Today I would like to talk about ROOT, the Redemption Official Online Tournaments that run about 1.5 months each throughout the year. This will be the first of 3 articles during which I’ll walk through a recent ROOT experience.

The articles will be broken down as such:

1. What is ROOT? Why join ROOT? I’ll also show a deck I decided to test in ROOT.
2. A write-up of a ROOT game with the deck I’m testing
3. Commentary of the game including what changes should/shouldn’t be made based on my experience

First, a quick tutorial about ROOT, for those who are not familiar with it. The tournaments usually run 4-6 weeks, depending on how many people sign up. All games are Type-1 games, unless both you and your opponent decide ahead of time to play Type 2 instead. The first pairings are done randomly by the person running ROOT (an Elder or REP on the boards). After that, Swiss-style scoring determines the weekly matchups.

Basically, the highest ranked player (based on points and lost soul differential) will play the highest-ranked player that they have not already played yet since you don’t play the same person twice. After the highest-ranked player is paired, those two players are ignored and the remaining highest-ranked player will be paired next. This continues until all players have been paired up. If there are an odd number of players, one player will have a bye each round. At the end of the tournament the winner is the player with the most points, with lost soul differential being the tie-breaker. Points are awarded as follows:

Win (5 LS rescued, or 7 in T2): 3 points
Time-out win (less than 5/7 LS rescued): 2 points
Tie: 1.5 points
Time-out loss (opponent rescuing less than 5/7 LS): 1 point
Loss (opponent rescuing 5/7 LS): 0 points

As you can see, the total points available for each game will always be 3 no matter the outcome. If a bye occurs, the person who had the bye gets 3 points but a 0 LS differential. The games are played on a web-based program called Lackey. There are separate threads on the message boards which can help you download Lackey. 1 hour and 15 minutes is the current time limit for ROOT games. However, if you and your opponent agree ahead of time to a longer time limit that is acceptable as well.

Now that you know how to play why should you? Easy! The first and best reason to play ROOT is that you are guaranteed one online game per week. Sometimes it can be hard to find pick-up games based on the time of the year or when you have free time. But with ROOT a game is guaranteed each week (unless an odd number of players give one person a bye).

Not only that, the Redemption players that take the time to download Lackey and build decks tend to be some of the better players. ROOT, therefore, is an excellent way to hone your Redemption skills and get ready for that upcoming tournament. Another reason to play is to test decks! You face a good variety of decks in ROOT so it can make a great place to try new ideas or concepts with your Redemption decks.

As it turns out, I used the most recent ROOT tournament as a deck-testing ground. My first game against kram1138 did not go as well as I hoped. Our game ended in a frustrating 4-4 tie at the 1:15 time limit, although I did squeak out a 5-4 win when we kept playing. My experimental deck did not do what I expected it to and I fear that I can’t change that while still maintaining a 50-card deck (my favorite deck size).

So, I put together a different deck for my next game against wyatt_marcum. That game went much better for me, though my deck drew itself very well. I won 5-0, primarily by always having just what I needed when I needed it. That actually didn’t help me critique my deck very much; I usually learn a lot more about a new deck in a loss than a win.

In preparation for my final game with kariusvega I made a few tweaks and ended up with the deck listed below. Join me in my next article to read a play-by-play of that game! If you want to spoil the outcome you can check out the January 2016 ROOT thread on the boards. Otherwise, tune in next time!

Deck size: 50 cards/7 Lost Souls (plus Hopper)

Lost Soul Retribution
Lost Soul Awake
Lost Soul Female Only
Lost Souls (Three Liner)
Lost Soul Revealer
Lost Soul Resurrection
Lost Soul FBTN

Lost Soul Hopper

Son of God
New Jerusalem
Angel of the Lord
Christian Martyr
Vain Philosophy
Mayhem
Falling Away

Chariot of Fire
Magic Charms
I Am Holy

Angel of His Presence
Seraph
Seraphim (to Blue)
Seraphim (to Green)
Seraph with a Live Coal
Daniel
Michael
Isaiah
Gabriel

Striking Herod
Live Coal
Isaiah’s Call
Wheel Within a Wheel
Angelic Guidance

Razor
Siegeworks

Assyrian Survivor
Assyrian Siege Army
Assyrian Archer
The Judean Mediums
Damsel with Spirit of Divination
Esau, the Hunter
King Manasseh
Foreign Wives

Mist
Two Thousand Horses
Confusion
Forgotten History
Scattered
Death of Unrighteous
Stocks
Captured by Assyria

To buy singles, sealed product, and other gaming supplies, please visit Three Lions Gaming!

By JoshH

Josh has collected Redemption cards since the original unlimited booster packs, but has only been playing Redemption competitively since 2010. He has fallen in love with pretty much every strategy game ever introduced to him. When Josh plays Redemption, he tries to find and build creative decks that are outside the mold of the current popular decks.