Abominable Adventure: The Red Rains Campaign Guide for Ashes: Reborn

Welcome to the next chapter of Ashes: Reborn! Thanks as always to those of you who read and share my content. Our next adventure looks a little different, and has been a long time coming. The world has gotten a lot bigger, and our new Adventuring Party might be our most important yet…

Campaign Mode is far and away my favorite way to play the new Red Rains PVE for Ashes: Reborn. It’s great at giving a satisfying set of games with a sense of progression, and it also breathes new life into old Preconstructed decks and potentially forgotten cards. It’s awesome, but for new and old players alike, it’s a lot to sort through. If you wanted a headstart on looking at your options when tackling a campaign, you’re in the exact right place!

The bulk of this article is an overview of the different preconstructed decks in Ashes: Reborn, since those decks are the foundation on which a campaign is built. You start with a Precon, and as you progress, you pick other Precons to take cards from to customize your deck. Thusly, each of these Precons can be evaluated in two main ways- for it’s strength as a starter deck, and the strength of the deckbuilding packages you might want from it if you pick it as one of your upgrade options. There’s also some other information here about the general nature of campaign mode, and some basic strategy and rules tips. And as a reminder, the best way to stay up to date with Ashes and facilitate it’s continued growth is through a Team Covenant Subscription to the game.

Let’s get to it…

CAMPAIGN MODE

Here’s what you’re going to do, in essence, when you sit down to play a campaign of Red Rains.

1. You’ll pick your starter deck from one of the 29 available Precon decks. This will determine which Phoenixborn you play across the whole campaign, as well as what 30 cards they’ll start with. Remember that decks stay at 30 cards throughout the entirety of a campaign.
2. You’ll optionally take up to 3 of those cards out of your deck and replace them with up to 3 copies of Channel Magic, a card included with Red Rains mode as an alternative to cards that may not function well in the mode (or are otherwise below-average)
3. You pick a Chimera to fight against for the whole campaign. The preset Shadow and Fury lists offer great, and very different, campaign experiences, and then later on you can experiment with deckbuilding for the Chimera, or even random lists. All are fun, but I can’t recommend the Shadow and Fury decks enough, even for veteran players.
4. You’ll choose to take on the campaign on either Standard or Heroic difficulty. If you choose Heroic, you get a special bonus- you can take up to 3 copies of one card from any other Precon and slot them into your deck. This can often be a big deal, and a lot of the most reliable choices will be single die units, things like Raptor Herder or Salamander Monk that enable you to keep bodies on the board.
5. You play the first game! If you have any rules questions, check out the Ashes Discord where Red Rains has dedicated channels, or this great tutorial/play video from One Stop Coop Shop.
6. After you win (we knew you could do it), you move to the next game, but first you’ll upgrade your deck with your first campaign deckbuild, where you select a single additional Precon to add to your campaign cardpool. You can take up to 3 copies of up to 3 cards from that Precon and swap them into your deck.
7. You play again, leveling the Chimera up to Standard 2 or Heroic 2 and bringing along your fancy upgraded deck. Winning game 2 gets you access to another campaign deckbuild, just like the first.
8. You play the final game, for all the marbles, against Standard 3 or the dreaded Heroic 3. This will be the final test of your deckbuilding choices and piloting skill, and if you win this one, the Chimera is dead dead dead and you’ve beaten the campaign!

As you can see, the choices of how to modify your deck are a huge part of the strategy and fun of campaign mode. To succeed, players will likely want to know what each deck provides and what each deck needs, and so we’ll give a nice in-depth breakdown of just that.

DECK TRAITS

We have to start by defining our parameters. Every Precon deck has things it does well and things it doesn’t, and even the best of them benefit greatly from incorporating cards from other decks, which as mentioned, you’ll do between each game in a campaign.

Below is a list of traits that represent broad aspects of the game that a given deck might incorporate in a noteworthy manner. Several of these are attached to each deck in an attempt to help you see, at a glance, the broad features of each character and their respective cards. These are not scientific or complete by any stretch, but they should give you a few easy reference points as you make your campaign choices across the 29 (and counting!) Precon decks.

Traits you might see in a given Precon include…

OFFENSE
Units with strong direct attacks.
Examples: Cloudburst Gryphon, Hammer Knight

DEFENSE
Units that are hard to kill, and/or excel at intercepting attacks.
Examples: Gilder, Beast Tamer

AOE REMOVAL
Spells that damage or destroy multiple enemy units.
Examples: Meteor, Survival of the Fittest

TARGET REMOVAL
Spells that deal concentrated damage to a single enemy unit.
Examples: Fester, Excavate

HEALING
Spells or units that remove wounds from your Phoenixborn.
Examples: Heal, Butterfly Monk

DIRECT DAMAGE
Options to place damage directly on the Chimera, or efficiently attack it directly.
Examples: Molten Gold, Fire Archer, Prism Tetra

UNIT DENSITY
Decks that provide a critical mass of units with solid value.
Examples: Dimona, Namine

UTILITY
Decks that feature strong tech options, such as draw effects, status synergies, or recursion. Note -if a deck is listed as needing Utility, it usually means you’re looking at a deck shell or Phoenixborn that needs specific additional pieces to hit it’s ceiling, such as Coal needing cards that draw cards to use Slash, or Jessa needing self-clear because of her small battlefield and Screams of the Departed.
Examples: Generosity, Abundance, Gates Thrown Open

Now that we know a little bit more about what we’re looking for, it’s time to look at our options. As a side note, this deck breakdown also functions well as a buying guide if you’re just starting in with Ashes. The usual answer regarding what expansion decks to buy is “whatever interests you!”, so hopefully these overviews will give you some ideas as to who you might want to add to your roster next.

CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER

Below is a breakdown of each of the 29 Precon decks available in Ashes, including their traits and some basic strategy tips. Have a ball.

ARADEL — THE MIST GUARDIAN

Provides: Healing, AOE Removal, Unit Density
Needs: Offense, Direct Damage, Utility

It’s pretty hard to complain about Aradel as your starter in Red Rains. Water Blast is efficient and online from turn 1, Mist Spirits excel at soaking up attacks from pesky aspects, and Mist Typhoon has broader applications here than in PVP. Quantity over quality means she’s particularly vulnerable to guard rolls, but by any measure this deck is off to a great start.
Starter Deck Rating — 4/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Shifting Mist has pretty limited application here. Games in Red Rains don’t usually get down to mill on the player side, so deck slots on dice-fixing tech can usually be better spent.

PACKAGE A: Summon Butterfly Monk, Summon Mist Spirit, Mist Typhoon
PACKAGE B: Summon Butterfly Monk, Massive Growth, Root Armor

COAL — THE MEN IN IRON

Provides: Offense, Defense, Direct Damage
Needs: Unit Density, Healing, Utility

Direct damage in Red Rains is always good, and Coal is the master of it. You’ll probably want to import some kind of draw engine to get the most out of him, and you have several options- I particularly like Abundance, Tidal Crab/Wishing Wing, and Generosity. His 15 Life will cause some tight games, and he burns through his deck fast, but riding the lightning is something Coal fans know and love. Plus, you know…Hammer Knights. Starter Deck Rating — 3/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Some combination of Strengthen, Cover, and Expand Energy. They all work well enough, but you don’t need 3x of them.

PACKAGE A: Anchornaut, Hammer Knight, Close Combat

SARIA — THE CLOUDSEA SIREN

Provides: Utility, Target Removal, Defense
Needs: AOE Removal, Direct Damage, Utility

To some degree, every Red Rains deck needs to interact with Blood and make it a large part of how they kill the Chimera. Seaside Raven’s combination of Prey and Quick Strike makes it particularly great at that, and it’s backed up with a bunch of cards that have similarly high utility in Red Rains. Throw in Saria’s great stats and built-in mill tech, and you’ve got a true heavy hitter.
Starter Deck Rating — 5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Seal! The ceiling on this card is capped since the Chimera only ever has the one card that counts as a ready spell. Poor Seal just can’t catch a break, it’s not the greatest in PVP either.

PACKAGE A: Summon Three Eyed Owl, Enchanted Violinist, Strange Copy

JESSA — THE BLOODWOODS QUEEN

Provides: Defense, Direct Damage, Target Removal
Needs: Utility, Offense, AOE Removal

While Fear is as good here as it’s ever been, the rest of Jessa’s deck has a lot to answer for. It’s not all bad news. Thanks to the Chimera being, occasionally, very very dumb, Jessa’s weird burn engine with Blood Shaman and Blood Transfer will actually be able to fire with some frequency. Following that up and converting it to a win remains tricky however, and a lack of consistent ways to pressure the battlefield hurt this deck’s overall viability. Don’t get me wrong, all these strange engine pieces are really quite fun, but nevertheless, you can consider picking Jessa as your campaign PB to be playing on hard mode.
Starter Deck Rating — 1/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Oh God, all 3 Cut The Strings maybe? Good luck.

PACKAGE A: Blood Archer, Blood Shaman, Redirect

NOAH — THE SHADOWS OF VIROS

Provides: Target Removal, Offense, Direct Damage
Needs: Unit Density, Defense, Healing

Noah’s tricky. Sometimes his Shadow Target doesn’t do enough to meaningfully slow down the Chimera, but his kit features enough essential pieces to get you by. Fade Away and Shadow Strike, in particular are a really strong pair of removal tools that not many other decks can match, a nice upgrade from their infrequent PVP use cases. The biggest issue here is that these units are often not consistent enough. Masked Wolves remain a tough value proposition, Sleeping Widows can be finicky, and Stormwind Sniper is just okay. False Demon rocks, though, and really none of this should stop Noah fans from having a great time with him in Red Rains. This is a fun deck with some very cool options.
Starter Deck Rating — 2.5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Some choices here. Resummon is playable, but Noah himself isn’t really on the list of people who can maximize it. It does let you, functionally, remove an exhaustion token, and that can be worth 2 dice in some circumstances. Meanwhile, Sleight of Hand is usually just as bad here as it is in PVP, and Bound Soul is also dubious value. Trust your gut. None of those three cards are gonna win the game for you, and Noah is going to be best with all 3 copies of Channel. Just a matter of what you take out.

PACKAGE A: Summon False Demon, Fade Away, Shadow Strike
PACKAGE B: Summon Sleeping Widows, Stormwind Sniper, Shadow Strike

MAEONI — THE SNAKES IN SILVER

Provides: Defense, Direct Damage, Utility
Needs: Unit Density, AOE Removal, Offense

Maeoni can have a rough start, both to the campaign and to each individual game within it. Silver Snake is an engine that takes time to come online, and in the meantime, having only Gilders to keep you safe can and will have the Chimera barreling over you. It’s good then, that surviving the initial rounds rewards you with nothing short of the most broken unit in Red Rains. That dang Silver Snake, especially in cooperative, will just win you the game outright if given enough time and protection. Play carefully. Consume. Win handily.
Starter Deck Rating — 4/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Open Memories is a very powerful tech card, but nothing in Maeoni’s deck is truly worth 2 extra dice to get a hold of on demand. There’s an argument to be made for getting a second Gilder book Round 1, but it sure feels bad, man. That and the extra copies of Hypnotize are probably the hardest slots here to justify, and whichever way you slice it, the first deckbuilding session will feel like a breath of fresh air.

PACKAGE A: Summon Gilder, Refresh, Molten Gold

RIN — THE FROSTDALE GIANTS

Provides: Target Removal, Offense, Direct Damage
Needs: Unit Density, AOE Removal, Healing

Rin’s Fury sure does feel good against an opponent that just can’t help falling in love with (eating) you. It’s almost guaranteed to fire against whatever you need it to hit. The rest of his deck is a little lacking in cheap bodies, so the priority in a campaign is to import some single die options. But your floor can only go so low with full playsets of Frost Fang, Ice Trap, and Frost Bite. Rin is solid as ice.
Starter Deck Rating — 4/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Don’t freak out, but Freezing Blast isn’t even that bad in Red Rains mode. I think the weakpoint here is actually Crystal Shield. Unit Guard is always good, but Crystal Shield is still a pretty questionable usage of resources in a game where every die counts.

PACKAGE A: Frost Fang, Frost Bite, Ice Trap

BRENNEN — THE CHILDREN OF BLACKCLOUD

Provides: Target Removal, AOE Removal, Direct Damage
Needs: Defense, Healing, Utility

Brennen is not the terrorist to the Chimera that she is to her fellow Phoenixborn- just by virtue of the goalpost being farther away, burn is the win condition that suffers the most compared to PVP. Brennen still has some outstanding cards, particularly Crimson Bomber, Fester, and a finally relevant Blackcloud Ninja, but you’ll need to work hard to win that first game, get some fresh options into her deck, and start back in on your regularly scheduled domination. Don’t sleep on Dread Wraith, either- it’s a lot better here if you’re clever about manipulating the Chimera into attacking it, don’t counter, and then use those fresh wounds to fuel a potent swing.
Starter Deck Rating — 2/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Through a certain lens, Chant of Worship is just Channel Magic with more steps. Toss it.

PACKAGE A: Crimson Bomber, Fester, Fire Archer
PACKAGE B: Choke, Fester, Blood Chains

VICTORIA — THE DUCHESS OF DECEPTION

Provides: Target Removal, Offense, Utility
Needs: AOE Removal, Unit Density, Defense

Victoria has some advantages in Red Rains that help her out a bit. The Chimera is often too dumb to take advantage of the low life on Shadow Spirit and Shadow Hound, and when it isn’t, you usually have a Particle Shield ready to go. Surprise! is great for staving off Chimera Ultimates, and To Shadows is guaranteed win when your opponent exhausts everything every round. It’s still a little rough around the edges, most obviously with Copycat, the mode’s single non-functional card. But swap in Channel Magic, play carefully, and Vicky fans will have things to be happy about.
Starter Deck Rating — 2/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Copycat. It literally doesn’t function.

PACKAGE A: Summon Shadow Spirit, To Shadows, Particle Shield

LEO — THE ROARING ROSE

Provides: Utility, Defense, Unit Density
Needs: Direct Damage, Offense, Healing

The premier choice for milling out the Chimera. Glow Finch and Orchid Dove are absolute champs, chewing through the Chimera deck at a very rapid pace indeed. There’s just a lot to like here, and all of it is fun to use, but keep in mind that a shortage of damage and attack can make actually removing aspects occasionallly problematic. Leo is great at building an impenetrable wall, but is likely to see a lot of token buildup as aspects survive 0 attack counters. I recommend slotting a Ceremonial die or two to keep Beast Tamer on the board more consistently. Don’t get it twisted though- when that fatigue card inevitably flips and the Chimera is taking chip damage all over the place from swarms of deck-hungry birds, there’s going to be no denying that Leo is stellar.
Starter Deck Rating — 4/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Tricky, but my money is on Mind Probe being the weak link. It’s really cool to be able to see what’s coming up in the Chimera deck, but it doesn’t actually discard, which means it doesn’t reliably help you close the game.

PACKAGE A: Summon Nightshade Swallow, Beast Tamer, Amplify
PACKAGE B: Summon Orchid Dove, Memory Theft, Remorse

NAMINE — THE SONG OF SOAKSEND

Provides: Offense, Defense, Target Removal
Needs: AOE Removal, Healing, Utility

This deck often gets singled out as being a particularly coherent Precon, and that reputation holds up in Red Rains. Guilt Link and Salamander Monk are the stars of the show here, but really there’s not a bad card in the deck, and you even have a build-around closer in Squall Stallion. Not a lot of notes to give to Namine, who by all accounts is just built for killing monsters.
Starter Deck Rating — 5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Nothing urgent to replace, really. You may not need all 3 copies of Syphon?

PACKAGE A: Summon Salamander Monk, River Skald, Guilt Link
PACKAGE B: Summon Salamander Monk, River Skald, Crescendo

ODETTE — THE LAW OF LIONS

Provides: Defense, Healing, AOE Removal
Needs: Utility, Offense, Unit Density

This is a solid deck that brings a lot of things to the table. Shield Mage, in particular, really changes the game, but the reality is that you’re here for Meteor, Sword of Virtue, and Odette herself. You can definitely toss some Laws in favor of Channel Magic, but once you’re past that, you have a lot of good cards and bodies to work with. This is also probably the deck that will be most readily reached for when Heroic difficulty comes knocking- played correctly, and with a little bit of luck, Meteor is basically a cheat code.
Starter Deck Rating — 3.5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Law of Sight is literally just a self-nerf because the Chimera doesn’t have Reaction spells… and even if it did, LoS might still be the deadweight. Back to the binder, buddy.

PACKAGE A: Summon Winged Lioness, Meteor, Power Through

ECHO — THE MASTERS OF GRAVITY

Provides: Target Removal, Offense, Unit Density
Needs: AOE Removal, Healing, Utility

The cards in Echo’s deck that are good in PVP remain very good in RR, but a lot of his stuff that didn’t work great before gets new, compelling upside. The Polarity Mage + Holy Relics stuff in particular has a lot of chance for repeat value here. Games with Echo often end with a pile of heavily upgraded units, and Echo himself is a hoss. Gravity Flux carrys tons of weight against the always-alert aspects, and Chaos Gravity is insanely cool when you don’t have to be afraid of cancels. Tons to love here.
Starter Deck Rating — 4/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Changing Winds isn’t bad, by any means, but you should 100% toss it. Channel Magic happens to be pretty good at the same thing for cheaper. Draw and dice fixing stuff is, usually, preferable as an action spell as opposed to being your spellboard.

PACKAGE A: Summon Mirror Spirit, Light Swordsman, Sonic Swordsman

KOJI — THE BOY AMONG WOLVES

Provides: Unit Density, Offense, Defense
Needs: AOE Removal, Target Removal, Utility

Yes yes, the Creeper engine is awesome, but forget all that- we all know that the real ones are here because Biter is back on the menu as a viable card! BITERRRRR. Koji has a lot of ways to keep his unit density high and take over the game. Even Temple Elder is a 2/2, and sometimes that’s what the doctor ordered. Those previously mentioned Creepers are also just a lot of fun to manipulate in RR. High attack ceilings, fun tech, and no issues whatsoever keeping bodies around make Koji is a premier option to run a full campaign with.
Starter Deck Rating — 5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Attacking the Chimera with multiple units at once isn’t the right move very often, and for that reason, Join The Hunt is our most dubious card here. It’s still plenty good though.

PACKAGE A: Summon Biter, Hunt Master, Explosive Growth
PACKAGE B: Summon Indiglow Creeper, Explosive Growth, Invigorate

ASTREA — THE GODDESS OF ISHRA

Provides: Defense, Utility
Needs: Offense, AOE Removal, Target Removal

This deck is rough chuckles. Weeping Spirit is barely functional, Light Bringer is still solid but not the game-defining unit it is in PVP, and Beguile, Astrea’s ability, is frequently not worth the single die. Ishra, it would seem, has been caught more off guard by the arrival of the Red Rains than most places. It’s not all bad news…Kneel is still AOE control even if it stacks Red Rains tokens, Steadfast Guardian is always pretty good, and Sun Sister is likely to be easy to keep online. But the question will remain “How do I win?”, and when you figure it out, let me know. It’s worth a shot for sure, though. Astrea’s not my idea of a good time, but she might be yours, and she has some strong cards to add to other shells.
Starter Deck Rating — 1/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Lots of competition here…Weeping Spirits are pretty bad, but used cleverly they can soak up attacks from the Chimera. Royal Charm probably needs the boot most urgently, but also has genuine battlefield impact in a deck that sorely needs it. The answer is probably somewhere in the pile of ready spells, but you might need to play around to find the sweet spot. 3x Channel Magic, however you get there, is probably correct though.

PACKAGE A: Summon Light Bringer, Summon Steadfast Guardian, Call To Action

HAROLD — THE DEMONS OF DARMAS

Provides: Offense, Unit Density, Target Removal
Needs: AOE Removal, Utility, Defense

Like Odette on steroids, the predominant reason you start with Harold is for Harold himself…but the rest of the deck brings a lot to the table as well. Vampire Bat is probably good enough on it’s own to justify a dip into Harold when deckbuildng, and Master Vampire is arguably the best Knight available to players in Red Rains. The Beast units also get extra juice in multiplayer, since the first player token spends so much time not in your possession. And oh yeah, Mark Prey has never been more fun either. There’s just so much going on and all of it spells doom for the monsters, which of course is quite fitting. Enjoy your hunt, be sure to set the mood.
Starter Deck Rating — 5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Dark Reaping and Transmute Magic are both kinda bad, but lo, Transmute has that weird kicker effect that lets you spin down a Rage die. RIP in peace Dark Reaping.

PACKAGE A: Summon Vampire Bat Swarm, Master Vampire, Beast Warrior
PACKAGE B: Master Vampire, Beast Master, Adrenaline Rush

SEMBALI — THE SPIRITS OF MEMORIA

Provides: Defense, Target Removal, Utility
Needs: Offense, Unit Density, AOE Removal

Sembali’s kind of a weird duck, and probably more likely to be picked for her outstanding deckbuilding options than she’ll be picked as a starter herself. Purify is awesome here, but a lot of this other stuff struggles to hold together, particularly Gates, better in almost every other deck than it is right here at homebase. There’s some fun stuff going on, though. Celestial Knight and Shadow Guard are solid, high attack units. You also have two cards (Purify and Summon Spectral Assassin) that allow you to double dip on strong play effects attached to cheap allies. Importing those, or some better books to use with Gates, gives her some potential strength heading into the later campaign games. Just be ready to work for it.
Starter Deck Rating — 3/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Nobody’s gonna be writing any loving raccoon poetry about Admonisher any time soon, but it’s more important to get rid of Law of Grace, which just doesn’t do enough in RR to keep.

PACKAGE A: Gates Thrown Open, Shepherd of Lost Souls, Chained Creations
PACKAGE B: Celestial Knight, Chained Creations, Shadow Guard

RIMEA — THE GHOST GUARDIAN

Provides: Unit Density, Offense, Utility
Needs: AOE Removal

Rimea’s time has come. Her Precon offers strong, flexible tools to deal with the Chimera, the greatest of which is Ancestral Army, a unique card that’s just far easier to enjoy here than in PVP. Follow that up with Battle Seer, Hollow, and the Ghostly Mounts, and you have maybe the most comprehensive set of units out of any campaign starter deck. Rimea’s Visions ability is no slouch either, giving you great insight into what tricks the Chimera has coming up. Whoever’s sleeving up Rimea is exactly who I want sitting across from me when I go to kill monsters. A knockout deck…you can probably toss Memorialize though. Channel Magic is there for a reason.
Starter Deck Rating — 5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Memorialize. Boi bye ❤

PACKAGE A: Battle Seer, Hollow, Shared Sorrow

XANDER — THE KING OF TITANS

Provides: AOE Removal, Unit Density, Offense
Needs: Defense, Utility

My boy Xander maintains his sterling reputation as being a cut above in the world of Precons. All your bases are almost covered here- recurring Raptor Herder never gets old, you’ve got AOE support with Nature’s Wrath, big closers with Hydra and Archasaurus. It is easy to spend your dice a little too quickly, so you may want to get some more cheap units into the mix when you deckbuild. Even as is, though, these dinosaurs excel at controlling the battlefield, and that strategy has a lot of bandwidth against the Chimera.
Starter Deck Rating — 4/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Earthquake. Dice fixing isn’t super critical in RR. (EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an inside joke and I regret it’s inclusion. Buncha fun killers. The real answer here is probably Mass Heal, which while free, is a little too situational to keep around)

PACKAGE A: Raptor Herder, Nature’s Wrath, Summon Shining Hydra

JAMES — THE GRAVE KING

Provides: Offense, Defense, Unit Density
Needs: AOE Removal, Target Removal, Utility

James is a surprisingly coherent and fun deck to use in RR, but it’s worth noting that the strategy here is so specific that he’s a touch less flexible than a lot of his companions. You’re picking James because you want to maximize Summon Fallen and take big huge swings with Immortal Commander and a bunch of zombies. You do have lots of deckbuilding options for fun allies to import to use Commune With Souls for, as well as a solid suite of healing tools with Reclaim Soul and Rally The Troops, so there’s space to get creative. But this deck is gonna be about some zombies for sure. Come hungry.
Starter Deck Rating — 3/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Chant of Sacrifice was already a card with limited use cases, and considering how eager the Chimera is to kill your stuff for you, it’s an easy toss.

PACKAGE A: Grave Knight, Rising Horde, Reclaim Soul
PACKAGE B: Immortal Commander, Rising Horde, Rally The Troops

FIONA — THE PROTECTOR OF ARGAIA

Provides: Utility, Offense, Defense
Needs: Unit Density, AOE Removal, Utility

Super fun, with lots of strong cards, but Fiona definitely has some pain points. It’s mostly to do with all of these units being kind of pricy without actually bringing much in the way of practical battlefield impact. Mind Maze is stellar as always, and the usual trick of importing Polarity Mage to get more mileage out of them works fine too. Grabbing some true workhorse units to duke it out with the Chimera is going to be what the doctor ordered, and you probably also want a source of draw to facilitate using Fiona’s ability. Look out for Wishing Wing, which is both of those things at once, and be prepared for a tough but rewarding campaign.
Starter Deck Rating — 2/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: New Ideas draws cards! That’s cool. So does Channel Magic, which also heals you and fixes your dice. More like Bad Ideas, thank u next.

PACKAGE A: Essence Druid, Seeds of Aggression, Return to Soil
PACKAGE B: Summon Mind Fog Owl, Exhortation, Seeds of Aggression

JERICHO — THE BREAKER OF FATE

Provides: Defense, Utility, Target Removal
Needs: Unit Density, Attack, AOE Removal

Jericho’s gotten a bad reputation as a precon. She doesn’t fully deserve that, in my opinion, but I concede that you’re gonna need to keep your wits about you. The pro gamer move is swapping in a single Ceremony die to get Swift Messengers and Standard Bearers, crucial targets for Outmatch and Flash Strike, out of the discard and reliably on the field. There’s good things here! Flash Strike, Turtle Guard, and Stasis are all sick cards in RR. Plus, if you’re in coop, Blink is going to be amazing, though hilariously Jericho herself is going to need to prioritize grabbing a good Blink target for herself in deckbuilding. Her actual deck has nothing super worth using it on most of the time. Funnily, Heroic mode with Jericho can actually be easier in some respects, because the free bonus card lets you grab a solid Blink target that is exactly what the deck is missing most. If you’re careful with all these moving parts, you can usually squeeze a super rewarding victory out of all those bunnies and turtles, and once you hit that first deckbuild it’s usually smooth sailing.
Starter Deck Rating — 2/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Foresight doesn’t do enough. Toss it with impunity.

PACKAGE A: Summon Turtle Guard, Stasis, Outmatch
PACKAGE B: Summon Time Hopper, Flash Strike, Standard Bearer

LULU — THE GORRENROCK SURVIVORS

Provides: Offense, Defense, Utility
Needs: Unit Density, Healing, Target Removal

Lulu has one of those decks where previously slept on cards really come into their own. Survival of the Fittest against Ol’ Dummy can be a blowout, Gorrenrock Brawler gets to star, and the basic engine of Spark+Emberoot Lizard gets great value over the course of the game. Even the more esoteric stuff like Canyon Shelter and Omen Bringer will often have the room they need to start engineering combos, and when those combos have ceilings this high, Lulu shapes up as a real Chimera buster. Hard to go wrong here.
Starter Deck Rating — 4/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Hunting Weapons only has Gorrenrock as a target out of the Precon, and investing 5 dice in a single unit, even one that swole, isn’t usually a winning strategy.

PACKAGE A: Summon Omen Bringer, Inflame, Survival of the Fittest

ORRICK — THE MESSENGERS OF PEACE

Provides: Utility, Defense, Healing
Needs: Utility, Offense, Direct Damage

Orrick may be hard mode in PVP, but here in Red Rains he’s really got things figured out. His ‘lil exploding sheep game is tremendously entertaining, as the stupid Chimera just can’t seem to help itself from chomping on Ash Spirits. Cobra lets you snipe 2 Blood units from the top of the deck, you’ve got a hellacious mill plan with Generosity, Rile the Meek is sick, almost everything here just works. Turns out staying chill is not a half-bad approach to handling a massive eldritch horror that’s trying to eat you. Write that down.
Starter Deck Rating — 5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Recollect and Fate Reflection are the first cards on the chopping block for Orrick.

PACKAGE A: Summon Ash Spirit, Generosity, Sunshield Sentry
PACKAGE B: Summon Ruby Cobra, Summon Ash Spirit, Rile The Meek

DIMONA — THE QUEEN OF LIGHTNING

Provides: Offense, Unit Density, Direct Damage
Needs: Healing, AOE Removal

Red Rains is a mode where battlefield prowess has a huge impact on the game, so naturally, Argaia’s resident battlefield commander is a stellar choice. These units are just so big and hit so hard that it’s hard for the Chimera to catch a breath if you’re careful with your sequencing. Little things can be hard for her clear efficiently, so be careful with your Rayward Recruit buffs and consider importing in some small bodies. I know you’ve heard that before, but little units are just consistently helpful, even for a deck as powerful as Dimona’s.
Starter Deck Rating — 5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Disengage isn’t great in PVP and it’s not substantially improved here, especially considering how dubious exhaustion is in RR. It buys you a main action, but so does Channel Magic, which also gives you crucial dice fixing and healing. Ditch it.

PACKAGE A: Summon Cloudburst Gryphon, Crystal Archer, Crystal Armor

HOPE — THE ARTIST OF DREAMS

Provides: Offense, Utility, Unit Density
Needs: Defense, AOE Removal, Healing

Hope is awesome in PVP, and their deck holds up very well as a total package here too. Realm Walker and Dreamlock Mage in particular just get super consistent value out of their abilities, and the shell around them covers the other gaps pretty well. Duplicate + Fox Spirit has a very high efficiency ceiling since the Chimera exhausts all of it’s things every round, and you’re likely going to be able to set up great Double Down turns for Fox too. Hope’s got a lot going for them, and is among the most stable foundations to build a campaign on.
Starter Deck Rating — 5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Reimagine, a cool card that just doesn’t pan out nearly often enough in practice. You won’t miss it.

PACKAGE A: Summon Fox Spirit, Double Down, Realm Walker
PACKAGE B: Summon Wishing Wing, Dreamlock Mage, Realm Walker

TRISTAN — THE OCEAN’S GUARD

Provides: Offense, Direct Damage, Utility
Needs: Defense, Healing

Are you starting to sense a pattern here? The Time Phoenixborn really bring the heat as cohesive packages, and that’s true again here. Tristan is a bonafide Chimera-killer. Tsunami Shot is arguably the best, most versatile card in the mode, and each of Tristan’s units brings something solid (liquid?) to the table. Radiant Leviathan reliably disrupts the enemy targeting in your favor, Darkwater Hunter has the ever-valuable Stalk, and Tetras usually have a good chance to connect for big damage. And those aren’t even the workhorses. A fantastic Red Rains starter deck with almost no weaknesses. You may even struggle to figure out what cards you even need to add.
Starter Deck Rating — 5/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: ??? Stand Still is probably the most situational card here. You also might not want all 3 copies of Summon Radiant Leviathan…but it’d be cooler if you did.

PACKAGE A: Summon Tidal Crab, Summon Seafoam Snapper, Wave Crash
PACKAGE B: Summon Seafoam Snapper, Tidal Shift, Ocean’s Gift

ROWAN — THE SCHOLAR OF RUIN

Provides: Defense, Utility, Target Removal
Needs: AOE Removal, Healing, Direct Damage

Does Rowan even deserve to be reviewed? This whole Chimera thing is canonically his fault. At least he’s holding his weight- you may need to bring in some tech pieces if you reliably want to get your own Chimera going against the big one, but even until then there’s a lot to like, including a solid suite of spells and total workhorses in Ruin Dweller and Crypt Guardian. Import some of the known Rowan combo pieces like Wishing Wing or Generosity and you’ll have plenty of fun ways to play with your food. Ya jerk.
Starter Deck Rating — 4/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: Rowan really digs Channel Magic for saving him meditations and digging for Discovery. The easiest way to get it in here is probably to pick one of the two Chants- Hostility or Erosion- and ditch those.

PACKAGE A: Excavate, Summon Ruin Dweller, Crypt Guardian
PACKAGE B: Rapture, Excavate, Ritualist

BRENNEN, JESSA, COAL, NOAH — THE CORPSE OF VIROS

Provides: Healing, Target Removal, Unit Density
Needs: Defense, AOE Removal

Unsurprisingly since they were designed together, this deck has a lot of really fun interactions in RR. The entire Calamity Golem/Phoenix Attendant/Chant of Transfusion engine really pops against an opponent with limited ways to maneuver around it, and all of the allies are capable in various ways. You do lose a little stability with so many of the ready spells being tech pieces, but decks relying primarily on allies for bodies aren’t inherently bad. You just might need to be a little more careful, and the generic good stuff here, like Old Salt, Blood Puppeteer, and Infuriate, really serve to stabilize the deck. Don’t forget that Infuriate can go on the Chimera’s units to kill them on attack as well.

Each of the new PB uniques offers good synergies with the other pieces in the deck as well. Can’t go wrong with any of them, but I’ll give a particular shoutout to Noah, whose Shadowblade slots beautifully into this gameplan.
Starter Deck Rating — 4/5
Swap Channel Magic in for: This deck has a lot of internal synergy and you could even consider skipping Channel Magic, but my pick for weakest link if you want to swap something out goes to Serve The City.

PACKAGE A: Old Salt, Phoenix Attendant, Blood Puppeteer
PACKAGE B: Old Salt, Infuriate, Blood Brawl

RULES REMINDERS + TIPS

Wow, still here huh? Well as long as I’ve got you, here are a few things to keep in mind as you play!

• In my experience, the most consistently forgotten rules are the guard roll and Defender units. Just know that any time you attack the Chimera, you need to check for Defenders and, if there aren’t any, potentially roll the D12 for guard. Cleaning up the Chimera’s battlefield almost always has some inherent risk, which is why direct removal and Stalk are at such a premium in Red Rains.
• The Chimera’s difficulty system is really intended to give most decks a sensible option for an opponent. If your game feels too easy or too hard, it usually means you’re just not at the intended difficulty for the deck you’re using. Standard 1 is meant to go up against Precons, and Heroic 1 makes sense for veteran players or players using one of the stronger Precons, such as Tristan or Saria. Fully constructed decks should usually be in the Standard 3 or Heroic 2 range, and decks tackling Heroic 3 and up usually need a combination of good fortune, good deckbuilding, and good piloting to conquer it.
• Green boxes are nefarious- they work even if the unit is exhausted, and they refill automatically at the start of each round.
• Don’t forget that each round, a major shift in Chimera behavior occurs: once there are no face down Aspect cards, the Rage and Behavior dice no longer roll, and the Chimera simply begins attacking with it’s units from left to right as it’s turn. Planning ahead for this part of the round where you have the luxury of perfect information is crucial to playing well, especially at higher difficulties.
• In general, the best way to fight the Chimera is to take out Aspects as consistently as you can. Taking advantage of Blood and getting it as often as you can is almost non-negotiable. It’s possible to win with no Aspect kills, but those strategies are often highly specific. In general, you should be punching those Aspects!

THE RED RAINS ARE HERE

My journey with Red Rains mode has been incredibly rewarding, and I cannot speak highly enough about how much it provides for Ashes. If you find yourself reading this as a player interested in Ashes, you’re lucky, as the game has never been easier to recommend. If you think that you’d never want to play a round of PVP, you might be surprised by how much Red Rains resembles that mode, and how prepared an experienced Chimera-slayer might be to try taking down a Phoenixborn.

It’s never been a better time to be an Ashes fan. Go rack up some kills. And stay tuned…more Chimera are coming, and it’ll take all of us to keep them at bay. Keep sharp, and I’ll see you on the battlefield.