Star Chamber

Star Chamber Descent

The destruction of Minerva has had dire consequences for the sadistic Androids. The Kej and Humans have declared war. Not altogether unusual for the Humans, but the Kej have never done this before and are reprogramming themselves for war! This war will soon culminate in an explosive climax over the planet Earth, and a Harbinger is appearing over the horizon…

Meantime, Admiral Ismitta is heading toward the Clave world of Tharg to help Caleph. The Thrass, led by the Hive Queen, is there to oppose them, while at the Star Chamber, the Puppet Emperor scandal is discovered, which draws the Ixa and Zhikanii into the escalating conflict.

A Star Full of Flags

Descent expands on the concept of flags, which normally get placed when a planet is conquered and a conqueror is present. Not only are there a host of new conquerors that have great game text when a planet is conquered, there's also multiple cards that trigger when a flag is placed.

What's the difference? Glad you asked. There's a new keyword in Descent, called Fortify, which triggers when you ditch such cards to the Black Hole. Fortify says "Place your flag at a friendly minor planet with a local friendly conqueror and no flag." So if you've already conquered a planet with influence, simply Fortify it with your conqueror later and you'll get all the flag-related bonuses!

Duel to the Death

Several cards in Descent offer a new twist on activated abilities - they come with two different ones, with different tech requirements! Based on how you build your deck, you may be able to activate one or the other regularly, or even both!

Cross-Tech Activations

There's also a series of cards that cost one type of tech to deploy, but they have activated abilities from a different tech. This means that each one is easily and fully usable with one race, but with a single tech splash, three other races can gain full access!

Conflict, What Is It Good For?

A lot, actually! War is a focus of Descent, as the fallout from the destruction of Minerva takes its toll on all races. Every entropy race now has the ability to declare war, and so do the unnervingly red Kej. Also, every race now has additional tools during wartime – so don’t be so quick to broker peace, when you just might be able to take advantage!

Bounce for a Living

Several Zaps in Descent would be great cards as one-time uses, but if a local flag is present, they return to your hand! This bounce effect can come in very handy as you get multiple uses out of a single card.

New Council Promo

The Council Membership Promo is changing this month, to The Velazquez Ploy. We realize that some of you may not have had the opportunity to collect a full playset of our last promo, Oath of Allegiance, so beginning Saturday night, you'll be able to go into your account preferences and choose which promo you'd like to receive. This can be done anytime before your membership renews for the month.

What Else is New?

The release events Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21 will feature three brand new maps - and prepare for some unusual features!

In addition to this, we'll be releasing one new 3-player and one new 4-player map soon into the casual environment. Also, a new Descent campaign is on the way!

Descent releases Saturday, May 20. Cards are available in 15-card booster packs and in three different starter decks: Kej, Android and Human. Each starter contain 2 starter-exclusive cards and 3 random rares. Check out Descent, and see you in the game!