Today, I’d like to pull back the veil just a little on the playtesting process, while at the same time examining a very intriguing character we don’t hear much about in the Bible, but who is getting a very interesting card in the new set.

When there are so many cards to make, and so many obscure characters they are being based on, it can be true that some characters get overlooked in terms of the fine details of their story.  The Egyptian Rebel, referred to just once in Acts 21:37-38, was someone Paul was thought to be in error, and he is one such character.

If we just look at this one quick mention by a confused Roman soldier, we get the idea that there was this Egyptian guy, he spoke Greek, and then he rebelled with thousands of men.  That’s all.  Well, that’s still a good concept for a character, and he’s an Egyptian to boot!  They haven’t gotten a card in a while, this was perfect!

And thus, we had a Gold Evil Character with the Egyptian identifier, and an image that was decidedly “Egyptian,” who was given the ability:

“May band to a N.T. human Evil Character (except a Roman, Herod, or High Priest).  Cannot be negated.”

Essentially, he couldn’t band to those he rebelled against, but he could lead others out with his rebellious band (usage here intended both ways).  While this was a good start, “Herod” got removed fairly quickly, since the Herods were Romans, and then it was suggested that he should band to an Egyptian.  A huge, CBN bander would be a very interesting addition to that theme, and again, nothing had been printed for them recently, so we started testing with this ability.

However, at this point, I noticed something odd about this character in a footnote of a commentary.  It mentioned the word ‘prophet’ and this made me look more into the background of this character, becoming surprised to find out that he was actually a Jew.  And obviously, as is known from the boards, I make arguments against people being Egyptian all the time, so I had to look further.  So now, let’s look at that research before seeing what we settled on for the final card:

First, let’s review scripture.  The reference comes from Acts 21.  Paul has returned to Jerusalem, and the leaders of the church there ask him to go perform rituals in the Temple.  While there, he is spotted, accusations fly that he brought a Greek into the Temple, and the mob attacks him.  While all of this is important to the story of Paul, it is only important to this card because of what happens next.  The Romans are informed that everyone is in an uproar, and the commander rushes to the scene with his centurions and soldiers, coming upon a man being beaten to death by a crowd.  He tries to find out what is going on, probably hears some snippets about some sort of sacrilege in the Temple involving a Greek, but can’t quite figure it out because of all the tumult.

So he orders Paul bound and brought back with the soldiers.  On the way, he asks Paul some questions, and here is our only scriptural reference for this character:

“May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek?  Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?” (Acts 21:37-38)

At that time, people living in the Egyptian province of the Roman Empire would have spoken Greek.  Finding Paul speaks Greek, and being set upon by the Jews in the Temple for some sort of offense, he mistakes Paul for that rebel.

But who was this rebel?  We actually have evidence of his existence from the writings of Josephus.  At the time Felix was governor, there were Jewish Zealots who opposed the Roman occupation.  Even more radical than these Zealots were the Sicarii (the word used in the original writing of the scripture passage above), or “dagger-men,” who were also assassins.  These men would go into crowds with daggers under their cloaks, then assassinate Romans and their collaborators before slipping back into the crowds.  They were so extreme that they stood accused of destroying food supplies to force conflict with the Romans instead of peace talks.  It is into these radical assassins that Josephus introduces this character to us:

From Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 20.8.6

These works, that were done by the robbers, filled the city with all sorts of impiety. And now these impostors and deceivers persuaded the multitude to follow them into the wilderness, and pretended that they would exhibit manifest wonders and signs, that should be performed by the providence of God. And many that were prevailed on by them suffered the punishments of their folly; for Felix brought them back, and then punished them. Moreover, there came out of Egypt about this time to Jerusalem one that said he was a prophet, and advised the multitude of the common people to go along with him to the Mount of Olives, as it was called, which lay over against the city, and at the distance of five furlongs. He said further, that he would show them from hence how, at his command, the walls of Jerusalem would fall down; and he promised them that he would procure them an entrance into the city through those walls, when they were fallen down. Now when Felix was informed of these things, he ordered his soldiers to take their weapons, and came against them with a great number of horsemen and footmen from Jerusalem, and attacked the Egyptian and the people that were with him. He also slew four hundred of them, and took two hundred alive. But the Egyptian himself escaped out of the fight, but did not appear any more. And again the robbers stirred up the people to make war with the Romans, and said they ought not to obey them at all; and when any persons would not comply with them, they set fire to their villages, and plundered them.

From Josephus, The War of the Jews, 2.13.5:

But there was an Egyptian false prophet that did the Jews more mischief than the former; for he was a cheat, and pretended to be a prophet also, and got together thirty thousand men that were deluded by him; these he led round about from the wilderness to the mount which was called the Mount of Olives, and was ready to break into Jerusalem by force from that place; and if he could but once conquer the Roman garrison and the people, he intended to domineer over them by the assistance of those guards of his that were to break into the city with him. But Felix prevented his attempt, and met him with his Roman soldiers, while all the people assisted him in his attack upon them, insomuch that when it came to a battle, the Egyptian ran away, with a few others, while the greatest part of those that were with him were either destroyed or taken alive; but the rest of the multitude were dispersed every one to their own homes, and there concealed themselves.

Now this character was very interesting indeed, and we are able to see why the Roman commander would be concerned with capturing this rebel, who had escaped Felix’s justice very recently.  We have also learned a great deal more than that he was simply an Egyptian who stirred up a revolt.

This Jew came out of Egypt and came up to Jerusalem, claiming to be a prophet and leading thousands of men to the Mount of Olives (side note: to those with knowledge of how people are counted in the Bible and by Josephus, there should be no surprise about the large discrepancy in the numbers).  He prophesied that they would watch the defenses of the city fall, and that would allow them to overpower the Romans there to take control.  What they saw instead was a large Roman force sent by Felix, who routed them while the Egyptian fled.

With this understanding of the character and his backstory, the playtesters discussed what to do about the character:

1. While he was a Jew, he was also described many times as “the Egyptian” by multiple sources, and thus my righteous quest to ensure no one ever has the Egyptian identifier was thwarted by a consensus that he retain “Egyptian” (joking…mostly…).
2. The banding to an Egyptian was out, though, as he gathered those around Jerusalem to him, not Egyptians.
3. He still banded to an N.T. character, as it was during the time of Felix that the Sicarii (and this rebellion) took root.
4. He still could not band to a Roman, as he rebelled against them.
5. He also could still not band to a High Priest, as these were radical men not accepted even by the Zealots (fun fact: Josephus also writes in Antiquities of the Jews, 20.8.5 that Felix hired Sicarii to murder Jonathan the high priest, who constantly complained about Felix, which may have led to their increased boldness and later revolts).
6. He should have the Prophet identifier due to being referenced as a false prophet, and for how he led others astray with his prophecies concerning Jerusalem.
7. He should be Crimson, not just Gold.  Crimson is the brigade of liars and false prophets, and this man certainly fit the description.  Thus, he was given a second brigade.
8. There was talk about making him warrior-class given the writings of Josephus that described the battle, but these same writings also say that he fled (without an indication that he actually took up arms), so he did not get to be warrior-class.
9. His image should not be one that was obviously of an Egyptian.

Put all of that together, and you get a very cool addition to multiple themes with an interesting identifier line and ability we hope to see used to its fullest very soon:

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By Dayne

Dayne started playing Redemption competitively in 2011, learning through trial and (mostly) error how to play the game. Today, he has moved almost exclusively to being a Type 2 player and is very active with rules and rulings. It has been said that he likes to debate rules and wording more than playing the game, and while that may not be necessarily true, he can often be found in the middle of any discussion related to complicated ruling questions.