Throwback Thursday is a common theme on sites and blogs where you hearken back to something interesting or random from the past. On Land of Redemption, our current Throwback Thursday trend is re-posts of preview articles from years and sets past.
We now delve into the Rock of Ages articles. Enjoy!
Background and History
“…your throne will be established forever.” II Samuel 7:16
Speaking through the prophet Nathan, God promised David that his throne would be established forever. By “throne,” God was not talking about the actual, physical chair on which David sat. Nor was he referring to the unified nation of Israel, over which David ruled. Neither of those ideas of “throne” truly lasts forever.
God was talking about the descendants of David. David’s descendants continued to rule in Judah until its fall to the Babylonians about 400 years after David died. Four hundred years is a long time (longer than the United States or Canada have been countries), but even 400 years is not forever. But God knows what forever means. God knew when he made the promise that there would be one descendant of David who would literally establish a forever kingdom.
Jesus is that King. He was in the beginning and will be for all time. Though humble, he has authority over wind and waves, demons and diseases, kings and kingdoms. Though all powerful, he concerns himself with the lowly, to seek and save the lost. His throne is established in heaven and in hearts. He rules over all, and he shall reign forever and ever. He is the Rock of Ages.
While Christ ultimately fills (and transcends) the throne of David, others reigned on that throne as well, benefiting from the promise that God made to David. In Rock of Ages, purple brigade kings reap those benefits with this card:
Gameplay
Thematically, purple represents royalty and authority. Functionally, purple likes to draw cards, and has a couple cards that play enhancements. The Throne of David fits purple’s theme and general function.
Besides being a “fit” for purple, this card intends to help purple kings overcome one of their weaknesses: they usually lack initiative. Many top decks use a 1/1 evil character or two. Those evil characters have initiative against all the purple kings. Even middle-range guys like Esau the Hunter (4/5) have the benefit of playing the first enhancement against nearly every purple king. If the evil enhancement your opponent plays can’t be negated, then your purple king is in trouble (as is your rescue attempt).
Now, with The Throne of David, you get the benefit of playing an enhancement before you even check for initiative. Simply wait for your opponent to play his evil character into battle and let the special ability on the evil character take effect. Then, if no evil weapon is in battle, draw a card for each evil brigade your opponent has in play (remember to count the brigade on your opponent’s curse, if applicable) and play a purple Old Testament enhancement.
Some players may be disappointed that you cannot use The Throne of David to play a New Testament enhancement, but that restriction was made for good reason. Reach of Desperation and Authority of Christ are just too powerful to be played so easily right after the block. New Testament enhancements are already useful enough in the hands of Ethiopian Treasurer. Besides, clever players may use The Throne of David to play Ezekiel’s Stick, or River Flowing from the Temple, or Peace Treaty to band to Ethiopian Treasurer and play a N.T. enhancement anyway.
In the Type 1 2-player event at the 2007 Redemption National tournament, the top 3 decks each contained 4 to 6 evil brigades. In response, Rock of Ages contains several cards that either punish an opponent for having many brigades in play, or else reward you for facing an opponent with so many brigades in play. The Throne of David is one such card. Though your opponent will rarely have more than a couple evil brigades in play at a time, even a couple extra cards can help.
Weaknesses and Support
The one weakness of the ability on this fortress is an evil weapon in battle. If you have trouble with this, I’m sure King Saul would lend you his Coat of Mail (from the Kings expansion set). For further help, you can use I Am Grace, the red covenant from the Angel Wars expansion set.
Defending against The Throne of David:
Here are a few ways:
Place an evil weapon on your warrior class evil character, and use that character to block.
Block with an evil character who can win the battle with its own special ability, such as Egyptian Warden, King Zimri, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, etc.
When building a deck, don’t assume that your small evil characters will get to play the first enhancement. Include evil enhancements with interrupt ability. The Throne of David only lets the player use an O.T. purple enhancement, and almost all of them can be interrupted.
Block with a “by the numbers” evil character. However, most purple kings have the stats to win those battle rather easily. So, you may want to combo Job’s Wife with Balaam’s Disobedience, or some other similar combo.
Unholy Writ or Christian Martyr work in most situations
There are other ways to work around The Throne of David, including a couple in Rock of Ages. I’ll let you find those for yourself.
With The Throne of David in play, purple kings will rule over the little evil characters. Finally, purple kings command some respect.
To buy singles, sealed product, and other gaming supplies mentioned, please visit Three Lions Gaming!
