Drafting with Drrek – Apostles

Welcome back finally to Drafting with Drrek after our long hiatus as we look at my least favorite pack, Apostles.  Still there are a few diamonds in this pack and you want to be sure that you can recognize them if they come to you.

  1. Thomas – CBN enhancements are really good, his numbers are pretty good, and he has a disciple identifier. If you’re playing blue, you can’t really go wrong with this guy.
  2. Peter – Great numbers, a disciple and missionary tag, and cards that activate off him like Four-Drachma Coin or Angelic Visitor. His ability will generally not matter but he is still always a strong pick.
  3. Saul/Paul – Always a strong pick. He’s a big beefy pharisee as an evil character, and if you can get him converted, he is one of the best booster heroes.  A high priority pick.
  4. Bartholomew (Nathaniel) – Fantastic numbers and a disciple tag. Additionally if you are drafting Disciples, his stock goes up for the potential Philip pull.  A strong pick if you are running blue.
  5. Benefitting from Troubles – A battle-winner that very little is protected against. A strong pick if you are running blue.
  6. Fishers of Men – Convert battle-winner. Battle-winners are always solid if you can get them.
  7. A New Creation – Same as Fishers of Men but slightly weaker because you don’t get to choose the brigade you convert to.
  8. Trapped in Cleverness – Unfortunately generates a soul for your opponent, but a strong battle-winner nonetheless.
  9. Emperor Nero – His ability is a straight up battle winner, and he’s got good numbers. A very strong pick.
  10. Unholy Writ – Allows you to hit heroes in battles you couldn’t otherwise impact. Hard to negate because it’s an artifact too.  This card is very strong and you’ll be glad to have it in your deck.
  11. Emperor Claudius – Very strong ability that wins battles on it’s own and great numbers. He’s what you’re looking for in an EC.
  12. Matthew (Levi) – First strike is a very good ability on a hero in booster, and he has good numbers for it too. Add in the disciples tag, and a potential Thomas band and you have a winner of a hero.
  13. Simon the Zealot – Just about everything stated for Matthew goes for Simon, but he has slightly worse numbers.
  14. Unity in Christ – A mass band is very likely to win you the battle. Strong card.
  15. Messenger of Satan – Who needs a defense when you can just steal your opponents? This band ability is very strong, so Messenger is a strong pick.
  16. Luke – Really great numbers, and a missionary tag. His ability will generally not be valuable, but he’s a strong pick nonetheless.
  17. Apollos – Good numbers, and he has a missionary tag for all those guys from Early Church and Persecuted Church who band to them. His ability will generally be useless.
  18. James (half-brother of Jesus) – Great numbers. Ability is generally not useful, but sometimes you just need a beefy hero in booster.
  19. James, Son of Zebedee – Good numbers with a disciples tag. John is unlikely to show up because only his prophets version is available, but this James does have the advantage of actually being able to play the disciples synergy cards like My Lord and My God.
  20. Philip – Good number and a disciple tag. No ability, but a solid pick.
  21. Thaddaeus – Again good numbers with a disciple tag. Decent pick.
  22. Andrew – Decent numbers and a disciple identifier for all of their synergy.  A solid pick if you are drafting red, and his stock goes up with disciples packs in the mix
  23. Ship to Cyprus – A band that searches the banded card out from deck. Very good if you are drafting Green.
  24. Christian Suing Another – Causing a side battle between the rescuing hero and another hero can be a strong way to win the battle, and possibly get some benefits off the hero you chose to fight the rescuing hero. A strong possible battle-winner.
  25. James Son of Alphaeus – Good offensive numbers and he has that disciple tag. A solid pick from Apostles.
  26. Philip the Evangelist – Banding to a deacon is a good ability if you are drafting with the Early Church, and he’s a deacon himself to be banded to by the deacons from that set.
  27. Reassuring Angel – Good numbers but not much else there.
  28. Angel of Deliverance – The hero that can rescue two souls in one turn! (note: some elders are anti-fun and will rule against you on this). Site access is still a decent ability in booster, but it’s nothing special.  He’s fine to take if you’re drafting silver.
  29. Liberating Angel – Significantly worse site access than Angel of Deliverance, but his numbers are pretty good, so don’t feel bad about taking him.
  30. Matthias – Pretty decent numbers, and he has that disciple tag (so long as no one has a Judas Iscariot out), so he’s solid.
  31. Take as a Slave – Your run of the mill capture battle winner. A solid pick.
  32. Titus – Stopping evil banding is a pretty decent ability, but his numbers aren’t great.
  33. Ethiopian Treasurer – Obviously his ability is better in constructed than in it is in booster, but it’s not terrible in booster, and the searching for a special ability-less enhancement can have value in booster.
  34. Paul’s Books and Parchments – Band with a solid number of potential targets. Has a decent chance of winning you a battle.
  35. Entertaining Angels – Someone at the table will probably be running silver, so you should have a target. Banding can often win you a battle, so a decent card if you are running gold.
  36. God’s Provision – The increase is ok, and first strike is a decent ability in booster. A decent middle of the pack pick.
  37. Lost Coin Found – Searching discard for a battle-winner is a pretty useful ability. A fine pick if you are in white.
  38. Elymas (Bar-Jesus) the Sorcerer – Since you don’t actually have to have a demon in your territory to discard the hero from each opponent’s territory his ability is strong, as you will often want to remove an annoying hero from your opponents.
  39. Denial of Christ – A battle-winner against about half the heroes in the game, so its effect is solid enough for an apostles card. It does generate a soul for your opponents.
  40. Strengthening Angel – No ability, but generally decent numbers if you need a silver guy.
  41. Guardian Angel – The green lantern’s ability isn’t generally useful because he can only heal as he enters battle, but the seven strength is a decent offensive number.
  42. Priscilla – Obviously good if you get an Aquila, Early Church or Apostles, and has the missionary identifier, but otherwise is just a 5/7 white hero.
  43. Aquila – Once again the missionary tag is nice, but he’ll often just be a vanilla 5/7 blue hero. If you get the apostles version of Priscilla in your draft his stock goes up.
  44. Lazarus – Convert is not that rare of a battle winning ability, so his ability can be useful. He’s not great, but he’s a decent middle pick from an apostles pack.
  45. Herod the Great – Banding is popular in booster, and stopping that is a useful ability with decent numbers. Plus he has a Herod identifier
  46. Controlling Demon – Same as Herod the Great but with worse numbers.
  47. Ananias of Damascus – Strong ability if you actually get a Saul/Paul. A rather weak hero otherwise.  You may want to draft him earlier if you know a Saul/Paul went around the table, but you did not get him, to stop the person who did from having an easy convert.
  48. Zaccheus – You probably won’t have many or any fortresses in booster, but he’s pretty useful to get one if you do. His numbers aren’t good but they aren’t awful.
  49. Attending Angel – Vanilla 6/6 silver hero. He’s fine if you need a silver hero, but there will generally be better picks early.
  50. Epaphroditus – His ability isn’t entirely useless, but you generally can’t draft as though it will work.  He is a Philippi hero to be searched out by Syntyche or banded to off Generous Givers.  He’ll still be a pretty low picked hero.
  51. Syntyche – Generally will just be a 5/5 blue hero, nothing really exciting, but can be banded to by Generous Givers with her Philippi tag.
  52. Third Heaven – Taking the opponent’s battle winner out of their hand is strong, but this card won’t actually win you the battle by itself. Still a decent pick.
  53. Four Squads of Four – Great numbers, and the Roman identifier can be useful.
  54. Authority of Peter – A limited battle-winner, but demons aren’t that uncommon. A decent pick if you are running red and are somewhat low on enhancements.
  55. Demon in Chains – Basically just an Authority of Peter in white. Decent but not reliable.
  56. High Priest Annas – His band will probably have some targets, so its a decent ability. Add in great numbers and that he’s a gray sadducee for cards like Tenants Kill the Son and he’s a solid evil character.
  57. Simon the Magician – A very useful ability against NT heroes, which are more popular in booster now thanks to the Early Church and Persecuted Churh. He’s also a magician if you happen to get charms.
  58. Partners with Demons – Demons are fairly common, so there’s a good chance of there being a band target. A solid enhancement.
  59. Hypocrisy – A good battle-winner, but only against half the heroes in the game, which limits it a fair amount.
  60. Rivalry – Basically a slightly weaker hypocrisy.
  61. Angry Mob – The ability is just as likely to hurt you as the opponent (though you can manipulate the odds by limiting the characters you’ve put down), but the numbers are decent enough, and it can be banded to by the Early Church Angry Mobs.
  62. Elders of Jerusalem – Unless you are seeing additional copies of these guys going around in the packs, they generally are going to be a low priority 3/3 white hero.  Even with a second copy of them, they are just a 6/6 white hero if you draw both, which isn’t that strong.
  63. Joseph the Carpenter – Ability is just about useless, so he’s really just a vanilla 5/6 blue hero.
  64. Euodia – 5/5 green hero who can be banded to by Generous Givers. No ability, so a pretty low pick.
  65. Nicodemus – Ignoring pharisees and sadducees is a decent enough ability, but his numbers are really bad.
  66. Good Samaritan – If you have drafted a Kindness (especially the Early Church one) his stock goes way way up. Otherwise, he’s pretty low tier with terrible numbers.
  67. High Priest Caiaphas – Similar to Annas, except that his toughness is lower which is bad for an evil character, and he doesn’t have the band ability.
  68. Emperor Tiberius – Decent numbers with a mostly irrelevant ability. Roman emperor identifier can be useful.
  69. Chief Captain Lysias – If you have an N.T. site his ability could be useful, but it’s still pretty situational. Decent numbers and a Roman identifier for things like Romans Destroy Jerusalem or Stormy Seas.
  70. Archelaus – Decent numbers, and a Herod identifier for things like Herod’s Treachery.
  71. Governor Felix – Same numbers as Archelaus, and Roman identifier.
  72. Herod Agrippa I – Very situational ability, but decent numbers and Herod identifier.
  73. Herod Agrippa II – Even a more situational ability than his father and slightly worse numbers.
  74. Herod Antipas – Another situational ability and slightly worse defensive numbers. Obviously his stock goes up if you drafted Herodias.
  75. Herod Philip II – Same numbers as Herod Antipas, but without any special ability.
  76. Greek Scholars – Black Greek for cards like Antiochus or Adjourn, and decent numbers for an evil character, especially if facing an N.T. character.
  77. Greek Philosophers – Very similar to Greek Scholars, but only slightly better numbers against OT heroes, and significantly worse numbers against NT heroes.
  78. Legion – Good news, your opponent will probably not kill Legion with Son of God in booster. Bad news, your Legion probably won’t have anyone to band to.  Still their numbers are decent, and demons generally have less things that target them than humans.
  79. Emperor Caius Caligula – Numbers are not great for defense because of the low defense. Roman emperor identifier for a few cards’ targeting.
  80. Peter’s Mother-in-Law – ability will generally not matter, but it’s not worthless. Pretty sub-par numbers.
  81. Angel of Warning – A low tier silver hero. If you need characters for the brigade, he’s fine, but he shouldn’t be an early pick.
  82. Demas – No ability but decent numbers.
  83. Prominent Women – No ability, and slightly worse numbers than Demas.
  84. Ananias – Unless you’re drafting Women packs, his ability will not matter. If you have a Sapphira, his stock goes way up.  Otherwise he’s just a vanilla 4/5 EC.
  85. Pharisees – There are a good number of band targets for these guys, so they aren’t useless. Still their numbers are pretty terrible if you don’t have someone for them to band too.
  86. Sadducees – Similar to pharisees, but pharisees band targets tend to be stronger characters.
  87. Roman Jailer – His ability is unlikely to go off, and if it does it is probable that it will hurt you, because you might not be running white. He does have the roman identifier obviously.
  88. Possessing Demon – Unlikely for his ability to go off because it only targets one brigade, but it is nice if it does. Unfortunately his ability does generate a soul for your opponents.
  89. Gamaliel – His ability will almost never activate and 2/6 is bad numbers for a hero.
  90. Eunice – Low chance of activating the ability because you have to draft or have someone else draft Timothy for it to work. 3/3 is bad numbers.
  91. Onesimus – He can be banded to by the Persecuted Church’s Philemon, but in general his ability will not activate, and his numbers are bad.
  92. Epaphras – His ability will very rarely activate. Generally a low priority 3/4 red hero.
  93. Philemon – Bad numbers and no ability. Another low priority pick.
  94. Lois – Just like Eunice, this card has a low chance of actually activating her ability, and has truly awful numbers.
  95. Demetrius – Just a 3/3 blue hero. Low priority.
  96. Wall of Protection – Banding is popular in booster, and limiting your opponent’s ability to steal your offense and defense is definitely useful.
  97. Jerusalem – The ability is not strong, but sites are still always usable.
  98. Lystra – The ability is all but worthless, but it’s still a site, so its usable.
  99. Leper Colony/Nero’s Realm – I’m actually pretty sure these cards’ ability doesn’t do anything because captured heroes are not heroes.
  100. Damascus/Golgotha/Patmos/Lycaonia – Sites are always playable. They let you control who has access to your souls to pass them out in the way you want them distributed.
  101. Angelic Rebellion – Angels are pretty common, so its not terribly hard to get this ability to go off. Still its unreliable and has no numbers.
  102. Scoff at Angels – Very similar to Angelic Rebellion, a battle winner against just angels.
  103. Divisions in the Church – Can be useful to get rid of that annoying NT hero from battle, but it does let the opponent just put an OT hero into battle.
  104. Pontius Pilate – Really bad defensive numbers, has roman identifier. Most evil characters are better.
  105. NT only Lost Soul – Can’t be rescued by half the heroes in the game. A decent lost soul.
  106. Wandering Spirit – Irrelevant ability and bad numbers. Not a good character.
  107. Wicked Thief – No ability and just as bad numbers. Still not good.
  108. Sanctifying Faith – Situational battle-winner, but there are many worse cards.
  109. Pearl of Great Price – The immunity could be useful and it has good numbers, but generally you want more out of an enhancement.
  110. Pillar of Truth – Like Pearl of Great Price, the ignore could win you a battle, but it’s very situational.
  111. Household Idols – Can stop some certainly pesky heroes, and you may have to hate draft this one if you are the one with those pesky heroes.
  112. Three Nails – Demons are fairly common, so limiting your opponent’s blocking options is decent. Additionally like Household Idols it might be a card you have to hate draft if you’ve drafted a lot of demons.
  113. Saul Repents – Decent numbers, and better if you have/are blocked by a Saul/Paul, but this card’s ability will generally not matter, so its not strong.
  114. Blinding Light – If you have Saul/Paul, obviously this card gains a bit, since you can play it from territory, but generally it will just be a 4/4 enhancement. Good numbers but you generally want more than just numbers.  As a side note, using this to set your opponent’s Saul/Paul in battle to win it is hilarious.
  115. Angelic News – Pretty good numbers for an enhancement, but no ability. If you got a Captain or Strong Angel, value this enhancement a lot more.
  116. Generous Giving – Decent numbers, but I’d rather not discard an actually useful enhancement just to get more numbers in battle.
  117. Hermogenes – Bad numbers for a evil character with no special ability.
  118. Phygellus – Bad numbers and no special ability.
  119. Of One Mind – Being multi-brigade gives it some usefulness, but still no good ability, and mediocre numbers.
  120. Men as Gods – Hitting an artifact can be useful, and it has decent numbers. Still generally look for more out of an enhancement.
  121. Miraculous Handkerchiefs – Stops your opponents from hitting your best heroes in battles not involving you, so it has its uses. Still not a great card.
  122. Human Wisdom – If you are ever going to play an evil enhancement for numbers, this would be the one. Its still not strong though.
  123. Preaching God’s Word – Actually very good if played on Apollos, but just a 4/1 enhancement otherwise, which is weak.
  124. Angelic Visit – If you have a Cornelius this card can be useful, but it will generally just be a 3/3 enhancement, not strong.
  125. A Roman Soldier’s Faith – 3/3 is decent numbers, but the ability leaves much to be desired. Still, a heal can be useful if you have a strong hero you really want to leave alive.
  126. Alabaster Jar – This ability won’t matter, so its generally just going to be a 4/3 enhancement. Good numbers, but we want more out of our enhancements.
  127. Wonderment – Just a vanilla 4/3 enhancement, and you want more out of your cards.
  128. Narrow Escape – This card is basically a less useful heal ability, which isn’t a very strong ability in the first place.
  129. Miraculous Catch – Just a 3/4 enhancement. Weak card.
  130. Hostility – Being able to decrease the winning player’s next rescuing hero 5/5 is relevant, because it allows you to help out another player whose weak defense is being picked on by the leader. This is still a weak card, but it has some utility.
  131. Deliverance – The ability will almost never matter, and wouldn’t win you the battle even if it did. You’re really just going to use this for the 3/3 numbers, and you want more from an enhancement.
  132. Faith of Bartimaeus – Just a 3/3 enhancement. Low value.
  133. The Empty Tomb – Just about useless ability, and the numbers won’t help you win the battle.
  134. Miracle of Healing – Ability will not matter. 2/5 is not good offensive numbers.
  135. Spiritual Gifts – Ability will likely not matter, and 2/2 are not strong numbers.
  136. Child of Great Wisdom – This can win you the battle against Pharisees and Sadducees, but you can’t count on your opponent to block with them, and this has no numbers.
  137. Pierced Heart – Same as Men as Gods, but with worse numbers.
  138. Vengeance of Eternal Fire – Near useless ability, and bad numbers. Poor pick.
  139. Sowing the Seed – This card is much too slow for a multiplayer category.
  140. Burning the Magic Books – This has a limited range of evil characters it affects, bad numbers and doesn’t even win the battle against those evil characters. There are better cards to pick than this.
  141. Glad Tidings – Poisons and diseases are not common, and this card’s numbers are bad.
  142. Faithfulness of Ananias – Slightly more valuable if you have Ananias, but the numbers and ability are terrible.
  143. Heavenly Trance – Not a very useful ability and only 2/2 in numbers.
  144. Raising Lazarus – The multi-brigade is the only useful thing on this card.
  145. Leading Others Astray – Useful against bands, but you don’t get to control which hero you kick out. In general this won’t be good enough for your deck.
  146. Great Mourning – The ability can be good if you can use it against the guy in the lead, but you can’t guarantee that, and it does nothing to help you in the current battle.
  147. Flogging – It can be a significant numbers swing against an NT hero, but is useless against OT heroes, and it doesn’t do anything besides numbers.
  148. Table of Demons – Good numbers for an evil enhancement but a nigh useless ability.
  149. Idolatry – Its ability is generally not going to work, so its usually just a 3/4 enhancement.
  150. Beaten – If you are blocking an NT hero, unless they are tiny, this is really just a 4/4 enhancement, which isn’t enough to win you a battle and we look for more out of our enhancements.
  151. Quarreling – Generally will just be a 3/4 enhancement. If there are enough heroes in battle to make the decrease really relevant, you’re probably in a bad situation.
  152. Strength in Weakness – The ability is weak and it offers no numbers. Not a good pick.
  153. Deception Exposed – Severely limited targets and poor numbers. Not a useful card.
  154. Angelic Guidance – No ability and the numbers don’t help you win the battle. Skip this enhancement.
  155. Transfiguration – If you have gotten a Warriors or Prophets Moses, this card is very powerful, but even then you can probably pass on it at least once and be sure it will come back to you. If you don’t have Moses, this card is not worth anything.
  156. Massacre of Innocents – It is very hard to make this win a battle, and it can hurt yourself as well. Generally just a 3/3 enhancement.
  157. Shipwreck – Cards that only target one specific card aren’t worth playing.
  158. Departed Wife – The ability on this is absurdly situational. The numbers are decent for an enhancement, but you won’t include this in your deck.
  159. Foolish Boasting – Just a 3/3 no special ability enhancement.
  160. Divisions – This card is most often just going to be a 2/2 enhancement, which isn’t worth it.
  161. Facing Angry Mobs – This card is really just a 3/3 enhancement half the time and nothing the other half. Not worth a slot.
  162. JealousyIdolatry’s weaker little brother.
  163. Desertion – Stopping bands can be useful, but it’s not worth an enhancement slot, especially with no numbers.
  164. Outburst of Anger – Because it lets them just put a new hero into battle, it’s generally not worth it.
  165. Thirty Pieces of Silver – Due to poor wording, this artifact will kill your own heroes after battle. Even if you just hit opponent heroes with it, its not that strong because it doesn’t do anything in the battle.
  166. Crucify Him – Discarding artifacts can help, but it’s not a strong enough ability on an enhancement on its own to put into your deck.
  167. Burial Shroud – You don’t want to lose your rescue in multiplayer, and your opponents can just go at each other, so its use is limited.
  168. Cross Beams of the Cross – Beasts aren’t entirely uncommon, but they certainly aren’t the most common evil characters. This is a rather weak artifact.
  169. Tartaros – Not only do you need to be playing demons, but you have to have another one win a battle after a demons would be discarded or captured. Heavily situational and not a good choice.
  170. Betrayal – Just reducing the numbers of their enhancements is usually not going to be enough to win you the battle. This card is not good.
  171. Drunkenness – Very similar to Betrayal. Not worth an enhancement.
  172. Sanhedrin – Because it has to be used by a Pharisee or Sadducee, many of whom have the ability to band to Pharisees and Sadducees anyway, and there has to be other Pharisees or Sadducees in play, this card is unreliable and not worth it.
  173. Wild Parties – Solid defensive numbers, but nothing else going for it.
  174. Banishment – Doesn’t help you win the battle at all, only helps you weaken an opponent’s defense, if they happen to have a demon in it. This card is not worth playing.
  175. Casting Lots – Changing the active artifact of someone could be useful if there’s something like an annoying writ up or something. But even then, they have to have a second artifact in pile, and you have to not pick writ again randomly.  This card has too little upside, and a high chance of just doing nothing.  Don’t pick this.
  176. Face of Death – You probably aren’t going to have any poisoned or diseased heroes to discard and numbers are very bad.
  177. The Meal in Emmaus – You will not get any combo-wombos going with this in booster. Don’t pick this.
  178. Divination – The only use of this card is if you have a Foreign Spearman for toss.
  179. Pain – Same goes as Divination, but lower attack.
  180. Selfish Ambition – Same as Pain.
  181. Three Crosses – Same as Pain and Selfish Ambition.
  182. Palsy – This helps you not at all in the current battle, and the person you hit with it can just go with a different hero on their rescues. It’s rare that you could truly cripple an offense with this.
  183. Worked to Exhaustion – Doesn’t even kill the character it targets, and does nothing in the battle. Just about worthless.
  184. Lacking Sleep – Because of this card’s errata it is terrible. Don’t draft it.
  185. Without Food – Basically the same as Lacking Sleep. Skip it.
  186. Prison Guards – Very unlikely to go off, and the benefit isn’t good.
  187. Peter’s Shadow – A card that requires you to have drafted a certain hero to get a bad ability. Very not worth it.
  188. New Tongues – This card is bad. Very bad.
  189. Satan’s Folly/Lay Down Your Life – These cards don’t really work.
  190. Guardian of Your Souls – Unless you are playing with Women packs (which is very much a less commonly used pack) this card is useless. Its worth a flier pick if you are drafting Women packs.
  191. Timothy – No one even knows how he works.
  192. No SA Lost Souls – Always the worst card in the pack.

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