For a long time, if anyone asked me what my favorite game of all time was, I would have said Android: Netrunner (and then, I would have done everything in my power to convince them to run out and buy two Core Sets for Android: Netrunner). I loved the cyberpunk theme, the high-tech art, the engaging, deterministic interactions, the asymmetrical gameplay and, of course, the hidden information. Bluffing a runner to face check a massive piece of ICE, then rezzing another card that hit his grip for Brain Damage was my idea of a great time. So what happened? Well, my play group began to fray as people graduated from our local university and moved back home, and others just fell out of the hobby. I took a little less than a year off from A:NR, telling myself I’d come back in full force. But as the backlog of Data packs began to pile up, I became less enthused about dropping some serious credits to get current. Also, as the amount of released content grew higher and higher, my new friends grew less interested in taking the plunge. I was afraid I wouldn’t have a great dueling card game to put my time and effort into ,and it really bummed me out.
Enter Ashes: Rise of the Phoenix Born.
I’m not going to do a full review of this great game (as I expect they will start flowing out in force once it hits retailers), but I am going to say why this game has handily replaced Android: Netrunner as my favorite game of all time, and why if you’re a fan of Netrunner, but you have the same problems with it that I do, you should consider trying Ashes: Rise of the Phoenix Born.
Similarities
•Both games are dueling card games in which players can customize their decks before play.
•Both games offer unique identities for players to select when building their decks. Similar to the Corporation and Runner Identities in Android: Netrunner, players in Ashes must select one of the titular Phoenix Born when constructing their deck. Each Phoenix Born has a unique ability that will likely influence deck construction. Additionally, each Phoenix Born will have unique cards only they can use.
•Both games are “Expandable Card Games,” meaning expansions contain a fixed distribution of new cards, and there are no booster packs. 386
In both games you won’t find any system of “rarity,” or a large secondary market for certain cards.
Differences
•In Ashes, dice are used to generate resources each round. There are ways to mitigate the results, but it may cost magic/cards.
•Ashes has a unique turn structure mechanic that makes it so that players can on average do 1 or 2 actions in a turn. As a result, turns are quick and in rapid succession. There’s almost no downtime in the game.
•Deck construction is much simpler than Android: Netrunner. Players choose their Phoenix Born, 30 cards and 10 dice in any combination (there are 4 dice types currently).
•Ashes supports a player count of 2-4 right out of the box.
•Ashes has a mechanic called “First Five,” which allows players to pick their starting hand after both players have declared what Phoenix Born they will be using. This adds a whole new level of depth to the opening game. No longer will players lose due to a mulligan with 4 agendas in it.
Why You Should Consider Trying Ashes
I love Android: Netrunner, but Ashes offers everything I’m looking for in an expandable card game:
•Higher Player Counts: No longer will the odd third player have to sit out and wait to play winner. The best thing about the multiplayer aspect of Ashes is that it’s built into the game, so there’s no need for special rules or components. Also, the game functions closer to Magic: the Gathering’s Commander format at 3 and 4, with diplomacy and shifting alliances. This is a huge benefit for me because the game can function as a tight, high intensity two player game or a free for all, wheeling and dealing sort of multiplayer game.
•Fantastic Art and Evocative Lore: I love the cyberpunk setting of Android: Netrunner, but the stories that play out over the fantastic setting and amazing art from <PERSON> really serve to draw me into the world of Argaia.
•Three Ways to Play: So, as I mentioned before, I fell out of Android: Netrunner because my player base dispersed and I had a hard time convincing my new friends to take the plunge and buy in. Well, with Ashes this won’t be a problem. 629