Ascension: Darkness Unleashed

About this board game

Ascension: Darkness Unleashed is a 1–2-player deck-building game that plays in about 30 minutes. It works as a standalone game for two players or as an expansion that can be combined with Ascension: Rise of Vigil and other Ascension games.

The set introduces Dark Energy Shards, a new version of the Energy Shard Treasure cards from Rise of Vigil. Each Dark Energy Shard lets you draw a card and provides one energy to power Energize cards. When one enters the center row, its Fate effect also lets each player banish a card from their discard pile.

Darkness Unleashed adds Energize cards across Heroes, Constructs, and Monsters. Some of these cards can Transform into new beings or more powerful versions of themselves when you have played the required amount of energy during your turn.

• Play a card with a Transform ability after meeting its Energize threshold.
• Ignore the original card’s effects and place the transformed card in your hand.
• Play the transformed card during the current turn or save it for a future turn.

The set includes double-sided transform cards for players using card sleeves, along with single-sided versions for players who do not. Depending on the format, the original card is flipped and resleeved or removed from the game and replaced by the transformed card.

Some cards transform through other events. For example, defeating the Monster Erabus, the Exiled in the center row transforms it and adds it to your hand. At the end of the game, you score Honor for whichever version of a transformed card is currently active in your deck, giving these evolving cards lasting importance throughout the game.

With its blend of deck building, energy management, Fate effects, and card evolution, Ascension: Darkness Unleashed offers a focused way to explore the transforming powers of the Ascension universe.