Welcome to the Mirror of Galadriel, a series in which we explore things that were, things that are, and things that yet may be.
In each installment, I share an interesting tidbit from playtesting years ago, connect it to something cool and current in the game, and provide a prompt for creating a custom card as an idea for the future. If you like to create cards, send one in to be featured in the next article.
Things That Were: The Master’s Table
If you were playing Redemption in 2010 when The Disciples set released, you may remember an obscure artifact called The Master’s Table. Fun fact: when the card was first designed, it was actually called Crumbs. If I remember correctly, the name was changed primarily for art reasons. It was much easier to find quality art of a table with a dog underneath than to find an interesting image of crumbs.
The card comes from the story of a Canaanite mother who asked Jesus to heal her daughter from a demon (this is the same story as Great Faith and Afflicting Spirit). Jesus indicated that His earthly ministry was focused on the Jewish people, so the mother humbled herself, saying that “even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Jesus then honored her great faith by healing her daughter from the afflicting spirit that had possessed her.
I remember The Master’s Table because it was actually a card I designed. Usually my input on card sets was little more than giving playtesting feedback to my dad or encouraging him to feature a certain theme, but this card was one that I conceptualized from the beginning.
Some Redemption cards begin as a mechanical idea, with a biblical name and verse being found later to match the concept. Others begin with the biblical name and verse, and the mechanics are designed after. When I created The Master’s Table, it was the former case. At the time, I was frustrated by how useless convert enhancements were against demons (side note: I appreciate how most convert enhancements these days have another option for defeating non-humans). Luke decks in particular relied on convert enhancements that were dead cards against demons. Convincing Miracle, Repentance and Restitution, and Meeting the Messiah were all great battle-winners (especially when paired with a Greek defense running Abomination of Desolation). And if you really wanted to lean into conversion, gold had even more options in Fishers of Men, A New Creation, and Preaching the Truth.
The problem was that orange brigade was relatively new and very popular, with characters like King of Tyrus, Prince of this World, and Red Dragon all in the same brigade for the first time. Offenses running multiple convert enhancements had to include Three Nails to stand a chance, but that artifact would not last long against Seven Sons of Sceva.
I wanted an alternative or backup to Three Nails, ideally one that involved more player interaction than simply not allowing demons to block. That’s what gave me the idea of an artifact that could discard a demon every time an evil character is converted. You would convert your own evil humans (ideally ones like Saul/Paul that you wanted converted anyway) to discard opponent’s demons. The discard effect would be difficult for opponent to negate, and would even get through the immunity of Prince of this World and Red Dragon, as it was coming from an artifact rather than an enhancement.
To find an appropriate name for the card, I read through various biblical accounts of demons being cast out. This story from Matthew 15 quickly became the obvious choice, because in addition to involving an exorcism, it also has a theme of “You just did a good thing over there; please do another good thing here now” which matches the idea of a conversion triggering another positive effect. And thus, Crumbs was born.
I knew from the beginning that the effect was too niche to be playable without an additional ability on the card. I think it was my dad who suggested the version of the second sentence that ended up being used. The pseudo-healing effect was thematically appropriate, and the effect of “healing” a lost soul was unique.
Upon its release, The Master’s Table saw some play, but it was never popular. I particularly remember one time an opponent played it against me at the 2010 Nationals (where the Disciples set debuted) because after I mentioned I had designed the card, he asked me to sign it. Asking me to do that was very kind, as I’m sure he didn’t actually care about it being signed, and it made the day of 12-year-old me.
I used The Master’s Table for a while in my Type 2 deck, because its ability to counter Burial was super valuable under the old “Rescuer’s Choice” rules. At that time, the rescuer chose which lost soul to attempt to rescue at the start of battle (instead of after battle resolved), so a card like Burial that removed the lost soul was an auto-block. The Master’s Table was thus a unique way of ensuring a rescue instead of wasting an entire turn.
The Master’s Table has never been reprinted, which is unsurprising because it is relatively forgettable. It never made a significant impact on the meta, and its most consistently useful feature (undoing the effect of Burial) is no longer relevant to the game.
However, the card is special to me, so I decided to brainstorm ways to update it for modern play. The first thing I knew needed to change was that it should be a fortress (like Widows’ Tables) rather than an artifact. There’s simply too much competition for the artifact slot for a card like this to make the cut. But the big breakthrough came when I found the full version of the art that was used on the original card. It is a depiction of the Last Supper, which made me realize the card could have a double-meaning, representing both the metaphorical table of Matthew 15 and the literal table of Jesus at the Last Supper. And what did the Last Supper table hold? The Holy Grail.
I give you the new and improved The Master’s Table:
The ability is very similar to the original, but it now provides an extra artifact slot (for Holy Grail) instead of taking one. And of course, Holy Grail is exactly the artifact you want to activate, as it will trigger the fortress’ effect whenever you want. I also made the ability CBN so that it can’t be negated by Afflicting Spirit, which would have been quite unthematic.
If the card were printed like this, I don’t think it would be overly strong, but I expect it being a Gospel fortress (and thus a target for The Resurrection) would make it playable in some decks. If playtesting showed it to need a power boost, then I’d consider changing the identifier to “Holds Holy Grail or a Gospel covenant,” as most or all of the Gospel covenants in the game come from the Last Supper as well. It might also be fun to incorporate an option to take a good card from opponent’s discard pile (or maybe from their reserve to tie in with Gospel gold), as that seems in-theme with the idea of feeding on others’ crumbs.
Do you think The Master’s Table deserves a rotation reprint like this, or is it better off left in the past? I’d love to hear your thoughts on Discord.
Things That Are: Converting Your Own Evil Characters
The Master’s Table is not a part of rotation, but converting your own evil characters very much is. In fact, building a deck around an evil character that you want to convert to a hero is easier now than ever, thanks to the addition of the new dominant Redemption and the new hero Joel, Son of Pethuel, one of my favorite cards from Times to Come.
No longer do you have to rely on old staples like Holy Grail to get the conversion you want. Joel especially can improve the consistency of such a strategy, as he can convert the evil character directly out of your deck, and there are several heroes in the game (like The Victorious Being, The Watchman, and The Angel of the Winds) that can exchange for Joel as well.
Of course, in most deck builds, Joel will instead be used to convert an opponent’s evil character. This can eliminate a threat and add another good brigade to opponent’s territory, further exploitable via a choose-the-attacker ability or an ability that punishes opponent for having too many brigades.
Having enough ways to convert your evil characters is now easy. The hard part (but also the fun part) is deciding which evil character you want to use as a hero. Some evil characters were obviously designed to work well as heroes for thematic reasons. For example, there are Saul of Tarsus and The Divining Damsel. Saul may be worth building around, but Damsel is not.
Although not as thematic as converting Saul, the best evil character to use as a hero may be the RoJ version of Temple Guard. Play abilities are extra powerful on heroes, because they allow enhancements to be used before even being opposed. Playing a good banding enhancement on Temple Guard before opponent has a chance to block can be bonkers in the right deck.
If you are looking for potential targets from a more recent set, there are at least a couple decent options in Israel’s Inheritance. If you banish enough cards, The Terrified Chiefs could become an excellent FBTN hero. He would also be an Exodus hero, which makes him compatible with many cards like Slaves in Egypt, Plague of Darkness, Freedom!, Pillar of Cloud, and Aaron, God’s Mediator.
The other good option is Concealed Canaanites, which could do a lot of damage as a hero, especially because he would be able to take an evil character (or some other threat) before opponent even has the opportunity to block. His search ability can also help your defense even while he is a hero. You probably wouldn’t use his banding option unless another Canaanite is converted, but don’t forget that Rahab and King Hiram are both Canaanites.
I imagine there are other evil characters that would make powerful heroes. Can you find one that is so far undiscovered?
Things That Yet May Be: Ehud
Last week, I challenged the creative among us to design a new version of Ehud, my favorite judge. Three of you answered the call with clever designs. Thank you for taking the time to contribute!
All three submissions kept Ehud’s classic stats and scripture reference, as well as his expected gold brigade and warrior class, but three special abilities were original in ways I did not expect.
The first submission is Marc Vellake’s Ehud:
What I like most about Marc’s version is how he replaced the choose-the-blocker ability with a similar effect of withdrawing all but one evil character. It’s generally not as powerful as choosing the blocker, but it’s mechanically unique and even more thematic, as the way Ehud was able to target Eglon was by tricking all the other Moabites into leaving the room. Also thematic is the ability to equip Ehud’s Dagger mid-battle, as in the story it was initially hidden rather than being openly held. It’s cool for the ability to be CBN if blocked by royalty, as this makes it more consistent against kings such as Eglon. It also helps maintain the status of Ehud’s Dagger as a great counter for King of Tyrus. This is a great design! My only critique is that the “while in battle” effect should probably be limited to once per battle.
The next submission is BaboonyTim’s Ehud, the Assassin:
Tim decided to keep the choose-the-blocker effect, except that it now chooses from opponent’s reserve, rather than from their territory. This is a never-before-seen twist, which is very cool. Thematically, it captures the feeling of nowhere being safe for opponent’s evil characters to hide, appropriate considering that Eglon was in the upper room of his palace. If this ability were to be printed, I imagine players would have to be a bit more careful in deciding which evil characters to include in their reserve. The ability also has a bit of fun synergy with gold’s various reserve effects, such as Teaching in Parables. In addition to the choose effect, Tim also included an equip ability similar to Marc’s. Great minds think alike!
Finally, there is Bryon Hake’s Ehud, Left-Handed:
It’s obvious that the inspiration behind my dad’s version was to use abilities with the word hand. I like how the first ability perfectly represents Ehud delivering tribute. The second represents him losing his weapon into Eglon’s gut. And the third is a potential payoff that mechanically fits alongside fellow judge Samson, Son of Manoah. Although it is tricky and costly to have an empty hand, the rescue ability is still probably too powerful. Nevertheless, this is a fun and original design.
Thanks again to all who submitted a card!
This Week's Card Creation Prompt:
For this week’s card creation prompt, I’m asking you to create a hero of the Canaanite mother from Matthew 15. If interested, please DM me (Ear-A-Corn on Discord) your card by the end of Friday, 8/22. It would be cool if her ability tied into The Master’s Table in some way, but that’s not required. She is also, as mentioned above, the woman who Great Faith refers to, though purple might not be the most thematic brigade for her. If Great Faith were reprinted for rotation, it would probably be a different brigade anyway (maybe gold). That said, don’t let my comments restrict you from being creative. I’m very eager to see what you all come up with.
I hope you enjoyed “Conversion and Crumbs.” Join us next time when we discuss a very different kind of dog food… (Editor is guessing Jezebel??)
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