Hello, and welcome to this week's blog! This time, we're going to get into the dirt with The Ascendead, a group of aether-hungry Necromancers who fill out the rest of their guild with rotting flesh golems and skeletons galore!
The origins of The Ascendead start with the Southwalkers when they integrated into the marshes and mysteries of southern Amoas after the Great Revolt. After Zeral and the other Elementalists from the Ademian Kingdom fled to the south after the Great Revolt, some Southwalkers that had already made a home of the swampy lands of the south (whether due to being tired of travelling or liking the unfriendly habitat) started to exhibit some abilities that were considered taboo among some Fravicians. They could expel their own aetheric energies to fill the bodies of the dead and manipulate their movements. Some advanced necromancers could even automate the movements and have the undead attack or follow on their own. Luckily for the necromancers, there were plenty of fresh bodies that were either killed in the Great Revolt or were killed when they travelled to the south and succumbed to the harsh lands.
In the earlier days of The Ascendead, many people understood that aetheric abilities seemed to sprout strongest in the south. Some of the earliest necromancers found this to be true in their abilities, and this pushed some to crave for entire armies or darker magics. This was before anyone knew about Conjurers - Summon specialists who could conjure a whole army in a matter of minutes. The air of fear chased wherever the necromancers roamed, and they basked in it.
However, not all necromancers were power-hungry mages searching for old tomes and magical crypts. Some were simply people who wanted to bring back their loved ones - beloved children caught in the crossfire of firey bolts, blasts of chi and shards of ice amidst the Great Revolt. Others wanted to bring back Vastelle and take hold of the Ademian Empire once more. No matter the intent of their power, many different dreams and desires make up The Ascendead, even today. Unfortunately, most of today's necromancers are focused more on power and mastery of the dark craft over romantic revivals and protection of loved ones.
The current leader of The Ascendead is a man named Aethrobitus (ay-threb-itus). He is the only known Necromancer - except for Kage, a rumored necromancer that is the supposed last of Ademian bloodline - who has lived throughout the events of the Great Revolt and still lives today. Many necromancers aim to reach the levels of Aethrobitus' power to gain (what seems to be) eternal life. Any that approach him about gaining that power are always given the same answer, though:
"If I have to tell you, then you will never find out."
This doesn't stop necromancers looking for companionship or power from joining The Ascendead. As you can probably guess, necromancers are few - most likely from frowned-upon practice of taking a loved one's body and using it like a toy. In fact, there are barely more than 10 actual living people in the guild of necromancers. The other 90% of members are all revived or mutated beings who are able to act autonomously without necromancer supervision. Not all of these beings are rotted bodies waiting for their next death, as some of them seemed to have found a whole new power and life of their own like The Corpse Slinger or Skinflayer Carrayan.
Now, let's talk about those abilities, shall we?
Rotting Flesh – This unit only takes up to 3 damage from each unit it battles. This unit cannot restore and cannot have another ability that reduces damage.
Undying – Return this unit to the field with a -1/-1 token when it dies unless it already has a -1/-1 token, then instead shuffle it into your deck. This unit cannot have -1/-1 tokens removed.
Conjure (X) – Tap this unit. Place a (X) from your summon deck into the stasis field after paying its resource cost. Place it on your field on your next initial phase even if this unit is dead.
Curse (X) - Tap this unit. Search your deck for an aura - curse of [X] cost or less and play it.
Terror - Units that this unit battles gain Terrorized after battle calculations until your initial phase. While this unit is on the field, owners of Terrorized units can either pay you 1 (that you keep until your end phase) or give their unit a -1/-1 token to attack with their Terrorized unit.
As you can see, lots of horror and death are involved with the necromancers. The Ascendead is the first guild to officially use a Summon Deck, which is a deck that contains the units that your Conjure (X) units can pull. There are about 5 other mechanics that also use summon decks, but Conjure is unique in that the summoned unit will still appear in your battlefield next turn even if its summoner is dead.
Just like Collective Mind with The Ajai, the necromancers get to use Curse to pull an aura - curse directly from the deck and play it. The necromancers also have great defensive options with both Rotting Flesh - a mechanic that limits battle damage done - and Terror - a mechanic that forces players to skip attacking unless they pay with their resources or their unit's power. Finally, we have Undying, which is a true testament to necromancer aggression and the swarm of the undead.
You can play witha Curse/Undying deck right now! Check out all playable options on Tabletop Simulator, Tabletop Playground or the free version on Tabletopia!
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