Learn to Play

Felt Table is a fan created website to play card games against AI opponents. Think of it as playing virtually over Skype or webcam except instead of another player, you will be playing against a computer in your web browser.

The Master Set and some expansions are supported, but not all. This site is intended for people looking to learn the mechanics of the game.

Team Covenant - Webcam

This league has been discontinued.

~~https://discord.com/channels/727928658190401636/741054569093660784~~

~~https://teamcovenant.com/product/discord-ashes-rise-phoenixborn-online-league-subscription~~

Interested in playing a casual Ashes Reborn match every week, getting a set of alt-art promos, including a promo phoenixborn, and using those beautiful, real cards? Join us for our Ashes Reborn Discord League – a recurring, quarterly (three month) league open to all players!

The league runs for 12 weeks, with one match happening every Wednesday night at 8PM Central Time. Games are played via webcam in the Covenant Discord, with pairings announced that night. At the conclusion of the league, every participant who was present for at least 8 of their 12 games will be mailed 4x Alt-Art Cards (usually a phoenixborn with a playset of alt-arts in the same style). Spoiler alert – these promos are unbelievable. Scroll through the images to see this league’s cards.

Format: Constructed, webcam
Roll call: 7:45PM Central Time, Wednesday nights
Round start: 8PM Central Time , Wednesday nights
Sign Up Period: Sign-ups close ~2 weeks before the start date

Cost: $30.00 USD / release

Tabletop Simulator

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2386753960

This mod features complete organized card collection, all preconstructed decks and all of Plaid Hat Games' Re-Constructed Decks, as well as tokens, dice reference cards and full Rulebook. It also features a deck builder tool as well as full integration with Ashes.live to spawn decks directly from the website!

Starting Off

What To Buy - PvP

Ashes 1.0 vs Ashes Reborn 1.5

Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn was the original game developed by Isaac Vega in 2015. This game has been supplanted by Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn, developed by Nick Conley and released in 2021.

Differences

Ashes (2015) is common referred to in the community as "1.0". All products (master set and expansion) are sold in white boxes

Ashes Reborn (2021) is commonly referred to in the community as "1.5" or simply "Reborn". All products are sold in orange-red boxes. The ruleset was completely revamped, and a large portion of the original card base were replaced, therefore 1.0 and 1.5 are incompatible with each other. For details on what changed, see the Plaid Hat Games "Ashes Reborn Primer" document on https://www.plaidhatgames.com/board-games/ashes-rise-phoenixborn/.

The upgrade kit will replace cards from the Master Set through all the original expansions to make them playable for 1.5. The only exception to this is the Jericho 1.0 deck which was completely retired and eventually replaced by The Breaker of Fate expansion.

A marked-up copy of the upgrade kit card list is also available that highlights which cards are usable out-of-the-box, and which require the associated expansion due to linked cards not being included. It can be found here: changed_cards_list.pdf. At minimum, the document assumes you own the 2015 white-box Master set.

In general, 1.0 is no longer played in any form.

If you own (or buy on the secondary market) the 1.0 collection (and any number of expansions), you should buy the 1.5 Upgrade Kit. This will update the cards in your collection to be 1.5 compatible, and is often cheaper than re-purchasing all 1.5 products from scratch.

If you do not own any original products, you can jump straight in with the Ashes Reborn Master Set.

Which expansions

Once you've purchased the Master Set the common advice is to pick whichever expansions appeal, either art style or card-wise. Most expansions require either Divine, Sympathy, or Time** dice and therefore it is strongly recommended that the Deluxe Expansions (which introduce those dice) are purchased earlier.

**The Time magic (introduced in Jericho, Breaker of Fate) doesn't begin to "shine" until the later expansions (Hope, Dimona, Tristan, Rowan) when status tokens have more uses and impact.

Visual Buying Guide

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Starting Off

What To Buy - PvE

Red Rains was not designed to be a standalone product. PHG intends for you to have the Master Set to be able to use it.

If you're completely new to Ashes, the PHG bundle is made specifically for you -- it's the ultimate entry point for both game modes.
If you have the Master Set already, just sub to TC to get Red Rains at launch and you'll have everything you need.

Starting Off

What To Play

Starting Off

Precons

https://wiki.ashes.live/books/learn-to-play/page/preconstructed-matchups

** Note this applies to player vs player ("pvp"). The Red Rains solo/coop game ("pve") has a campaign mode in which is it suggested you start with the precons.

Master Set Only

Once you are comfortable with the basics of Ashes mechanics and rules, you can move on to building decks that use only the core/master set. There are a few options listed here:

https://wiki.ashes.live/books/deckbuilding/page/master-set-only

Next Steps

When you (eventually) end up with a complete collection of Ashes, you're ready to dive into the deep end of deck building. There are near infinite ways of assembling a deck which can be overwhelming. To help with that there are two traditionally recommended routes to start with.

PHG's Reconstructed Series

The Aventuring Party Sets

Starting Off

How To Organize Your Collection

Card Organization

This question comes up frequently and there are a variety of preferences, however they broadly fall into two categories.

Sort your collection by Precon
- This is good for players who store their collection in binders as it means you don't have to rearrange cards each time a new expansion comes out.
- This is the recommended way for players of the Red Rains solo/coop mode, especially if you intend to play the campaign.
- Con: You need to know which release a card is from when you want to include.
- Con: You cannot find and compare types of cards when building a deck as they are spread across precons.
Sort your collection by card type and alphabetically
- This matches how Ashes.live organizes cards and is very conducive to deck-building.
- Con: Take a long time (full collection) to sort initially, and you have to maintain it.
- Con: Not good for pick up and play with friends/new players, or Red Rains play.
Sort to play Draft: 1 copy of every non-Phoenixborn card then by one of the above methods
- This is only if you're playing exclusively in person without building decks ahead of time.
- Con: It requires a lot of clean up since you have to put all of the cards away after each game
- Con: Draft encourages more randomness so combos are harder to make happen
- Con: All players need to already be familiar with the cards, especially which ones are generally good and which ones are less efficient.
Sort your collection by dice types
- This is helpful after choosing dice types for a deck to easily see what other cards can be used
- Con: Figuring out where to put cards with different dice type costs is a riddle as old as the Master Set itself.

Storage Solutions

Master Set Box
- At the time of writing, all cards can fit in the master/core box. If you sleeve all your cards, all cards except the conjurations should be able to fit. Conjurations can then be kept in a deluxe expansion box.
- There are custom dividers available on Go7Gaming, Etsy, or other manufacturers for the master and deluxe expansion boxes
Binders
- Binders are most often recommended for players who sort by precon, as that is a sorting method that does not require rearranging cards within the binders
Gamegenic Dungeon 1100+
- The Gamegenic Dungeon is a popular option for storing a complete collection
- As of the February 2023, it can comfortably hold a complete collection that is single-sleeved, with room to likely support some upcoming expansions
- Dice and tokens can be stored in empty space to the side of the cards

Pictured above: a single-sleeved collection of all cards prior to the Time cycle stored in a Go7Gaming LGC-006 insert. After the Time cycle arrived, I moved the Phoenixborn cards and Time dice to a similar insert from Etsy designed for the deluxe expansion boxes.

Pictured above: A full collection of Ashes Reborn as of February 2023, single-sleeved in Dragon Shield matte sleeves, stored in a Gamegenic Dungeon 1100+, with dice, tokens, and reference cards stored to side of the cards

Preconstructed Matchups

Playing the preconstructed decks is a great way to get into Ashes Reborn! However, because the game is balanced mainly around constructed play, some of the preconstructed decks do not fare as well. Here is a list of recommended precon matchups.

Before you take any of these matchups for a spin, though, you should always remember to check Ashes.live or the FAQ for updated First Five suggestions! The suggestions in the rulebook are sometimes not the best, and of course expansions do not have recommended First Five suggestions included. (Choosing your own First Five is of course recommended once you have a little experience with a given deck, but the FAQ suggestions will get you into the game faster.)

Master Set

Unfortunately, two of the decks within the Master Set are the worst offenders for poorly constructed preconstructed decks: Noah Redmoon's deck has several dead cards (particularly Bound Soul and Sleight of Hand), cards that just make very little sense in that particular deck (Resummon and Small Sacrifice), and one card that is situational enough it's difficult to get good value out of it (Shadow Strike); and Jessa Na Ni's deck has relatively few cards that can reliably put damage on her opponent along with dead cards of its own (particularly Blood Transfer and Cut the Strings--widely considered the worst cards in the game-- but Blood Shaman, Living Doll, and Summon Blood Puppet are all situational to the point of occasional uselessness). Saria's deck is also occasionally problematic, in that it doesn't have a very solid gameplan (it was intended to showcase mill cards, but it doesn't lean into mill heavily enough so a lot comes down to how well you can leverage Seaside Raven).

The remaining three decks all provide good matchups:

Maeoni vs. Aradel: this is my favorite starting matchup. Maeoni relies on a single large chunk of unblockable damage, while Aradel relies on lots of small units. The two decks also pack counters to one another (e.g. Steady Gaze vs. Refresh). The Aradel player will likely have a slightly harder time, thanks to Maeoni having access to two of the best conjurations in the game (Gilder and Silver Snake).
Aradel vs. Coal: this is my second favorite matchup. Coal has lots of tools to handle Aradel's weak units, and battles between the two are often brutal slugfests. There's only one important thing to know: the Coal player must not summon Iron Rhino round 1! Although Iron Rhino looks awesome (such a big unit!) it's a bit of a trap because it costs so many dice. It can be situationally good, but is virtually never worth it in the first round.
Coal vs. Maeoni: similar to the matchup against Aradel, except Coal has Hammer Knight.

I additionally enjoy Maeoni vs. Jessa. Yes, Jessa is not a great precon, but if you have two players who are used to the type of complexity found in these sorts of card battlers, this can be a really engaging matchup because the two players are fighting along such different axes.

Saria vs. Maeoni/Aradel/Coal will provide a potentially decent game, as well, but this isn't something I would recommend for your first game; both players will want to know how the first three decks tick before you add Saria into the mix.

If you have one player who is a lot better at Ashes than the other, given them Noah Redmoon as a handicap (and if you want to really handicap them, don't allow them to choose their First Five; make them use the one in the rulebook). Otherwise, I don't really recommend playing the Noah precon under normal circumstances.

Ashes Beginner Tips - How to Avoid Autolosing

By Timothy Cathcart

Losing by Default

Fairly often I see new players make the same mistakes over and over again in Ashes Reborn PvP and sometimes I even make these mistakes myself when I lose focus while deckbuilding or playing. Of course, this is fine! Making mistakes is part of the fun of playing any game and its important to have a healthy relationship with losing.

However, these mistakes can often almost instantly lose you the game since Ashes can be pretty brutal and low variance and every small advantage matters. If you are trying to improve your decision making and tweak your gameplay, its almost pointless to focus on the small stuff until you really get the big stuff down. Here is a few tips to avoid plays that will pretty quickly lose you the game, regardless of anything else you do!

Spend All Ten of Your Dice in Round 1!

Sometimes after a game I will discuss what went wrong with my opponent. Sometimes it was all about a big Phoenixborn Guard at the wrong time, or an attack that should have been against a different unit. But none of that will really matter if your opponent is spending all 10 of their dice and you are not!

I've been the victim of this mistake as well. I've built a new deck and I chosen my First Five. Rats! The total costs of the cards in my hand only adds up to 9 dice! Big oof. At that point there are some clever ways out, namely spending your extra dice on dice powers. Nature dice power sides are really the exception here since its not that terrible to spend 1 dice for 1 direct damage, but you're still in a bit of hole to climb out of. Really you should just avoid this problem in the first place by making sure your planned First Five adds up to ten dice.

Spend All Ten of Your Dice in Round 2+!

Just like in round 1, if your opponent spends all of their dice on great cards in round 2 and you spend fewer, chances are you will lose! Now this isn't quite as catastrophic as round 1 so you might still be able to pull off the win if you are already in an advantageous position, but you really want to avoid this as much as possible.

Making sure you can spend 10 dice in round 2 and onwards in a bit trickier than in round 1 since you don't know what cards you'll draw. Count up the summon costs of whatever spellboard cards you have in your first five and possibly your PB ability cost. The rest will have to come from costs of cards in hand. This is where deckbuilding is super important, you should mentally set aside dice for your spellboard when choosing cards not in your First Five.

Here is an example deck dice spread:

And here is the First Five:

And Aradel's Ability also costs 1 nature dice.

In round 1 the dice costs of every card adds up to 10. Excellent!

Now, in round 2 if you summon every single unit and activate rejuvenate and activate the shade prowler it will cost a total of 9 dice. This is actually quite unusual and a very expensive spellboard, so with a hand of 5 cards it will be easy to spend that extra 1 dice! However its still worth noting which dice will be available! It wont be the illusion dice since that will be spent on the Shade Prowler. It also wont be the time dice, since that will be spent on the Cloudburst Gryphon. With 9 dice spent on this spellboard, only a Nature or Divine dice will be left! So a safe deckbuilding strategy would be to fill this deck with 1 cost nature and divine cards!

Things will be more difficult with a more common, cheaper spellboard. With say only 5 dice to spend on summons each round you'd better make sure the cards in your deck can easily be played using the 5 remaining dice! If you end up not being able to spend all 10 dice in round 2+ then you'll probably lose, and will need to go back to deckbuilding!

Of course, you wont want to summon everything all the time every round, you might want to forgo summoning something to play more cards from hand...

Don't Spend the Wrong Dice on Basics!

A classic mistake that even I sometimes still make that can instantly lose me the game is being unable to spend my last dice on a card I wanted to, because I forgot that I needed to keep back a dice to pay for it! If you have lots of basic costs then you can think you have a lot of wiggle room to spend dice in different combinations, but then forget you need every single dice of a colour as its colour.

Here is an example:

These are the cards available to you in round 2 and your remaining unspent dice are:

What are your options here really? If you summon the Seafoam Snapper and play the Farewell for 1 dice each you will be unable to pay the summon costs of both False Demon (2) and Shadow Hound (3). That would leave you with a dice unspent, terrible!

So if all the illusion dice here are required for the Shadow Hound and the False Demon, then you face a decision, Farewell or Seafoam Snapper. In this way, in Ashes you sometimes have to choose what you are going to play, long in advance before you play it! Be careful and mentally (or even physically) set aside dice that you will need in the future for paying costs.

Don't Pass When You Have Spent Fewer Dice!

So we've established that spending dice is important, and spending fewer dice than your opponent is a recipe for disaster!

A classic mistake I see is the incorrect pass. This one can be devastating and immediately lose you the game! If you pass and your opponent passes the round will end early, before each player has spent all of their dice. If you have spend more dice than your opponent, you've probably got more value that round! And, if you've spent fewer dice, you might be in real trouble! Just because you think your next move might not work out too well, don't lose sight of the round's natural end! A incorrect pass is something even the best players can fall foul to. "That was probably a mistake" is a classic message to see after a double pass ends the round early.

Learn the Rules First and the Exceptions Later

If you are an experienced player you will possibly disagree with some of these tips, on principle that there are exceptions to these rules! In round 1 its impossible to justify spending only 9 dice when your opponent has spent 10, but you might plan to spend that dice on something risky like a card you draw or a backup dice power. In round 2 you might have a better play that involves spending 1 dice instead of 2 and leaving 1 unspent, but it would have to be a really good play to convince me.

Once you get better at the game, passing early is also going to be something a bit more subtle than simply counting dice spent. Depending on your opponent's fast agro gameplan, passing with fewer dice spent might be the better play if it slows down the game which suits you better in that moment,

Improving Your Ashes Play

Ashes can be a brutally difficult game with a high skill ceiling, but you might be surprised how much more of an even playing field it is when you are no longer handicapped by these game losing mistakes. Once you are ensuring you spend all 10 dice every round and aren't making mistakes with which dice you spend, you can really start focusing on more subtle ways of improving your gameplay and deckbuilding!

Etiquette

Before Play

Testing and Scouting

If a player is going to be your upcoming opponent for a tournament match and they are conducting testing for that match, spectating on that testing is discouraged as it may provide an unfair advantage. For players who are conducting testing for tournament matches, it is recommended to make your online games private to avoid any unintentional scouting.

Spectating

For competitive online matches, check prior to the game whether the other player is ok with you inviting spectators to watch.

Recording and Streaming

Check prior to the game whether the other player is ok with you recording and/or streaming a match.

Chains in Casual Play

The general assumption by the Discord community for online play (Ashteki) is that the chain rules are in effect for every constructed game.
- If you wish to play without the chain rules this should be made explicit before the start of the game, and before decks have been chosen. Either include it in the game title or mention it to players who join.
Preconstructed games do not play with chains due to the imbalanced nature and restrictions of the decks.

Time Limit / Sudden Death

For online tournament games, rules such as sudden death may apply and it is disappointing to have a game finish in an unexpected way. Please confirm any time limit with sudden death settings that the player creating the game has selected prior to starting the match. Make sure that you understand via your opponent, or the Tournament Organiser, what those settings mean.

Spectators

While spectating, try not to interrupt the play. If you spot a problem with a mandatory part of the game state (a “must” effect), ask the players to pause and either notify the judge (if it is a tournament match) or mention to the players what has been missed. If you interrupt the play for other reasons, the players may politely ask you to stop spectating.

Spectators are not to provide assistance to either player during a game. This can be especially difficult if you see the winning move, are watching a strategic blunder, or just want to show off your superior deductive reasoning skills! This behaviour can ruin the player experience if you don’t keep quiet and allow players to learn through play. The main exceptions would be where the players ask for assistance with an online game interface (such as how to do a particular action in TTS or how to perform a manual action in ashteki) or a rule interpretation where neither player is certain what to do and they ask a spectator if they know (such as how does Harold’s Hunter’s Mark interact with Root Armor?).

During Play

Conceding

If you need to leave a game before it's over, for any reason, inform you opponent before conceding.
If you feel the game state is such that your loss is inevitable but it will take several more turns, it is acceptable to concede but not necessary.

Take-backs

If no new information or decision point was made, such as cards (eg reactions) played or discarded (eg meditated) it is generally in bad spirit to not allow a take back.
If minor things happened, feel free to ask your opponent but they may say no.
If major things happened, it would be in bad spirit to ask.

Ashteki Disconnections

Sometimes, despite your best intentions, you may have internet issues while trying to complete a game of Ashes on Ashteki. It is recommended that you try to use an alternate network (e.g. your cellular/mobile phone provider) to contact the other player on Discord to let them know the issue that has occurred. If you cannot reconnect within a specified time, Ashteki will eventually concede the game on your behalf.

Strategy Tips

General - WIP

Important Caveat

Ashes is a deeply strategic and dynamic game. As a result of Phoenixborn matchups, deck-building, and meta changes (from expansions or changes to chain rules) it is nigh possible to give any absolute advice that will apply in every situation. Therefore any strategy tips should be viewed as general guidelines that will lend themselves to improving your play over time. Assume any concrete statements are prefaced with "generally" or "usually".

Setting Yourself Up For Success

Play known good decks

Whether starting out as a new player, a fumbling amateur, or grizzled veteran, it's never too late to play known good decks. Good decks naturally bubble up over time, "qualifying" as good by repeated successful tournament performance. While they may not always be meta relevant, they will have strong and clear plans that are easy understand and straightforward to pilot. Playing good decks removes deck-building as a variable on your path to improving game-play; you can more easily assess mistakes in your in-game choices.

Use known decks as a base for deck-building

Deck-building from scratch can be very intimidating as a new player, especially as the card pool continues to grow and the meta shifts. Starting with a known good deck as a base for building will allow you to limit the number of choices you need to make while still allowing you to flex your own style and preference.

Play with a deck consistently

The deck building in Ashes is so open that it is incredibly fun to continuously brew new ideas and give them a try, and you should not be discouraged from doing so. However for the purposes of increasing your skill and success, playing with single deck consistently gives a lot of benefits:

you will learn to identify the weaknesses of your deck, and thus be able to better strategize how to overcome them in specific matchups
you will internalize certain sequencing that needs to be done to maximize your turns and avoid mistakes where you can't afford (either dice or main/side action) to do what you want or need in a round
you'll remember the cards and better assess your options now and the probability of drawing them
you'll understand the tempo of your deck and thus when is a good time to attack and defend, PB guard, and in general whether the current situation is helpful or hurtful to your win condition

Do the dice math

Ashes has a fixed resource system of 10 dice per round, and you always want a plan that enables you spend all 10 each round (you won't always need to, but you should be able to if necessary). As such, you want to ensure the dice types and amount ("spread") support the cost of your ready spells and some, or all, of your drawn cards.

At a basic level, each die can support between 3-5 costs of a given type. That means, for each type, adding up all the non-basic costs on the 25 cards in deck (exclude first five cost) and dividing by 3 will give you the number of dice of that type you need in your pool. (Use 3 as a more consistent/stable factor, or 5 for a less consistent/"tight" spread).

You also want to balance the costs between your spellboard and probable card draws. If your spellboard will cost 6 dice each round, then you want to have a very low (or 1) average cost of cards in deck as you won't be able to play them all.

For more details see steps 6-13 here: https://wiki.ashes.live/books/articles/page/ashes-normal-coaching

Watch game replays

A great way to learn is to watch other players and other PB/deck matchups, even if there's no active commentary. Jump in to a live game as spectator and see how players sequence their moves, observe what works and what doesn't. See whether there are cards that are particularly helpful in certain matchups that you could include in your deck.

There are also some great community members that record and publish their games with commentary. Sometimes watching is just as fun as (and less stressful than) playing. https://wiki.ashes.live/books/podcasts-and-videos?shelf=5

Also, record your own games and rewatch them. This one takes time, but it’s a great way to evaluate lines of play that you could’ve taken. Lines of play are much easier to see as an observer than in the heat of the moment.

Play against the good players (don't be afraid, ask questions)

Blow to the ego aside, you can learn a lot from playing against the best if you pay attention. Watching how and when they choose to play cards in their first five, when to attack, when to use a PB guard vs unit guard, when to block vs taking a hit...there are so many nuances and situational contexts to Ashes that can be hard to explain but much easier to soak in when playing good players. Even more so since the community is incredibly welcoming and virtually anybody is willing to answer questions or give pointers.

No shame in losing, and don't give yourself excuses

There is an element of luck/randomness to Ashes, true; but 9/10 the better player with the better deck will win. If you are serious about improving, set yourself up for success and don't make decisions that give you an excuse for your losses. That means doing all the above. That means registering a deck you know and believe in for a tournament rather than a last minute or "jank" idea that you can blame. There is no shame in losing; Ashes has a steep learning curve when it comes to decision-making. Play in earnest, learn from your mistakes, then come back and do it all again. You can and will improve your gameplay.

In Game

Play with patience - slow the aggression

It’s easy to want to remain on the offensive. However, in Ashes, each player has 10 dice every round. While there are times when you want to push aggression and control the tempo of the opponent, your first instinct should be patience. Oftentimes, throwing all of your units at the opposing Phoenixborn is not the correct play, and will leave you open to your opponent playing out their units with their remaining dice and systematically picking your board apart. It is important to remember that due to the round structure of Ashes, turning your units directly into damage on your opponent's Phoenixborn can backfire if the opponent instead uses their units to attack your exhausted units. That is because, next round, they will start with a board full of strong and healthy units that can quickly close the health differential created by your initial aggression.

Play your plan A and make sure your best FF plan demands a response

The best decks in Ashes come out of the gate hard. That doesn’t always mean super aggressively, but it does mean that they know what they want to do and how they want to execute it. It’s easy to get caught up in counter-playing your opponent in Round 1 when choosing your first five, but generally you want your opening to be the one that demands an answer from the opponent. When deckbuilding or when looking at the strong decks, try to choose a first five that presents a threat that, if left unchecked, will setup your game plan and put your opponent on the back foot. Test out that open against cards you feel would be difficult to deal with, so you know how to respond to them when you run into them in-game.

Test with intention, especially sequencing in round 1

This builds off of the prior point. Once you have an open that you feel demands a response, test both against and not against that response. Stress test this - play against what you feel is the worst possible matchup for your open, and learn in what order to play and activate your cards that gives you the best outcomes. You get to start with 5 cards, but it’s up to you in what order to play those cards. Don’t get tunnel visioned into thinking you always have to lay your books down before summoning a unit, for instance. Play with different sequences and continue to look for opportunities to attack when a good trade is available. This type of testing will increase your confidence in Round 1, and therefore the game as a whole, because the outcome of the first Round can easily decide how the rest of the game unfolds.

Pay attention to value in trades

Ashes is a game of inches; a game of incremental advantage. Be on the lookout for situations where you can gain a small advantage over your opponent. Small permutations in the way your turns and your attacks unfold can give you one more damage on your opponent, or be the difference between killing their knight or leaving it at one health.

Plan dice expenditure in the round

Manage your side action economy

As always, the golden rule of Ashes is: Plan ahead! There is nothing worst than realizing you could have won here and now... if only you had meditated that one Divine die to play Fork Lightning into Crescendo on the swing, clearing the enemy's blockers and reducing their Phoenixborn's life total to 0. The same idea can also apply to dice powers, especially the ceremonial, illusion, divine, time and nature dice powers. When used in the right moment they can have incredible impact.

Always know your opponent's unique and ability

One of the easiest mistakes to make in Ashes is forgetting what your opponent's Phoenixborn ability and unique/loyalty card are; what they do, what they can target, and what they cost. It can easily lead to sequencing mistakes, or putting out units that will immediately be lost before you can make use of them and therefore put you at a dice/card disadvantage (examples not limited to Odette's Enter the Fray and Sword of Virtue, Tristan's Tsunami Shot, Harold's Hunter's Mark, and Jessa's Fear). This is also one of the easiest mistakes to rectify by simply asking your opponent (if playing in person) or keeping Ashes.live open for reference while playing online.

Prepare to pivot

When planning your round or even your turn, you need to be prepared for your opponent to throw a wrench in your plan. Be on the lookout for key removal spells or important reaction spells. This means you need to be nimble and prepare contingency plans, but also to be ready to change those plans if the situation arises, or if a better opportunity comes up. Having tunnel vision on a single objective can leave you with your guard down if you failed to predict your opponent's actions, or it can make you miss an opportunity to outright achieve a game winning advantage..

Frog Up

The Natural die power (frog "ping") is widely considered the best dice power in Ashes due to it's ability to damage and/or destroy units. It's incredibly versatile and non-committal. You can clear a blocker before swinging; you can set up removal with other cards, particularly Fester, or leave a unit vulnerable to attack in a subsequent round. The threat of a frog ping alone can alter the sequencing of your opponent, and also makes a pass on their side risky because you can ping a unit before your own pass into the next round. If you are in nature, you should always have a frog ready, even if you able to fully spend your dice elsewhere.

Be conservative and patient with your guard; let units die

Your guard is an incredibly potent resource in Ashes. When used correctly, it can give you crucial tempo, essentially forcing the opponent to virtually waste their main action to no effect on the Battlefield. It can also save an important unit that will produce carryover value into next round. Once your guard is broken, every unit your opponent fields instantly becomes direct removal. This means that the threat of a guard is almost as valuable as using your guard, because it forces your opponent to respect it and to play around the potential loss of tempo. For this reason, it is much better to allow an equal or slightly worst trade early on in the round if it means you can better keep control of the battlefield during the rest of the round.

Strategy Tips

First Round

Selecting Your First Five

Playing Round One

Reading a dice spread

Identifying threats

Variants

Super Auto Chimera

Created by community member and Red Rains playtester Lark, Super Auto Chimera is a Red Rains variant in which the Chimera battle each other! (Text version follows the images.)

In Super Auto Chimera, you are a rogue member of the Vermillion Council with a secret agenda--training and battling the lovable Argaian creatures known as Chimera!

Send your Chimera into the automated battles against other Chimera, and become stronger as you defeat, befriend, and learn from your opponents. Each Chimera has unique abilities to offer, so choose wisely as you train your perfect pet Chimera!

Setup

Choose an aspect deck (Fury, Shadow, etc.) and its corresponding Chimera, behavior, and ultimate cards to be your personal pet Chimera.
Choose another aspect deck and its corresponding Chimera, behavior, and ultimate cards to be your first opposing Chimera (if you don't have a second set of the necessary Chimera, behavior, and ultimate cards, it's okay to proxy).
Set up both Chimera opposing each other at Heroic Level 1 difficulty.

In Super Auto Chimera, you get to choose your pet Chimera's 'First Five'. Instead of placing randomize aspects like you would in standard Red Rains, choose a set of 5 aspects from your draw pile that match the Blood values shown in your pet Chimera's starting setup, and place them face down onto your Chimera's battlefield in a matching order of your choice.
Place the first player token on your side of the play area and begin the game, starting with your pet Chimera's turn.

Gameplay

Follow the standard Red Rains rules, automating both your pet Chimera and the opposing Chimera as they battle each other. If an effect would require either Chimera to make a choice between multiple options, you choose which option that Chimera selects.

After your pet Chimera replenishes aspects during the recovery phase, you may look at the face down aspects on your pet Chimera's battlefield and rearrange them in the order of your choice.

Campaign

After you defeat an opposing Chimera, it becomes your friend and can teach your pet Chimera new abilities! Choose up to 6 aspects in your pet Chimera's draw pile and replace them with aspects of the same blood value from the defeated Chimera's deck.

For your next encounter, challenge a Chimera one level higher, while keeping your Chimera at Heroic Level 1. Only a true friend of the Chimera, like your old study buddy Rowan Umberend, can defeat a Level 3 Chimera and achieve a campaign victory!

Abbreviations

**Keep in alphabetical order

Dice spreads are usually abbreviated using the following single letter assignments:

N: Nature
C: Ceremonial
H: Charm
D: Divine
S: Sympathy
I: Illusion
T: Time

These are abbreviations/short forms of terms or card names in Ashes that are commonly used across Discord and Ashteki

BB = Blood Brawl
Bo3 = Best of three
BF = battlefield
BI = Body Inversion
Bmonk = butterfly monk
brawler = Gorrenrock Brawler
CG = chaos gravity
Chantfusion/CoT = Chant of Transfusion
Closed List = You don't have to publish your deck for the community after playing a tournament game
cobra = Ruby Cobra
CoH = Change of Heart (also Chant of Hostility)
CoR = Chant of Revenge
CoT = Chant of Transfusion
crab = Tidal Crab
Crypt Guy = crypt guardian
CtA = call to action
CutR = call upon the realms
DD = double down
DF = Dream Fracture
Dog/donut dog = Mirror Spirit
Donny = Adaptadon
EE = Era's End
ED/Druid = Essence Druid
EQ = Earthquake
EV = enchanted violinist
ExGro = explosive growth
FA = Fire Archer
Falcon punch = fighting spirit attack
FBB = frostback bear
FC = final cry
FD = false demon
FF = First Five/Frost Fang/Frost Frog(?)
FFL = First Five League (organized, casual play)
figures = Figures in the Fog
fish = Prism Tetra
Foggy Bear = Frostback Bear + Mind Fog Owl
frog = nature power side / Frost Frog
FR = Fate Reflection
GK = grave knight
GL = Guilt Link
gryphon = cloudburst gryphon
GTO = gates thrown open
GV = golden veil
herder = Raptor Herder
HK = hammer knight
HM = hunt master
HW = Hunting Weapons
IC = Immortal Commander
knight = any 3+ dice-cost ally
Limbo = the "out of play" zone after destroying before discarding the card to the appropriate pile (discard or conjuration). This is to allow when/after destroy effects to occur.
LB = light bringer
LoF = law of fear
LoG = Law of Grace
LoS = Law of Sight
MaG = massive growth
MFO = Mind Fog Owl
MG = molten gold
MV = master vamp
OHB = One Hundred Blades
OM = Open Memories
PACT = Phoenix Attendant + Chant of Transfusion
PB = phoenixborn
peacock/LB = Light Bringer
PL = Phoenix League (a tournament with one random opponent once a week)
PS = particle shield
RA = root armor
RC = Royal Charm
RD = Ruin Dweller
RFD = rose fire dancer
rile = Rile the Meek
RR = Red Rain (a thematic collection of expansions)
RtS = return to soil
RW = realm walker
sally = Salamander Monk
SB = spell board / ShuffleBus / Spirit Burn
seeds = Seeds of Aggression
smuggle = The act of moving a die onto a card without paying an action cost like with Royal Charm
snake/snek = Silver Snake
SotF = Survival of the Fittest
sonic = sonic sworsdman
SoV = Sword of Virtue
SP/Spain = sympathy pain
SS = shadow spirit
swifty = Swift Messenger
TEO = three eyed owl
trap = Ice Trap
TS = Tsunami Shot
valuetown = Salamander Monk + Seafoam Snapper (This is no longer a common combination since the Salamander Monk errata)
VBS = Vampire Bat Swarm
Vicky/Victoria = Victoria Glassfire (PB)
VP = void pulse
whale = Radiant Leviathan
wrath = Nature's Wrath
WTS = Will to Survive
WW = wishing wing

Archetypes

Archetypes in Ashes Reborn are a fairly contentious topic, and there is no one defined set of archetypes or terminologies that the playerbase agrees upon. However, many common terms from Magic: The Gathering have informed the ideas about archetypes, including "burn" (direct damage to Phoenixborn), "mill" (early fatigue damage triggered by discarding from your opponent's deck), and "swing" (winning by using units on the battlefield to push damage through). Because Ashes is so battlefield-centric, there are additionally different aspects of "swing" decks that arguably stand as unique archetypes.

A seminal article for framing Ashes Reborn archetypes is Archetypal strategies in Ashes: Reborn.

There has also been a lot of chatter throughout the Discord's history on Archetypes, including a riff on the original "butt post":

Swarm swing: lots of little butts will bury your butt
Efficiency / value / mid-range / 4-book swing: a decent number of perfectly-sized butts will eventually outweigh your butt
Bypass swing: a small number of big butts will hit you really hard in the butt
Burn: not very threatening butts...except they will light your butt on fire
Fatigue / mill: sit your butt down!

Right down to extended analogies about milkshakes (copypasta from a post by Discord member Skaak)...

The Milkshake Analogy

Apparently media exploded today because people are arguing about archetypes in Ashes. I shall now explain Ashes archetypes using the universal metaphor of milkshakes.

So, you know there's that kind of janky hamburger joint that you don't visit all that often because it's a little out of the way (and kind of grungy), but once in a blue moon you go by because they have these just amazing milkshakes and there's like a million flavors?

But then after you've bought a few milkshakes you realize: wait, all of these flavors are actually vanilla but with fruit preserves or syrup or whatever mixed in. And sometimes the new hire makes it, and you can literally see the swirls of vanilla with just the occasional shading of chocolate syrup.

Well, that's Ashes deck archetypes. Swing decks are vanilla. Burn is chocolate. Mill is chocolate-peanut-butter (you either love it or hate it). Control/removal is the malt extract that you can add to any milkshake for a little extra, but it doesn't always work out and if you add too much you can't taste anything else and you have to just toss it in the bin.

Granted, there's this crazy long-term employee named Redd King who sneaks in non-vanilla ice creams and will mix up a batch with those as a base if you ask nicely, but mostly it's just flavored vanilla.

Doesn't mean that a chocolate milk shake isn't chocolate flavored, though, even if they didn't add all that much chocolate this time around.

Deck Cores

* Swarm/tempo swing: James Widows, Redking's Noah, most Hope decks. Characterized by fragile units with high burst potential, often accompanied by high tempo removal or bypass, like Light Bringer, Stand Still or Clashing Tempers.
* Value swing: 4-book and the vast majority of "mid-range" swing decks. Aims to leverage value trades to win.
* Bypass swing: Maeoni Snake, Hydra/Massive Bear. Tends to deal burst damage from a small number of units that can't be easily blocked.
* Stall: Monk's prisons, Ninja's Astrea deck. Aims to effectively shut battlefield damage out of the game.

Deck Flavors

* Burn: inevitability through burn spells.
* Mill: inevitability through permanently removing their deck/options (usually on the back of fatigue or something like Orrick).
* Control: perfect answers for your opponent's threats, which allows your damage to push through faster.
* Synergy/engine (e.g. "combo", but I think that term is toxic for understanding how Ashes tends to actually work): card effects and abilities that combine into something greater than the sum of their parts.

Deck "Speeds"

* Aggro/fast: favors allies (or burn or both) over spellboard and aims to push so much damage so fast that the other deck doesn't have a chance to bring its strengths to bear. Probably aiming for R2/top of R3 wins.
* Mid-range(?)/default: balances spellboard and allies to start strong and convert ongoing value trades into an eventual win. Probably aiming for R3/R4 wins.
* Defensive/long game: higher up-front costs that amortize into long-term advantage (typically heavier on utility spellboard cards).

Pick one entry from each menu sub-section, and you've got yourself a milkshake.

The "punchy" to "birdy" continuum

Another method for describing decks at a high level is the "punchy" to "birdy" continuum. These terms are thankfully self-explanatory, unlike most of the rest of the nonsense that gets thrown around when talking archetypes.

List of Abilities

A complete* and comprehensive list of all named abilities in the game. Click on an ability to quickly search for it in the card browser.
*List current up to and including Flood of Moon Cove release.

An ability is a named effect on a unit or Phoenixborn. A unit ability with a number after its name will stack if the unit receives an additional copy of that ability. Many units have abilities, while some may be granted to them by attaching an Alteration Spell or some other card effects.

When stacking abilities, add the numerals in the ability names together, and change the corresponding numeral(s) in the ability text to that sum. Focus effects and abilities without numerals after their name do not stack.

Consider separating (or entirely removing?) Phoenixborn abilities from the list
Consider merging stackable abilities under a single entry. How to denote it?

A

Accelerate Growth: ⋄ : Place 1 status token on a target card.
Adapt: : Attach a Fire Adaptation or Ice Adaptation conjured alteration spell to this unit if it has neither attached to it.
Aftershock 1: After this unit destroys a unit an opponent controls by attacking, you may deal 1 damage to a target unit.
Alchemize: When this unit comes into play, you may place 1 card from your hand on the bottom of your draw pile. If you do, draw 2 cards and raise 2 dice in your active pool one level.
Alert: Do not place exhaustion tokens on this unit as a result of its countering.
Alleviate 1: : If there are no wound tokens on this unit, move 1 wound token from your Phoenixborn onto this unit.
Ambush 1: When this unit comes into play, you may deal 1 damage to a target Phoenixborn.
Armed: When this unit comes into play, you may choose a divine die in your exhausted pool and resolve its dice power without paying its cost.
Armored 1: After this unit is dealt damage, prevent 1 damage from being received.
Assist 1: When this unit comes into play, draw 1 card.

B

Battlemaster: When this unit is declared as an attacker, you may choose a target unit an opponent controls. That unit must block this unit, if able.
Beguile: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Place 1 exhaustion token on a target unexhausted unit.
Bequest X: When this unit is destroyed, you may draw up to X cards. (X = the number of status tokens on this unit.)
Blight 1: At the end of the round or when this unit is destroyed as a result of an attack an opponent controls, deal 1 damage to a target Phoenixborn.
Blood Ritual 1: When this unit is destroyed as a result of a spell, ability, or dice power you control, you may remove 1 wound token from your Phoenixborn and then raise 1 die in your active pool one level.
Blood Shot: : Place 1 wound token on this unit to deal 1 damage to a target unit.
Blossom: : Remove 2 status tokens from this unit and destroy this unit. If you do, place up to 2 Brilliant Thorn conjurations onto your battlefield.
Bolster: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Place 1 status token on a target unit you control and attach a Spark conjured alteration spell to that unit.
Brawl 1: After a unit is destroyed, if this unit had been declared as an attacker, blocker, or guard this turn, place 1 status token on this unit.
Bypass: This unit cannot be blocked or guarded.

C

Call Ptera Hatchling: When this unit comes into play, place a Ptera Hatchling conjuration onto your battlefield.
Call Raptor Hatchling: When this unit comes into play, place a Raptor Hatchling conjuration onto your battlefield.
Call the Hunt: When this unit comes into play, place 2 status tokens on this unit and place a Panther Spirit conjuration onto your battlefield.
Call the Pack: At the start of your turn, you may remove 1 status token from this unit to place a Pack Wolf conjuration onto your battlefield.
Calming Melody: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Draw 1 card. You may place 1 exhaustion token on this card and 1 exhaustion token on a target Phoenixborn.
Care 1: : Remove 1 wound token from another target unit you control.
Charge: : Take an Attack action, targeting a unit and declaring this unit as the attacker.
Charged 2: When this unit comes into play, place 2 status tokens on it.
Charming: This unit cannot be targeted by attacks from units with a charm die on them.
Cold Snap 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, you may add 1 to its attack value for the remainder of the turn or place an exhaustion token on a target unit an opponent controls with a life value of 1 or less.
Comeback: ⋄ 1 : If there are 6 or more tokens of any type on this unit, remove all tokens from this unit.
Command 1: ⋄ : Add 1 to the attack value of all other units you currently control for the remainder of the turn.
Command Strike: ⋄ ⋄ 2 : Choose an unexhausted unit you control. Deal damage to a target unit equal to the chosen unit's attack value.
Concealed: This unit cannot be targeted by attacks, spells, abilities, or dice powers an opponent controls.
Conscript: After an ally you control is destroyed, you may place it face down under this card, discarding any other allies underneath this card.
Consume: After a unit an opponent controls is destroyed, place 1 status token on this unit.
Convene With Souls: ⋄ : Search your draw pile for an ally, reveal it, and place it into your hand. Place a number of wound tokens equal to that ally's life value on this card. Shuffle your draw pile.
Cultivate 1: : Change 1 charm die in your active pool to a side of your choice.
Cursed 1: At the end of each round, place 1 wound token on your Phoenixborn.

D

Decree: When this unit comes into play, search your draw pile. You may reveal a ready spell with "Law" in its title and place it into your hand. You may immediately play a "Law" from your hand without paying any : or : costs. Shuffle your draw pile.
Deep Focus: Ready spells you control are focused one additional time.
Defensive Aura: Units you control cannot be targeted by attacks an opponent controls.
Deflect: When this unit is declared as a blocker, you may choose a target unblocked attacking unit. That unit is no longer attacking.
Detonate 3: : Destroy this unit to place 1 wound token on up to 3 target units.
Disarm: When this unit is declared as an attacker, you may discard a target alteration spell attached to a unit an opponent controls.
Dismount: When this unit is destroyed, place any allies you own underneath this unit into your hand.
Distract: ⋄ : Place 1 exhaustion token on a target unit.
Dive 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, draw 1 card from the bottom of your draw pile.
Double Shot: ⋄ : Deal 1 damage to a target unit. Then you may deal 1 damage to a target unit.
Duplicate: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Choose a conjuration you control with a life value of 1. Place a copy of that conjuration onto your battlefield. At the end of this turn, destroy that copy.

E

Endurance: Remove all exhaustion tokens from this unit at the end of each round.
Engulf: When this unit comes into play, you may destroy a target unit an opponent controls with a charm die on it. If you do, deal 2 damage to that opponent's target Phoenixborn.
Enliven: ⋄ : Remove 1 exhaustion token from a target unit.
Enter the Fray: ⋄ : Deal 2 damage to a target unit. Deal damage to this Phoenixborn equal to the target unit's attack value.
Escape: ⋄ ⋄ 1 ⋄ 1 : Discard this card.
Exalt: After this unit destroys a unit an opponent controls during your turn, you may choose a divine die in your exhausted pool and resolve its dice power without paying its cost.
Exchange Link 1: : Move 1 wound or status token from a target unit onto this unit, or move 1 wound or status token from this unit onto a target unit.
Exchange Pain 1: When this unit comes into play, you may deal 1 damage to a target unit, and then remove 1 wound token from a target unit or Phoenixborn.
Exhume: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Place an ally that is underneath this card onto your battlefield, and then destroy it.
Exploit 2: While this unit is in battle with a unit with a charm die on it, the attack value of this unit is increased by 2.
Fade: Destroy this unit at the end of this round.
Fearful: This unit cannot block.

F

Feast 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, add 1 to its attack value for the remainder of the turn if it is targeting a card with any wound tokens on it.
Fleeting: Discard this card at the end of this round.
Forage: When this unit comes into play, search your draw pile. You may reveal an alteration spell without a Phoenixborn unique icon and place it into your hand. Shuffle your draw pile.
Forewarn 2: When this unit comes into play, you may look at the top 2 cards of a target opponent's draw pile. Place each card on the top or bottom of that player's draw pile.
Frenzy 2: When this unit is declared as an attacker, deal 2 damage to it.

G

Gather 2: After an opponent declares attackers, you may add 2 to the attack value of all units you control with a printed attack value of 0 for the remainder of the turn.
Gaze: When this unit is declared as an attacker, you may choose a target unit an opponent controls. That unit cannot block or guard for the remainder of the turn.
Germinate: When this unit is destroyed, place a Luminous Seedling conjuration onto your battlefield.
Gift 1: When this unit comes into play, you may place 1 status token on another target unit.
Gift of Wings: ⋄ ⋄ 2 : Remove all exhaustion tokens from a target ally you control. It cannot be guarded against for the remainder of the turn.
Gigantic 1: This unit cannot be blocked or guarded against by units with a life value of 1 or less.
Gigantic 2: This unit cannot be blocked or guarded against by units with a life value of 2 or less.
Give and Take: When this unit comes into play, you may search your discard pile for an alteration spell and place it into your hand, or discard a target alteration spell attached to a unit you control.
Gravity Flux: ⋄ : Place 1 exhaustion token on a target unit. At the end of this turn, remove that same exhaustion token.
Group Tactics 1: After you declare three or more attackers, you may add 1 to this unit's attack value for the remainder of the turn.
Group Tactics 2: After you declare three or more attackers, you may add 2 to this unit's attack value for the remainder of the turn.
Growth: Add 1 to this unit's life value for each status token on this unit.
Guidance: When this unit comes into play, you may draw 1 card. If you do, place 1 card from your hand on the bottom of your draw pile.
Guide: : Remove 1 status token from this unit to add 1 to the attack value of another target unit you control for the remainder of the turn.

H

Harsh Melody: When this unit comes into play, draw 1 card. You may discard 1 card from your hand to deal X damage to a target unit. (X = the magic play cost of the discarded card.)
Hasten: When this unit is declared as an attacker, if it has 1 or more status tokens on it, you may remove 1 exhaustion token from a ready spell you control.
Haunt 1: When this unit is destroyed, lower 1 power die in a target opponent's active pool one level. If you cannot, deal 1 damage to their target Phoenixborn.
Heart's Pull: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : You may draw 1 card. If you do, you may choose a target player to discard 1 card off the top of their draw pile.
Hex 2: When this unit comes into play, you may lower 2 dice in a target opponent's active pool one level.
Hunt 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, you may deal 1 damage to a target unit an opponent controls.

I

Ice Buff: ⋄ : Attach an Ice Buff conjured alteration spell to a target unit you control.
Ignite: When this unit is declared as an attacker, if it has 1 or more status tokens on it, add 1 to its attack value for the remainder of the turn. If you do, you may deal 1 damage to another target unit.
Imbued: This unit's attack value is increased by 1 for each unit an opponent controls with a charm die on it.
Infatuate: When this unit comes into play, choose a target opponent. When choosing a main action during their next turn, that opponent must choose an Attack action if they control any units that can be declared as an attacker.
Infectious: Damage dealt by this unit by attacking or countering cannot be prevented.
Ingenuity: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Draw 1 card or remove 1 exhaustion token from a ready spell you control.
Inheritance 1: When this unit is destroyed, you may place 1 status token on a target unit.
Insight: After taking a Meditate action, you may place 1 exhaustion token on this card to place the first card discarded off the top of your draw pile during that action into your hand.
Inspire 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, you may choose a number of other attacking units up to the number of status tokens on this unit. Add 1 to the chosen unit's attack values for the remainder of the turn.
Interrogate: When this unit is declared as an attacker, look at 1 random card in a target opponent's hand. That target player may discard 2 cards off the top of their draw pile. If they discard fewer than 2 cards, they must discard the looked at card.
Intimidate 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, add 1 to its attack value for the remainder of the turn, and then choose a target opponent to discard 1 card off the top of their draw pile.
Invert: When this unit is declared as an attacker, blocker, or guard, you may swap a target unit's printed attack value with its printed life value for the remainder of the turn.
Invoke Ancestors: When this unit comes into play, place 2 Ancestor Spirit conjurations onto your battlefield.
Isolate 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, choose a target opponent to place 1 exhaustion token onto an unexhausted unit of their choice that they control.

J

K

Keen 1: When this unit comes into play, you may raise 1 die in your active pool one level.

L

Last Orders 1: When this unit is destroyed, you may spend 1 : to remove 1 exhaustion token from a target unit.
Last Request 1: When this unit is destroyed, you may choose a target player to discard 1 card off the top of their draw pile.
Last Request 2: When this unit is destroyed, you may choose a target player to discard 2 cards off the top of their draw pile.
Life Drain 1: After this unit destroys a unit an opponent controls by attacking, you may remove 1 wound token from your Phoenixborn.
Lightning Breath 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, you may deal 1 damage to all units a target opponent controls.
Lightning Speed: This unit cannot be targeted by reaction spells an opponent controls.
Lionize: When this unit comes into play, search your draw pile. You may reveal a card with a : in its play cost and place it into your hand. Shuffle your draw pile. Then, change 1 divine die in your active pool to a side of your choice.
Lobotomize 1: When this unit is destroyed as a result of a spell, attack, counter, ability, or dice power an opponent controls, that opponent must discard 1 card of their choice from their hand.
Lost: Discard this unit at the end of the round.

M

Magic Armor: This unit cannot be targeted by spells an opponent controls.
Magic Current X: When this unit is declared as an attacker, raise or lower X dice in a target player's active pool one level. (X = the number of status tokens on your Phoenixborn.)
Magnify: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Choose any number of units you control with a combined life value of up to 3. During Attack actions this turn, the numeral values of their abilities are increased by 1.
Mark Prey: ⋄ : Attach a Hunter's Mark conjured alteration spell to a target unit.
Memory Drain 1: At the end of the prepare phase, choose a target opponent to discard 1 card of their choice from their hand.
Mend 1: When this unit is destroyed, you may remove 1 wound token from a target unit or Phoenixborn.
Morph: At the start of your turn, you may discard this unit. If you do, place a Sun Scarab or Moon Moth conjuration onto your battlefield.

N

Nightmare 1: When this unit comes into play, you may deal 1 damage to a target exhausted unit.

O

Offer: When this unit comes into play, search your draw pile. You may reveal an ally and place it into your discard pile. Shuffle your draw pile. Then, you may search your discard pile for an ally and remove it from the game to remove 1 wound token from a target Phoenixborn.
Opportunist 1: When this unit comes into play, if you have a : in your active pool, place 1 status token on this unit.
Overkill 1: After this unit destroys a unit an opponent controls by attacking, deal 1 damage to that opponent's target Phoenixborn.
Overkill 2: After this unit destroys a unit an opponent controls by attacking, deal 2 damage to that opponent's target Phoenixborn.
Overtime 2: During the draw cards step, you may draw up to 2 additional cards.

P

Pacify 1: When this unit is destroyed, you may place 1 exhaustion token on a target unit.
Pain Link 1: : Move 1 wound token from this unit onto a target Phoenixborn.
Peer 1: When this unit comes into play, look at 1 random card in a target opponent's hand.
Polyphony: When this unit is destroyed, change 1 die in a target player's active pool to a side of your choice.
Pounce 2: When this unit is declared as an attacker, add 2 to its attack value for the remainder of the turn if it is targeting an exhausted unit.
Predator 3: When this unit is declared as an attacker, you may deal 3 damage to a target unit an opponent controls with an attack value less than this unit's attack value.
Preemptive Shot 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, blocker, or guard, you may deal 1 damage to a target unit an opponent controls.
Prepare: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Search your draw pile for 1 card and set it aside. Shuffle your draw pile, then place the set aside card on top of it.
Prey 2: When this unit comes into play, you may destroy a target unit with a life value of 2 or less.
Pride: This unit cannot be guarded or guarded against.
Promote: ⋄ ⋄ 2 : Remove an exhausted ally you control from play. If you do, place an Empyrean Mount conjuration onto your battlefield and place that ally face down under that unit.
Protect: Units you control with a printed attack value of 0 cannot be targeted by spells, abilities, or dice powers an opponent controls.
Prune 1: When this unit comes into play, you may remove 1 status token from a target unit or spell.

Q

Queen Rider: When this unit is destroyed, place 3 wounds on your Phoenixborn.
Quell: ⋄ 1 : Destroy this unit.
Quick Strike: While this unit is attacking, it deals its damage before units in battle with it.

R

Rage 1: Add 1 to this unit's attack value for each wound token on this unit.
Raise Fallen: When this unit is destroyed, place 2 Fallen conjurations onto your battlefield.
Raise Shield: When this unit comes into play, place a Hand of Shield conjuration onto your battlefield.
Rancor: When this unit is declared as an attacker, deal damage to a target unit an opponent controls equal to the number of wound tokens on this unit.
Rebuke {X}: At the end of each round, deal {X} damage to a target Phoenixborn.
Reflect Sorrow: When this unit comes into play, place 1 status token on this unit for each exhaustion token on units a target player controls.
Regenerate Heads: : Remove 1 wound token from this unit to attach a Shining Hydra Head conjured alteration spell to this unit.
Reincarnate: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Search your discard pile for an ally and place it into your hand.
Reject: ⋄ 1 : or 1 : Discard this spell.
Renew: ⋄ 1 : Discard a copy of Summon Majestic Titan from your spellboard to remove all exhaustion tokens and discard all alteration spells from this unit.
Renewed Harmony: When this unit is destroyed, you and a target opponent each choose a card in the other's discard pile. Place the chosen cards into their owner's hand.
Resourceful 1: When this unit comes into play, place 1 status token on this unit. At the beginning of the player turns phase, place 1 status token on this unit.
Restitch: When this unit is destoyed, you may discard a Blood Puppet you control to place a Blood Puppet conjuration onto a target opponent's battlefield.
Restrict 1: : Lower 1 die on its power side in a target opponent's active pool one level.
Ritual Flames: ⋄ 1 : Discard this unit and another Shimmer Wing you control to place an Eternity Flame conjuration onto your battlefield.
Rooted: This unit cannot attack.
Rouse 2: When this unit is declared as an attacker, you may lower 2 non-basic dice of your active pool one level. If you do, add 2 to this unit's attack value for the remainder of the turn.

S

Screams of the Departed: Once per turn, after a unit is destroyed, you may spend 1 : to deal 1 damage to a target Phoenixborn.
Seal Strike 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, you may choose a target opponent to place 1 exhaustion token on an unexhausted ready spell of their choice that they control.
Self Inflict 1: ⋄ 1 : Deal 1 damage to this unit.
Shadow Target: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Choose a target opponent and place 1 exhaustion token on an unexhausted ready spell they control.
Shock 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, if its current attack value is greater than its printed attack value, you may deal 1 damage to a target unit an opponent controls.
Skin Morph 2: Add 2 to this unit's life value if it has 1 or more alteration spells attached to it.
Slash: ⋄ 1 : Choose a player. Deal 1 damage to a target unit they control, or deal 1 damage to their target Phoenixborn if they control no units.
Slay 2: ⋄ : Deal 2 damage to a target unit an opponent controls.
Slow: Reduce this unit's attack value by 1 for each status token on it.
Slumbering 1: When this unit comes into play, place 1 exhaustion token on it.
Smite 1: When this unit comes into play, you may destroy a target unit an opponent controls with an attack value of 1 or less.
Smolder 1: At the end of the round, deal 1 damage to a target Phoenixborn whose owner has no cards in their draw pile.
Sneaky Strike: When this unit is declared as an attacker, opponents may not play reaction spells for the remainder of the turn.
Song of Sorrow: ⋄ : Deal 1 damage to a target unit an opponent controls. If that destroys the unit, after it is destroyed, that target opponent must discard 1 card off the top of their draw pile.
Sonic Pulse 1: After this unit destroys a unit an opponent controls by attacking, you may place 1 exhaustion token on a target unit.
Spark: : Discard this spell to deal 1 damage to a target unit.
Spell Guard: This spell cannot be affected by an opponent's spell.
Spell Recall: When this unit comes into play, you may search your discard pile for a ready spell and place it into your hand.
Spirit Burn: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Destroy an ally you control to deal 2 damage to a target Phoenixborn.
Spirit Form: When this unit is destroyed, place a Salamander Monk Spirit conjuration onto your battlefield.
Spirit Guide: When this unit comes into play, you may search your discard pile for an ally with a title other than this unit's title and place it into your hand.
Stalk: This unit cannot be guarded against.
Stitch: When this unit comes into play, place a Blood Puppet conjuration onto your battlefield.
Subdue: When this unit comes into play, you may choose a charm die in your exhausted pool and resolve its dice power without paying its cost.
Summon Glow Finch: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Place a Glow Finch conjuration onto your battlefield.
Surprise!: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Re-roll up to 4 dice in a target opponent's active pool. Re-roll an equal number of dice in your active pool.
Swarm: When this unit is destroyed, you may spend 1 : or 1 : to place this unit onto your battlefield.

T

Tag 1: When this unit comes into play, place 1 exhaustion token on a target unexhausted unit with an attack value less than the number of Scrawlers you control.
Take Up: When this unit comes into play, you may choose an alteration spell attached to an exhausted unit you control and attach it to this unit.
Tame 1: While this unit is in battle, the attack value of units in battle with it is reduced by 1.
Tame 2: While this unit is in battle, the attack value of units in battle with it is reduced by 2.
Terrifying 1: This unit cannot be blocked or guarded against by units with an attack value of 1 or less.
Thaw: : Remove 1 status token from a Deep Freeze alteration spell attached to this unit.
Threatening: This unit must be blocked, if able.
Throw 1: When this unit comes into play, you may deal 1 damage to another target unit.
To Arms: When this unit comes into play, you may search your discard pile for an ally and shuffle it into your draw pile.
To Ash: After this unit is destroyed as a result of an attack from a unit an opponent controls, destroy that target unit.
Torrent 1: : Place 1 card from your hand on the top or bottom of your draw pile. If you do, place 1 status token on all Squall Stallions you control.
Transform 1: While you do not have the first player token, the attack value, life value, and recover value of this unit are increased by 1
Transform 2: While you do not have the first player token, the attack value, life value, and recover value of this unit are increased by 2.
Trickery 1: When this unit is declared as an attacker, lower 1 die in a target opponent's active pool one level.

U

Unburden: : Move 1 status token from this unit onto another unit you control.
Unchain: ⋄ : Discard this spell.
Undying: When this unit is destroyed, if it is an ally, you may place it into its owner's hand.
Unit Guard: This unit may guard a unit that is being attacked.
Unseen: This unit cannot be blocked unless all attacking units without the Unseen ability have been blocked.

V

Valor 1: After this Phoenixborn is dealt damage while guarding or resolving its ability, prevent 1 damage from being received.
Visions: ⋄ : Draw 2 cards. Then, look at 2 random cards in a target opponent's hand.

W

War Within: When this unit is destroyed, exhaust one die in your active pool. If you cannot, place 2 wound tokens on your Phoenixborn.
Water Blast: ⋄ ⋄ 1 : Deal 2 damage to a target unit.
Wisdom 1: ⋄ 1 : Remove 1 status token from this unit. If you do, draw 1 card.
Withdraw: While this unit is exhausted, prevent all damage dealt to this unit from being received.
Wounded 1: When this unit comes into play, place 1 wound token onto it.

X

Y

Z

Magic/Dice Flavours

Magic Types

Each of the 9 dice/magic types has a certain flavour in terms of the card pools they support, but there is also a lot of overlap between them as well.

This graphic by UnderRugSwept outlines what makes Ashes magic types both distinct and similar. Be aware these are generalisations, and this isn't suggesting that magic types don't overlap with more than the 2 either side of them, or that the listed attributes only apply to the corresponding 2 magic types. It's just designed to capture the overall focus of each magic type, including the most prominent similarities between them and the things that set them apart.

Players who enjoy big units and epic battlefields (known by some as 'Timmys') are probably going to prefer Divine/Natural/Ceremonial, players who enjoy card interactions and engines (known by some as 'Johnnys') are probably going to prefer Time/Artifice/Sympathy, and players who enjoy slower win conditions (e.g. fatigue/mill) or just generally outlasting whatever their opponent throws at them are probably going to prefer Charm/Astral/Illusion.

Here is another overview from UnderRugSwept (with help from KillerCactus) that outlines the magic types in a different way:

If you enjoy reading, here's an article by ImpossibleGerman on the foundations of deck-building which includes some information on some cornerstone cards of each type and what the types are like. Note that it is over 3 years old, before many major cards were released and before the introduction of Artifice and Astral altogether.

https://jaysonsethlindley.medium.com/colorful-cubes-foundations-of-deckbuilding-in-ashes-reborn-c49cd1abbe29

Player Resources

Phoenixborn Pre-Con Reference Cards

These are miniature versions of the standard Phoenixborn pre-con deck lists found on Ashes.live, sized to fit a standard playing card.

To use: print each sheet on standard 8.5"x11" paper and cut out around the thick black line to fit to a card.

I use these by attaching to a Gamegenics divider to organize my collection by pre-con within a Gamegenic Dungeon. Optionally, you can print and cut the smaller "Divider tops" to attach to the tabs for quick reference. These are handy when deckbuilding to know where to look for cards in specific magic types (or to make sure you are putting a card back into the right deck!) without needing an online reference.

Enjoy! ~Del

Pre-con Cards 1 of 4.pdf

Pre-con Cards 2 of 4.pdf

Pre-con Cards 3 of 4.pdf

Pre-con Cards 4 of 4.pdf

Pre-con Cards Divider Tops.pdf

PvP + PvE reference card

Download: PlayerAid.pdf

Full round reference, with PvE-specific items called out in red.

Ashteki

Things about Ashteki that may need explaining

Ashteki

Screen Layouts

There are a couple of settings that affect how the screen appears:

left mode
compact layout

Playing against the chimera demonstrates both of these settings, and at time of writing, users are unable to change the layout when fighting the chimera:

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Left Mode

When left mode is activated the player prompt and the dice box are both aligned to the left. In the area above the player prompt the action log is a high level audit of what is happening. This is handy for keeping track of the game when you need to hide the full chat/log e.g. when playing on an iPad mini.

Compact layout

Notice that the chimera cards and dice are all on one row of the main screen, and there are buttons to access its conjurations, draw pile, and hand at the top of the screen.

Player vs Player

When you have a 2-player game there is more flexibility on layout.

No compact Layout

if you have the screen estate then removing compact mode places the opponent's cards on two rows

I had to set the browser zoom (using Ctrl + mouse wheel) to 90% when using this layout because otherwise the battlefield rows overlap. In this view 'left mode' is still active.

Original, or 'right mode'

Originally ashteki only had one mode, with the prompt and dice on the right, and opponent cards on 2 rows. this simulated the suggested layout for IRL games presented in the rulebook. Note that in this layout the action log above the prompt is displayed without text, and the last used card shown a bit larger.

I introduced left mode because of the distance between the prompt, the cards in hand, and the dice box, and my desire not to tire out my mouse.

What about compact right mode?

At this time, compact mode enforces left mode. The dice layout for compact mode is left aligned, so it looked odd to do otherwise. I don't have plans for a compact right mode unless I get a lot of requests for it.

Settings?

you can change the settings in the profile page, or in-game. The settings changes in-game only last for the current game, and if you fancy trying out different layouts but regret it mid-game you can easily go back to what you are used to.

Ashteki

Deviation from Rules and FAQs

"If that destroys the unit, after it is destroyed..."

This phrase appears on Enchanted Violinist, Return to Soil, and Void Pulse.

It is problematic within the Ashes Reborn framework for reasons best explained by others, but the implementation within Ashteki follows the pattern:

'if x, then y (conditionally)'

This means that reactions to x occur before y can be triggered. This conflicts with the FAQ on Void Pulse which states that players should resolve x and then allow resolution of y as a reaction to x, therefore the active player may do x and y before their opponent gets to react. This approach is atypical and a problem within the coding framework, so the interpretation has been left as 'if x, then y (conditionally)'