |
Battlefield Aggro |
|
Legendary Knockout Arena 1 December 2023
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Ninja Dance Mat |
Astrea |
Stall Burn |
|
| 2 |
Fred |
Rin |
Aggro Battlefield |
|
| 3-4 |
Killercactus |
Leo |
Turbo Mill |
|
| Mbauers |
Rin |
Battlefield Spindown |
|
Heroic Knockout Arena 1 December 2023
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Brancus |
Jessa |
Burn |
|
| 2 |
Ebfritz |
Koji |
Swarm Rush |
|
| 3-4 |
Ironcache |
Hope |
Reaction Spindown |
|
| Tzo |
- |
- |
- |
Collection of Ashes 2023
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Carl Diaz |
Harold |
Battlefield PACT |
|
| 2 |
Brian B |
Harold |
Battlefield PACT |
|
| 3-4 |
Under Rug Swept |
Odette |
Bypass Combo |
|
| Killercactus |
Hope |
Vampire Bat Swarm Aggro Burn |
|
Phoenix League 2023
| Placing |
Player |
Number Of Wins |
| 1 |
Under Rug Swept |
32 |
| 2 |
Killercactus |
29 |
| 3 |
Brian B |
21 |
| - 4 |
Carl Diaz |
20 |
| - 5 |
Shadowfire/Treatment |
19 |
Blitz 2 2023
| Placing |
Player |
| 1 |
Mbauers |
| 2 |
Brian B |
| 3 |
Asterix |
Release of Frostwild Scourge.
Phoenix Pod 2 2023
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Nosuchmethod |
Dimona |
Fallen PACT |
|
| 2 |
Brian B |
Hope |
Shadow Hound PACT |
|
| 3-4 |
Carl Diaz |
Koji |
Creeper |
|
| The Treatment |
Harold |
Spindown Fatigue |
|
Ashes International League 2023
| Placing |
Player |
| 1 |
Carl Diaz |
| 2 |
Redentor |
| 3-4 |
Clu |
| Under Rug Swept |
Blitz 1 2023
| Placing |
Player |
| 1 |
Carl Diaz |
| 2 |
The Treatment |
| 3 |
|
2023-04-05 Release of Three Eyed Owl, Creeper, Salamander Monk and Brennen errata. Meteor added to chained list and Three Eyed Owl removed from chained list.
Phoenix Pod 1 2023
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Lark |
Noah |
Spindown |
|
| 2 |
Killercactus |
Harold |
Battlefield PACT |
|
| 3-4 |
Shadowfire |
Odette |
Battlefield |
|
| Apple Sith |
Echo |
Battlefield Bypass |
|
Release of The Corpse of Viros.
Winter Open 2023
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Tuxedo |
Hope |
Creeper |
|
| 2 |
Brancus |
Brennen |
Agro Burn |
|
| 3-4 |
Carl Diaz |
Hope |
Creeper |
|
| Flora Snow |
Aradel |
Battlefield Bypass |
|
Shufflebus Worlds 2022
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
JK007 |
Brennen |
Aggro Burn |
|
| 2 |
Brian B |
Coal |
Wishing Wing Aggro Combo |
|
| 3-4 |
The Cap |
Brennen |
Aggro Burn |
|
| Mbauers |
Coal |
Spindown Battlefield |
|
Shufflebus Last Chance Qualifier 2022
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Clu |
Odette |
Realmwalker Aggro Bypass |
|
| 2 |
Impossible German |
Leo |
|
|
| 3-4 |
Killercactus |
Rimea |
Burn |
|
| Ninja Dance Mat |
Koji |
Creeper |
|
2022-10-03 Sleeping Widows added to the chained list.
Ashes International League 2 2022
| Placing |
Player |
| 1 |
Brain B |
| 2 |
Carl Diaz |
| 3-4 |
Inquisitor |
| Apple Sith |
Ashes International League 1 2022
| Placing |
Player |
| 1 |
Inquisitor |
| 2 |
Asterix |
| 3-4 |
Carl Diaz |
| MHGreenleaf |
Shufflebus Pod Qualifier 2022
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Tuxedo |
Hope |
Creeper |
|
| 2 |
Brian B |
Aradel |
|
|
| 3-4 |
Carl Diaz |
Rowan |
Control |
|
| Josh |
Brennen |
Aggro Burn |
|
Shufflebus Single Day Qualifier March 2022
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Carl Diaz |
Echo |
Battlefield Bypass |
|
| 2 |
The Cap |
Echo |
Battlefield Bypass |
|
| 3-4 |
The Treatment |
Noah |
Battlefield |
|
| Brain B |
Coal |
Wishing Wing Aggro Combo |
|
Release of Hope and Dimona expansions.
Shufflebus Invitational 2022
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Kaile |
Odette |
Bypass Combo |
|
| 2 |
Bparousis |
Xander |
Battlefield |
|
| 3-4 |
Chaos Theory |
Harold |
Battlefield |
|
| Mbauers |
Saria |
Spindown Fatigue |
|
Shufflebus Season 7 2022
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
JK007 |
Brennen |
Aggro Burn |
|
| 2 |
Tuxedo |
Harold |
Battlefield |
|
| 3-4 |
The Cap |
Echo |
|
|
| Kaile |
Odette |
Bypass Combo |
|
2022-05-16 Three Eyed Owl, Psychic Vampire and Explosive Growth added to the chained list.
Shufflebus Season 6 2022
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
JK007 |
Brennen |
Aggro Burn |
|
| 2 |
Asterix |
Brennen |
Aggro Burn |
|
| 3-4 |
MHGreenleaf |
Aradel |
|
|
| Carl Diaz |
Lulu |
Aggro |
|
Shufflebus Season 5 December 2021
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Kaile |
Maeoni |
Bypass Combo |
|
| 2 |
Phillycheaz |
Aradel |
Battlefield |
|
| 3-4 |
Bparousis |
Lulu |
Battlefield Bypass |
|
| JK007 |
Lulu |
Battlefield Burn |
|
Release of Lulu and Orrick expansions.
Shufflebus Season 4 September 2021
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Inquisitor |
Harold |
Battlefield |
|
| 2 |
Brian B |
Harold |
Battlefield |
|
| 3-4 |
Kaukomieli |
James |
Aggro |
|
| Nick Conley |
Jessa |
Spindown Burn |
|
Ashes International League Season 4 March 2021
| Placing |
Player |
| 1 |
Brian B |
| 2 |
Mbauers |
| 3-4 |
? |
| ? |
Shufflebus Season 3 July 2021
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Carl Diaz |
Maeoni |
Bypass Combo |
|
| 2 |
Brian B |
Brennen |
Burn |
|
| 3-4 |
Shufflebus Jesse |
Odette |
Battlefield |
|
| Phillycheaz |
Aradel |
Battlefield Bypass |
|
Shufflebus Season 2 June 2021
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Mbauers |
Coal |
Aggro Burn |
|
| 2 |
Carl Diaz |
Harold |
Spindown Battlefield |
|
| 3-4 |
Inquisitor |
Harold |
Battlefield Burn |
|
| Phillycheaz |
Xander |
Battlefield |
|
AIL Season 2 May 2021
| Placing |
Player |
| 1 |
Shufflebus Jesse |
| 2 |
Carl Diaz |
| 3-4 |
? |
| ? |
Shufflebus Season May 2021
| Placing |
Player |
Phoenixborn |
Deck Style |
Decklist |
| 1 |
Carl Diaz |
Maeoni |
Bypass Combo |
|
| 2 |
Stefanos |
Rimea |
Fatigue |
|
| 3-4 |
Mbauers |
Odette |
|
|
| Bparousis |
Xander |
|
|
2021-06-02 Exhortation, Massive Growth, River Skald and Summon Shining Hydra added to chained list.
Release of Ashes Reborn
The Collection of Ashes WIP
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19Dfi7IGh2WVkU1tM0n1aH3tCn4BwGcVo8nLNJueHvrk/edit?resourcekey=&gid=224800960#gid=224800960
| Pod A |
|
Pod B |
|
Pod C |
|
Pod D |
|
Topcut Bracket |
|
| abby |
3-1 (+42) |
URS |
4-0 (+69) |
Carl |
3-0 (+47) |
Fred |
2-0 (+42) |
Round of 8 |
Top 4 |
Finals |
Winner |
| Ninja |
2-1 (+15) |
Brian |
3-1 (+52) |
nosuch |
2-1 (+16) |
Brancus |
2-1 (+5) |
M1: Abby (Koji) v Brancus (Rimea) |
M5: Abby v Brian |
Brian v Fred |
Fred |
| ebfritz |
1-1 (-2) |
redking |
2-2 (-17) |
jolien |
1-2 (-18) |
shadow |
1-2 (-26) |
M2: Brian (Hope) vs Carl (Rimea) |
M6: UnderRugSwept v Fred |
|
|
| treatment |
0-1 (-18) |
killercactus |
1-3 (-28) |
apple |
0-3 (-45) |
Bowman |
0-2 (-21) |
M3: UnderRugSwept (Dimona) vs Nosuchmethod (James) |
|
|
|
| inquisitor |
0-2 (-37) |
waves |
0-4 (-79) |
|
|
|
|
M4: Ninja Dance Mat (Rimea) vs Fred (Rin) |
|
|
|
1
2
3-4