Dark Ascension
Dark Ascension
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Set symbol
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Symbol description
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Bat | |
Design team
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Mark Rosewater (lead), Jenna Helland, Zac Hill, Graeme Hopkins, Matt Tabak[1] | |
Development team
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Tom LaPille (lead), Mark L. Gottlieb, Zac Hill, David Humpherys, Ken Troop[1] | |
Release date
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February 3, 2012[1] | |
Themes and mechanics
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Double-faced cards, Curse, Graveyard matters, Tribal, Humans sacrifice | |
Keywords and/or ability words
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Fateful hour, Flashback, Morbid, Transform, Undying | |
Set size
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158 (64 commons, 44 uncommons, 38 rares, 12 mythic rares)[2] | |
Expansion code
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DKA[1] | |
Development code name
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Rattle[3] | |
| Innistrad block sets | ||
| Innistrad | Dark Ascension | Avacyn Restored |
| Magic: The Gathering chronology | ||
| Premium Deck Series: Graveborn | Dark Ascension | Duel Decks: Venser vs. Koth |
Dark Ascension is the second set in the Innistrad block. It is the 57th Magic expansion and was released on February 3, 2012.
Contents |
Set details
Dark Ascension continues the storyline of Innistrad on the plane of the same name. Thematically, the plane is still plagued by Werewolves, Zombies, Vampires, Ghosts and other creatures of the night. The set puts a stronger emphasis on these creature types, such as providing a lord for each of them. Meanwhile, the humans are on the verge of extinction and have to take desperate measures to stem the tide. All the major mechanics of the previous set, including Double-faced cards, return.
Flavor and storyline
| “ | Command the Night
Innistrad is a plane of menace and dread where every creature hides a darker aspect. Here, hedonistic vampires stalk the shadows to quench their thirst, and the full moon can transform a simple villager into a savage werewolf. Best to huddle inside, Planeswalker, lest the horrors of this world rend you limb from limb. |
” |
Marketing
Tokens and emblems
The Dark Ascension tokens and emblems, in the order in which they are listed, are:[4]
1/1 Human produced by Gather the Townsfolk, Increasing Devotion, and Thraben Doomsayer
1/1 Vampire with lifelink produced by Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
- Sorin, Lord of Innistrad emblem with "Creatures you control get +1/+0."
Themes and mechanics
The set introduces a new keyword mechanic in Undying. It functions very similar to Persist, but instead of -1/-1 counters, it adds a +1/+1 counter to the creature when it returns from the grave.
Fateful hour is a new ability word, which scales up an effect if the controller of the effect is at 5 life or less.
Double-faced cards return with this set, further showcasing the transformation mechanic. Flashback, Morbid, and Curses also return.
Creature types
No novel creature types were introduced in this expansion.
Cycles
Dark Ascension breaks the mold for cycles to a certain extent, as some of the cycles only contain four cards. In cycles which emphasize an allied color-pair, the green-white part of the cycle is missing. This is likely due to the higher emphasis on monster tribes, as the white/green pair is tied to humans.
Dark Ascension has six cycles:
- Increasing Flashback Spells: Five rare spells with Flashback, which double their effect if they are flashed back — Increasing Devotion, Increasing Confusion, Increasing Ambition, Increasing Vengeance, and Increasing Savagery.
- Mythic Rare Tribal Creatures: Four mythic rare creatures that are of an allied pair associated with one of four monster tribes associated with Innistrad — Drogskol Reaver, Falkenrath Aristocrat, Havengul Lich, and Huntmaster of the Fells.
- Ally Flashback cards: Each of these common spells has a flashback cost involving its counter-clockwise ally on the color wheel. This cycle mirrors the ally cycle from Innistrad, which had flashback costs in the color's clockwise ally on the color wheel. — Ray of Revelation, Saving Grasp, Reap the Seagraf, Fires of Undeath, and Wild Hunger.
- Enemy Flashback cards: Each of these uncommon spells has a flashback cost involving the enemy color two slots later on the color wheel. They are the reverse of a cycle from Innistrad, as the colors of the flashback cost and the regular casting cost are flipped. — Lingering Souls, Mystic Retrieval, Deadly Allure, Burning Oil, and Tracker's Instincts.
- Tribal Lords: A cycle of uncommon cards that are allied-colored lords tied to one of the monster tribes on Innistrad. They all provide some form of benefit in addition to the standard lord effect. Immerwolf is the only one which is not named Captain. — Drogskol Captain, Diregraf Captain, Stromkirk Captain, and Immerwolf.
- Enemy Utility lands: Like Innistrad, Dark Ascension and Avacyn Restored contain (between them) a cycle of colorless lands that can be tapped for
and have an additional tap ability requiring two specific colors of mana to activate. In this cycle, the colors are of enemy pairs. — Vault of the Archangel and Grim Backwoods
Reprinted cards
Preconstructed decks
| Dark Ascension preconstructed theme decks |
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Intro packs: Swift Justice ( ) | Relentless Dead ( ) | Monstrous Surprise ( ) | Grave Power () | Dark Sacrifice ()
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| Event decks: Gleeful Flames () | Spiraling Doom ()
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| Related pages: Innistrad block/Preconstructed theme decks • Innistrad block preconstructed decks |
Intro packs
| Intro pack name | Foil rare | |||||
| White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | ||
| Swift Justice | □ | ■ | Requiem Angel | |||
| Relentless Dead | ■ | ■ | Havengul Runebinder | |||
| Monstrous Surprise | ■ | ■ | Flayer of the Hatebound | |||
| Grave Power | ■ | ■ | Ghoultree | |||
| Dark Sacrifice | □ | ■ | Fiend of the Shadows | |||
Event decks
| Event deck name | |||||
| White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | |
| Gleeful Flames | ■ | ||||
| Spiraling Doom | ■ | ■ | |||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Wizards of the Coast. (July 25, 2011.) "Announcing Dark Ascension", Daily MTG, magicthegathering.com, Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Dark Ascension — CardGuide Wiki
- ↑ [Gathering Magic. (July 22, 2011.) ""Rattle" Is Dark Ascensionn", GatheringMagic.
- ↑ Monty Ashley. (January 18, 2012.) "Dark Ascension Tokens", Daily MTG, magicthegathering.com, Wizards of the Coast.
External links
Contributors
Aurora Illumina, Chaosof99, Circeus, Coreydragon, DeathHacker, Falk, GeoMike, Hunter61, JaceWeCan, Keitarou-Shift, Kraken Chowder 101, Magic Mage, Markovian12, Miraika, Sloth, Spike, SyntheticDreamer, Thepoisonx, Unistardust, Yami Michael
