Today’s previews are centered around a group of “Wicked Nations” that oppressed the Israelite people. We’ll start with a couple of Assyrians.
Micah talks about an Assyrian invading the land of Israel. We’ve represented that with this generic guy:
A very strong anti-reserve ability, or a fortress discard similar to an Assyrian staple of years past – Assyrian Siege Army. We’ve balanced those strong abilities by giving the opponent an “out” – it could be quite painful to take that though, which should make players feel okay if the opponent chooses it.
We also have an Assyrian leader – the new cornerstone to build your defense around. In fact, you’ll have to do so if you want to take advantage of his amazing abilities.
King Tiglath-Pileser can win battles on his own, but only if you’re able to remove the opponent’s options. Pale Green has a number of anti-artifact cards, including Plunder and Pillage, and can also deal with Cities through the aforementioned Siege Army and Invaders. There’s always Heroes in territory the opponent can choose too, but given the choice between a Hero in battle and a strong TC counter like Jonah or Melchizedek, I think people might make some surprising decisions when faced with this king.
Next up, Philistines are getting a single card in this set – but it’s one that’s been long overdue!
No longer will Philistines have to splash cards like Simon the Magician to take advantage of Magic Charms. His ability also intentionally pairs very well with Philistine Diviners as well as tons of other Magicians.
We come up with card ideas in a number of ways. Some are obvious, like Heroes such as Micah and Isaiah. Some are based on “classic Bible stories” like Chariot of Fire, and sometimes as we read, phrases of passages simply pop and demand to be made into a card. Hosea 8:7 says, “For they sow the wind and they shall REAP THE WHIRLWIND.” What a cool name for a card!
When we first printed Scattered years ago, our intention was to eventually get similar effects into every brigade. Banding continues to be extremely strong, so we’ve given Brown this tool to help combat it.
Our last two cards are technically neutral, but in the same way that Household Idols is a defensive card, these are as well:
This card seems amazing on paper, but the competition for utility spots remains as high as ever. Majestic Heavens can put the card you want on top and isn’t limited to evil. Covenant of Prayer can grab anything right to your hand. I think what sets this card apart is the reusability of it in comparison with the above cards. You can activate a curse every turn, and if you get it early enough you’re practically guaranteed to get value from the draw.
We’ve printed so many quality curses this year, that it seems like players will probably reserve at least one, or more, and probably play one in deck too. Not to mention, Fall of Man is amazing. The final card that I get to share with you today can go get any of them, from either location!
“And there is no end to their chariots.” Terrifying. Assyrian Archers are scary with Horses, but if you can remove them then they’re relatively weak. Now they have a tool to get them back. Paired with their new toys above, Assyrians might see a resurgence! T2 players beware!
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