Ascension: Year One Collector’s Edition Game

How the game plays:This is a deckbuilding game and plays like most other deckbuilders, try to win by creating the best deck. Each player starts with 10 cards; 8 money and 2 attack cards, you shuffle these cards and from it draw 5. In the center of the table are 5 randomly drawn cards taken from the monster/hero pile and you use your 5 cards to buy/attack the center cards on your turn. When you buy a card it becomes apart of your deck and usually will make your deck more powerful. When you attack a card, you gain the reward stated on the card, usually honor points which is what is used to win the game. The game ends when all the honor tokens are gone, the players then count all their honor and the player with the most wins.Things I like about this game:-It's fast, games can be as short as 20 minutes-Very easy to learn, not many game mechanics-Easy to setup and take down-Easy to understand cards/mechanics-Good introduction to deckbuilders-Unique cardsThings I didn't like about this game:-The aluminium tin it came in, I just prefer boxes-Foil cards, again just a personal taste-Game is too basic, there's literally two things you can do, buy and attack-Promo cards that game with the Collector's Edition aren't worth playing with-Not enough cards to trash other cards in your deck-Random chance on cards-Game costs too muchI bought this game having never played it before after reading the overwhelmingly positive reviews for the base game (Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer). The game is great for people that have never played a deckbuilder before, but the game won't keep you interested if you're coming from more advanced deckbuilders such as Dominion or Thunderstone. There just isn't enough variety in terms of the game mechanics, you can really only buy and attack. The point of a deckbuilder is to customize your deck and find a winning strategy. With Ascension the gameplay is more based on luck than strategy and the decks are very mixed but also very much the same. There are tons of unique cards but when the game only has two mechanics, much of these 'unique' cards do tend to blend together and there isn't a huge difference between them. Another issue I had was the lack of trashing cards, cards that let you completely get rid of other cards. There are some but in my opinion, not enough. End game I would be stuck with a lot of my basic starting cards that just cluttered the deck.The tin just makes for an awkward addition to my gaming shelf and it's tin as opposed to the much more basic but preferred cardboard box. The Foil cards are pretty to look at and they don't bend like Magic: The Gathering foils but would prefer non-foil cards. The promo cards that were included in the collector's edition are not that great, they don't add any interesting dynamics to the game so I don't include them in most games. And finally the price for the collector's edition is far too high for what you get, if I could I would return this game and buy Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer and the expansion for it, Ascension: Return of the Fallen. Or maybe one of the other Ascension blocks that adds more game mechanics.Final verdict:If you're a deckbuilder veteran: don't buy or at least look at more recent Ascension games with more mechanicsIf you're new to deckbuilders: buy Ascension just not the collector's edition

This is my first Ascension purchase. I've played Ascension on my Android phone and recently live at the PAX East convention. I played the original Ascension with no expansions at the convention and found the cards to feel very thick and sturdy. This quality was definitely carried on and even surpassed in this collector's edition. This edition comes with Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer, Ascension: Return of the Fallen King, Rat King Theme Pack, Leprechaun Theme Pack and the entire first year of promo cards. Every single card in this set is foil, which looks amazing. The art looks great on these cards and I think some of the art has even been improved from the original run. The tin box it comes in is pretty big, but due to the inserts, I could really only fit this set sleeved with no room for future additions. If you don't sleeve, you could probably fit all year 2 stuff. Of course if you take out the insert completely, there is plenty of room. The game board is all black with silver foil accents and it looks very classy. One thing that wasn't updated was the honor tokens. I don't really have an issue with this, and it does bring a black pouch to store them. Overall this is an awesome buy for what I paid as it's cheaper than buying everything separate, and the foil cards alone make this worth it for me. I highly recommend this set to anyone who's trying to get in to Ascension for the first time, or collectors who just have to have everything Ascension, but if you already own everything, this just upgrades aesthetics.

okay so I bought this game because I heard that it was made by previous Magic the Gathering championship winners and that it was a closed card system of expansion packs (like cards against humanity) i ordered the last collector's edition available for it I with all the foil cards that were reprints with updated arts and borders from the original set along with other card sets. Let me tell you this is the greatest decision I've made so far, this game is phenomenal and the limited edition is absolutely great. I love everything about this game I just got finished now playing a seven hour game with my old magic buddy and he too was surprised with how good the game was. As I only played the game online on the Android there were a few things that caught me of gaurd. the card dimensions about 1 millimeter slightly wider than magic cards so in your INNER sleeves don't work with them, but normal sleeves and ultra pros will my solution was just to get clear dragon shields for them. THE ONLY THING they have going against them is they have that poor quality foiling of the Magic the Gathering from the vault special Collector's Editions but if you shield them upon immediately opening them they hardly wear other. than that fantastic easily the best decision for variety in my tcg. Long Live Ascension.

I can't say enough about this set. I absolutely love it. the cards also fit in standard protective sleeves as well. I got them because the beauty of the foil cards are amazing and I don't want the foil wearing off. I can't say enough about this game quality. I love the tin as well. The only down side is.... I doubt you can use organizers like Broken token makes that are made for the regular game due to the rounded edge of the tin. If anyone knows of one that will fit in the tin I would be grateful. The only down side to this game is the organization if you buy other expansions. On the upside , even with the thickness of the sleeves they all fit in the center box minus the foam. Kudos to the year 1 edition. thank you!

The box itself is really well-made and tidy. I don't really need to review about the gameplay, but the game is really simple, straight-forward, easy to learn and assemble and doesn't take too long.But I removed 1 star because of some of the cards within the box, where you can see clearly the abrasions and the drawings gone. This might be due to the manufacture or packing fault, and I'm kind of a bit sad I got the faulty cards. And also, the cards seem easily damagable so you will need sleeves to protect them.

The tin was slightly dent. Content inside are good condition.

Grand amateur de cartes, aussi bien pour le plaisir de les regarder que d’y jouer, j’avoue avoir un niveau d’exigence à ce niveau assez élevé en termes de sensations/visuel. C’est d’ailleurs pourquoi j’ai acheté cette édition collector, préférant la sensation du jeu physique à une application aussi pratique soit-elle ! Après avoir reçu la boîte, autant dire que je ne regrette rien. J’ai une tendance à chercher la petite bête mais là sincèrement tout est presque parfait. L’emballage en métal est joli, en épaisseur de métal type boites début gâteau « cadeau », le plateau de jeu élégant et de qualité, la boite centrale très belle et en beau carton, les cartes Foil magnifiques avec une bonne odeur de neuf, le livret soigné et le contenant tout aussi soigneux (les diviseurs, le contour carton, l’etui pour les jetons d’honneur, ..). On sent vraiment l’emballage collector - et ce malgré le prix pas si « luxe » que ça (relativement au type de produit).A noter tout de même si vous songez à l’acheter : les cartes FOIL sont plus sombres que les cartes normales, elles rappellent un peu la serie « graveborn » de Magic. En sus, le FOIL a tendance à faire incurver les cartes avec le temps, elles ne seront donc pas tout à fait plates à terme. Si cela ne vous dérange pas comme moi, vous pouvez foncer puisqu’il est probable que l’achat des composants séparés soit bien plus cher.De fait, ce pack contient également pas mal de cartes promo, qui sont dures à trouver en France. Et en import, ça ne vaudra pas le coup...Maintenant la question qui se pose : et par rapport à l’application ? Déjà, si vous n’avez jamais joué au jeu, je vous conseille de le tester gratuitement sur iOS ou Android voir Steam (payant mais avec presque toutes les extensions). Si vous l’avez fait, sachez quand même que beaucoup de choses sont plus galères avec le jeu papier : il faut toujours avoir en tête ses runes/points de combat, ne pas oublier les constructions, bien penser à activer les effets du genre « Fate », compter les points à la fin, séparer les cartes des différents sets et des always available à la fin, etc.). Là encore, ce point sera un défaut si vous n’appreciez pas le charme du jeu de société et des interactions qu’il induit. Ce sera affaire de goût mais en termes d’efficacité pure et de praticité le jeu digital est largement supérieur. Pour ma part, même en adorant la version papier, si j’ai la flemme je joue sur iPad ou PC.Concernant le choix du point de départ, cette édition de la première année est à mon avis la meilleure introduction au jeu sauf si vous êtes déjà un joueur de cartes «avancé », auquel cas je trouve la deuxième année plus équilibrée avec un plateau plus fonctionnel et étendu. Cela reste affaire de choix et d’offre, même si la deuxième année est à mon avis la plus rare. Le seul avantage de la première année est le nombre et la qualité bien supérieure des cartes promo en plus de l’accesibilité et d’un socle iconique.Concernant la protection des cartes, c’est affaire de goût, mais à mon avis les KMC Perfect Size ou équivalents (Dragon Shield Pro Fit, etc.) sont parfaits car ils permettent aux cartes de ne pas se chevaucher sur la ligne centrale tout en étant assez transparents pour ne pas ternir le FOIL. Des protége cartes plus chers sont envisageables comme les Dragon Shield Matte Clear (pour voir le dos des cartes) mais je trouve que ça surcharge le tapis tout en perdant le feeling des cartes. A vous de voir.En tous cas, vu le prix, c’est excellent et magnifique.

Il prodotto mi è stato consegnato in codizioni ottimali. Si tratta di un gioco eccellente e dalla fattura impeccabile. Le artworks e il fatto che ogni carta sia foil, uniti al bellissimo tavolo di gioco e alle gemme per i punti rendono questo prodotto un capolavoro. In compenso senza un perfetto imbustinamento (le buste vanno comprate nel formato delle carte di magic, stesse identiche dimensioni, volendo anche doppie) le carte si rovinano in fretta dovendo mischiarle molto molto spesso.

I am definitely going to pick up the other 'years' of Ascension. The box is rather big but you can remove a card box from the set and its really convienient. Comes with LOTS of dividers; you'll be banishing Mechana constructs in no time!!