Dominants are the most powerful cards in Redemption. There are very few times they cannot be played and very few counters that can stop them. From the staples (Son of God) to the specialized (supporting a certain deck strategy), selection of Dominants in deck-building is critically important. Josiah Beers recently shared a great article in which he ranked all the Dominants and gave some comments on each. In this article, I will try to add to the discussion with some suggestions regarding strategic use of good Dominants. A follow-up article will focus on evil Dominants. Please comment below with additional strategies you have found regarding Dominants!
GOOD DOMINANTS
Son of God (pre-I/J) – Rescues a Lost Soul from an opponent’s territory. A drawback is that this non-negating version cannot rescue the “N.T.-Only” (Acts 11:18) and the “*/4 or Greater” (II Chronicles 15:4) Lost Soul cards. Also, it cannot interrupt Lost Soul abilities that grant a benefit to the owner when played or rescued, such as the “Deck Discard” (Hosea 13:2) and “Resurrection” (Psalm 30:3) Lost Soul cards. However, one advantage is that it can rescue the “Shuffler” Lost Soul (Ezekiel 31:14) to shuffle all other Lost Souls that are not held in Sites.
Son of God (I/J) – Negates and rescues a lost soul. The added negate is a powerful boost that makes this the best version of the best Dominant there is. The I/J Son of God card can rescue any Lost Soul in the game, and is able to negate all but two (“CBP” (Jeremiah 11:8) and “Lost Souls” (Proverbs 22:16)). The only time you would not use SoG in your deck is if shutting down all Dominant rescues is your strategy.
New Jerusalem – An extremely powerful Dominant, as when it is played along with Son of God it rescues an additional Lost Soul. The “SoG–NJ” combo is a huge threat that must always be considered when deck-building. Harder to pull off in Type 2 than Type 1 due to the downside of this combo being that you must hold on to Son of God until you get to NJ (or vice-versa if you get NJ first). Also, your opponent must have two Lost Souls in their Land of Bondage to rescue. Thus keep in mind that the decision to go for the SoG–NJ combo might mean that you never get the chance to play either as your opponent may be able to remove them from your hand or deck while you wait to get to both. Be flexible and wise in your strategy and gameplay!
Angel of the Lord – Think of playing AotL as “dropping the hammer” – it immediately discards an Evil Character and, when used correctly, often wins a Lost Soul. As long as a Hero with access to the Lost Soul is in battle and just one Evil Character is opposing, AotL dominates (haha). It also has situational use to snipe a pesky Evil Character in territory (especially Territory-Class, such as The Priest of Zeus). The weaknesses of AotL are that it doesn’t negate the Evil Character it discards, protection from discard isn’t all that uncommon, and it can only take out one of a banding chain of Evil Characters.
Grapes of Wrath – If you like versatility, you will love Grapes of Wrath. On offense, it can be used to discard an Evil Character and start a new battle (assuming you don’t have the most Redeemed Souls). On defense, it can be an auto-block by discarding the Evil Character you are using to block, shuffling all the Heroes that were attacking you, and if your opponent had more Redeemed Souls than you they cannot begin a new battle. Similar to Angel of the Lord though, Evil Character protection from discard stops Grapes, though you could still discard an evil Enhancement is one is in play; but overall this is a great card.
The Holy Spirit – In a Fruit of the Spirit deck, this is an essential Dominant. Every time your N.T. Hero enters battle, you may search your deck or discard pile for one of the very strong Fruit of the Spirit Enhancements. Best for Clay offenses but splashable in others, The Holy Spirit gives you cost-free recursion that can used with various combinations (for example: I Am Holy. You discard a Fruit of the Spirit from your hand, which you can get right back with The Holy Spirit, to make your opponent discard an evil card from their hand, which they most likely won’t get back). Restrictions on searching, such as Hezekiah’s Signet Ring or Nazareth, inhibit The Holy Spirit.
Glory of the Lord (Ki) – Similar to The Holy Spirit, this is a situational Dominant. In a deck relying on Temple and Tabernacle artifacts, protecting the Temple/Tabernacle with its extra artifact slot is very helpful. A few cards are able to stop Glory of the Lord, but not many.
Glory of the Lord (P) – The new Promo version of Glory of the Lord is a huge upgrade from the first. It searches out your Temple or Tabernacle from your deck or discard pile and immediately puts it in play with the great protection that Glory gives. Not only that, but it also protects all your Temple artifacts from opponents – not just those in your Temple or Tabernacle! Hezekiah’s Signet Ring, Nazareth, and the like are still great counters to this card, however.
Blinding Light – Another very situational Dominant, Blinding Light converts your own N.T. Evil Character to a Hero in any brigade. The most obvious, and perhaps best, use is to convert your Saul into the formidable Hero Paul. However, there are other uses and combinations just waiting to be discovered! Side battle, anyone? Choose the blocker? Emperor Tiberius the Hero?
Guardian of Your Souls – This card protects your Redeemed Souls from Falling Away. It is great when it works out, as Falling Away is one of the most powerful cards in the game in that it takes away 1 (or 2 with the Lost Souls card) of your Redeemed Souls, but it requires you getting and using it before your opponent is able to play their Falling Away. Thus, it is very conditional. The artifact Lampstand of the Sanctuary is sometimes a better option, as it is quicker and easier to get, keep, and recur and protects against more Evil Dominants than just Falling Away.
Harvest Time – Similar to Guardian of Your Souls, this Dominant is quite conditionally effective. Your opponent must have no Lost Souls in their Land of Bondage. While they do, you will either have to discard this card or keep it in your hand, which contributes towards hand clog. That being said, instant “soul gen” (creating a Lost Soul for you to rescue) is awesome, keeping the pressure on your opponent to defend, and helps avoid game-swinging empty turns in which you have to pass because you have Heroes but your opponent has no Lost Souls for you to rescue!
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John David Cunningham
the new son of god can also be used to negate and rescue your opponents hopper when the draw it.
blinding light as a rescue option is brilliant! i never thought of how
powerful this dominant actually is to rescue a soul!
thanks for a great read!