It is up to the Champions of Vigil, alongside a few rebellious monsters, to bring peace to the twisted lands, and set Deofol on a path to redemption in Ascension Tactics: Inferno! But these are minor quibbles in the face of what is a really, really satisfying game. It feels like a better analog-based version of Overwatch (I’m horrible at Overwatch) – it has flow, it has action, it has strategy and, thanks to the now equal importance of the fighting resource, it has balance. Four player co-op! In addition to solo, campaign, a team-based play, Inferno includes the ability for you and three friends to take on the game in the new four player co-op mode! The recurring characters of the game tend to be powerful heroes from each faction: Kor, the great Ferromancer of the Mechana; Master Dhartha, the Enlightened One; Emri - unmatched in battle; Cetra, the star-spirit guardian of Ogo; and more characters that emerge as time passes in Vigil's endless wars. These characters build the lore of the game and tie expansions together, but they're also represented on powerful, expensive cards that feel fantastic to acquire and wield.

Along with the classic gameplay mechanics seen throughout Ascension’s ten year history, Curse of the Golden Isle introduces a new gameplay mechanic: Cursed Treasure. Players that collect pairs of Cursed Treasure tokens may use them to gain valuable Runes, Power, and more! The games do an excellent job of conveying the plot through the cards' art (which is consistently gorgeous across every expansion) and flavour text. Unlike many board games, Ascension actually succeeds in bringing recurring characters to life across multiple expansions: the great heroes of Vigil and their recurring foes. Transforming Champions! If you complete the requirements to transform a Champion during the game, both its card and miniature will be replaced with a stronger version and new abilities! Ascension Tactics: Inferno is a stand-alone expansion to the hit game, Ascension Tactics. Ascension Tactics: Inferno includes all of your favorite gameplay mechanics found in the original game and introduces some new features to take gameplay to a whole new level: Mechana – Engineers hailing from the realm of Hedron with vast stores of mechanical knowledge. The Mechana create powerful machines that work together to achieve even greater feats.

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The games do an excellent job of conveying the plot through the cards’ art (which is consistently gorgeous across every expansion) and flavour text. Unlike many board games, Ascension actually succeeds in bringing recurring characters to life across multiple expansions: the great heroes of Vigil and their recurring foes.

A big part of my love from the game comes from slamming my hand down on a card like Isha, the Pursuer (from War of Shadows)and knowing that in a couple of turns I’ll be able to do something very powerful in the game. A game with multiple hooks The Void - Half-monstrous guardians watch over the seething mass of the Void - the depthless ocean of death and rebirth. These powerful warriors walk side by side with death as they protect Vigil from the monstrosities that crawl from the Void on a daily basis. Secondly, there are a lot of rules and sometimes they feel a bit… uncertain, especially when it comes to treasure token modifiers and what you can or can’t do with your Cultists. Personally, I hate having to disrupt the flow of the game to query a player’s use of the Cultists, so I have probably inadvertently created house rules every time I play it. The Void – Half-monstrous guardians watch over the seething mass of the Void – the depthless ocean of death and rebirth. These powerful warriors walk side by side with death as they protect Vigil from the monstrosities that crawl from the Void on a daily basis. Be ye brave or be ye foolish, the race to reach the cursed treasure of the Golden Isles is a perilous one. The waters are home to ancient horrors. On the islands, monsters stalk the caves and marshes. But, the true terror of the Golden Isles haunts the mists and the storms – the cursed crew of the Crimson Askara!Enlightened – The ascetics and warrior monks of Arha are bent on acquiring hidden knowledge. Their spiritual powers manipulate the heroes and monsters of Vigil in unique ways. Further colour is added to the world in the form of four factions, which also serve the mechanical function of broadening the game’s strategic depth. The factions are as follows: The Lifebound - The denizens of Ogo are wild and powerful, controlling natural magic that gives them unmatched prowess in runecraft. The people and beasts of Ogo can also fight hard, teasing out power in all its natural forms. If you hadn’t guessed already, I really, really like this game. But, for a balanced view, a few minor critiques:

Mechana - Engineers hailing from the realm of Hedron with vast stores of mechanical knowledge. The Mechana create powerful machines that work together to achieve even greater feats. In Ascension Tactics’ final battle for Deofol, the Champions defeated both Samael and Xeron. With Samael destroyed and Xeron now in hiding, the arch-devil Kythis has taken control of the infernal realm, forcing its people to submit to his might. Quests! Each player will be given a Quest to complete during the game. Once completed, it transforms into a powerful Construct that can be equipped to your Champions! Enlightened - The ascetics and warrior monks of Arha are bent on acquiring hidden knowledge. Their spiritual powers manipulate the heroes and monsters of Vigil in unique ways. It was an epiphany of mechanics! The art was a bit wobbly, but the way things escalated and flowed… I’d never played anything like it before. I needed more. And more. And more.The Lifebound – The denizens of Ogo are wild and powerful, controlling natural magic that gives them unmatched prowess in runecraft. The people and beasts of Ogo can also fight hard, teasing out power in all its natural forms. Ascension was my introduction to the wider world of modern gaming – what if it was terrible? There’s a new Ascension module released every year, pretty much – what if this one kills the goose that lays the tired idioms? A new faction: The Fallen. For the first time in the history of Ascension, a new, fifth faction is being introduced to the game!