Earlier today, the hosts of the 2026 National Tournament revealed the Nationals Participation Promo on the official Discord server. I will not spoil the card here, but I will say that it is amazing, and you should go check it out if you don't mind spoilers.

The card is one that, if legal, would see play in many Paragon decks. Because everyone who attends Nationals will receive at least one copy, it would be perfectly fair to allow this card in Paragon decks at the Nationals side event.

But that raises a question. Do you as Paragon players want more promos to be legal in the format? Should all the promos be legal, or none of them, or something in between?

Currently, the only promos and fundraiser cards that are legal in Paragon are those that are mechanically identical to other cards in the format. In other words, the promos have to be alternate arts/borders, not distinct in any other way. Thus, using the promos is merely cosmetic and gives no competitive advantage.

Why exclude other promos from the format? The main reason is that Paragon is intended to be casual and approachable for new players, and locking certain decks or strategies behind expensive or hard-to-find promos could put them at a disadvantage. Some of the promos, like Glory of the Lord and Prince of the Air, could also become game-warping staples with abilities potentially degenerate in the context of multiplayer.

Another reason to exclude promos is to keep deck-building simple, as it's much easier to identify cards by their set icon than to refer to a list of legal promos (though that is much less important with the availability of tools like RedemptionCCG.app). There's also the factor that even players with large collections are less likely to have multiple copies of most promos, so if they use a copy in their Type 1 or Type 2 deck, they may not have another left for a Paragon deck.

But on the other hand, most of the promos are not overly powerful, and are cheaper to obtain than Ultra-Rares anyway. Some of them, like The Darkness, may even need a casual multiplayer format like Paragon in order to see any play at all. The Darkness is basically made for multiplayer, as it could be quite fun to lend other players your EC to help them block. This could also be a counter to choose-the-blocker strategies, which are especially strong in multiplayer.

Adding characters like Saul, Samson, Jaddua, and Peter could also be a helpful boost for some themes that are currently underrepresented in the Paragon card pool.

And of course, it wouldn't be a bad thing to encourage more tournament participation and card trades.

To be clear, the only promos I would consider legalizing for Paragon would be the regular tournament promos (not Nats Winner, Nats Worker, or Fundraiser cards) released since Nationals 2022 (aligning with the post-GoC era that Paragon encompasses).

Excluding the N.T. Hopper (because you don't use Lost Souls in Paragon decks), the following is a complete list of promos in question:

  • Saul of Tarsus [2022 - Seasonal]
  • Son of God [Tomb] [2022 - Seasonal]
  • Dust and Ashes [2023 - Seasonal]
  • Malakh the Nameless [2023 - State]
  • Magic Charms [2023 - Regional]
  • Angel of God [2023 - National]
  • Raiders' Camp [2023 - Seasonal]
  • Tribute [2023 - Seasonal]
  • Solomon's Temple [2024 - Seasonal]
  • Glory of the Lord [2024 - Winner]
  • Ark of the Covenant [2024 - Winner]
  • Banner of Love [2024 - State]
  • The Judean Mediums [2024 - Regional]
  • Warrior in Training [2024 - Seasonal]
  • Guardian of Your Souls [2024 - National]
  • Queen Tahpenes [2024 - Seasonal]
  • The Darkness [2025 - Seasonal]
  • Samson, Son of Manoah [2025 - State]
  • Prince of the Air [2025 - Regional]
  • David, the Unifier [2025 - Seasonal]
  • Redemption [2025 - National]
  • First Animals [2025 - Local]
  • Baruch the Scribe [2025 - Local]
  • Tribute to Assyria [2025 - District]
  • Raiders' Camp [2025 - District]
  • Jaddua, Son of Jonathan [2025 - Seasonal]
  • Roaring Lion [2026 - Seasonal]
  • Peter, the Believer [2026 - Seasonal]
  • Bound to the Law [2026 - State]
  • I Am Grace [2026 - Regional]
  • CHECK DISCORD FOR SPOILER [2026 - National]

That's a total of 31 cards!

Unless there is a consensus among the community that the entire list of promos should be made legal, I think at least some of them should remain banned. Glory of the Lord in particular makes me nervous, as it would definitely be a staple battle dom, and could contribute to brutal gang-ups, also reducing the viability of Enhancements.

I'd personally like Ark of the Covenant to be legal, as having an option to restrict evil Dominants would provide a way for any offense to avoid third-party blocks like Forces Arise into Abom.

But maybe you think Ark of the Covenant would shut down too much of the multiplayer interaction. Or maybe you think its inclusion could become a disadvantage for new players. Or maybe you think the format is better without any promos at all. Any of those opinions is fine, and I want to hear yours!

Over the coming days, I am going to post some polls on Discord. Vote for the promos (if any) that you would like to see made legal in Paragon. You can vote for all yes, all no, or just yes for the cards you think would be healthy.

I'm not promising to follow the exact results of the polls, but I will use them as a gauge of your collective wishes. Paragon was made for this community, so the community should have its voices heard.

If you have more detailed thoughts you'd like to share, remember that you are always welcome to send me any sort of Paragon feedback on Discord.

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