Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer is a new deck building game, which means you’ll be acquiring cards to build a powerful deck over the course of the game. Each player will start with the same weak 10 cards that they’ll use to buy new cards in-game to enhance the power of their deck and use those cards to kill monsters. The game is similar in setup and execution to the very popular Dominion, in that you’ll buy and use cards to acquire more cards. It’s kinda like Magic: The Gathering but instead of buying booster packs of cards for real-world dollars you’ll buy cards in-game with game resources.

Though each game is totally unique they all start out the same way, the randomization only kicks in once the game gets started. Each person shuffles their 10 cards and then draws 5 that they will use on their turn. The cards have either Rune (used as currency) or Power (used to kill monsters) symbols which dictate how they can be used. In the early game you’ll have more Rune based cards which you’ll use to buy more cards to add to your deck. At the end of your turn all the cards you bought and the 5 you started with go in a discard pile and you draw five more cards. Let’s take a look at a basic turn.

Each turn you’ll draw 5 cards from your deck which will dictate what you’ll be able to do. In the beginning your deck will only have basic resources in it so you’ll have to use them to buy more powerful cards. The cards you buy go into your discard pile and will be shuffled into your deck when your draw deck runs out. So there’s always a few turn wait to get a chance to play the newly purchased cards. You have the choice to buy one of 10 cards that get drawn at random from a huge deck or you can purchase either a Mystic (for more Rune/buying ability) or a Heavy Infantry (for more power) cards. The 10 cards in the center change after one is purchased but the Mystic and Heavy Infantry are always available.

The center row of cards is comprised of a few different types. First are the Monster cards which need to be killed by playing enough Power cards to defeat them, which will yield some kind of reward. The next are heroes that can be bought to help you fight the monsters and the third are called constructs which is usually some sort of artifact that when played stays on the table in front of you to help you out each turn.

The main point of the game is to generate a deck powerful enough to gain more honor than your opponents by slaying monsters. The honor is marked with these really neat plastic gem looking things that you’ll receive after successful kills, though each card in the deck has an honor value as well that gets incorporated into the final score. When all the gems are distributed the game ends and the totals are added up and whoever has the most is the winner!

The main difference between other deck building games and Ascension is the single huge deck of cards you’ll be buying from. Other deck builders have a certain number of sets available at the start of the game, so you can buy a copy of card A,B,C etc. at any point. In Ascension the purchasable cards come from a central deck that offers a random assortment of 10 single cards at any one time and when it’s bought it’s just replaced at random. This is both a positive and a negative.

In playing a ton of Dominion I can tell you when the 10 sets of cards are determined at the start of the game everyone comes up with their preferred strategy. “I’m going to make a rush on Pirate Ship cards” or go with a “Market card heavy deck” type of stuff. Since the cards that are available in Ascension change every turn you really can’t plan ahead like that, needing to more think on your feet and adapt. The other issue with it is that initially the game moves a far bit slower because each time a new card is placed on the table people need to stop and read it to determine it’s use. I imagine this would stop or trail off after a few games once you get used to the cards, but it’s worth noting.

But those are only two minor reservations stacked up against a bunch of positives. The art style is fantastic with cool looking artifacts, deadly looking heroes and imposing monsters. Of course some of the card art falls flat but overall it’s really cool and unique. The game can also be taught in a matter of minutes, and when you’re the central game teacher in your group (like me) this is a godsend.

The company has also released a nice bundle that includes a carrying case for the cards (to make it easier to take on the road since the box it comes in is pretty large) and enough sleeves to protect all the cards (in my pictures they’re sleeved). Technically you don’t need the board once you know where the different decks go so you save a lot of space leaving it behind. I picked up this bundle for like 15 bucks at my local game store and I think it’s the perfect way to store, protect, and travel with the game.

Dominion lit the board game world on fire with its deck building mechanic and we’ve seen a fair bit of games follow in it’s wake. Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer endeavors to bring something new to the genre and in that vein I think they’ve definitely succeeded. While certainly still a deck building game the play requires a very different strategy and play style than other games like this I’ve played. Highly recommended.

Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer was designed by Robert Dougherty, John Fiorillo, Justin Gary, Brian Kibler and was released by Gary Games in 2010.

You can buy it at Funagain Games, Amazon, or your Friendly Local Game Store.