Comparison

Ascension vs Ephod™

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Ascension

Engage in a strategic deck-building card game where you acquire cards to gain Renown and unlock powerful Boons. Battle against the Fallen One alone or with friends, with expansions available to deepen the experience.

Highlights
  • Deck-building card game mechanics
  • Single-player and multiplayer modes
  • Unlock powerful Boons and Legendary status
  • Cross-platform online play
  • Offline AI opponents
  • Multiple expansions available
Features
Read full description

***Legends Expansion Now Available!** Return to the world of Vigil as the Muses of Malevolence rise to bring ruin. Legendary Heroes from Ascension’s past have returned to guide you, granting their power to those who prove worthy. Each card you acquire or defeat grants Renown with its factions, advancing you on the Legendary Track. As your Renown grows, unlock powerful Boons from Legendary Characters and, at the pinnacle of a faction’s track, gain Legendary status with the power to acquire or defeat one card from that faction for free each turn. Ascension: Deck Building Game, is the award winning deck building card game for mobile. Play alone or with friends to battle against the Fallen One for honor and victory. Conceived and designed by Magic: The Gathering tournament champions, Ascension will provide hours of engaging and strategic game play for enthusiast and experienced gamers alike. 2011 Golden Geek award winner (Best Mobile/Handheld Game) Pocket Gamer Bronze Award 2011 Dice Tower Awards Awards: Best Digital Boardgame Best Interface and Graphic Design - 2011 Best Online Multiplayer - 2011 Highlights: • Universal Application: Plays on phones and tablets • Beautifully detailed cards • Full asynchronous support for multiplayer online games • Cross-platform online play • Play against multiple offline A.I. opponents • Multiple expansions available to purchase to expand the Ascension experience! *AN INTERNET CONNECTION AND PLAYDEK ACCOUNT ARE REQUIRED FOR ONLINE PLAY.* Per our Terms of Service, you must be 13 years old or older to use the Playdek online games service. Also by Playdek: - Twilight Struggle - D&D: Lords of Waterdeep - Labyrinth: The War On Terror - Fort Sumter - Fluxx Having an issue? Looking for support? Please contact us at: support@playdekgames.com You can follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram! Facebook: /playdek You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/playdek Twitter: @playdek Instagram: @playdek

About

Ephod™

Engage in a real-time strategy card game where players collect tokens to buy cards and earn points. Team up with friends for 2-on-2 matches or compete in ranked games to climb the leaderboards. Customize your game board and personalize your profile.

Highlights
  • Token collection and card buying
  • 2-on-2 team play with Card Pings
  • Private and custom games with friends
  • Ranked games and leaderboards
  • In-game tutorial for new players
  • Board and profile customization
Features
Read full description

Who will lead the journey to rebuild the ruined ancient city? Ephod, a real-time strategy card game for 2–4 players ■ Collect tokens, buy cards! Collect tokens to buy cards, earn Prophet Tiles, and aim for the Target Points. The card you want, the card your opponent wants. Every turn is a battle of wits! ■ You and me, one team today! Duo 2-on-2 Team up with a friend and take on another team. "How about this card?" One tap with Card Pings shows your teammate the card you're after. ■ One code, one game with friends! Invite friends with a code in a Private Game. In a Custom Game, set the Target Points and Turn Time your way! ■ How high can you climb this Season? Raise your Tier in Ranked Games and take on the Promotion Series. Find your name on the Leaderboard! ■ New to the game? No problem! Learn the rules step by step in Prophet Haggai's Tutorial. Complete the beginner journey "Dawn of Restoration" to earn rewards and a Title! ■ Your style doesn't have to match anyone else's! Decorate your board with Card Packs, Token Packs, Backgrounds, and BGM, and show off your personality with Frames and Titles. Start your journey in Ephod now!

Screenshots

Ascension4 screens
Ephod™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Ephod™ at 4.6 against Ascension's 3.4. Ephod™ also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). Ascension's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (60% vs 43%). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Ascension sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Ephod™ sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ephod™ holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.1K and 1K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 60% of Ascension's written reviews are positive against 43% of Ephod™'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ascension ships an update every 3 months, Ephod™ weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Ascension versus Ephod™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAscensionEphod™
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (1.1K ratings)4.6 (1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews — better43.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.1K — better1K
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.2 GB255 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperPlaydek, Inc.Jinhyeok Jeong

Customer experience

Ascension

All ratings1,103 ratings
Positive57.0%
Neutral8.7%
Negative34.3%
Written reviews822 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral9.6%
Negative30.4%

Ephod™

All ratings1,029 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral3.9%
Negative7.3%
Written reviews179 reviews
Positive43.0%
Neutral14.5%
Negative42.5%

User reviews

Ascension

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 👍 Awesome adaptation of the physical game
  • 🕹️ Engaging gameplay
  • 💰 Reasonable in-app purchase prices
  • 🕰️ Excellent time killer

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🔄 Slow AI turns
  • 🔒 Issues with restoring purchases
  • 🔍 Cluttered UI, hard to read cards
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Ephod™

From 1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great implementation of Splendor
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 💎 Faithful recreation of the board game
  • 🎨 Excellent visual design
  • 🤝 Enjoyable multiplayer experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
  • 🔁 Excessive need to update the app
  • 🕰️ Freezing and turn skipping issues
  • 💰 Aggressive monetization with ads and coins
  • 🔌 Connectivity problems and disconnections

Bugs and requests

Ascension

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Purchases disappearing after updates
  • Restore function not working
  • Crashes when certain cards are played
  • Constructs getting stuck in the middle of the screen
  • Game freezing and logging out users

Requested features

5 requests
  • Increase honor pool limit for online games
  • Add custom deck building options
  • Optimize for iPhone X and newer devices
  • Provide option to revert to old art style
  • Improve online multiplayer experience

Ephod™

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Blank screens and loading issues
  • Incorrect scoring and noble card distribution
  • Account login and progress loss problems
  • Unresponsive controls and buttons
  • Crashes and force-quits during gameplay

Requested features

5 requests
  • Offline/single-player mode
  • Ability to customize game settings (e.g., points target)
  • Replay/review functionality
  • Improved matchmaking and ranked system
  • Support for more players in private games

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Ascension

One-time10
  • Storm of Souls expansion$0.99
  • Promo Pack 1$0.99
  • Immortal Heroes expansion$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Ascension Promo Cards - Pack 4$0.99
  • Rise of Vigil$0.99
  • Darkness Unleashed expansion$0.99
  • Realms Unraveled expansion$0.99
  • Dawn of Champions$0.99
  • Dreamscape$0.99
  • Return of the Fallen expansion$1.99
5 purchases

Ephod™

One-time5
  • 3,000$1.99
  • 6,600$3.99
  • 11,500$6.99
Show 2 more
  • Remove Pre-Game Ads$6.99
  • Stocking Pass$7.99

Questions

Is Ascension free?
Ascension is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ephod™ free?
Ephod™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ascension or Ephod™?
Ephod™ is rated higher. Ascension averages 3.4 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Ephod™ averages 4.6 from 1K ratings.
Do Ascension or Ephod™ have ads?
Ephod™ shows ads; Ascension does not.
Which is updated more often, Ascension or Ephod™?
Ascension ships an update every 3 months, and Ephod™ weekly. Most recently, Ascension was updated on November 6, 2026 and Ephod™ on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons