As a deckbuilding game, Ascension offers a lot of flexibility in each game. Basically, each game you play will be completely different to the previous one. The tactics you apply now will likely not work in the next game. In this respect, Ascension will reward imaginative and adaptive players.

But this does’t mean you can randomly play and acquire cards. You must rethink your strategy each game and each turn.

But even though, what are those cards that you should always try to acquire? What cards will give you an edge leading to victory?

In this article I will show you what are the 15 more powerful cards in Valley of the Ancients.

#1: Crypt Lurker

Don’t underestimate this small foe. Within him, a really powerful effect is hidden.

In VotA, a big part of the strategy lies down in acquiring a Temple of Life or a Temple of Death. The Temple of Death is, in general, a better bet, mostly if you are thinking about endgame, where you only want to draw only the most powerful cards and clean up your deck.

Crypt Lurker is a great card to acquire Temple of Death very early. Easy to defeat, it rewards you with 3 Honor Points and a a Death Keystone. This is an excellent choice in the early stages of the game.

#2: Hurras, Sea’s Fury

Hurras, Sea’s Fury is basically the father of Crypt Lurker.

It costs more to defeat, but the reward is bigger. 4 Honor Points and getting in control of 2 temples (or activating their effect).

Excellent card for late or endgame. Obtaining 7 power is rather easy, so expect all your opponents trying to defeat this monster.

#3:Kan’zir, the Ravager

This beast talks by itself. It could easily be the best creature in VotA to completely destroy your opponent.

If you think about it, you can defeat Kan’zir with just 6 Power, and it rewards you with 5 Honor Points and it devastates your opponents, like the old Sea Tyrant but on steroids.

#4: Isla, Serene Prodigy

Here we have a Hero, from the faction Enlightened, that could be a total game changer.

Isla, Serene Prodigy is similar to Cetra, Weaver of Stars from CotG, but in this case, Isla not only allows you to acquire any Hero, but also any Construct.

And if that is not enough, Isla does not go to the center of the board, it will be shuffled back in your deck, among with the new hero or construct you acquired.

This is a great combo with a draw-intensive deck. If you have a very thin deck, you could easily be acquiring several big Heroes and Constructs and playing them withing the same turn.

But not only that: for the 8 runes that you will spend, you will also acquire 6 Honor points.

#5: Jubilant Monk

This little guy here, that you can acquire with just 3 runes, would become easily one of the best supporters in any  of your decks.

Usually, drawing cards will cost you about 2.5 runes per card, for example, Ascetic of the Lidless Eye or fMaster Dhartha from CotG.

Other heroes or monsters allow a lower rune - card ratio, but with some kind of side effect that could be good, or bad, depending on the stage of the game.

But what if I tell you that you can draw 2 cards for 3 runes, and with the possibility to draw 3 or even more?

This is basically what Jubilant Monk does. You draw one card. After that, you draw another card. If it is a Mystic, Heavy Infantry or Enlightened card, you draw again. So basically, you will draw at least 2 cards for 3 runes.

#6: Ominous Augur

The Enlightened version of Druids of the Stone Circle from CotG.

Very cheap to acquire, but allows you to get a higher level Hero or Construct. And if you trigger Serenity, you can play that Hero or Construct directly from the central row.

This is probably the best “opportunist” card you can find in VotA or CotG.

This is mostly an early game card, and as such, your discard pile will not have lots of card on it, so you can trigger Serenity rather easily.

What it makes this card far better than Druids is its lower cost as well as the possibility to acquire a higher level Hero, while Druids cost more and is useful only for low level stuff. Also, Ominous Augur puts the Hero into your hand, instead of the top of your deck, so you don’t have to rely on an extra card draw (or next turn) to play the new hero.

#7: Asalas, the Impaler

This hero, by itself, is not so powerful. It gives you extra Power, that is always good, but its true potential lays down in the possibility to trigger an excellent combo.

Basically, when you acquire another hero, its cost in Runes will be added to your Power resource pool.

The best synergy happens with any Lifebound Hero that has the Unite skill, and among them, Qadim Stalker could easily be the best because for 5 Runes, 2 of them will be returned, but you will obtain 5 power and 2 Honor points.

If you combine this with a hero like Ominous Augur, that allows you to acquire a hero and put it in your hand, you can then play Qadim Stalker to obtain 5 Power from Asalas, and another 2 power from Qadim’s ability, for a total of 7 power.

Then, you can use these 7 power to defeat Hurras, Sea’s Fury. Basically, you obtain 9 honor points and 2 Keystones for a just 3 Runes.

#8: Salvagemaster Mila

A must for any Construct-based deck.

It could be a bit pricey to acquire at first, but for mid or late game stages, it is a very valuable asset.

It gives a big boost to your Runes pool, and if you acquire any Construct, you can directly play it.

Notice how it doesn’t specify “Mechana” Constructs. The skill works with any Construct.

Do you see any construct you want to acquire and cannot wait to play it? Ask Mila for help: she will reduce it’s cost by four, and put it directly into play. Think big: how about that Reckless Excavator for a mere 4 Runes? Tempting, right?

#9: Reckless Excavator

A bit on the expensive side, but Reckless Excavator is a very powerful card.

For 8 Runes, you obtain a big chunk of Honor points and any one Keystone. Remember that a huge part of the strategy in VotA revolves around Keystones and Temples.

If you manage to acquire reckless Excavator, you will end up with 13 Honor points, and potentially 18 and a Temple of Immortality, if you have spare Keystones to activate the Temple of Life or Temple of Death you acquire with Reckless Excavator..

For Mechana Construct decks, acquiring this Construct should be fairly easy, specially with this last expansion, where you can make use of Tyranyx, the Pillager to acquire Reckless Excavator even easily, having leftover Runes to trigger the effect of Temple of Immortality.

#10: K-YL3 Repairbot

A lighter version of The All-Seeing Eye from CotG, K-YL3 Repairbot will allow you to draw one extra card per turn, that is always a good thing, if you play a Mechana Construct or if you control a Temple.

This is a card that could give you mixed feelings. If you want to focus on Mechana or Temple deck, go for it. The benefit will be big, either in Honor points and card drawing speed.

Also, the skill of this Construct will be triggered when you play it, so you will not lose a “draw” with it.

#11: Tyranyx, the Pillager

Under this mechanical dragon, lays down one of your main Mechana deck supporters in early and mid game, and a generous source of Honor Points in late game.

A 100% non-aggressive Mechana Deck is not advised because you will not be able to keep up the pace of your opponent if he is focusing mostly on defeating monsters.

That being said, you should always have some Power income to defeat any interesting monster appearing.

And here is where Tyranyx plays a key role in your Mechana Deck. Or I would say “plays a key role NOT in your deck”.

For the holy grace of Christ, do not acquire this guy early in the game. Each turn you will earn a couple of Power points that you could use to acquire those big Mechana Constructs sooner.

#12: Randall, Umbral Sage

Expensive to acquire, and with a not-so-attractive amount of Honor Points rewarded, this guy only gives you 3 Power and will put all your deck in your discard pile.

Who on hell wants this guy?

But wait, there is a small detail: he will put literally ANY Void card from your discard pile into your hand.

But wait… who on his right mind would like to trade one card for his whole deck? The answer is, everyone… with the right strategy.

Basically, Randall will search for any Void card and put it in your hand. Yes, your deck will be completely discarded, but remember: if you would happen to draw a card from an empty deck, the whole discard pile will go back to your deck.

This is basically a powerful combo card. You must play this only if you have a card-drawing hero or construct in your hand, so you can return all your deck back to its natural place.

#13: Deranged Dirge

Void decks are based on drawing cards, banishing useless stuff and obtaining Power to defeat Monsters.

And Deranged Dirge is the epitome of the Void Decks.

Basically a Void Construct that will give you Power and allow you to banish any card whenever you please. And besides that, it is a Construct, meaning, you will not lose one draw once you play it. It just lays down in your Construct Tray until you need to use it.

And that for just 4 Runes. You can even acquire it the first turn and start getting rid of all those pesky Apprentice and Militia.

Basically, Deranged Dirge is a convenient way to do what a Void Deck should do.

#14: Temple of Death

The best choice for mid and late game, no matter what type of deck you have.

Each turn you could potentially banish any number of useless cards from your deck, as soon as you have Death Keystones.

As for late game, you will want to draw only the most powerful cards from your deck. If you keep looting Apprentice and Militia, your advancement will be heavily taxed.

You can use Void Cards that are designed, in part, for this purpose, but their usage is limited to once per turn.

In replacement of that, Temple of Death can be used multiple times, given that you feed him with Keystones.

Basically, Temple of Death is a must once you reach endgame stage.

#15: Temple of Immortality

Love it or hate it. These will be your feelings towards this card.

Basically it is like a mini slot machine. You name a faction, then you acquire any Hero or Construct. If the new card appearing if of the named faction, you get it for free.

This could be a benediction or a malediction.

The effect is very powerful. You could easily acquire a big boy for free, but if you are towards endgame stage, Temple of Immortality might not be a great acquisition.

But doubtless, during early and mid game, it will greatly support your deck by giving you new Heroes and Constructs and accelerating the movement of the central row.

Conclusion 

Ascension: Valley of the Ancients is a very solid expansion that refreshes the game with new and interesting tactics.

You will be pleased by the new mechanics, the new cards and the new possibilities, either if you like fast-paced aggressive games, deeper tactics with combos or dynamic games.

Thanks to the digital version of the game, you can easily combine VotA with any other expansion and keep a balanced game…

It works very well with the basic set CotG as well as with other expansions, mostly with those that have simpler mechanics such as Return of the Fallen; Rise of the Vigil and Darkness Unleashed if you want a more agile treasure income ~ outcome; Realms Unraveled with the Multi-Unite effect that works wonders with VotA.

In conclusion, Valley of the Ancients is a recommended expansion for any player either in the digital platform of the game, or the tabletop version, with easy to grasp rules but surprisingly tactical depth and countless possibilities.

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