There are a number of people traveling to Ohio for the Redemption National Tournament this week. In fact, by the time you’re reading this I’ll probably be on the road with my family. For all you procrastinators out there who haven’t nailed down your deck list yet, I’m going to give some last minute thoughts on what I expect to see in the Type 1 events.
I’ve seen and heard from a lot of players that they’re just getting back into the game after a hiatus. If you’ve been keeping tabs on things here at Land of Redemption then you probably have an idea of what’s good right now. Let’s recap what’s strongest in Type 1.
The Offenses
B.o.M.
“Because of Moses” offenses are really strong because they shut down so many cards in the game through Moses‘ negate ability. There are several ways to build the offense including – White Cloud, green based, gold based, or an all-out splash of several brigades.
Clay
There are several ways to build and run a powerful clay offense. The Colossae deck run by JD is just one example. Clay was really good before CoW gave it access to every new “Faith of…” Enhancement. It’s got speed, it’s got versatility and it’s got recursion – everything needed to win!
Crown
Will royalty decks be crowned king this year? They will if Samuel has anything to say about it! The core of Samuel banded to King Saul, banded to Abigail, banded to David, the Shepherd who plays Throne of David makes for an amazing speed engine! From there you can build the offense around more royalty, red warriors, or FBTN banding.
Genesis
Just because it hasn’t been in the National spotlight, don’t underestimate the power of a Genesis offense. It gained several awesome new cards this year from CoW and packs some pretty amazing speed thanks to Creation of the World. I expect to see potent blue/green offenses as well as people trying out the flood survivors. These proved to be some of the most powerful offenses while we were testing CoW. I suspect that there are players who have figured out an optimum build.
The Defenses
Brown
While it doesn’t have a strong theme holding it together, it just got a nice boost from CoW. It pairs well with some of the offenses mentioned above. Brown boasts a couple Enhancements that cannot be negated but do not get tossed to Coliseum due to archaic wording.
Crimson
Whether you’re using animals, Babylonians, or N.T. heretics, crimson has a wide variety of powerful characters to choose from. It also has a few “cannot be prevented” Enhancements that function well against the resurgence of FBTN Heroes. Expect this to be a popular choice.
Philistines
Due to all of their large characters, Philistines have the power to go toe to toe with the heavy hitters being used on offense today. Backed up by powerful battle winners and negates, thanks in part to Coliseum, Philistines have reemerged as as formidable defense.
Romans
There are a few different ways to build out a Roman defense and all of them are scary! Whether the defense focuses on hand control, toss, or just powers through people with emperors, Romans are stout. Don’t underestimate gray’s largest theme.
Cards to Look Out For
Coliseum – This card has made a huge splash in the Redemption meta. People can no longer build decks the way they used to. You have to take into consideration what Coliseum does and either adjust your deck to work around it or pack ways to remove it when you face it. Notice I said when, not if.
Hezekiah’s Signet Ring – Every one of the top offenses listed above uses searching to set up. Some rely on it heavily. Two of the top defenses are prone to searching too, especially Philistines. For those lucky enough to have acquired The Second Coming, this also keeps them from using Son of God twice.
Household Idols – Three of the four top offenses listed above have loads of banding, much of it being CBI/CBN. If your offense isn’t hurt too badly by this old staple you should strongly consider playing it. If you’re using an offense with lots of banding make sure you can deal with it.
You Will Remain – This card has become a staple on offense! Players who aren’t used to facing it might be taken by surprise when an opponent follows up a Christian Martyr, Grapes of Wrath, or Unholy Writ by adding a Hero to battle!
Hindsight
That’s all I have time to share right now. There’s still packing and preparations to make. It’ll be interesting to look back in a week and see how much of this assessment is accurate and what surprises pop up. Scott and I hope to see you at Nationals. Look for us with our Land of Redemption badges and introduce yourself if we haven’t met before!
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