The book of Hebrews lists Gideon among the heroes of faith in Israel’s history (Hebrews 11:32). The exploits of men like Gideon, who lived more than 3,000 years ago, are recorded because “whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). The incident in his life most familiar to Bible readers was a spiritual exercise in overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Gideon understood the ultimate importance and safety of having God as man’s ruler.
In the book of Judges we see that God was preparing Gideon for battle against numerically overwhelming odds: “You have 32,000 soldiers, Gideon, and that’s far too many to do battle with the Midianites. I don’t want anyone to think you’ll win the coming battle by your own might. Tell your army that, if any among them are fearful, they are free to go” (Judges 7:2-3, paraphrased). Gideon did as God instructed. He offered his men an honorable discharge from their duties and 22,000 quickly disappeared over the horizon headed for home.
Gideon looked around. One moment he thought he could count on 32,000 Israelite volunteers, the next he was left with only 10,000. Considering that the Midianite army numbered at least 135,000 (Judges 8:10), Gideon’s diminished force might have been cause for concern. Gideon was in for another shock. God told him: “Gideon, you still have too many men to fight the Midianites. Take your remaining men down to the water and let them drink. There’s more sorting to do, and those I select will do battle. But the rest, like those before them, should also return home” (Judges 7:4, paraphrased).
Ten thousand Israelites welcomed a cool, refreshing drink of water. The overwhelming majority – 9,700 – got down on their knees, placed their mouths to the water, and drank. A relative handful – 300 – crouched and scooped water to their mouths with their hands. These 300, God said, would make up his army (Judges 7:4-8). God hand-picked Gideon’s army: 300 men whose most distinguishing characteristic was not in proving themselves as mighty men of valor but that they drank water from a position different from the others.
Gideon’s army became only a fraction of what it had been, from 32,000 to 300. Surely God knew what He was doing, didn’t He? Gideon might have wondered whether they all might be better off going home. Had God forgotten that Gideon’s little band of soldiers would face an experienced army outnumbering them 450 to one? From all appearances, this situation made no sense. God explained to Gideon His purpose for allowing him such a small army to battle the physically and numerically superior Midianites. He was not about to allow Israel to be able to boast that her own strength had saved her (Judges 7:2; 1 Corinthians 1:27-29): that honor would go to God alone. But God would work through Gideon.
So the question for a card designer is: how do we represent this reality in a card game mechanic? The most reasonable and obvious way was to utilize set-aside to mimic what happened in the real events recorded in Judges 7. Initially we had the card set-aside all characters in play which was obviously too strong because of the ways that could be used to wipe out whole territories. We needed to just affect Heroes; specifically, the Heroes controlled by the player controlling Gideon’s 300. Once narrowed down, we added another tie in to encourage Gideon to be used with these guys in the second sentence of the ability which is an amazing thematic tie in as well (if only there were a way to conveniently band them together).
Deciding on the numbers seemed easy since the point of the story was to emphasize their smallness and God’s bigness. 3/3 seemed more than appropriate for the 300 soldiers with the added bonus of 3 being a number that represents completeness in scripture. Finally, so that Gideon’s 300 could see play in a warrior and/or Judges deck, the brigades of red and gold were included; not so much to lessen power as to increase utility.
We hope you enjoy this little addition to your Redemption arsenal. Look for upcoming announcements for the State tournament near you or put in an application today to host the event yourself. You certainly don’t want to miss your chance to add Gideon’s 300 to your collection!
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Josh
Clearly there’s going to be a reprint of Gideon that bands to Gideon’s 300. Depending on what the remainder of Gideon’s ability would be, it could create an interesting choice when deckbuilding.