The best games of the Ascension series⎇. 2026

"Gift of the Elements" is the eleventh standalone game in the series but can be combined with other titles for up to six players. It reintroduces events from previous expansions that influence gameplay immediately, allowing players to acquire these events and transform them into powerful hero cards. The set introduces two new mechanics: Infest, which allows players to disrupt an opponent's deck, and Empower, which grants players the ability to banish played cards for added strategy.

Players acquire cards from a central pool in this deck-building game and use them to enhance their decks. They can also battle creatures to gain victory points and other advantages, such as removing less useful cards from their decks. The game ends when all victory points are claimed or the shared deck is exhausted. New treasure cards introduce energy that players can use to activate special powers on certain cards.

Have you ever felt that the cultist needed help to deal with the tyrants attacking him? Now he has it! The Rat King adds a new dimension to the monsters in Ascension, leading his hordes of Giant Rats that swarm the middle row and disrupt the best plans. Players must defeat these rats or the King himself before accessing other cards.

The expansion includes twelve cards: two "Samael Claus" cards and ten "Samael's Little Helper" cards, building on mechanisms introduced in previous sets. Players earn honor and can acquire revealed cards without paying costs. "Samael's Little Helper" also enhances strength based on other helpers played in the round.