My Redemption hiatus started with college and ended when this adult wanted to be “like a kid again!” I had so many fond memories of Redemption: going to Alive with Doug, playing Chris Bany at Nationals, but most importantly doing all of this with my cousin: Aaron Williams. He tricked me into playing this game at his birthday party! He spent countless hours helping me refine and test play decks. On our drive to Minnesota, he was helping build my ten decks (yes that’s right, I ruined deck registration for everyone – sorry), so I could rip Haman’s Plot every round if need be. He has truly been an “Aaron” to me.

Well, after I started sniffing around the Message Boards to get back into Redemption (it was as painful as blood rushing back into a sleeping hand), I figured it was my turn to return the favor – I tricked him into getting back into the game!

Our first major event was the Ohio State tournament, held in Cadiz by Josh Hartzler and Clint Marshall. These guys went over and beyond to deliver a great event! The first day was a Team Event. Admittedly, probably not the best format to reintegrate back into the game!

We decided to take advantage of a Blue/Gray hand control deck with a splash of Orange.

Aaron’s Deck

Lost Soul – Covet
Lost Soul – O.T. Only
Lost Soul – Blind
Lost Soul – Vindicated
Lost Soul – Hunter
Lost Soul – Prosperity
Lost Soul – Wicked
The Second Coming
Three Woes
Grapes of Wrath
Angel of the Lord
Vain Philosophy
Christian Martyr
Strife

Confusion of Mind
The Fall of Man
Birthing Pains
Captured Ark
Hezekiah’s Signet Ring

Eve
Rachel
Zebulun
Dan
Benjamin
Simeon
Joseph
Dinah
Midianite’s Slave

Answer to Prayer
Buying Grain
Joseph Before Pharaoh
Numerous as the Stars

Emperor Domitian
Abaddon, the Destroyer
Porcius Festus
Roman Spearman
Foreign Spearman
Foreign Wives
Mocking Soldiers
Emperor Galba
The god of this World
Emperor Vitellius
The Terrifying Beast
Spirit of Temptation

Roman Whip
Persistent Pestering
Sorrow of Mary
Mist
Stormy Seas
Plot to Kill
Expelling the Jews
Heavy Taxes
Namaan’s Chariot and Horses
Scattered
Every Man’s Sword
Sinning Hand

Keith’s Deck

Lost Soul – Vindicated
Lost Soul – Blind
Lost Soul – Hunter
Lost Soul – Covet
Lost Soul – O.T. Only
Lost Soul – Prosperity
Lost Soul – Wicked

Destruction of Nehushtan
Falling Away
Mayhem
New Jerusalem
Rubble and Dust
Shipwreck
Son of God

Hezekiah’s Signet Ring
Holy Grail
Golden Cherubim
The Sea of Glass
You will remain
Birthing Pains
Lingering in Sodom
The Ends of The Earth

Benjamin
Dan
Dinah
Eve
Jacob (Israel)
Joseph
Levi
Midianite’s Slave
Rachel
Simeon
Zebulun
NJ/Bride of Christ

Abraham’s Descendant
Answer to Prayer
Buying Grain
Joseph Before Pharaoh
Numerous as the Stars
Reuben’s Torn Clothes
Well Reopened

Emperor Claudius
Emperor Domitian
Emperor Galba
Emperor Vitellius
Foreign Wives
Mocking Soldiers
Spirit of Temptation
The god of this World
The Terrifying Beast

Expelling the Jews
Heavy Taxes
Roman Whip
Scattered
Stormy Seas
Namaan’s Chariot and Horses

Both decks ran Hezekiah’s Signet ring, which in all games was quickly discarded. I was glad we packaged two, but it typically never seemed to matter because they were gone as soon as they hit the table.

We both played “The god of this World.” It felt pretty smart in a hand control deck to also mitigate card drawing. Our tournament only had three rounds of teams. That may not really be enough data points to determine whether it should stay in this deck or not, but it seemed to complement the deck well. It ended up being our only speed bump against heavy drawing decks.

We were extremely unlucky drawing our dominants! I played 1 Shipwreck and Aaron played Strife twice and Vain Philosophy once. I’m guessing it is due to our strategy of trying to “choke” our opponents’ hands, but we didn’t have many opportunities to use our draw mechanics, as draw mechanics on enhancements proved to be extremely less powerful than that of characters. This allowed opponents to power through our hand control to their dominants.

Our game two was extremely close. I was holding SoG, NJ, and Mayhem. I attacked during the last round after time had been called. Aaron would also get an attack as the last player. When I attacked I had the battle one, and in special initiative, my opponent dug deep enough to play an Evil Enhancement to shuffle their lost souls. I made a significant play mistake here: during my discard phase, I should have discarded all cards in my hand but my dominants. Then after my last opponent drew, I could play Mayhem and have a chance to redraw SoG and NJ. But I opted to keep my hand in the hope that he would draw souls – he did not. So, I used Mayhem and only hit SoG. This was not enough for the win after Aaron’s rescue.

Our last game was against a double Throne team, and they just quickly walked through with Moses and Auto they didn’t care about hand control. Both Aaron and I had a Signet ring, but they were destroyed in round one and then in round two. After that, there was little we could do to recover. We had the “blind” lost soul to help slow down some of the NT lost souls, but because they were playing Moses they were already anticipating having LS offline.

We learned a lot and met some great people. It would be great to see this format receive some attention during card design.

In Christ,
Keith

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

By Keith B

Keith started playing Redemption after his cousin gave him a starter deck for his birthday! He then met Doug Gray and became a part of their Redemption playgroup at the youth group. From there he took on three National titles before going to college. When he went to college he worked on a bachelors of science in ancient biblical languages and then he continued that education and started working on a Masters degree in the same field. Due to life situations, his masters degree is temporarily on hold. He's looking to finish that hopefully someday here soon. He thoroughly enjoys theology and games and he looks forward to all that Redemption has to offer both gamers and the kingdom of God.