A Bold New Future with Ashes Ascendancy!
For 10 years now, Ashes and its current incarnation, Ashes Reborn, have delighted card players with a unique take on the head-to-head battler genre of expandable card games. With ten years under our belt, Plaid Hat Games has decided to take an unusual and exciting approach to ensure the game continues to delight players for years to come.
The Story Thus Far
When Plaid Hat Games regained its indie status in 2020, we knew that Ashes remained an exciting game, one that players would flock back to if given the chance. We made it happen by partnering with Team Covenant and offering a subscription service. By taking advantage of Team Covenant’s Ashes Reborn subscription, players could get regular doses of new Ashes products, and Plaid Hat Games had a great new tool for gauging audience demand.
And look at all that has been produced in that time! Not only were we able to introduce a new magic type, but we brought in brand-new Phoenixborn and the exciting Red Rains format, allowing players to play solo or team up with a friend to battle a monstrous foe.
A Massive Library of Cards
Any expandable card game needs a large library of cards for a healthy meta to develop. After ten years, Ashes has amassed a whopping library of more than 600 cards, allowing for tremendous variation and the development of exciting new strategies!
But what about new players? Expandable card games rely on new players to remain robust, and Ashes’ vast back catalogue means players currently trying to enter the game have to drop a substantial chunk of change, and hunt for expansions that are between print cycles.
Something That’s Never Been Done Before
With all this in mind, Plaid Hat Games is proud to announce a major shift in how it maintains its sizable catalog. Following the Ashes Ascendancy Kickstarter campaign, we will transition all Ashes Reborn products to Print on Demand (POD). Our entire library of cards will be available to the public via a new online deck builder.
This screen is just an early mock-up. The final version will likely appear different.
Instead of keeping each individual product in print, anyone can hop onto our website, build the deck they want, then download a print and play pdf of that deck. Custom decks will cost a small processing fee, but we'll also have a selection of decks available for free. Don’t want to do print and play? Then choose for us to custom print a deck, and we’ll send it to you directly. You will even be able to add dice onto the order!
We’re going to topple the cost of acquiring old cards this way, allowing new players to print their own cards and jump into the action as quickly as can be. And since we can print whatever player cards you like, you can still buy all the professionally printed cards you desire. Nothing is ever truly out of print, and all Ashes Reborn cards are still 100% legal!
The Future is Ascendant
Going forward, the Ashes Ascendancy box set is the new starter set for getting into Ashes. It will have the most current rules, brand new player cards and dice, and is playable right out of the box! This will get you started in Ashes, whether you prefer battling head-to-head with another player, or you prefer slaying monsters on your own or with a friend. Existing players will be excited to have new magic types to play with, as well as a new boss type to battle!
It's important to note that while the Team Covenant subscription will remain an excellent way to keep up with all of the future Ashes Ascendancy expansions, the Ashes Ascendancy Starter Set will not be sent through the subscription. First access will be through the Kickstarter campaign, with it later hitting retail.
My Brain Just Exploded! Please Summarize!
All new Ashes products will be released under the Ashes Ascendancy brand name. All Ashes Reborn products are still 100% legal and valid. All Ashes Reborn products will be downloadable from a sweet new website, and you can even order custom decks to be printed on demand! Players will have access to everything, whenever they want it.
Want to Know More? Of Course You Do!
We will be dropping tons of new content on the future of Ashes in the weeks to come. Our Kickstarter campaign will be launching early April, and the campaign will also include the option to buy any and all products from the Ashes Reborn line, at a last-chance price! Click here to sign up and be notified!
Ashes is dead! Long live Ashes!
