A new saga from Blackmead
Tarnished Crown: Ascent
Build your deck. Brave the sea.
Bring your friends.
A roguelike deckbuilder for 1 to 4 players. Choose one of six heroes and fight across four islands, with a beast from the deep waiting between the shores.
In development · Solo or online co-op · No signup required for Ascent
See the game in motion
Your next saga starts here
Six ways to meet trouble
A different deck, passive and weapon for every hero. Pick a mastery, then see what the road puts in your hand.
Four islands. The sea between them.
Choose your road across Crownfall, Graskarn, Thrymgard and Cindermaw. Hold the knarr's deck against boarders, the Hafgufa and the Ashcoil. Your next boss does not always wait on dry land.
Every choice has company
The cards you leave behind
A rival warband takes the cards you pass over and waits at the chase and the gate. Building your deck can build theirs, too.
Meet the road aheadOne weapon. Two spares.
Work the forge, carve runes and choose what stays on the rack. A good deck deserves a weapon that can keep up.
Cards, combat & the forgeMake an oath
Choose a mastery, swear to a banner and take optional handicaps for a higher score. Decide how much trouble you want before you sail.
Masteries, oaths & bannersEveryone takes their turn
Play solo or bring three friends by friend code. In co-op, everyone plays at once and presses Ready. The saga saves itself, even mid-fight.
Party up & keep your progress
Know the game before you sail
Six Heroes. Your Party.
Every hero brings a starting deck, a class passive and a weapon. Choose who you want to be, then choose the mastery that shapes the run.
Read the guideFour Islands. Three Sea Crossings.
Crownfall, Graskarn, Thrymgard and Cindermaw form the road ahead. Getting to the next island is an adventure of its own.
Read the guideBuild the Deck. Read the Fight.
Cards, weapons, rows and party decisions meet on the battlefield. Your next play starts with what is in your hand and what is across the line.
Read the guideMasteries, Oaths & Banners
Decide what kind of saga this will be before you set out. Then keep making the build your own along the road.
Read the guideBring Friends. Keep Your Saga.
Play solo or in a party of up to four. Everyone takes their turn together, and the run saves itself along the way.
Read the guideDownloads & updates
Ascent's Windows preview is available as a public download, separate from the Faction Wars launcher. No signup or approval is required.
Auto-updater coming soon. Until then, use the downloads page to get each new build.
Build information & installationFrom the workshop
Seventy-One Ways to Start a Fire
The Flame Sovereign has a card for that. Watch the Pyromancer showcase, from the first attack to the meteor you arrange for next turn.
The Cards You Leave Behind
The reward screen has another customer. Your rival warband takes cards you pass over, so building a deck means thinking about the fight on both sides of the table.
Four Heroes. One Very Loud Plan.
Everyone plays during the same turn. Here is how a little conversation turns four separate hands into a party, and how to bring that party back for the next session.
The Sea Is Part of the Run
Four islands sound like four problems. Then the knarr leaves shore. Meet the crossings, boarders and sea beasts that stand between one island victory and the next.
A New Way to Sail
Six heroes. Four islands. A deck of cards and three friends who all have a plan. Meet Tarnished Crown: Ascent, our standalone co-op roguelike deckbuilder.
A Thousand Runs Before Breakfast
A search bot handles the fights. A reinforcement-learning deck builder handles the choices between them. Here is how automated runs help us find balance problems, without pretending they can tell us what is fun.