[MOSTLY] WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - ASCENSION X: WAR OF SHADOWS

I've long been an Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer fan (so much for being timely on that forthcoming "full review")! It's a deck building game with a simple rule system that is playable for up to four people (six with another version mixed in). Over the years I've collected the core game and its expansions secondhand from friends and while I do my best to play the physical game, I find myself playing the digital version 500x more.

This past week I finally picked up one of the newer expansions, Ascension X: War of Shadows:

This set introduces some interesting elements into the game, including dual costing cards (needing both Rune and Power costs — the resources of the game — being met in order to acquire them) and cards being assigned either a "Light" or "Dark" affiliation. These Light and Dark cards manipulate the board and various cards with special abilities that trigger when played/acquired/defeated depending on which of the two is most represented in the Center Row, if any. These seems like a great, unique addition to Ascension, but it does seem to limit the ability to mix this version with others.

I'm really looking forward to trying this expansion! I guess another, Gift of the Elements, released earlier this year, so I have some more catching up to do as I haven't even played some of the previous releases yet! Furthermore, A new "Team" variant called Alliances just came out and they are already previewing their twelfth expansion, Valley of the Ancients.

I got some playing to do!

Have you ever played Ascension (board game or app)? If so, what are your impressions of it? Have you played any of its expansions? If so, which is your favorite? If not familiar with Ascension, does it sound like a game you'd be interested in trying? Do you enjoy deck-builders? If so, do you have a favorite?