Mr. Rob Anderson has given me permission to share one of the cards that we’re testing for the new set. It was difficult to choose just one. I have a few favorites that I’m really excited for the players to see, but I’ve selected one of them to share with you. Before we get to the card, let’s take a look at how it came to be.
In Colossians 1:15-17 Paul gives us some insight about who Jesus is.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
It says he made everything. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time wrapping my mind around that. This is a great big world, with so much variety, so many created things. But we’re just a spec in the corner of the universe. He really made all of that? Absolutely. That really puts God’s greatness into perspective. The most amazing part is that He cares about you and me.
Translating creation into the game of Redemption is pretty easy. You search through your deck and put something into play. We’ve had the card Creation of the World for that does that since Patriarchs. It’s seen more play in recent years thanks to Joseph and his family.
In Angel Wars we have a card that deals with creation, at least in the title – Created by Christ. Discarding all evil Enhancements in battle is pretty useful in a draft. But the special ability doesn’t seem to represent creation, at least in the way I think of it.
When we decided to reprint this card we wanted something that represents the passage in Colossians well. We wanted something that will help the game progress in a fun way. We wanted it to get Heroes. We wanted it to get Evil Characters. We wanted it to get Lost Souls. And since Paul uses the word “all” 4 times in Colossians 1:15-17 we also wanted it to work for all players.
When Created by Christ is played, all players in the game start revealing the top card of their deck, one at a time, until they’ve revealed at least one Hero and one Evil Character. Once you’ve revealed one of each, you stop. You put one Hero and one Evil Character you revealed into play. If you happen to have revealed more than one, you get to choose which one to put in play. If you revealed any Lost Soul cards, you put them all in play. Any revealed cards that remain go to the bottom of your deck in the order the owner of those cards chooses. When the dust settles, every player is going to end up with a Hero, an Evil Character and possibly one or more Lost Souls.
If it’s played during the preparation phase, the player that used Created by Christ gets the first chance to use the Hero they turned up. They also get the first chance to rescue a Lost Soul turned up by an opponent. They also have a chance to remove the Evil Character their opponent turned up with a card like Holy Grail or Meeting the Messiah.
Created by Christ can also be used in a big risk, big reward set up in Type 1. If you choose to run no Evil Characters in your deck, you will reveal your entire deck. That means you get your choice of either any Hero in your deck. It also means that all of your Lost Souls will end up in play to be rescued by your opponent(s). But, you’ll get to stack your entire deck in the order you want it, since all the remaining cards are underdecked. It’s possible that some brilliant player could come up with a card combination that takes advantage of this situation.
This card is still in the testing phase for the next few weeks. It’s not necessarily the final version that you’ll see in card boxes at the Redemption National tournament and beyond. If we find any problem with the way it interacts with game rules or other cards, we will need to adjust it. What’s your first impression?
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John David Cunningham
Awesome card!! I love that it is a reveal and allows players to get to the game. This is a huge speed card in terms of being able to make the game play, instead of having to wait for lost souls/heroes/blockers for all players. Can see this card works great for all of the different game types! Great card!! Love this idea! Created by Christ!
Knoxyouthpastor
I can definitely see this card being abused as it stands now in speed decks. Especially if you get it first turn. By the end of the first turn with the way speed can run a player could have SoG/NJ and 3 battle winners in their hand to finish off the game. But I like the idea, the risk/reward to the card with everyone having to do it. I want to say make it multiple colors, especially Blue/Green to fit with past stuff, but that would make it even more powerful. Excited for sure to see what else is in store. Can we expect more glimpses at cards like we have with TEC releases?
Gabe
Normally previews don’t start until after the set is finalized. Rob gave me his blessing to preview one card that we’re testing, which I don’t think has ever been done before. I’m not sure if there will be any more previews of cards while they’re still in development. Some of my peers have mentioned cards that they would like to preview, so I imagine you can expect to see those, but it might not be until after they go to print.
Knoxyouthpastor
Completely understand about previews on cards. I know that we got a good two month jump on Phase 1 of TEC when it was released at NATs. I think it was June 1, and was wondering if we were going to see something similar this year. Either way, it’s not really a big deal. Just exciting to see what’s coming.
Joey Shivers
Thanks for sharing! These are exciting times in Redemption.
That is one of my favorite scriptures, and I believe it’s a very creative way to bring the concept to life. While I don’t blame Redemption at all for labeling characters as “good”, “evil”, or “lost”, a card like this is a great way to remember that every human soul on the earth now, or ever in history, was created by Christ.