Throwback Thursday is a common theme on sites and blogs where you hearken back to something interesting or random from the past. On Land of Redemption, we’ll start our Throwback Thursday trend with re-posts of preview articles from years past.
Enjoy these nostalgic trips back through time!
Originally Posted By: Bryon | Date: 2003
“And the Babylonians came …” Ezekiel 23:17
God would not be mocked. The nation of Judah had sown sin and would reap destruction. What would God use as the instrument of destruction? Babylon.
In The Kings, Babylon emerges as a “culture within a brigade.” Babylonians are a subset of the Crimson brigade, much like the Egyptians of the Evil Gold Brigade. Current Babylonian cards Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Great Image are joined by a new character and six new enhancements added in this set.
Nebuzaradan (9/10 crimson warrior-class EC), the Babylonian commander under Nebuchadnezzar, comes to Redemption with strong stats and a helpful “cannot be negated” special ability. Remember that Crimson has an enhancement that negates all special abilities except banding. Playing this on Nebuzaradan gives you one of the best possible scenarios in Redemption: by the numbers for your opponent but not for you.
Nebuzaradan’s special ability has two restrictions: First, only evil enhancements with a reference from II Kings gain the “cannot be negated” ability. Second, this only works if there is a Babylon site in his holder’s territory. The positive side to these restrictions is that they depend only on the holder. Simply include a few copies of the red Babylon site in your deck, and all your evil enhancements with II Kings references cannot be negated while he is in battle. Simon the Magician, by contrast, loses his “cannot be negated” ability if any player has Peter or Philip the Evangelist in play, even one safe in an opponent’s Goshen.
Astute Redemption students will notice that Crimson doesn’t currently have any enhancements with a reference from II Kings. With the Kings, crimson gains six enhancements with II Kings references. Let’s look at a couple of them.
If you learn anything about the Babylonians at church, you learn that they destroyed Jerusalem. That’s just what they do in Redemption. They do it very well. Breaking Through (6/0 Crimson enhancement) is one of the easiest ways to discard a fortress in Redemption. If Nebuchadnezzar (6/8 crimson EC from The Prophets) is in play, Breaking Through discards either Wall of Protection or Jerusalem Tower. Discarding Wall of Protection is an attractive idea to Crimson users since Crimson thrives on banding to opponent’s characters. Cards like Gomer and Fallen Angel have many potential banding partners, and only get better with an opponent’s Wall of Protection out of the way.
Crimson users are not usually hindered by Jerusalem Tower, since Crimson does not historically target draw piles. What could crimson gain if Breaking Through discards a Jerusalem Tower? Treasures of War (crimson enhancement)! Treasures of War discards the top card of opponent’s draw pile and draws the top card of holder’s draw pile. While not a battle winner, Treasures of War is a fun card with deck-thinning and card-drawing uses. Although a bit of a gamble, Treasures of War could easily discard an opponent’s dominant or powerful character or enhancement. Since it has no numbers, you will often retain initiative after playing Treasures of War, which is great in conjunction with Great Image and Christian Martyr.
Babylonians will probably find their way into some top decks this tournament season, mainly because of their ability to discard Wall of Protection or Jerusalem Tower. Here’s a sample of an evil side that uses Babylonians (* = Kings card):
Babylon site x3
Nebuchadnezzar x2
*Nebuzaradan
*King Zimri (one use only)
Gomer
Fallen Angel
Leviathan
Red Dragon (warriors)
Sapphira
*Breaking Through
*Treasures of War
Great Image
Dream
Deceit of Sapphira
Isaac Deceived
The Wages of Sin
Midianite Attack
Treachery of Jezebel
Christian Suing Another
Mask of Vanity
This evil side has 3 ways to discard access sites: Zimri, Deceit of Sapphira, and Mask of Vanity. Combined with a blue hero side that uses Jacob’s Dream, this deck could make excellent defensive use of the 3 Babylon sites. Additionally, blue’s heroes with banding ability could capitalize on the destruction of your opponent’s Wall of Protection.
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