Coal Roarkwin and the Best “Iron” Rhino from Ashes Reborn
Take on a powerful Chimera with a unique aspect as a Phoenixborn and a variety of battle strategies with Ashes Reborn.
Hurray for a fairly regular schedule with Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn! I was in the mood for a challenge that wouldn’t take too long to get to the table. Indeed, setup was quick and I was ready for a completely new battle against a Chimera I never saw before. Beware the Scourge! This one looked like it would be a tricky puzzle… Back to the fun!
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
The system uses a combination of cards and dice to take various actions… Which might seem simple, but every play is its own puzzle. Unique Phoenixborn and Chimera ensure something feels different each time, and battling for a victory over a short campaign is always a great time!
First Play
May 18, 2023
Complexity
3
Latest Play
July 24, 2026
Expansions
30
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
22
Play Time
30 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
24" x 24"
Low Score
N/A
Coal Roarkwin
I wanted to play through the Phoenixborn roughly in their original release order, so Coal Roarkwin was up next. Technically, I played his deck… Years ago. Brand new again!
The different play styles of each deck are awesome to discover. What looks like less important cards at first are sometimes the hidden path to victory, as I often learn.
Since it wasn’t too long since my last play, I didn’t have much to do in terms of reading the rules. Very nice!
But I did find a hidden rule about passing and raising a basic rage die for the Chimera. Luckily, I found it during setup.
Double Warcry Terror
Whoa, Chimera! This was a brand new one, along with a different aspect I never encountered before. Mighty sounded pretty generic, yet it was accurate. Look at this!
The Vigor spell was annoying on its own for the way it helped the Chimera inch closer to an ultimate ability. But that stacked attack power was awful in these Warcries.
My mistake, of course! The whole puzzle revolves around prioritizing dangers and figuring out where to strike.
On a side note, I found myself switching back to cardboard tokens. I actually preferred these over the acrylic ones!
Iron Worker Power
Coal’s deck was a little hard for me to figure out in conjunction with this Chimera, but in a fantastic way! I kept resetting and telling myself this would be the best play.
Iron Workers were particularly helpful. I had some Calico Critters in overalls and uniforms show up to add a little flavor. Please admire the fantastic iron-based sculpture. Ha!
Simply put, this was excellent. I struggled more than I did with other decks, and that made me like the game more.
Lessons were learned, Iron Workers cheered me on, and the Chimera’s defenses were slowly whittled away. Yeah!
Mighty Thievery
Excuse me, why are my dice by the Chimera? Well, what an interesting ultimate ability this one possessed. I was quite surprised when this showed up for the first time. My dice!
Indeed, this was its way of reducing my dice pool. Hence, speed was of the essence. Dragging out a match wasn’t a great idea: Quick attacks and progress were necessary.
Just another example of how much I love this system. I never know what to expect, even if it’s not good for me. Ha!
Yet as is evident, I was on my way through this campaign with just one more level to defeat. Coal had a plan!
The Excitement of Playing Over and Over
I played this 9 times in a row during an evening. The only brief pause was to reset, which took a matter of minutes. So much action! That determination was buoyed by my excitement as I saw new card combinations, or realized how useful something could be. And it wasn’t a case of trying to find the guaranteed single way to win. This one changes on the fly!
The learning is more about recognizing the board state and understanding what to do. I could write out my exact sequence, turn by turn, and it would result in a loss in many cases. The Chimera is tricky with its unpredictability! Yet that kept me engaged and rather than getting bored over anything repetitive, each of these plays felt wonderfully unique and fun.
Teetering on the Edge
Previously, I though that Level 2 was where the game shone the brightest. This was where I had to learn the nuances of my deck, and then Level 3 seemed like the final test.
That idea flipped around here, as it was the final level where I started to figure out this deck. It’s not complex: I was just dealing with a lot of nuances with this new Chimera, too.
Winning easily is never something I strive for, but learning how to get there and doing clever things is what I love.
And this is a game that sets that up. Even when I was losing horribly, I could still pull off a few cool turns and actions.
The Iron Rhino
I think when I get excited over winning, my sense of humor gets extra random. Case in point: There are no Calico Critter rhinos in existence. So I found one with a horn… Or horns.
And if you look closely, my creative interpretation of the day Coal defeated the Chimera really shines. That’s right: That is a cow wielding a tiny iron. The Iron Rhino. Ha ha!
Suffice to say I finally managed to work out this conjuration and there was a lot of trampling going on all over the place.
I battled over and over, intent on winning, and it felt awesome to see everything finally come together at the end!
Session Overview
Play Number: 14-22
Expansion 1: Red Rains – The Corpse of Viros
Expansion 2: Red Rains – The Frostwild Scourge
Solo Mode: Included in Red Rains – The Corpse of Viros
Play Details: The Frostwild Scourge, Standard 1-3 (Mighty)
Outcome: 3 Wins & 6 Losses
Talk about a nightmare with some of these spells! I enjoyed this twist, though, and although it took me some time to win, I felt like I had a chance to win. Such a great game! It just keeps getting better, and I have tons of other decks to try out. Can’t wait to find out what the next aspect does!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
9
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
6
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
9
+ Pros (Positives)
- Gameplay is rewarding in a way that encourages multiple plays to learn how to win with a deck in an optimal way.
- Even the same Chimera and aspect offers a different experience with the random behaviors and card order.
- The joy is in recognizing the puzzle that each play presents and figuring out clever ways to set up awesome turns.
- Play time is relatively quick, especially since defeating a Chimera in a few rounds is often a sound way to succeed.
- Although some of the rules take some time to get used to, once everything is in motion, most concepts are intuitive.
- Each deck feels thematic with the way the cards interact and tie into the Phoenixborn, sometimes in subtle ways.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Learning how to play can be difficult with the way the rules are laid out and not presented in the clearest way.
- Some outlier rules are mixed into large blocks of text, so it can be hard to find a specific sentence in a quick manner.
- There are a lot of keywords to understand and keep track of, which can be enjoyable, but also easy to miss at times.
- A bit of bad luck with the Chimera’s dice rolls can speed up its power growth a little too quickly with no way to stop it.
Victory Conditions
Defeat the Chimera
- Overall Goal Progress 16%
Goals and Milestones
Win a standard campaign against each aspect. (3/14)
Win a standard campaign against each Chimera. (2/7)
Win a standard campaign as each Phoenixborn. (3/30)
Continue the Conversation
Do you have a favorite Phoenixborn or Chimera from Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn? Are there any cards you particularly enjoy using? This system continues to delight me with its evolving puzzles! I could probably play dozens of times with just a fraction of the content. So thankful I finally took the time to learn and play. Expect more battles ahead!
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