Hello and welcome.  This is an opinion editorial of the new Dark Ascension set.  It has statistics, and I write mean (but true) criticisms.  You get information on combos and playable cards.  I think I know design, but feel free to comment on why DKA is the best set ever.  OP Ed here.  Main resource used -- official published visual spoiler.  

Ok, let's begin.

Dark Ascension opens with prize reduction!   Mayor of Avabruck in Innistrad wasn‘t showing off the double-card-face because Garruk Relentless was shy.  It’s official.  No more mythic rare pre-release promos.  Never again.  Promo quality is a major factor determining my attendance in a paper event, so I’ll be skipping this pre-release and waiting for the online draft queues.   The promo is Ravenous Demon /// Archdemon of Greed, which is a 4/4 vanilla for 5 mana which transforms when you sacrifice a human… into a 9/9 Flying Trample Lord of the Pit variant that taps AND deals 9 damage to you if he isn’t fed humans.  I do not enjoy parasitic drawback cards, and would have designed/picked the pre-release card better.  Look At Promos in their alternate art glory for confirmation. I may attend a Gameday event, but my decks won't use the launch party or pre-release cards.

Innistrad was gothic and horror, dealing with a white vs. black conflict on a plane with exceptional monsters.  How does Dark Ascension build on this?  Not well.  Dark Ascension reminds me of “The Dark”, the fourth ever Magic the Gathering set from August 1994.  Thematically, Dark Ascension's art is trying to do the same as "The Dark" art, but the current art department doesn’t have an abstractionist like Drew Tucker.  The art struck me as a few good pieces among the despairing and uninspired close-ups of werewolves, vampires, and zombies.  Much black and darkness.  I think the art direction focused too much on close-ups of creatures and faces, instead of letting the setting shine.  

My top five art from the set are (Jar of Eyeballs) by Jaime Jones, (Somberwald Dryad) by Jaime Jones, (Black Cat) by David Palumbo, (Increasing Devotion) by Daniel Ljunggren, and (Thalia, Guardian of Thraben) by Jana Schirmer and Johannes Voss.   I also like (Heavy Mattock) by Winona Nelson, and (Moonveil Dragon) by Todd Lockwood.  The latter two use art styles that are different from the rest of the cards in Dark Ascension. They are fresh air against the face close-ups with heavy tones.




Dark Ascension (158 cards):
White (26) - Blue (27) - Black (27) - Red (27) - Green (27) - Multicolor (9) - Artifact (11) - Land (4)
Commons (64) -- Uncommons(44) -- Rares (38) -- Mythics (12)
Reprints -- Evolving Wilds, Fling, Ray of Revelation, Divination
Functional Reprints -- Hill Giant -- renamed Russet Wolves as a wolf, and Gravepurge is Bone Harvest the cantrip, not a slow-trip
DKA Amalgamated (28/158 = 17.72% useful)...  Recommended singles buylist...

Commons (11/64 = 17.19% useful):
Crushing Vines x4 -- 2G instant, destroy an artifact or flying creature (sideboard card)
Dawntreader Elk x4 -- the new Sakura-Tribe Elder
Faithless Looting x4 -- red Careful Study with flashback
Highborn Ghoul x4 -- 2/1 Fear… er “Intimidate” for BB, power level would be uncommon 3 years ago
Loyal Cathar // Unhallowed Cathar x4  -- WW 2/2 vigilance, after ‘killed’ flips into  2/1 can’t block zombie, great with dark Mikaeus
Midnight Guard x4 -- Infinite creatures for you when enchanted with Presence of Gond, pauper combo for online!
Saving Grasp x4 --  Rescue with white flashback, the original does 'any permanent' instead of only creatures
Torch Fiend x4 -- variant on Hearth Kami, only R instead of converted mana cost to shatter
Tragic Slip x4 -- -13/-13 for one black (morbid)
Thought Scour x4  to replace Mental Note because it can target any player
Young Wolf x4 -- Undying 1/1 for only G

Uncommons (7/44 = 15.19% useful):
Lingering Souls x4  -- a Midnight Haunting with flashback… nearly; it’s a sorcery
Secrets of the Dead x4  -- Burning Vengeance is a real deck, use flashback... draw a card for 2U, Enchantment
Strangleroot Geist x4 -- GG, Undying 2/1 Haste

Diregraf Captain x4 -- lord of zombies
Drogskol Captain x4 -- lord of spirits --> Amazing!  +1/+1 and hexproof your spirits. 
Immerwolf x4 -- lord of werewolves
Stormkirk Captain x4 -- lord of vampires

Rares (6/38 = 15.8%  useful):
Geralf’s Messenger x4 -- BBB 3/2 zombie, Undying
Ghoultree x4 -- zombie treefolk 10/10, casting cost decreases with creatures in the your graveyard, intro pack foil rare
Grafdigger’s Cage x4 -- a graveyard hating must for sideboards everywhere
Gravecrawler x4 -- zombie, B, 2/1 can't block, can be cast from the graveyard if you control a zombie
Predator Ooze x4 -- finally an indestructible Ooze
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben x3 -- a better Glowrider for classic/modern sideboarding

Mythics (5/12 = 41.67% useful):
Elbrus, the Binding Blade x2 -- big numbers (should have been the pre-release card)

Mikaeus the Unhallowed x3 -- Intimidate, No Mercy on humans, gives all your other non-human guys Undying... comborifffic
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad x3 -- chase planeswalker, may be a standard deck archetype b/w tokens
Vorapede x2 -- 5/4 Vigilance, Trample, Undying; overrated though might see play -- Thunderblust is what this reminds me of

Hard to Evaulate  -- Havengul Lich  -- mythic -- 3UB Zombie 4/4   1:You may cast target creature card from a graveyard this turn. When you cast that card this turn, Havengul Lich gains all activated abilities of that card until end of turn.

EDH only when they get cheap later (not counted toward ‘useful’ cards)…
Call of the Kindred -- rare -- 3U creature type based ‘put it into play from library’ blue aura
Counterslash  -- rare -- 4UU,  allows ‘Show and Tell’ for caster based on spell type countered
Fiend of the Shadows  -- rare -- 3BB 3/3 flying vampire that can ‘steal’ cards from opponents
Increasing Vengeance  -- rare -- Reverberate that only targets your spells, but has flashback for double
Increasing Savagery  -- rare -- sorcery 2GG for +1/+1 counters (5), flashback 5GG for 10!
Drogskol Reaver -- mythic -- seven mana draw cards when gain life 3/5 5WU doublestrike, good with Drogskol Captain
Vault of the Archangel  -- rare --  land, 2BW for death touch and lifelink:  Your Army



For your personal reference, “The Dark” had 119 Cards Total (4 Lands, 20 Artifacts, 3 Multicolor, 19 White, 18 Green,18 Red, 18 Black, 19 Blue), and above are pictured the ‘useful cards’ from that set.  [(Tivadar’s Crusade)(Barl’s Cage)(Tormod’s Crypt) are omitted due to website problems with the apostraphe.]  My number crunch has ‘useful’ original Dark at 24/119 or 20%.  In other words, a greater percentage of “The Dark” is playable than “Dark Ascension”.   The Dark is considered to be a design failure.  I believe Dark Ascension to be the same.

Parallels between DKA and DK abound, and I didn't name them all.  But perhaps it isn't fair to compare 2012 design to 1994 design.  DKA is another set like Worldwake.  Flavorful, fun in limited without much substance, and will be under-opened in the paper form.  The power level is low, the casting costs high, and the designs lack originality.  I am not excited.  So, how would I improve Dark Ascension?

“Faithful Hour”, the turn-on bigger effect mechanic, should begin at 7 life and not 5 life.  And it was templated wrong.  It should read Faithful Hour:X, indicating Faithful Hour at X life.  I remember a design article specifically bemoaning how Threshold isn't Threshold:7, making re-use of the mechanic clunky.  R&D didn't learn from their own history.  Why 7?   Brimstone Volley means it's too risky to run in constructed.  Hit five life and die from a topdeck.  If only the set had targeted instants/effects with small life gain, to save yourself and break an opponent's Faithful Hour... but it doesn't.  Thematically, from a Vorthos perspective, the unlucky 13 is the ’evil’ side of Innistrad block, so why shouldn’t the good side get the traditionally lucky 7?   Faithful Hour could have been a contender!   Could have been playable!  Intuitive flavor-wise support even existed.

  Faithful Hour?  GG.

Mark Rosewater was the lead designer of DKA.  He likes cycles, and he pretends cycles are good design.  I think cycles are lazy design.  Filler design.  Weak design.  Case in point, Flashback Cycles -- The Increasing at Rare, Enemy Color Sorcery Flashback at Uncommon, and Allied Color Instant Flashback at common .  (Tracker's Instincts) would have been amazing as an instant; not sure if it's playable as a sorcery.  Flashback is a beloved mechanic that could have made the set.  I like Flashback.  Dark Ascension did not do interesting things with it.  I mean if the set wanted to showcase flashback, make it mythic.  Make it memorable.  Don't just say "It has flashback let's fill some design holes."

Another Rosewater cycle to recognize as ‘bad’ is in red -- Alpha Brawl (6RR rare), Blood Feud (4RR uncommon), and Wrack with Madness (3R common) -- mana expensive variations on ‘fighting.’  Compare against Prey Upon, one green mana for a fight.  On templating, I think instead of copying and color-shifting Repentance, Wrack With Madness should read "Target creature fights itself."  Make it cost one red.  That's elegant.  Someone at Wizards wrote, inconsistently, they wouldn’t do anymore variations like these after keywording ‘fight’.  What happened?  Why do these cards need so much colorless mana in their casting costs?

The Pre-release card!  I mentioned it before, but a legendary equipment that can turn into a 13/13 flyer is awesome.  Much more awesome for Wotc’s market’s researched pre-release demographic than what is offered.  This is lost sales.

Undying.  Amazing mechanic -- a reverse persist where they come back stronger (+1/+1).  (Elgaud Inquisitor), (Sanctuary Cat), (Beguiler of Wills), (Tower Geist), (Black Cat), (Farbog Boneflinger), (Hellrider), (Russet Wolves), and (Hollowhenge Beast) needed it.  They don’t have it.  None of them would be broken with Undying.  I consider this bad design.  The best mechanic isn’t in the set enough.  My rapture for Undying makes me want to buy single paper playsets.  If the mechanic was better populated, I'd want to buy booster packs instead.

My goodness, is there a playable curse upon the set?  Innistrad had (Curse of Death’s Hold), Curse of the Pierced Heart, and Curse of Stalked Prey for constructed and Curse of the Bloody Tome as a limited deck.  Dark Ascension has got nothing.  Nothing!   Curse of Exhaustion costs one more mana than both Arcane Laboratory and Rule of Law, which have already been superseded in sideboards by Mindbreak Trap and Ethersworn Canonist, and Curse of Exhaustion was the best one!  Is it *that* hard to make good uncommons which players want to build around?

Curse of Exhaustion 2WW -- Rule of Law on one player -- playable cost WW
Curse of Echoes 4U -- all players get to Fork your instants/sorceries -- better cost UUU ( fine for EDH)
Curse of Misfortunes 4B -- gets MORE curses from library to attach to target player -- playable cost 1B, “Makes this a cool deck archetype in block and maybe standard”
Curse of Thirst 4B -- does damage to target player equal to number curses attached each upkeep -- you don’t ever want to play it, you want to put it into with Curse of Misfortunes; still make it 3B
Curse of Bloodletting 3RR -- double all damage to that player -- playable casting cost RRR

  A colorless answer to stop those curses if they were actually playable…  

One last note, I think the red werewolves in the set are fine transformed, but all need better stats or casting costs at the 'vanilla' state.  If one of the untransformed werewolves reduced mana costs for double-faced cards, that would have been fun.  These new werewolves aren't good in constructed unless you flip them, which is hard to do.   

Cards I believe could get changed for the better:
(Archangel’s Light) -- reduce the casting cost to 2W and add ‘self exile’ like Time Spiral, or reprint Ancestral Tribute
(Gather the Townsfolk) -- be an instant
(Séance) -- add “…unless it’s controller pays 5WW” at the end of the ‘exile this’ clause
(Skillful Lunge) -- should also gain 2 life
(Sudden Disappearance) -- reduce the casting cost to 3W
(Bone to Ash) -- change casting cost to 3U so it’s not strictly worse than Dismiss
(Call the Kindred) -- increase the number of cards looked at to seven, for the trouble of setting it up, make it hit more
(Geralf’s Mindcrusher) -- increase the milled cards to eight, change power toughness to 8/4... make it crush like Crash of Rhinos
(Mystic Retrieval) -- I'd replace this entirely... make a spell that messes with Faithful Hour somehow instead
(Havengul Runebinder) -- removed tap symbol, allowing ability to be used immediately and multiple times
(Saving Grasp) -- made it a better Rescue, e.g. “any permanent”
(Deadly Allure) -- add “Draw a card”
(Fiend of the Shadows) -- change to 1/7, adding "Strike from shadows and retreat" flavor while making the ability relevant
(Gruesome Discovery) -- lower casting cost by 1
(Ravenous Demon) -- in flipped form, be ‘Greedy’!  Take any two creatures, not just one human
(Reap the Seagraf) -- lower casting and flashback costs by 1
(Vengeful Vampire) -- lower casting cost by 1
(Zombie Apocalypse) -- tribal sorcery -- “Zombie”
(Afflicted Deserter) -- start at 2/2 for 2R instead of 3/2 for 3R to distinguish from Mondronen Shaman
(Hinterland Hermit) -- make it more distinct from a strictly worse Reckless Waif
(Russet Wolves) -- we don’t need more Hill Giants… add morbid targeted life gain to mess with Faithful Hour
(Scorch the Fields) -- reduce casting cost by 3, non-basic lands only... standard needs useful answers for the dominating new non-basic lands
(Shattered Perception) -- Winds of Change was not used, why would someone play this?
(XXX the Woods) -- eliminate these cards, reducing set size to 156
(Lambholt Elder) -- give it lifelink while not transformed
(Wolfbitten Captive) -- needs Madness: 0
(Altar of the Lost) -- I don't think it would have been broken at either 2 mana, or without the 'come into play tapped' restriction
(Grim Backwoods) -- reduced activation cost to 1BG OR should be "draw a card and gain one life"
(Haunted Fengraf) -- would have removed ‘random’

Finally I’ll close with what I really *liked* about the set.  Loved the ‘Undying’ mechanic (wish it was used more), and I thought the Raise Dead variant on it -- (Undying Evil) was excellent design.  The uncommon gold Tribal Lords are a good cycle that will help sell singles and packs.  Both commons which use the number 13,  (Tragic Slip) and (Chant of the Skifsang) are good designs.  The combination of Mikaeus and Loyal Cathar looks interesting to try and set-up in a block deck.    Ghoul Tree and Predatory Ooze are both going in personal decks when I get my copies.  And finally, I liked that Sorin isn’t obviously broken like Worldwake’s planeswalker, meaning his value will stay more sane, in the $15-25 range once the hype dies off.

Thanks for reading, all images used belong to the named artists and Wizards of the Coast.  All opinions are my own.