Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Summary:

Premise-

This deck is a turbo Impartial Judgment list that seeks to break parity through Zion, Jeshua package, and David, Heart after God. Remember a little card called I Am Creator in the classic meta? Well Zion is the closest thing to that card in the Rotation format. It allows for tutoring whichever hero you want. The beautiful thing is as long as you have one royal hero you can use it. Since it is an instant ability you plop down one royal hero in territory, tutor the hero you want with Zion, and then move on from worrying about unity. Once rotation and the reserve rule hit I tried to find the most consistent way to get an early Impartial Judgment play early and then I realized this build was it (this was all before Ephesian Widow combo stuff which may still be faster even after the rule change with the build Mr. Hiatus posted recently on YouTube). This deck sets up an early Impartial Judgment play fast due to the large number of meek heroes and the fact I can get Jeshua out through Zion on Turn 1 and I can run all the premium Jeshua cards with this deck build. Royals support Triumphal Entry, Zerubbabel's Plumb Line, and Solomon's Dream very easily. I also am able to run The Emmaus Road and New Covenant for further consistency to get one of the cards which Jeshua wants. Delivered also gets me to Emmaus to get a key tutor. Of course I have Balaam's Prophecy as well. Why the Jeshua package? Well Jeshua is there to get Awesome Things or generate meek heroes or snag David, Heart after God. The way I set up an early Impartial Judgment is by nabbing one combo piece through Jeshua/tutors and the other through David, Heart after God. David can get Awesome Things or Impartial Judgment directly.

This deck goes off for an Impartial Judgment play turn one of 4-5 fairly consistently. I very consistently have the ability to play Impartial Judgment turn two for 4-5. The advent of Crowd's Choice, Denarius, and New Covenant helped a fair amount with achieving this. Prior to those cards I found I got a turn one Impartial Judgment for 4-5 fairly consistently but many times I was waiting till turn 2 to play Impartial Judgment. My turn 1 line of play was to grab Angel of the Lord with David, HAG and band to one of my meek guys (to avoid a Martyr block or other stuff) for a very strong turn 1 rescue. Then on turn 2 I wanted to have Jehoshaphat (very easy to get) to reset David and grab the combo piece I needed for the Impartial Judgment play. This version of the deck did quite well since the Angel of the Lord rescue worked almost all the time on turn 1, Impartial Judgment rescue worked very well turn 2, and then I have a good number of ways to close out the game turn 3 or 4 post Impartial Judgment. Now though with the new tutors and speed from Denarius turn 1 Impartial Judgment is more common in this deck. If I do not have a solid turn 1 Impartial Judgment (I normally want at least IJ for 4) then I just go into battle with David, snag Angel of the Lord, and band to a meek hero in territory to keep me safe from Falling Away or Christian Martyr. I find I rarely have an issue getting Jehoshaphat turn 2 to bounce David and reuse him due to cards like The Throne of David, The Angel of the Winds, and even The Emmaus Road which gets him directly. Triumphal Entry (with Jeshua), Plumb Line (with Jeshua), New Covenant, and Solomon’s Dream are other ways to snag Jehoshaphat.

I personally feel in Redemption often Turn 1 is a weaker rescue for most decks. This deck is not that way. I either rescue with a band backed by Angel of the Lord or I am doing a big Impartial Judgment play. This deck is very linear and I know what lines of play I am going for. I know what rescues I am aiming for depending on how the game goes. I have had several games where my opponent happens to have five evil cards in hand when I play IJ for 4 or 6 cards in hand when I play IJ for 5 and I have still won those games due to the very solid rescue options in this deck.

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Consistency-

I personally find this deck to be more consistent than postexilics were in the Classic meta for Type 1-2P as an Impartial Judgment centric deck. There are a few reasons for this. First of all is Zion. I have Covenant with David, David's Descendant, Reverence and Awe, Solomon's Dream, and Crowd's Choice all as ways I can grab Zion for the unity play. The reader should note Delivered, New Covenant and Emmaus Road while they can get to Zion through David's Descendant do not work for the unity play since they require a non-unity character to be played. I used to run a false prophets defense to have False Peace as another way to get to the unity Zion play but I feel I would rather have the ability to utilize Delivered to Denarius or to New Covenant to get Emmaus Road to get tutors since it helps me to get to my combo pieces (meek heroes, Impartial Judgment, and Awesome Things) just as well as false peace and really helps with having speed post combo to get to rescue options for the later turns. It also makes the deck more resilient when things go south by having diversified ways to get some speed. In addition Delivered to New Covenant to Emmaus Road to Solomon’s Dream has essentially the same impact and can do even more than Zion can do.

Here is the thing though: many deck builds have Delivered to New Covenant to Emmaus Road to Solomon’s Dream or Delivered to New Covenant to Spirit as a Dove. That being said my deck has that same consistency and then I also get the perk of Zion which in my mind breaks parity. Zion is so good because I get just what I need hero wise. If I draw Jeshua I get David with it. If I get both I grab Achim, Jehoshaphat, or a meek hero for combo with it. This deck definitely gets Jeshua faster than a postexilic deck. The other factor to this deck is David, HAG. There are so many ways to get him in this deck and if you have him you have half of your combo. He gets Impartial Judgment or Awesome Things whichever you need. Postexilics has no such tool. Also if I am not ready to combo he grabs Angel of the Lord and bands to a meek hero to ensure Christian Martyr or Falling Away do not nerf my rescue. Or if I need another OT card and have a battle winner in hand he grabs something else. I reuse him easily with Jehoshaphat who is quite easy for me to snag.

Additionally, The Throne of David is superior to Zerubbabel's Temple. It's star ability grabs David, HAG directly. In addition it can grab meek kings directly for a boosted turn 2 IJ play. It can grab Jehoshaphat directly if I did not have the IJ play turn 1 and did Angel of the Lord with David, HAG and need to reset him for a turn 2 IJ play. And also The Throne of David helps with consistency with its look and take. It also under decks cards I do not want on the top of my deck to get to better stuff.

For card draw Mayhem is so consistent in this deck and often is netting me 4-6 cards. Denarius adds really good card draw and is far superior to Pentecost which is what I ran in the deck prior to Denarius being released. The Lying Prophet is a great way to draw cards being CBP.

My lost soul package I believe is quite speedy since I can Imitate Lawless over and over again for speed. This deck is built to be speedy so I run a fast soul package. Awake is in for soul gen with Imitate or to tutor for Imitate if I draw into Lawless. Escape is there to get Lawless or Awake if I draw into Imitate or to get Imitate if I draw into Lawless or Awake. Darkness is important to get evil characters out since I have a lean amount of evil characters in the deck. Distressed is in here as a card I feel still is important for dealing with TC negate neutral characters and cards like Thomas the Twin.

For reserve access Storehouse is very good for getting out what I need as is Majestic Heavens which paired with Jeshua is great for both OT and NT cards due to my diverse soul package on that end and lastly Faith is great for getting Faith of David and Faith of Barak out. Jotham is a good way to get battle winners from reserve as well. I do miss False Peace at times for reserve access but there is enough to get by here.

The Throne of David, Storehouse, and Majestic Heavens are all important for consistency and due to all the ways I have to get Zion out I have a lot of ways to get them out early too.

Here are some important stats- There are 13 ways to get David, Heart after God directly from deck turn 1. Zerubbabel’s Plumb Line and Triumphal Entry are two bonus ways if I get Jeshua which is likely. There are 10 ways to get Jeshua out directly from deck turn 1. There is a large mass of meek heroes and ways to get meek heroes out from deck in this build.

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Considering-

David’s Harp definitely belongs in this deck. It can get the unity Zion play by grabbing Covenant with David from deck, can grab Royal Parade from reserve, and helps deal with demon defenses which still are common enough. Also lone David, HAG is a common enough rescue and so the last part of the card works well with him. Why do I not have it in this list? Well I did not own one, that is why. But now I do thanks to this deck winning the Oregon State tournament for me and the prize was a David’s Harp! At this juncture I would probably cut Reverence and Awe and put David’s Harp in the deck instead of it. Reverence and Awe is great but I would rather cut down on opportunities for Matthew the Publican to draw big and since David’s Harp can snag Covenant with David it serves a similar purpose and does much more than Reverence and Awe. The only downside to this is it hypothetically does cut down on my chances to get Throne of David, Storehouse, and Majestic Heaves if I draw Covenant with David early but I think it is worth it.

False Peace is really nice in this deck. It gets Zion directly for the unity play or can just grab Jeshua or David or Impartial Judgment or Solomon’s Dream directly. It also gives me more reserve access. Once I subbed Nero in though for one of my false prophets I just did not have enough to make it worth it. I have thought of cutting Denarius for Pentecost and running False Peace instead of Delivered which is what I used to do. However, since Delivered can get New Covenant which can get Emmaus Road which can get Solomon’s Dream which can get anything good in deck (or evil through Crowd’s Choice and Crowd’s Choice gives reserve access) it really has a similar effect as False Peace. I personally feel the instant draw of Denarius over the delayed one of Pentecost makes Delivered worth it over False Peace but it is a close call due to the better reserve access of False Peace.

Joshua the Conqueror is a card I want in the deck and would help with dealing with counters. He fits fairly well due to being able to exchange with pretty much any of the royals in the deck aside from David, HAG and being able to exchange with Jehoshaphat who can band to David. I have a hard time cutting a meek guy for him though since the critical mass of meek guys is important for the IJ play, for having royals to plop down for Zion to work, and the fact my main rescues tend to involve David, Noah, and Jeremiah all three of whom he cannot exchange with directly and only with David out of those is there a way to go from Joshua to him through Jehoshaphat. I have thought of putting Joshua in reserve. He is one thing I probably would add now with The Cross and Golden Calf being so prevalent in the meta.

I also have found myself wanting Zadok in this deck or Mighty Men to go from Jehoshaphat to Noah. I had a previous version of this deck before the reserve rule that used David, Outcasts Refuge to Jotham in reserve to grab IJ from reserve for the early IJ play. This deck also used Jeshua package to get Awesome Things and meek guys out early. Mighty Men was in this build due to interaction with David, Outcasts Refuge. I miss that to a point. Instead I have to rely on Oath of Purity for bouncing Noah which is ok. The other thing I can do is bounce Noah with Jeshoshaphat and then add Noah to battle with Faith of David.

Chronicles of the Kings would be nice to run and is what I would run if I did not run Crowd’s Choice. It is great for dealing with Golden Calf. However, Crowd’s Choice is better since it can grab any of my ways to deal with a counter and can also grab pieces for my IJ play or anything else really.

Also I have thought of running The Lord’s Prayer since it can be played on most of my heroes and get Emmaus Road to get Solomon’s Dream, David’s Descendant, Plumb Line, Delivered, or Triumphal Entry or David or most of my heroes. It could be an option over the Reverence and Awe slot or Triumphal Entry’s slot. I am not sure which is more consistent though since Emmaus Road only goes on 4 heroes but since I get Jeshua out early most of the time it is very consistent. I think there is a reasonable case for keeping David’s Harp or Reverence and Awe (likely David’s Harp) and then cutting Triumphal Entry for The Lord’s Prayer since I can just go to Plumb Line or Solomon’s Dream with The Lord’s Prayer through Emmaus or just snag a hero directly with Emmaus or go to Delivered through Emmaus for card draw through Denarius. It seems more versatile than Triumphal Entry.

Three Nails is a card I have thought of running as a way to set my opponent back if they go first. I have to burn tutors to get to it but it could very well be worth an add to set them back.

Lastly I have thought of running The Coming Prince in reserve as a way to recur Solomon’s Dream or Plumb Line or even David off Jeshua. I feel having the other cards that are there is more important.

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Conclusion-

The only person I shared an earlier version of this deck list with was Mr. Hiatus and he kindly has kept it between us. He agrees with me from what I can tell that turn 1 or 2 Impartial Judgment is good. It sets the opponent back right away and if you have a good follow up to it rescue wise then it is pretty good. I thought of running this deck at the Northwest Regional Tournament the end of May which will likely be the final tournament I get to participate in this tournament season since I cannot attend Nationals. I was keeping it on the down low leading up to the Oregon State Tournament and the Northwest Regional Tournament since it has been my main deck. I have done this since I am preparing for the Northwest Regional Tournament as if it were the National tournament since I cannot make Nationals and I feel taking a tournament season off from dedicated deck building and playing would hamper my growth and development as a player. All of that being said, I have another deck build I am working on that I think is possibly stronger in this meta than this deck. Perhaps I will play this deck since I like it so much but since there is a chance I won’t I have decided to reveal it to the community. I hope some of you gain enjoyment from it as I have.

One thing a reader might bring up is, "isn't Jeshua now Jeshua the Limited because of the rule limiting him to four activations of his ability per turn?" He is limited but in my experience it is not a big deal at all. I rarely exceed four activations of his ability but you do have to keep track. Balaam's Prophecy is the main thing that can push him past four. At the Oregon State tournament I had a Balaam's Prophecy that revealed I believe 5 or 6 good cards. I snagged one star card with Balaam's Prophecy but topdecking and drawing the remaining good cards off Jeshua used up all of my Jeshua activations for that turn. It was fine because I did not need to use him again that turn. Remember, you do not have to draw every good card you topdeck with Balaam's Prophecy if you need a Jeshua activation for Plumb Line or Triumphal Entry or Majestic Heavens. Just draw what you need/want off Balaam's Prophecy in that case and save 1 or 2 activations (normally you just need one) for one of the other tutors. It is important to keep things like this in mind. Overall I do not feel the new rule hampers this deck significantly and Jeshua performs mostly as well as he did before overall.

One final thing, I have one insight for the community after my deck building experience in the Rotation meta: build a lot of different types of decks. It is good to do. I have 9 different rotation decks that are unique. Not all of them are fully fleshed out but I did build them. However, I think it is very important after building a variety of decks to identify a couple deck builds that are your best and focus most of your time and energy into testing and refining those. I have been tinkering with and refining this deck since before the reserve rule was implemented so I believe I have been refining this deck since September or early October 2021. I had a very primitive version of this built alongside my other version with David, Outcasts refuge to Jotham to set up the early IJ play. I actually preferred that version until the reserve rule was implemented but this one is better with the reserve rule since David, HAG goes right to deck unlike Jotham who goes to reserve. Now it is April 2022 and I have poured many, many hours into refining this deck and testing it since the time I first built it. This is good to do and is something I did in the classic meta too with my Creation of the World deck for Type 1 (both prior to LAFS, during LAFS, and post-LAFS) and two other decks that were my best I felt in classic. A deck is always a work in progress and is never finished. It can always be better. Focusing on your best couple decks provides more of a likelihood of creating something that is strong. That does not mean we should just be tunnel visioned with one or two builds and not build new decks alongside them but during the tournament season it is good to find a couple strong builds and really refine them and get used to playing them. I do believe that leads to better decks and results.

Anyhow happy deck building. Until next time…

P.S.
My apologies for the very long posts. I debated about how much to share but this is a culmination of many months of work and I figured I might as well share everything. Some folks will read more than others but at least it is available.