Cactus Game Design Message Boards

We have 8 candidates for each of the 2 categories for the Hall of Fame for 2010.  Since this is the first year of the Hall of Fame, we will be making an exception to the rules and allow 2 people from each category to be elected.

After the election, all 4 people will be in one combined group of Hall of Famers.  They are simply separated below to display their various contributions.  I would appreciate all input onto this thread being positive.  Please state why someone should be voted for as opposed to why someone should not be.  If you have any reason why someone should be excluded (steroid use, etc.) please PM me about it  Next year, a new Player and Contributor will be added to the lists and we will vote again.

Players:
Justin Alstad – [T1-mp (x2), T2-2p, T2-mp] - Feared in both T1 and T2.  Piloted the first speed prototype deck to a Nats win.  Also contributes to the game as a playtester.
Keith Bartram – [T1-2p (x3)] - Winning Redemption's biggest event at nats every time he went.
Joshua Hey – [T2-2p, T2-mp (x2)] - 4th place overall RNRS when he left the game.  One of only 3 players to place in the top 3 at Nats in 3 different events in the same year.
Gabe Isbell – [T1-2p (x2), T2-2p, Teams] - Forced Redemption to create TGT to stop his T1 defense, and the hand limit to stop his T2 combo.  Both may have been created by others, but Gabe piloted them in a way that won Nats and changed the game.
Eric Kimmons – [T2-2p (x2), T2-mp (x2)] - Only player ever to win 4 Nats in a row.  One of 2 players who have won at 4 different Nats at all.
Tim Maly – [T1-2p (x2), T2-2p] - Consistently at the top for many years, and helping create the "new REG"
Sam Nurge – [Sealed, Booster] - Winning the two "random" events in the same year, proving it isn't quite so random
Ron Sias – [Sealed, Booster (x2), T1-mp (x2), T2-2p, T2-mp] - Has won more types of events over more years than anyone else.

Contributors:
Rob Anderson – Creator of the game
Chris Bany – owner of Covenant Games, perennial Nats stat man, Nats host, Playtester
Mike Berkenpas – Author and Keeper of the REG, Playtester
Roy Cruz – the Heart of Redemption, Nats host
Doug Gray – Artist, original owner of 3LG, Playtester
Bryon Hake – Primary card designer, Settler of forum disputes, Nats host, Playtester, 2x Nats winner [T2-2p]
John Michaliszyn – Host extraordinaire, Creation Festival Guru, Playtester
Stephen Schaefer – Creator and manager of the Storehouse, Overlord of the online forum, Nats host, Playtester

Obviously Rob is going in

Ron Sias is perhpas one of the greatest redemption players off all time, he's been around since the  beggining, and with a T1 2Player victory would be the first player EVER to win every event at a nationals level.

Can people not on this list be nominated, or will the 4 people in the Hall of Fame necessarily be from the 16 you selected?

Can people not on this list be nominated, or will the 4 people in the Hall of Fame necessarily be from the 16 you selected?

I'm going to start with this list for this year.  However, if you have suggestions, please PM me.  Based on who gets nominated through PM, we'll choose the people who will be added to these lists next year.

for contibuters i say rob and byon

          for players i say tim maly who i belive is better than gabe.then i vote justin.

Please remember that we are voting in 2 people from each category this time.  So those of you who have shared your ideas on your top pick, who would you also suggest voting for.

Also, please remember to share stories if you have them.  I'll give an example.

I first met Gabe at Nats '07 in Kansas City.  He was pretty unknown then, and took a lot of people by surprise when he won T1-2p with a deck that had almost no defense in it.  His deck became the prototype for a speed deck that was copied by many and feared by many others.  But what stands out to me most was after the tournament was over.  He had collected all his prize packs (which was a lot), and simply walked around the room stopping at tables where young kids were playing some last games just for fun.  At each table he would give a pack to each kid, and then quietly walk away to the next table.  His generosity that day with physical packs matches his generosity with skills and ideas that he consistently teaches and shares with other players.

For players, I'm going with Tim Maly and Justin Alstad (who you forgot to mention invented Speed).

Justin is pretty legit, and he built the first Speed deck that actually worked. He didn't invent speed though, that honor goes to the quadfather, who actually challenged Justin to build a deck that could deck in one turn. (I think it was the quadfather)

I honestly think Rob should be auto and not have him take up a slot.  You are just asking for someone to lose a spot to the Creator of the Game.

Plus, I think more than one player should be added per year.  As for voting, I can already predict who is going to go in.  There may be an alternate for players because I think that is a 3 horse race...but this lends itself to predictability.

People are "famous" for a reason.

My  

EDIT:  Also, (since I'm in the mood to share money) think that there should be a nominating process, instead of 1 person's bias because I would think that would illustrate more of their "fame".    Another 

For contributors, I must point out that there is one big contender you are leaving out:

Please PM me with these suggestions.  I like yours, and suspect he'll be there someday.

I honestly think Rob should be auto and not have him take up a slot.

I thought about this as well, but to be fair, I want everyone to be voted in.

Plus, I think more than one player should be added per year.

We are going to be adding 4 players this year, and 2 players each subsequent year.  Considering the small player base of Redemption, I think that is probably a reasonable number.

there should be a nominating process, instead of 1 person's bias

I also like a nominating process (which is why I'm requesting PMs).  I just started off with these to get the ball rolling faster.  My goal is to go ahead and get the first 4 people in at this "mid-year" time, and then use the nominating process to get a slate of people for our next vote right before Nats '10.  Going forward, I think voting people in right before Nats is the way to go so that we can honor them there.

Gabe would be the first to tell you that the Sin in the Camp deck wasn't his idea

SitC decks have been around for 3 years at least.  The rule change didn't happen until Gabe made it viable enough to win Nats with.

and I'm confident it wasn't just Gabe's deck that inspired Garden Tomb.

Bryon disagrees when talking about playtesting TGT.

I built a Garden Tomb deck and a Judges Seat deck and a Throne of David deck and a House at Bethany Luke/John convert deck, and a Stronghold in the Desert deck.  Every single one of those decks was designed to punish one deck: the Gabe nats-winning deck from 2007.  I built his deck card-for-card and had players testing it against all of these decks for months, 5-6 days a week, multiple games a day.

Also, I think Justin Alstad should be noted for having pioneered what became the modern speed deck.

You are the 2nd person to say this.  1 person said that credit goes to Quadfather.  If I get a more definite sense of which way to go with this, I'll add it in there

OK, I basically just disagree with everything you just said.  I'm not going to bother arguing.

Not sure why you said that when he gave his reasons. but oh well.

I agree with Sean on Justin.  his SpEaDfReAk deck was the pioneer of all speed decks.  Even if he didnt create it ( I dont know about all the buisness with the Quadfather and who made it first) he still won t1 Multi with it at Nats and that is why it has become the dominant  deck design in t1 Multi.  If you are going to say Gabe gets the credit for the hand limit rule due to his piloting of someone elses deck, then surely Justin deserves the same credit for the whole Speed movement even if it wasn't a deck he specifically designed. 

You will have to ask him about whether he came up with it first or not, but either way, he is the one who won with it.

Also, i'd like to see a nomination process.  This just seems to be a list of people you know and respect in redemption, but, with all due respect, redemption is bigger than your circle.  I would be willing to bet that there are other more qualified applicants than these, especially from yesteryear past, and opening up a nomination process will allow others to make those people known.

NEW INORFORMATION:gabe did not ask clifft about it well srry gabe.my bad.

i also dont see how you can have even a half-credible list without first having a proper nomination. this is pretty much just all bias otherwise.