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Downfall

It happened without warning, out of a clear evening sky. The neons of New Angeles were flickering to life, as an equatorial twilight sped across the city. Events progressed broken and disordered. A strobing light directly overhead, like a drive flame where no ship should be. A rain of carbon shards shattering windows and downing hoppers in Manta, molten and twisted into tortured forms. Cayambe rung with a bone-shaking vibration, as if someone had capriciously plucked a planet-sized guitar.

The world hangs by a narrow thread, made of dreams and faith and reinforced buckyweave. No one realises how narrow that connecting string is… until someone tries to cut it.

Downfall

Downfall is the first set of the Ashes Cycle, Null Signal’s first original Netrunner expansion. It is compatible with Android: Netrunner and contains 65 brand new cards, including four new identities (two Runner and two Corp). It was designed to be both familiar to experienced Netrunner players and full of interesting possibilities.

Fast Facts

Ashes set icon
  • Release date: March 18, 2019
  • Cycle: Part 1 of 2 in the Ashes Cycle
  • Size: 3 copies each of 65 new cards
  • Total cards: 195 cards
  • Set symbol: Damaged space elevator
  • NetrunnerDB set abbreviation: df

Get Downfall

Downfall is available as physical cards from our print-on-demand partners, or as a pay-what-you-want print and play. Click the sections below to learn more about each option.

Important note about avoiding customs charges: We recommend that you consult MakePlayingCards’s Shipping Information page for details on customs charges. For EU orders in particular, MPC guarantee no customs charges on orders up to a value of $300 excluding shipping, but only if ordered via their Standard Shipping option! 


Not sure which storefront to pick? Check out Null Signal’s handy Purchase Guide for a rundown of the options.


Note: Due to card back differences between our products, as well as due to different color matching between our different printing partners, these cards should be used in opaque sleeve

This option provides Null Signal Games the most revenue, but shipping is expensive for customers outside the US. The cardstock is of a similar quality to classic cards produced by Fantasy Flight Games.

This option is similarly priced to DriveThruCards and has affordable shipping for non-US customers. The cardstock is slightly thinner than classic Fantasy Flight Games cards. Discounts are available if ordering multiple packs.

We recommend you carefully review MakePlayingCards’s Shipping Information page for details on customs charges.

This option is slightly more expensive than the Standard option above. The premium price pays for a cardstock that is a bit thicker than other options. Discounts are available if ordering multiple packs. As with the Standard option, shipping is affordable for non-US customers.

We recommend you carefully review MakePlayingCards’s Shipping Information page for details on customs charges.

Our authorized resellers are longstanding community members who bulk-order stock from MakePlayingCards in order to provide cheaper products for players in their region. Their stock is identical to MakePlayingCards’ Standard quality.

Additionally, local groups often organize bulk buys from MakePlayingCards to bring the cost of the product down. We encourage you to ask players in your area if a bulk buy is being organized. If your local group is too small to benefit from bulk discounts, there are national-level bulk buys being organized (most often following the release of a new set), such as a North American one by community member Myldside.

Pay what you’d like and print on your own printer! This file contains full-color art of card faces, with no bleed or card backs. Cut them out with scissors and put them in sleeves!

After downloading the files, if you’d like to say thanks, you can donate to NISEI either via PayPal or our Patreon.

For a more detailed review of purchase options, check out our Purchase Guide.

Rotation and Legality

Upon release, Downfall immediately became legal for Casual Tier events, such as GNKs and Store Championships. It became legal on March 29, 2019 for Competitive Tier events (Regional Championships and above).

Learn more about set legality in different formats on the Supported Formats page.

Downfall Frequently Asked Questions

No. This is not an introductory set. If you are new to Netrunner, you should begin with System Gateway, our introductory product, and check out our Learn to Play guide.

The Ashes Cycle is Null Signal’s first full expansion for Netrunner. It contains two sets: Downfall and Uprising. As two halves of the cycle, Downfall and Uprising are built around the same creative themes and mechanics as one another.

You do not need Uprising to play with the cards in Downfall, nor vice-versa, although having both will unlock and empower particular synergies that may be lacking if you only have one or the other.

No. Null Signal cards use entirely original art assets, including the images on the back of the cards. When you play our Netrunner cards alongside Android: Netrunner cards, we recommend sleeving all your cards in opaque sleeves so that their backs are not visible.

If you are playing in competitive events, you must use opaque sleeves.

Downfall contains 65 original cards and zero reprints.

There are no plans at this time to do that.

Because we continue to update rules terminology as time goes on, some cards in the Ashes Cycle have text that does not reflect how their abilities would be written today.

Thanks to our print-on-demand distribution model, releasing cards with new wording is much easier for us than it would be if we had piles of old cards sitting in a warehouse. Laying out these updated versions, however, still takes time and effort.

We are open to the possibility of someday releasing “remastered” versions of our older sets, such as the Ashes Cycle; however, we have no concrete plans at this time for such a product.

More about Downfall

See Also