Mmm... Xiasmus salsa. So unexpected. I'll be watching, now. I should have some free time that week, too, so if the schedule is posted somewhere, I might try to watch live.
You could also consider this as an unlock feature after beating so many levels. That way you unlock more ways to play as you play the game, increasing replayability.
You might also be able to unlock a slightly different starting militia, for example. Imagine starting with 5 rats rather than 5 citizens. Or 5 skeletons. Or 5 laser frogs.
It's very hard to keep an ascetic for the length of the game, and ramp it appropriately. I got lucky and pulled an IA 5 turns before this, and used her to drop nearly all the soldiers I had built up to nerf the ascetic.
Just to add, two Aegis shields are nearly broken. They have near-complete board coverage if they are in adjacent opposite corners in the mid-ranks, and they can save anything from destruction, regardless of type. They're more powerful than the Paramedic for sustaining long-term effects, and if you have things like stasis or medikits they can allow you to maintain an near infinite loop to destroy bigger bosses with inferior units.
I just won with 2 Darrrrrs and a total animal build. It helped a great deal to have a Giant Bird (X2 to Darrrrr's damage) and Holy Cow (last turn X3 made insane damage). As well, Darrrrr really needs to be surrounded entirely by beasts. When that happens you can get ~1300 damage per Darrrrr.
It's very hard to keep an ascetic for the length of the game, and ramp it appropriately. I got lucky and pulled an IA 5 turns before this, and used her to drop nearly all the soldiers I had built up to nerf the ascetic. 