In this session of Learning From Our Peers we're going to examine a game zone that's available to other strategy card games but hasn't been feasible for Redemption - the sideboard.

"A sideboard or side deck is a set of cards in a collectible card game that are separate from a player's primary deck. It is used to customize a strategy against an opponent by enabling a player to change the composition of the playing deck."

Games that use the sideboard tend to play a match, allowing players to modify their deck after the first game. Throughout the years there have been many discussions on the message boards about how we could implement a sideboard into Redemption. It's a difficult thing to do without playing a match so none of the ideas were ever agreed upon.

A Crazy Idea Refined

Flash back to last fall when we were fleshing out the themes and concepts that will make "Move Over Bacon" special and unique to the game of Redemption. I had won T1-2P and needed to come up with a card idea, which was harder than you'd think when my mind is so focused on the new set.

I presented an idea to John and Justin that in part allowed a player to obtain any single card from their collection provided it was legal in the deck. We talked through the pros and cons of such a card and quickly found that the cons were winning. Back to the drawing board for my winner card...

But what if you were to narrow down that "collection" to a manageable number? Like say 14-21 cards? That might actually work! We began discussing different uses for this zone, and ways it could be abused. There would need to be several cards that could target this new game area in order for it to be viable.

We settled on the name "Reserve" for this new game zone.

The Reserve

The official rules for the Reserve will be added to the REG and printed on the inside of the card boxes for "Move Over Bacon". It's possible there will be minor tweaks between now and the set's release, but this is pretty close to what you can expect.

"The Reserve is a new card zone that is only targetable by cards that specifically target the Reserve. It is checked in simultaneously with your deck but is not part of the deck. It cannot contain Dominants or Lost Soul cards (Hopper does not count as a Lost Soul for deck-building purposes and can be included in your Reserve).

Your Deck + Reserve must be a legal deck (ignoring Lost Soul to Deck Ratio rule as it applies to cards in the Reserve). The Reserve must contain between 0 and 10 cards. The contents of the Reserve are known information for the player that controls the Reserve only."

How Does It Work?

In tournaments, players will need to sleeve their Reserve with the same sleeves they use on the main deck. They will also need a list of the cards in the Reserve so that it can be easily reset after a game and checked by a judge at any time.

Similar to the promos you saw last week for The Watchman and Job, a number of cards in "Move Over Bacon" will allow you to pull cards from the Reserve through exchange and search abilities. Some will even allow you to look at another players Reserve. This opens up the possibility for a lot of new in-game strategy!

For example, maybe I don't want to use Foreign Wives in my deck because she's such a liability against a Throne of David. When I face an AutO or Samuel, I can use a new Evil Character called The Deceiver to exchange with Foreign Wives in my Reserve, pulling her in for the auto-block!

Or let's say that I don't want to use a spot in my deck for an access Site because it's essentially a dead card against decks that don't use Sites. Instead I can put New Jerusalem in my Reserve and move it to my hand with a new Hero called One of Seven.

The strategy and application for the Reserve is extremely vast. This year we're only going to scratch the surface as we introduce this new zone into the game. I have no doubt players will come up with ideas and uses for the Reserve that we have not yet thought of.

Do you still have questions about the Reserve zone? Please leave them in the comments below.

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