Thanks to my six-year-old daughter, with whom I am currently playing a simplified version of Lorcana — something I will return to in a future article — I felt like getting back into a deckbuilding card game.
But on one essential condition: I wanted a genuinely complete game. Not a system requiring ten thousand booster packs, with the infinitesimal hope of finding a €70,000 card that would then have to be hidden in a safe.
A detour through Middle-earth
My first instinct was to browse Kickstarter, Gamefound and BackerKit. It is sometimes the path of patience, but also the path of unexpected discoveries.
And then, a small miracle: I came across The Lord of the Rings: Ascension, a deckbuilding game set in Tolkien’s world.
The timing amused me, because Magic: The Gathering was returning to Middle-earth at exactly the same moment with a set devoted to The Hobbit, released on 14 August 2026. Two very different ways of bringing Bilbo and his companions into our decks.
While exploring the Gamefound campaign, I discovered that this future game was derived from an already well-known title: Ascension.
The return of a deckbuilding classic
Designed by Justin Gary, Ascension first appeared in 2010. It grew out of a circle of passionate Magic: The Gathering players who wanted to preserve the pleasure of card combinations while removing the collecting aspect and the endless chase for new boosters.
For its tenth anniversary, a revised edition appeared in 2020 with a new artistic direction and reworked, rebalanced cards. IELLO published this version in French in July 2024.
My latest purchases from IELLO had genuinely impressed me with their quality, so this edition already started with a favourable impression.
At a glance: 1–4 players · Ages 10+ · Around 30 minutes · Designed by Justin Gary.
Our first game as a couple
As soon as the box arrived, we tried it with my partner.
This may sound strange, but neither of us had ever been particularly fond of deckbuilding games — especially my partner. We had tried the genre about ten years ago without being truly convinced.
We also played Smash Up for a while before eventually selling everything.
On my side, Lorcana is what really made me want to return to this kind of game.
While I carefully sleeved the cards, my partner read through the rules. I can happily spend hours reading novels or tabletop role-playing rulebooks, yet the moment someone puts a board-game rulebook in front of me, I seem to develop an immediate allergy.
Every couple has its own division of labour.
A brief aside about sleeves
I have had the opportunity to try several brands of card sleeves. In terms of value for money, I particularly liked the Elite Shield Premium Sleeves.
The corners can feel slightly sharp, but they are pleasant to handle and the cards shuffle easily. The 66 × 91 mm size fits Ascension well.
And no, this is not sponsored: my cards simply like to be well dressed.
How does a game work?
Every player starts with the same small deck of very simple cards. Some produce Runes, which allow you to acquire new cards, while others provide Power, used to defeat monsters.
At the centre of the table is a row of six cards available to everyone. Whenever a card is acquired or a monster defeated, it is immediately replaced. The market therefore changes constantly and forces everyone to adapt.
The opening hands are fairly modest. You buy a few heroes, slowly improve your deck and try to prepare for what comes next.
Then the game quickly gathers momentum.
New cards enter your discard pile before returning to your hand during later deck cycles. Gradually, combinations become more efficient and turns take on an entirely different scale.
You can acquire heroes from several factions whose abilities interact, as well as constructs. Unlike heroes, constructs remain in play and provide lasting effects. It therefore takes a little more effort to get rid of them…
Monsters do not join your deck. You defeat them with Power to gain Honour and, sometimes, additional effects.
The goal is simple: finish the game with the most Honour.
Yet the final count contains a particularly enjoyable twist. The Honour crystals earned during play are added to the points printed on every card you acquired.
A player who appeared comfortably ahead may suddenly discover that an opponent built a much more valuable deck than expected. In our game, the final result was considerably closer than the visible score had suggested.
And that is genuinely fun.
A hint of Magic
The connection with Magic: The Gathering can be felt in several mechanisms: factions, interacting effects, persistent constructs and, above all, the satisfaction of gradually building a card engine capable of increasingly powerful turns.
But Ascension remains much more approachable.
There is no deck to prepare beforehand, no essential rare card and no collection to maintain. Everyone starts with the same cards and has to work with a shared market that never stops changing.
The game is not primarily about direct confrontation either. You do not truly attack the other players; you are mainly racing for points while keeping an eye on the cards they might want.
That formula keeps the game dynamic without turning the table into open warfare.
A strange blend of science fiction and fantasy
I also enjoyed the artwork. The world of Ascension mixes sometimes very dark fantasy with almost mechanical or futuristic elements.
The cards may not immediately appear to tell one perfectly coherent story, but this encounter between magic, monsters and science fiction gives the game a real identity.
A special mention goes to Demon Slayer, which immediately reminded me of the formidable Demon Hunter played during our game of Erune with my partner and Tilaell the previous week.
Some encounters clearly follow you from one universe to another.
One question remains: replayability
After this first game, our impressions are decidedly positive.
The game is fun, the mechanisms are enjoyable and the rise in power works beautifully. Most importantly, we immediately wanted to play again, which is probably the best sign possible.
My partner enjoyed the game even though the theme is not really her thing. I am much more receptive to its blend of science fiction and fantasy.
My only real question concerns long-term replayability.
The centre row changes from one game to the next, already providing plenty of variety. Yet Ascension received around fifteen expansions over the years. When this French edition was released, IELLO explained that publishing those expansions would depend on the game’s reception.
Two years later, no French expansion appears to have been announced. I fear they may never arrive.
Should I have bought the game in English?
Perhaps. But my original goal was precisely to own a finished game rather than feel obliged to buy another fifteen expansions.
In the end, that may be for the best… especially for my wallet.
When Ascension meets Joe Abercrombie
One final amusing detail: this year I read The Devils by Joe Abercrombie.
The moment I saw the Runic Lycanthrope card, I thought of Vigga the Werewolf. Between the full moon, the runes, the claws and the mildly displeased expression, the resemblance was difficult to ignore.
First impressions
Ascension: 10th Anniversary Edition is an excellent gateway into deckbuilding.
The rules are accessible, games are quick, progression is deeply satisfying and the final count can deliver genuine surprises. Above all, it captures part of the construction and combination pleasure of collectible card games without boosters, a speculative market or a mythical card that needs its own alarm system.
Time will tell whether the box remains as fresh after many games.
For now, however, one thing is certain: it will soon return to our table.
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