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Daniel Husinga
Sealed Deck, Booster Draft 1 T1-2P Placing

   When it comes to Redemption success, Daniel’s resume betrays his strongest skill sets. Looking at Nationals wins alone, Daniel is a Closed Deck master. With a victory in both Closed deck events, which few people have, Daniel is in the upper echelons of Limited players. However, this is absolutely not Daniel’s greatest strength that he brings to the game.
   
Daniel’s strongest attribute as a Redemption player is that he is one of the best Johnny players of all time. Daniel consistently does incredibly well in T1-2P and typically he does it with a deck that looks different than anyone else’s. Daniel is an innovator. One of Daniel’s premier decks from his history is a deck known as Stonewall. Stonewall was a deck that was designed to grind the opponent out of resources. The way it would often accomplish this is through the use of Gabriel (Wa), I am Holy, Jepthath, Ark of the Covenant, and Holy Grail. Stonewall would destroy an opponent’s defense over the course of the game, while his own defense would continue blocking while he accomplished this strategy. At the time of the deck’s creation, it was a brilliant idea and took Daniel to third place at the largest Nationals field of all time. (2005)
   
Something that is also worth note, is that Daniel is an incredibly consistent player. In 5 attempts at T1-2P at Nationals, Daniel has only finished outside the Top 8 players once. (Most recent appearance) Daniel’s consistency is something to be aware of.
   
Daniel also has a knack for popping up when he feels like it after a long absence. In 2012, he was 4 years divorced from his last Nationals, when he just decided to show to Nationals because hey, it was in TN. After not being seen for four years, he pilots a non-standard Gardensciples deck to sixth place, going 7-3 in the process.
   
That trend continued in 2015, where he randomly pops up to play booster draft of all things, and wins almost completely out of nowhere. As a result of this booster draft victory, Daniel got to create Coliseum, which completely warped the metagame for an entire year in the 2016 Tournament Season.
   
During that season, Daniel played his first Nationals in T1-2P since 2012, and made the top eight cut, losing to Gabe in Top 8, but managed to be one of the first two Redemption players to play on camera at a competitive tournament. The next year in 2017, Daniel picked up his sealed deck victory, also seemingly out of nowhere. When you weave together the details found within the annals of history, you find that Daniel consistently pulls good finishes from thin air. This quality makes him an amazing wild card pick for any fantasy draft, and also in my eyes is good enough for a hall of fame spot.

Josiah Beers
2x T2-2P 2x Teams 1x T1-2P 2 T1-2P placings.
   
Of all the players to be nominated for the hall of fame, Josiah is the newest. Josiah burst onto the Redemption playing scene in 2011-2012. 2012, his first nationals, was an eventful one. Josiah debuted and immediately started winning National Championships. Josiah won his first of two Type Two 2P championships at Nationals 2012, using a deck based around David (Ki) and Unified Kingdom banding to Isaiah and a ton of Royalty. He took this deck to a 5-1 finish, losing only to Clift Crysel. Keep in mind, that this win occurred at his FIRST Nationals.

   The next year, Josiah picked up his T1-2P victory. He played a Genesis/Romans hand control deck at the first Nationals after the debut of the I/J starter decks. This deck proved to once again, be an EXCELLENT metagame call. Josiah finished the Swiss at 6-1, #1 seed. Josiah then proceeded to win three games in the top cut, including an incredibly tight top four game with Tim Maly.
   
Josiah’s 2014 marked his first teams victory, which he picked up alongside his brother, Jerome, who is an excellent player and deck builder in his own right. I don’t have much knowledge of this Nationals or of the teams format and metagame, so I will refrain from commenting.
   
In 2015, Josiah picked up a T1-2P second place. He piloted an incredibly innovative Angels and Demons deck to the finals for the second time in three years. Josiah’s deck was an incredible metagame call, taking advantage of the proliferation of cards being used that only targeted humans. This deck served him well all the way to the finals, where he was defeated by John Early’s Arrest in Gethesemene deck, which will be discussed in the entry on John.
   
2016 was also a good year for Josiah, considering that he picked up a THIRD top cut appearance, a feat which only three players have ever accomplished. (John Early, Josiah, and Chris Egly.) He made cut at 4th seed and was eliminated.
   
2017 is the best year for Josiah to date. Josiah won his second T2 and Teams victories. He also picked up a third in T1-2P. The most ironic thing about this, is that Josiah functionally played the same deck all three days. He piloted Throne/Gates of Jerusalem to two wins, and the third. After this summary of his accomplishments, I’ll discuss what I believe to be Josiah’s Strengths.

   As a Redemption Player, Josiah’s greatest strength is his ability to make excellent metagame calls. Josiah has done incredibly well in constructed Redemption, almost to the point of having the best 5-year streak in Redemption history. Josiah has a knack for choosing the deck that will preform the best against the predicted field. Josiah has also proven that he can consistently do this, almost to the point of being able to do it every year.

John Earley
T2-MP, T1-2P, 2x Teams 4x T1-2P placings.
   
David Sirlin in his book writes of “The One True Style” in regard to competitive game players. If I, as a lowly Redemption historian had to assign this moniker to three players in Redemption History, John J. Earley would be among them. John’s resume regarding T1-2P is only eclipsed by Gabe Isbell in terms of 5-year streak. John placed in T1-2P for 5 straight years, typically using what the community would class as the “Meta Deck.” In my eyes, this would earn him the designation of “The One True Style.”
   
The first major success John had at Nationals would be found with his win at 2010 Nationals in T2-MP. John won with an ANB Reset deck. This deck served the usual purpose of an ANB reset deck, which is to disrupt an established, combo centric strategy and attack with a FBTN character on the new turn 1. This led him to his first National trophy.
   
John then proceeded to go on a tear that is practically unrivaled. He picked up his first of three consecutive 2nd place finished in T1-2P at Nationals 2011. At this tournament he piloted a deck known as “WaterGarden” to a 9-1 record achieving his first placing. During this tournament he defeated Gabe Isbell in round 1, which served as almost a coronation moment, in which saw John ascend to being the best T1-2P player in the world for five years.* (Gabe did not play T1-2P at Nationals between 2012 and 2014, reappearing in the event in 2015, which he claimed a top 8 berth, to be followed with a win the next year. Gabe is certainly an incredible Redemption player, and never lost his touch, as some claimed at some point in those years.)
   
John then proceeded to have an incredible year in 2012, picking up a second place finish and a Teams victory. He piloted a deck that the community affectionately named “The Deck,” this name was not the name preferred by its creator, James Reopke, who named it Auto ^2. This deck was designed to take advantage of all the powerful TC stuff, which led to an incredible engine, that produced one of the most consistent T1-2P decks in recent memory.
   
The next year, John adapted the idea into a Judges/Pharisees list known as “Flexbone.” This deck took advantage of the power of the
Simieon+Moses band as well as the power of a Srong Angel vs a Pharisee heavy metagame. He piloted this deck to a berth in the first top cut in Redemption history and lost in the finals to Josiah Beers. A match that we will see repeated in 2015.
   
2014 showed more consistency from John, with him taking up a tighter Flexbone to a fourth consecutive Nationals placing, and second top cut appearance. He did not make it to the finals this year, losing to Zach Cornell in top 4. He won the 3rd place playoff and picked up his placing.
   
2015 was the year John picked up the victory he had so desired. For the first time, he played a deck that countered the metagame, and piloted it to his championship. The deck that John used was possibly the only truly successful control deck in Redemption history and it was centered around creating an unwinnable gamestate for the opponent and the walking in for 5 straight turns with Watchful Servant. The deck accomplished this by setting up a Silver Site-Lock with Arrest in Gethsemane active indefinitely due to Stoic Philosophers. At this Nationals, John also played a rematch with Josiah Beers in the finals, and defeated him 5-0 due to Arrest. The next year, John won his 2nd Teams victory, winning with Gabe Isbell.
   
John’s greatest strength as a player is that he does not have to use a quirky deck that plays from weird angles to see success. He did win using that strategy, but he placed the four prior years with what people would have termed “the deck to beat.” This is to me is indicative of John’s play skill. John is possibly one of the best Redemption players to have ever played due to his consistency, and he could very easily resume his dominance if he so desired.

Nathan Voigt
T2-2P, T2-MP, T1-MP, 2 T1-2P placings. The RLK who defeated Tim Maly at NC Regionals that time.
   
Sometimes, our greatest fame comes as children. This could certainly be the case for Nathan Voigt. Nathan’s original claim to fame is that he beat Tim Maly during Tim’s heyday at NC Regionals. However, I believe that the evidence shows that his resume is worth a hall of fame vote. Three wins and a T1-2P placing is quite good in my book!
   
Nathan’s first Nationals victory came in 2007 with a victory in T2-MP. Nathan’s deck was an Elders banding offense with a gray False Peace defense. He piloted this deck to a victory in the category. From my research the gray FP defense was a standard in T2-MP until the ANB deck began to take hold in 2008ish.

Nathan then picked up his first T1-2P placing in 2008 with a purple/silver/teal offense with a Babylonian defense. This deck was a variation on the common theme of Teal and Purple that was fairly well known at the time. Teal and Purple were considered to have the two strongest battlewinners on offense in AocP and Zeal. This deck ran both and proceeded to power through to victory.
   
Nathan then won T1-MP in 2010. This was possibly one of the biggest T1-MP fields ever with around 50ish people playing. Nathan’s deck is not recorded anywhere, but I assume it was a standard T1-MP speed deck.
   
Nathan then won T2-2P in 2011. This was a standard Disciple/Pharisees deck with a twist. Unlike most normal Disciples decks, Nathan ran Water Jars in his deck. The Water Jar tech gave him a super solid disruption plan that piloted him to the top.
   
Nathan then placed second in T1-2P at Nationals 2014. At this tournament Nathan was playing a Judges/Pharisees deck built by Martin Miller. This deck was somewhat non-standard and was tweaked with various things such as Ambush the City and Urim and Thummin. Nathan proceeded to do incredibly well, until he lost in the finals to Zac Cornell.
   
Nathan’s strength as a player comes in his ability to run a standard deck with nonstandard additions and techs. This is demonstrated in the success seen in his two-player outings, with both decks demonstrating non-standard cards being piloted incredibly well to victory. Nathan is a top notch player and the brevity of this bio is due more to lack of data than lack of success. I would certainly think he is worthy of a vote.

just bumping this to show my work. Will complete the other bios tomorrow.

If anyone would find a factual error with my bios, or if I left something off, please let me know. Will complete the other two shortly.

If anyone would find a factual error with my bios, or if I left something off, please let me know. Will complete the other two shortly.

These bios have been excellent Jay. 

If anyone would find a factual error with my bios, or if I left something off, please let me know. Will complete the other two shortly.

This statement under Josiah Beers' bio is not accurate....
   "considering that he picked up a THIRD top 8 appearance, a feat which only three players have ever accomplished. (John Early, Josiah, and Chris Egly.)"

...unless you left out the word "consecutively."

I am pretty confident that I can name others who have had 3 top 8 appearances.

Quote from: Crashfach2002 on August 25, 2017, 10:19:41 AM

Quote from: JonathanW on August 25, 2017, 10:07:37 AM

Maybe a poll would be a better option for voting? I don't know if you can allow choosing multiple options though...

It does appear that a poll can be added with the option for multiple votes.  I just need to look at the maximum votes everyone can have across both sections and create the polls appropriately.  The nice things about the system, is that you can see who voted for who, and there is no chance of giving someone extra votes (unlike a poll).

Actually, I think that's only true for Moderators (which I only found out the other day myself).

Yeah... us regulars can only see the numbers

Jordan Alstad
T2-MP, T2-2P, 3x T2-2P placings, 1 T1-2P placing.

Jordan also pulled a TEAMS 3rd place at Nationals in 2012. Some people may scoff at a mere third place, but he should get bonus props given the huge liability that was his partner.

Finished with the Bios. Thank you for your patience.

I also placed second in type 1-2p at Ohio nationals (2008?) with a purple/silver/teal offense and Babylonian defense 

Thanks man! Will correct.