Chad openly shares his quest to become a top Redemption player while also being a husband and father and what he has learned from that experience. Be sure to read to the end for an important announcement about the future of Land of Redemption.
Introduction:
Most of my Redemption articles tend to be about deck building as that is one of my great passions regarding this game. Today I am sharing my heart with this community of Redemption players who I care so dearly about. God has been working on my heart lately and I have realized some things about my quest to become a top Redemption player that have led to some changes in my heart. I am sharing this mainly for those in the community who are married and those who are married and have kids and have aspirations to be competitive Redemption players. I also am sharing this for those who are not married yet but maybe someday. This is what I have learned in my quest to become a top Redemption player while simultaneously being a husband and father.
The Journey of a Redemption Family Man:
In spring 2020 I learned to play Redemption correctly for the first time. At that point I was married with one child. I had been exposed to the game when I was in high school and interacted with it for a brief period but never learned how to play it correctly. Learning to play the game in spring 2020 was remarkable timing since COVID happened and my work schedule became the most empty it has been since I was 18 years old. I spent tons of time on Redemption from 2020 through spring 2021 as I just did not have as much work. I started by the end of 2020 to develop an aspiration to become a top Redemption player by placing top 3 in Type 1 at Nationals some day. Even with my wife and I having our second child in September 2020 I was still able to invest a very large amount of time into Redemption without hurting my relationship with my wife and kids much due to the lesser workload I had. In summer 2021 my work load started to get more back to normal. I tried even with my workload being back to normal to continue to invest as much time in Redemption. I got to play Type 1 at Nationals in 2021 for the first time. I placed 5th in a field of 23 players. It was to me a promising start. From 2021-2022 I continued to invest just as much time in the game for the most part and even helped with play testing the Gospel of Christ set which added even more time that I was spending on Redemption.
Once GoC play testing wrapped up early in 2022 I realized something needed to change. My wife was pregnant in spring 2022 with our third child who was due in December 2022. My relationships with my wife and kids were suffering at this point due to how much time I was spending on Redemption. I decided to decline the invitation I received to help play test Israel’s Rebellion and decided to limit myself to playing one game online a week. I also made a rule for myself I would aim to only work on deck building/other Redemption work when my kids were sleeping/busy out of the house and my wife was busy/sleeping. Beyond this I would be involved in my local play group twice a month with occasional tournaments that ideally replace a playgroup meeting. These changes were quite necessary and helped my relationships with my wife and kids quite a bit. That being said my improvement as a Redemption player slowed. I was unable to play type 1 at Nationals in 2022 or 2023 due to work conflicts and I just continued on with my new boundaries of one game a week online and only working on Redemption when my kids/wife were busy/out of the house/sleeping. I would additionally be involved with the local playgroup here every other week and when we have tournaments those are in place of the bi-weekly playgroup meeting.
This year I was able to play Type 1 at Nationals for the second time ever. All season long my goal was to make top cut. I had some health setbacks but overall had a good season. Then at Nationals I placed 19th in Type 1 which is not the goal I had. After Nationals I have been evaluating what it would take to try to get to the next level as a Redemption player. Since Nationals I have thought deeply about what I lack as a player that is stopping me from becoming a player who can top cut at Nationals in Type 1 and hopefully someday place top 3 at Nationals. Since those who succeed are the example to us of what it takes: I evaluated the work our current National champion Tim Estes put in this spring/summer and saw from that what I think it would take for me to improve which is many hours of hard work with many hours of testing deck builds against each other to refine and figure out the ideal deck build for the meta. The other thing I realized is I would need to find a training partner like Tim has had in Jake Antonetz and spend time working with them. It is no coincidence they placed 1st and 2nd in Type 1 at Nats. This past weekend I was geared up and ready to begin a quest this season to become the best I could be at Redemption and even reached out to the individual I thought might be an ideal training partner.
The Confessions of a Redemption Family Man :
Then it hit me based on one of the responses of this potential training partner to my message that I have had an idol in my heart. I have desired so much to become a top Redemption player that I was pushing the important boundaries I set for myself with this hobby and that would no doubt hurt my family and my relationship with the Lord. At this point I have decided to be content with where I am at with the game and continue to enjoy the game in a capacity that is balanced for my stage in life being a husband, a dad of three kids (with a fourth due in December), and a full time pastor. For now I will continue to aim to play one game a week online, be a part of my local play group every other week with occasional tournaments in place of play group, and work on deck building/other Redemption matters when my wife/kids are busy/sleeping/or out of the house. This has proven to be a healthy involvement in the game for me that does not hurt my relationships with my wife and kids. With this in mind though my chances of improving beyond where I am at right now skill level wise as a Redemption player are the same as they have been. I am therefore setting aside my ambition to become a top Redemption player by placing top 3 in Type 1 at Nationals someday. I will aim to enjoy the game, grow the game through my local play group, and be as competitive as I can with the key boundaries I have set for myself in place so I do not hurt my family. Also due to our fourth child being due in December I have at this point decided to reduce my involvement in Redemption in one key area which I describe in the last section of this article.
Redemption is a wonderful game but it is just a game. Our wives and kids are more important and most of all the Lord is more important. I regret idolizing success in Redemption and am repentant of it now. Ultimately and most gravely I have sinned against God because if I am honest I have put my quest for success in Redemption above Him by neglecting my relationship with Him and my family in the quest for Redemption success. I have confessed this to the Lord and have asked my wife for forgiveness as well which she has granted me. I have shared all of this in this article in case anyone else goes through a similar struggle to what I have. I hope this open and personal article is beneficial to the community.
The Announcement:
On this note I am announcing to the community that I have officially passed the keys to Land of Redemption off to Tim Estes. Tim has done a wonderful job in the role of Editor for Land of Redemption and I cannot think of anyone better to be the new Owner of Land of Redemption than him. He is far more capable of running Land of Redemption at this point than anyone else including myself. This is one necessary change I think that will free up a little more time for my family and allow the small amount of time I have for Redemption to be focused on the local play group I run and being able to enjoy the game as much as is reasonable myself with the increasingly small amount of time I have for it.
To buy singles, sealed product, and other gaming supplies mentioned, please visit our sponsors!
