Illusion Magic Expansion Preview 3
Greetings Ashes players!
Today we’ll be rounding out the final card previews of our two newest Phoenixborn, Tash and Ethias!
Both astral and illusion magic share some commonality in their influence over the tempo of combat. Rounding out Ethias’ deck, we have three cards that can have a strong impact on the pace of battles. The Shattered Sentinel wields the powerful combination of a defensive ability in Alert and an offensive ability in the new Nether Strike. While this ability won’t help you in the present, the sheer amount of one-sided damage this can unleash upon an opponent later in the round is hard to argue with.
Nullify is a reaction spell with flexibility, able to be played when either player declares attackers. This is unusual for a reaction spell, which typically have narrow windows of usability, but with powerful impact. Weave Nullify into your defensive plan to protect against a hard-hitting attack, or leverage it offensively to weaken your opponent during your attack.
Nullify works particularly well with the new Futility alteration spell, granting the Terrifying ability to one of your units. Ethias can create a deadly attack from thin air with these two combat spells, so you’ll have to be on your toes even more when facing illusion magic!
Artifice magic specializes in alteration spells, and the use and reuse of their assembled investments. The Blacksand Mechanic works hard to keep Tash’s resources topped off, trading away alteration spells you may not need now in exchange for 2 new cards. But with Tash’s Steal ability, alterations in the discard pile are quite accessible again! The Mechanic’s utility doesn’t stop there either, with its Repair ability able to be used repeatedly to heal up your mechanical marvels.
Lastly, the Mach Bike is a straightforward alteration spell, but reinforces how well equipped artifice magic is at building its threats from anywhere. With a generous stat increase and the addition of Quick Strike at side action speed, Mach Bikes will give anybody the boost they need to win a battle!
That’s all for these Phoenixborn! Stay tuned for our next preview, where we’ll get our first look into the Dragonborn descending into battle in this set! Look for Ashes Ascendancy Illusion Magic Expansion in retail stores and the Plaid Hat Games web-store Q1 of 2027.
