Deckbuilding
Deck lists from complete collections ready to go and tips to constructing your own decks.
Learn from the best and tweak to your liking!
https://ashes.live/ is the de facto online deck-building tool. See published lists from other players, import them to Ashteki, create and share your own!
- Master Set Only
- Adventuring Party
- The Reconstructed Series
- Guides
- Deluxe Master Series
- Core + 4 Series
- Dual Duel Series
- Master Set + Corpse of Viros
Master Set Only
First Adventure
Two decks from only the Master Set. These two decks are designed to be played against each other and offer a better experience for new player. These deck lists are designed by Discord community member Jayson Lindley (aka ImpossibleGerman).
Building Basics
These deck lists are designed by PHG playtesters, and Discord community members, Lizzie Hart (aka littlelizard), and Brian Broughman (aka Brian B). They use just the Ashes Reborn Rise of the Phoenixborn Master Set. These decks aim to give you the tools and inspiration to make more fun, unique, and refined decks than just the preconstructed decklists.
PHG Articles with write-ups
Ashes.Live links for importing
Master Set Upgrade
Killer Cactus has moved around only the cards in the Reborn Master Set to try and balance out the starter decks. Players may have to share conjurations, but will never have to share cards or dice.
The Mist Ginger (Aradel)
The Bloody Baroness (Jessa)
The Masked Maniac (Noah)
The Hostess with the Mostess (Saria)
The Vixen Viper (Maeoni)
The Basher Slasher (Coal)
Alternate MSU (Master Set Upgrade)
Danicus the Mediocre's take on rearranging the Reborn Master Set cards focuses more on splitting up the really good cards to spread out the goodness, but also splitting up the really... less useful cards so no single deck has to deal with a chunk of duds.
Massive Storm Girl (Aradel)
Gentle Jessa (Jessa)
Denial Noah (Noah)
The After Party (Saria)
The Revamped Viper (Maeoni)
Rhino Feast (Coal)
Adventuring Party
A series of decks, each created from a complete collection. These decks are strongly recommended by the entire Discord community for players once they've learned the game. These can be played casually or competitively, and most match-ups within each set are balanced. These deck lists are designed by Discord community member Jayson Lindley (aka ImpossibleGerman).
AP1 (Brennen, Fiona, Harold, Jericho, Odette, Xander)
AP2 (Coal, Echo, Koji, Leo, Lulu, Orrick)
AP3 (Dimona, Hope, Jessa, Namine, Rin, Saria)
AP4 (Aradel, James, Maeoni, Rowan, Sembali, Tristan, Victoria)
The Reconstructed Series
The Reconstructed Series
A series created by Plaid Hat Games that uses each precon as a base.
- Each deck must contain at least half of the original pre-con (15 cards)
- Each deck must contain at least 1 copy of the Phoenixborn unique card.
- Each deck may swap up to 1 die, but must only use the original dice types
https://www.plaidhatgames.com/board-games/ashes-rise-phoenixborn/ashes-reconstructed-decks/
Guides
YouTube: ChaosTheory's Ashes Reborn Deck Building Guide
Deluxe Master Series
This is a series of decks built by killercactus using only the cards from the Master Set and the three Deluxe expansions (The Law of Lions, The Song of Soaksend and The Breaker of Fate), as these cards are a common starting point for new players to get into Ashes. These lists are meant to help new players get a feel for how to start deckbuilding more competitive lists from the precons, and give them ideas on what each Phoenixborn is uniquely suited to do, so that as they get new cards they have a better idea of what to build in.
if you’re trying to build two of these lists out of the same collection and there’s overlap, DM killercactus on the Ashes Discord and he will suggest card swaps to allow the lists to be built simultaneously.
Aradel Summergaard:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/429a7bd2-c19f-49f7-90ba-4ceda26cf7ad/
Maeoni Viper:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/971d67c6-619d-4e98-a047-1cd358df854c/
Noah Redmoon:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/bd341d24-6124-49a6-b788-d1f1fe95c539/
Coal Roarkwin:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/b436bfcc-bfc1-4b08-bfa4-f19a0a4ff680/
Jessa Na Ni:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/e245312f-2cdf-48fe-9a56-7d7aa1a489ca/
Saria Guideman:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/1935eb46-aae1-432e-8bb4-ea6ec4e05359/
Odette Diamoncrest:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/3142b065-74b3-4b60-9bcd-1ec7076c66f3/
Namine Hymntide:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/2a1b04a4-1dc7-4b45-8394-2efaed39ad08/
Jericho, Reborn:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/0e478072-f038-4f03-a116-28c8c791645d/
Below are non-killercactus decks that can be built at the same time from the same collection without any overlap. They are less focused than the above decks, but should still be good for some simultaneous fun:
Odette "Doll Burn":
https://ashes.live/decks/share/59de2e32-a420-4c8d-bc45-713232ca0679/
Jericho "Rhino Repeat":
https://ashes.live/decks/share/167a3a9d-2629-47ca-97dd-6add7805b9cb/
Coal Abundance "Ping King":
https://ashes.live/decks/share/e21ebcd4-1a9f-4df9-a069-10daea7403dc/
Namine's Status Tokens:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/02fc799b-dd41-4403-bd69-187862340a73/
Aradel Swarm:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/575af1fc-853e-42b0-a1f3-fe0def955602/
Saria Hypnotize/Mill:
https://ashes.live/decks/share/3affd3bd-d051-47b8-b3ae-e0b00cbbf9f0/
Core + 4 Series
The following are two sets of four decks each that can be built simultaneously using a single collection of the Master Set and the first four expansions that were released: The Roaring Rose, The Duchess of Deception, The Frostdale Giants, and The Children of Blackcloud. These decks can also be located by searching "Core + 4" as the title on Ashes.live.
Set A
This first group has more iconic deck types, with the exception of Leo due to how many dice of each type were left after building the first three decks.
Set B
This second group has more cards split up between the decks so each deck has at least some of the tools to deal with each others' strengths.
Dual Duel Series
Below are decks in killercactus' Dual Duel series. These decks are designed for newer players to get into deckbuilding and understand how more competitive Ashes decks work while sticking to just 2 colors and straightforward lines of play.
Each deck will be laid out defining the Style I’ve built the deck in that helps point towards how to pilot it, and the Pressure Tactic the deck uses to force the game to a conclusion. I believe that all Ashes decks should be built with these two things in mind, and pilots should understand them going into a game.
Here’s a breakdown of my different Styles and Pressure Tactics I believe that most Ashes decks can be divided into these buckets:
Styles:
Tall: Create one or two really big units and protect them until they’re ready to strike or use them to protect your Phoenixborn.
Wide: Create many small, efficient units to overwhelm your opponents battlefield and potentially attack around their blockers to hit the Phoenixborn.
Control: Focus on limiting the opponent’s options and keeping opponent’s units down either by continually destroying them with spells or unit attacks, or by continually exhausting them.
Pressure Tactics:
Bypass: Swinging past your opponent’s units to damage the Phoenixborn. This can be done by giving your units evasion so they cannot be blocked, or by destroying or exhausting all of your opponents units to allow yours to swing through.
Burn: Deal damage to the opposing Phoenixborn using spells or abilities that directly deal damage to or place wounds on a Phoenixborn.
Mill: Focus on removing cards from the opponent’s deck either by discarding them from the deck directly, forcing the opponent to draw them, or manipulating the opponents dice to make them meditate more and discard their own cards to do it. This forces the opponent into fatigue faster.
Build-a-Bear (Aradel)
Scourge of Northfell (Rin)
Ode to Biter (Maeoni)
Passive Aggression (Saria)
Finch Up (Leo)
Pact of Pinging (Lulu)
Big Butts… of Virtue (Odette)
Ritualist Rimea List (Rimea)
Candyman Candyman Candyman (Harold)
Fish Fry (Tristan)
Chant of Vitality (Orrick)
Bounce to the Heavens (Brennen)
A Different Reanimation (Dimona)
Death Pact (James)
Fallen Wolves (Koji)
Turtle Soup (Jessa)
I’ve Got No Strings (Asrea)
Horse Swag (Jericho)
Time to Cut a Fool (Coal)
Reaction Time (Noah)
Purple Exhaustion Tricks (Echo)
Spin to Win (Victoria)
Mist and Shadow… (Hope)
Life Will Find a Way (Xander)
The decks for Aradel, Leo, Echo, Noah, and Harold can be built simultaneously out of one collection with only having to substitute one charm dice when playing Aradel versus Leo. Hope, Saria, and James' decks can be also built at the same time.
Master Set + Corpse of Viros
Core + Corpse
These Core + Corpse decks assume you only have the Master Set and the Corpse of Viros expansion. From those, six different unique decks can be built simultaneously. However, since the Master Set only comes with 40 dice, you may have to rearrange the dice required when picking any two decks.
Calamity Jessa (Jessa)
Give & Take (Maeoni)
Yoyo (Brennen)
Strength in Abundance (Coal)
Of Birds and Blood (Saria)
Hard Mode (No Allies) (Aradel)
Corpse Rebuild
No Such Method remixed the Reborn Master Set and the Corpse of Viros expansion, but kept the dice distribution the same as the original decks (i.e. 5 dice of one type plus 5 dice of another type.
The Mist Guardian (Corpse Rebuild)
The Men of Iron (Corpse Rebuild)
The Bloodwoods Queen(Corpse Rebuild)
The Snakes in Silver (Corpse Rebuild)
The Shadows of Viros (Corpse Rebuild)
The Cloudsea Siren (Corpse Rebuild)