John has some exciting Prophecies of Christ phase 2 previews to share today, centered around the Book and time of the prophet Daniel!

Daniel got a sweet looking Legacy Rare this year. We also saw a reprint of his buddy Shadrach as well as some Angels in phase 1. But we saved some of the best Daniel cards this year for Phase 2:

The other two characters thrown into the furnace are represented here. Both of them have intentional interactions with The Foretelling Angel, allowing you to reset your top card. They also continue the banding abilities of those characters who braved the flames together. Speaking of flames:

Just as the Daniel characters were saved from the flames by Jesus, you can save your Daniel humans and get a reward for setting up a self-capture scenario. Obviously amazing in the mirror as well. Furnace also helps you counter all the slave-style soul generation we introduced last year. Nebuchadnezzar helps you set up an instant search or discard of a character in territory. Maybe a Foolish Edomites is causing you grief, or your opponent’s Moses is cramping your style. Either way, the only character Nebby might fight for a deck slot is this guy:

Is the new version of Nebuchadnezzar worth giving up the searching of the old one? I think so, and here’s why:

1. – Synergy with the Daniel offense helping set up Furnace searches/removal
2. – The Toss is useful both defensively (Swift Horses) and offensively (Good initiative)
3. – Banding, especially Cannot be Negated banding is always worth having.
4. Throne decks? Admittedly, a bit of a stretch, but I guarantee someone will try it.

This card is very similar to False Dreams which Gabe shared with you earlier this year. The main difference is the allowing of both players to have an out. We also specifically chose to tie him to Magicians, not Babylonians, hoping to encourage a “best of the best” style magician defense.

One thing we try to be very intentional with in set-design is including at least minor counters to strong things we’re introducing. Choosing a different prophet for the opponent to attack with, maybe one they don’t want vulnerable in battle like Habakkuk, can be very strong.

We tossed around a couple ideas for how we wanted the Daniel negate to be different from similar cards like Gamaliel’s Speech. Having it ‘bounce’ between players seemed fun and appropriate for a card that speaks of eternity. The brigade set is just inclusive enough that it’s likely your opponent will be able to replay this, which forces you to strategically decide when to use it.

The last two cards I get to share with you today move away from the Kingdom of Babylon to another that Daniel prophesied about – Greece.

A very strong multi-brigade battle winner, with a decent star ability added on. It’s unlikely that this will disrupt the opponent too much, but you can always use it on yourself to fish for a card, potentially setting up your next evil star.

Alex was originally previewed way, way back during phase one by Gabe. As you can see, he’s undergone fairly minor changes – Instead of all Greeks getting first strike, only he does. He also went from crazy good Cannot be Negated to the still really good Cannot be Prevented.  Definitely feels like a cornerstone you could build a nice defense around.

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By JohnE

John Earley has had an unbridled love for Redemption since he started playing in 1997. From his days as a RLK (random little kid) to the present, John has always enjoyed finding cool card combinations, exploiting obscure rules, and building the most devastating decks possible. He has been a member of the playtest team since 2009, a Redemption Elder since 2010, and he still plays at a competitive level.