Maeoni Viper and the Silver Snake Strategy in Ashes Reborn
Explore the different strategies of each Phoenixborn against all sorts of tricky Chimeras and aspects in Ashes Reborn.
There are times when I try to limit my consecutive posts about the same solo game, but I’ve simply had so much fun with Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn! I decided to switch things up a lot and move onto a new character, Maeoni Viper. New strategies were ready to evolve with this new deck, and I set my sights on working out how to defeat the Chimera!
Game Overview
Game Name: Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn
Publication Year: 2015
Designer: Isaac Vega
Artists: Thander Lin, David Richards, & Fernanda Suárez
Publisher: Plaid Hat Games
Solo Mode: Included in Red Rains – The Corpse of Viros
With a combination of dice and cards, a battle takes shape in either a single play or a short campaign. The system is flexible, allowing for entirely pre-constructed decks to jump into play immediately, or a custom deck construction process. Each play is exciting, uncovering neat moments.
First Play
May 18, 2023
Complexity
3
Latest Play
July 12, 2026
Expansions
30
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
13
Play Time
40 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
24" x 24"
Low Score
N/A
From a Humble Start…
After spending a lot of time with Aradel Summergaard’s deck, I was ready for something entirely new. My next deck was Maeoni Viper’s. One guess as to her strength. Ha!
Indeed, this was a very new set of cards that I had to work through. The Silver Snake was a core strategy, although it took me a little time to figure out to utilize it in the best way.
The Chimera took one look at the tiny version at first and was pretty skeptical. Also, that is a Calico Critter snake!
At first, the Silver Snake has no attack power and seems almost laughable. But wait. Just patiently wait for it…
Silver Snake Attack!
Rawr! With some patience and plenty of defense, this is what the tiny Silver Snake will turn into. Dangerous!
This is actually a childhood stuffed animal that’s several decades old. Meet Joe the snake! Many hours were spent using him as a nap pillow, or as the star of play time.
He may have lost his tongue ages ago, but that doesn’t make him any less awesome. It was fun to bring him out of storage to show up as Maeoni’s Silver Snake for a bit!
I loved figuring out this strategy. At first, I didn’t bring out any units to protect this conjuration. Wasted opportunity!
Gilder Guardians
More Calico Critters! There were some close calls against the Chimera, particularly since I used the shadow aspect. I never saw the cards before, so it was a challenge at first!
These adorable Gilders were quite powerful. Although they didn’t have any attack power, their support role was crucial.
With the guard ability, they jumped out to protect the Silver Snake during the early rounds when I was trying to build up power. And when they were destroyed, they helped more!
So it was that this tiny serpent managed to power up to do around 15 damage during my best rounds for the victory.
Surprise Attacks
Maeoni had some excellent spells to remove exhaustion tokens or add more status tokens. With the right timing, aspects were taken out and the Silver Snake could attack!
It was interesting to deal with the shadow aspects, though. Some prevented spells from being used, and others were impossible to target until they exhausted. Tricky, tricky.
Still, I managed to win every level of this campaign in a single attempt. Maeoni held on with very little health!
Definitely glad I tried out a new combination, as the game changed a lot. See you later, Joe, and thanks for the fun!
Capturing the Excitement and Fun of a game
I almost wanted to go into more detail over what I did every round, in a sort of action-by-action writeup. There was so much going on, and Maeoni was on the brink of defeat many times. Yet I always hesitate to pause to keep track of everything I do because I get so caught up. To write down everything would slow me down, and that’s not what I want.
My posts are a little on the shorter side at the moment, yet I think I’m nailing the personality category. Ha ha! Lots of Calico Critters and other decor usually means I’m having a great time with my games. But it is a challenge to capture all of the wonderful emotions that a great solo game evokes in a single post. Suffice to say you’ll have to take my word for it. Ha!
Session Overview
Play Number: 11-13
Expansion: Red Rains – The Corpse of Viros
Solo Mode: Included in Red Rains – The Corpse of Viros
Play Details: The Corpse of Viros Standard 1, 2 ,& 3 (Shadow)
Outcome: 3 Wins
This wasn’t a case of breezing to victory, though. Towards the end of each play, I had to carefully plan every action so Maeoni could survive. She barely made it! But it was yet another wonderful experience with the game. There is a lot left to explore with the pre-constructed decks, and I hope to work this into my regular play schedule for lots more fun.
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
8
Quality
Components & Rules
4
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
8
+ Pros (Positives)
- Puzzling through a character’s deck is interesting in a way that rewards trying out each card to learn what works best.
- The Chimera typically has very quick turns with limited management, allowing the focus to be on actually playing.
- Every card features fantastic artwork, which is quite stunning and makes for a beautiful table presence.
- Being able to choose a starting hand helps speed up the early game build up and avoid rounds with limited options.
- Dice powers are often quite powerful in the right situations, and they add on a strategic layer beyond the cards.
- There is a wonderful sense of accomplishment when everything works out, especially on the brink of disaster.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The rulebook learning curve is rather difficult with the way the information is presented and spread out so much.
- Some cascading actions can make it easy to forget an ability or effect, although this improves with multiple plays.
- It’s usually obvious, but each Phoenixborn doesn’t include an easily referenced recommended set of dice to use.
- Aspects and the Chimera follow most of the usual rules, yet their exceptions are another difficult set of rules to find.
Victory Conditions
Defeat the Chimera
- Overall Goal Progress 10%
Goals and Milestones
Win a standard campaign against each aspect. (2/14)
Win a standard campaign against each Chimera. (1/7)
Win a standard campaign as each Phoenixborn. (2/30)
Continue the Conversation
Do you have any excellent plays or campaigns of Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn? Are you more inclined to play with pre-constructed decks, or do you play with your own custom decks? I’m still having a great time with this one, and it’s only leaving my table so I can cycle in some new games. There are many matchups ahead that I’m looking forward to!
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