And yes... Chat is a must here. If nothing, you could set playtime with opponent to play few games in a row.
+1 to that! It's more like 4.5 or 5 now then 3.5 for initial release review. And 4.5 is just for notifications
This applies to me as well. As much as I would like to play Ascension all day, I'm not good enough to get paid for doing so. Most of my moves during the work week will be early morning and then in the evening.
Add me to the list of people whos work schedule will interfere with playing Ascension! I'll get my turns in during early mornings, lunch break then evenings...
A chat function would be so nice as I know, in my many games with Emos so far, I'll have time for several turns in a row and then, boom, something comes up and I have to take care of business. Even the most basic chat options would allow me to say something like, "BRB" or even, "Catch you tomorrow night if I get a chance." There are so many new powerful cards from the expansion that I clearly see what they do on their own but have yet to really think of clever combinations to use them in.
Nairi with Twofold Askara give 10 points in a round, every time you use the combo. It is pure awesomeness, come to think about it...
Some may find I have turned down some invitations these days, my hands are pretty much full and I need more concentration. I promise I will rotate my game list and return later. Poll: 1. What is the largest amount of power you throw onto the table in one round, ever? 2. What is the largest amount of rune you throw onto the table in one round, ever?
I'm not a huge fan of Nairi unless you can Lifebound combo or have a really small hand. It works independently. Independent cards (Druids, Templar, Nairi, Eternal Askara) are tricky to use well, and acquired too early (Druids especially!), will result in deck stagnation.
For combos, I prefer to base them around constructs of some form so I can reliably do them every turn rather than wait for (or draw) the right combination of cards. E.g. 1. Stone Circle + Raven 2. Serpent Call + Black Hole + Deathseeker = 3 points every turn (recall and banish deathseeker)
IMHO, I think with the introduction of RotF, it favors small hands even more than before and banishing, as a form of speeding up the cycle, is more important than before. The optimized version of Arbiter of the Precipice, Arbiter of Fate, is even more valuable to acquire it in early rounds. OTOH, banishing as a form of deterrence is less effective when your opponent can now raise cards from the Void. Personally, at the cost of six, I prefer Nairi, unless there are some delicious constructs lying around. But I tend to agree that I don't find that Eternal Askara too high a cost and that really effective. Serpent Call is quite powerful if used right, but I am not so sure with the Project Alpha. It is like that Sadranis, high cost, award good points in the end, it is a nice to have but not a trump. My $.02.
Two isn't that great. Because when recalled drops into discard pile not into hand. Not readily replicable.
Hate Sadranis. I'd pick 6 mana constructs over it almost every time unless I'm winning by a load already. I've lost games and beaten loads of people who use Sadranis. I think Sadranis and Eternal Askara are two of the weakest cards. Eternal Askara can really suck if the center row is rune heavy, and the fact it operates independently also makes it difficult to use effectively, but it's end game value kind of makes up for it. Sadranis just sucks. It should really be 7-5. It also sucks that you have to use its void banish ability right away. Why can't they just give the option whenever it's played like Serpentcall?
Project Alpha has won me matches before, and its high end game value makes it really useful. You can get free points and control the center row with it. I won a match end game by a single point by picking a 6 rune unit with Alpha.
As I say, it is a nice to have or the nail to the coffin (or whatever), but getting it alone, without an army of constructs on hand, may not win you the game.
