Welcome to the Mirror of Galadriel, a series in which we explore things that were, things that are, and things that yet may be.
Today, I reveal two good brigades that were considered to be added to the game.
Things That Were: Pink Brigade and Tan Brigade
When Rob Anderson first released Redemption, there were 6 good brigades and 6 evil brigades.
In 1999’s The Warriors set, silver was added. This was a big deal, not only because it was the first new brigade, but also because it introduced angels, which were immediately powerful due to the heroes Michael, Gabriel, The Strong Angel, and Captain of the Host.
In 2006, not one but two new brigades were added. The Priests set introduced teal for priests and orange for demons. Demons had been part of the game from the beginning, but putting them all in orange made that brigade into the evil equivalent of silver. The Priests set was unique because an unprecedented proportion of the set was taken by the new brigades.
The fourth and final brigade to be added was clay. This came in 2014 in The Early Church set. This brigade is notable for being the only brigade new enough not to have any cards in the scrolls format.
That gives Redemption a total of 9 good brigades and 7 evil brigades. 3 of those 16 brigades have since been retired.
All that is common knowledge. But what you probably don’t know is that we could have had pink and tan as good brigades as well.
If I remember correctly, the timing for the suggestion of pink brigade was after the release of The Priests. At that time, teal and orange had just been introduced. Players had liked trying out the new brigades, so it was suggested that pink be introduced as a new brigade for female heroes. We would have seen pink versions of many classic women. Perhaps they would have looked something like this.
But Rob didn’t like the idea, so it was never implemented. I think that was for the best.
Pink was never developed very far, but tan was. That’s because tan brigade was the original plan for what eventually became clay. The Early Church set was meant to introduce church heroes in the tan brigade. Tan was the plan not only because it was visually distinct from the other good brigades, but also because it allowed for an awesome pun with Simon the Tanner. Simon’s ability was specifically designed to make your heroes literally tan.
Of course, tan brigade was changed to clay before release, and the double-meaning of “tanner” was lost. Why was clay chosen instead? Because clay is a more biblical word. There is the metaphor of us as clay in the hands of God, the potter. Also, 2 Corinthians 4 speaks of “this treasure in jars of clay.”
As sad as I am that Simon the Tanner’s ability was ruined, I am glad that the brigade ended up as clay instead. I really appreciate when game terms call to mind biblical concepts. I like crimson brigade for a similar reason (though I’d have liked “scarlet” even better), because it references Isaiah 1:18, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Things That Are: Roots 2 Announced!
SPOILER ALERT FOR CARDS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN REVEALED IN DISCORD
This has nothing to do with the topic of cancelled brigades, but I have to talk about the official announcement of Roots 2. I am so excited that it has been officially confirmed! In my opinion, Roots was one the best things that ever happened to Redemption.
I love Roots for four main reasons:
- The designs are extremely nostalgic because they call back to the classic cards I grew up with.
- The abilities are streamlined for ease of play, making them simple without being boring.
- The cards are plentiful, making them cheap and a great gift to new players.
- Their distribution in booster packs has elevated Booster Draft to the most fun the category has ever been.
Three cards have already been revealed for Roots 2, although they may be subject to change:
All three of these are great choices, but the big surprise to me is Que. I know he has had a small contingent of players lobbying for his return, but I never expected to see any of the unique Angel Wars characters reprinted. I’m certainly not complaining, just surprised.
I actually used to have a deck themed around Que and all the Angel Wars angels. Believe it or not, the deck had a combo in it that was so powerful that a game rule had to be changed to rein it in. But that’s a story for another day.
It is notable that Que’s art has been recolored, so he less resembles his on-screen depiction. I wonder if this transformation was done for rights reasons. Either way, I don’t expect other named Angel Wars characters to appear again (other than the biblical Michael of course).
After Roots 2 was announced, I began speculating about what cards it could include. I think it would be fun to try to predict one character in each brigade. We already have Que for orange, but I’ll share my top guess for each of the other 12 brigades.
To be clear, these are characters that I expect, not necessarily the characters I personally most want. My personal choices would mostly be N.T. characters, because I think they were underrepresented last time, especially in certain brigades.
Blue: Noah
This may seem like an odd choice at first considering that he already has multiple rotation versions, but I think Noah is likely to be included. Just like how Abraham got a streamlined, mono-brigade version in Roots 1, Noah could receive a streamlined, mono-brigade version in Roots 2. He is an iconic character, and it would be nice to have at least one flood survivor in the set.
I would also be unsurprised if we got a new Abel and/or Sarah, because they are well-known characters whose most recent versions are now out of print.
Clay: Lydia
Because The Early Church and The Persecuted Church sets have been out of print for a while, I expect much of the clay in Roots 2 to be improved versions of cards from those sets. There are many possible heroes to pick, but Lydia seems as likely as any. She is memorable in classic Redemption due in part to her presence in the 4th edition starter decks.
Other big names I’d be unsurprised to see are Mark, Luke, Timothy, Silas, Apollos, Priscilla, Aquila, Cornelius, and the deacons. Obviously we won’t see all of these, but probably at least a couple.
Gold: Barak
I think a gold version of Barak is very likely. He has only ever been printed in red, which is now retired. The Roots version of Deborah bands to a gold warrior, which seems intended to band to a version of Barak that just hasn’t been printed yet. A Roots 2 Barak would complement the Deborah and Jael of Roots 1 very well.
I’d be most happy to see Ehud, but I think that’s less likely due to how similar he would be to the Jael we already have in Roots 1. Another judge that would be cool to see in gold, but is probably even less likely than Ehud, would be Moses. I’d like to see a classic 8/8 FBTN gold Moses, just like the legacy rare.
Green: Widow
Roots 1 did not include any green females, so it would be nice for Roots 2 to include one. Widow was a Redemption powerhouse back in the day, yet has no rotation version, so she seems a natural choice for Roots 2. I would have expected her to be reprinted in white, but the design team has recently printed a couple green characters who are only supporting characters to prophets, not prophets themselves. Because of this, Widow could be green.
If we see a female prophet, I think the most likely would be Miriam, simply for name recognition. This would be a version specifically for prophet decks, rather than wilderness or musician decks.
But what I really hope is that we see some N.T. green cards. In my opinion, the best N.T. green hero would be John the Baptist. John the Baptist was the second Elijah and the last of the old prophets preparing the way for Jesus, but the version we got in Gospel of Christ (John the Forerunner) is meant for Nativity decks and requires Gospel unity. It would be great to have a simpler mono-brigade version that could slot into a traditional prophets deck.
Purple: Uriah
For purple, Roots 2 is very likely to include at least one of David’s mighty men. I think Uriah is the best candidate. He is very well known, yet he doesn’t have a rotation version (not even a red one). There is even a version of Bathsheba in rotation with an ability that mentions Uriah by name.
I hope that unlike Roots 1, Roots 2 will include some N.T. purple cards. I think it’s important for all the major themes to be represented, so it would be nice to have some simple versions of a couple of disciples. For example, there could be a slightly nerfed update to classic Thomas.
Silver: Angel with the Secret Name
I selected Angel with the Secret Name for silver because almost every noteworthy classic angel has already been reprinted in rotation. I think AwtSN has a decent chance, though his special ability would have to be very different. Not only would any mention of sites need to be removed, but the exchange ability should also be removed. Judges already have two exchanging angels in The Angel Under the Oak from Roots 1 and The Victorious Being from Israel’s Inheritance.
White: Hur
This may be one of my more wild card predictions (due to how recently a straightforward mono-white version of him was printed), but I could definitely see Hur being included in Roots 2, as long as his ability is more like his classic version. Classic green Hur was a staple of Redemption back in the day. I think a white version of that card with the new “Wilderness” identifier printed on it would be cool.
I expect there will be more N.T. cards for white as well. There are many possibilities, but I would personally like to see streamlined versions of some the most iconic white heroes from Gospel of Christ. I like there to be simple versions of major characters for the sake of younger players.
Black: Bera, King of Sodom
Bera was one of the first black Canaanites, and I could see him representing that theme in Roots 2, as he has never been reprinted. Jezebel is a Canaanite with much more name recognition, but I’d expect her to be dual brigade (black and brown) which I think decreases the likelihood of her being included in a Roots set.
N.T. possibilities for black include Alexander the Sadducee and Demetrius the Silversmith.
Brown: King Ahab
Brown encompasses many different themes, so it is especially hard to predict what Roots 2 will provide. However, I think Ahab would be a great choice. The king of Israel theme needs help, and he is one of the most well-known, as well as one who has been part of Redemption from the very first set. It is only a matter of time before he and Jezebel are given rotation versions. It is possible though that he would be saved for an upcoming set that will feature the kings of Israel theme.
Although I think it’s less likely, I personally hope to see a budget version of Haman released in Roots 2, especially because Roots 1 has two cards that refer to him by name in their special abilities. Another possibility I could see is Job’s Wife, because Revelation of John is now out of print and the evil Job theme does not have any Roots representation yet.
Crimson: Ananias
Sapphira is in Roots 1, so I think Ananias would be a natural choice for Roots 2. They were both in my very first Redemption deck. Ananias is not yet available in rotation.
Even if Ananias is not included in Roots 2, I’m sure there will be some N.T. representation. I could see there being some support for the heretics theme. It’s in desperate need of a boost, and even the cards it has are out of print.
Grey: King Benhadad I
Benhadad is my pick for grey simply because I think he is the only classic Syrian without a rotation version. When he was first released, he saw some play in grey hand control defenses alongside King Menahem. Another Syrian I’d like to see remade is Naaman, because the version we have is designed to work with the defunct red brigade; however, his self-convert effect is probably a bit too complex for a Roots set.
I’d like to see Emperor Nero and/or Claudius, because both are classics that are currently expensive to obtain, even though they are in rotation. But I would be surprised.
Pale Green: Potiphar’s Wife
Of my 5 evil character predictions, this is the one of which I am most confident. Potiphar’s Wife is by far the most well-known Egyptian that has yet to be reprinted in pale green, and with Israel’s Rebellion so recent I don’t anticipate Genesis Egyptians being featured in another regular set anytime soon. She could always be made a promo instead, but that would seem awfully similar to Queen Tahpenes. Roots 2 is the perfect way to release a new version of Potiphar’s Wife.
Do you agree with my predictions? What cards do you expect to see, or hope to see?
Things That Yet May Be: Blue Romans
Last week, I suggested the possibility of creating a good Romans theme in blue, so that that brigade would have a N.T. theme. I then challenged readers to design a card for this hypothetical theme.
For reference, here are the examples I gave last time.
Honest Soldier is designed to synergize with John the Forerunner. He helps you empty your hand so that John can paralyze all evil characters. This also represents the soldier being content with less.
This Priscilla is just a simple update to her version from The Early Church. The card could be more interesting than this, but it’s a start.
This centurion’s toolbox of abilties represents not only the healing in the story, but also his self-described authority to give his soldiers any orders. He can band to one of his blue warriors, or even a patriarch, due to what Jesus said about him in Matthew 8:10-11.
This enhancement is my favorite of the cards I made: mechanically unique and extremely thematic.
Yet these examples I made pale in comparison to the package that BaboonyTim designed this week:
Here are some of my favorite aspects of these awesome creations:
- The topdecking mechanic is great! I was wondering what mechanic the theme could be built around, and this would work nicely. It’s very different from other good themes and seems like it would be a fun challenge to pilot. The eight cards all tie in well to the strategy.
- Synagogue synergizes with these Romans (particularly the Centurion at Capernaum, who as mentioned in Luke 7:5 built the local synagogue) but can work with any N.T. humans, which is appropriate because almost every N.T. human would have attended synagogues.
- All three good Centurions are represented, and even at their traditional 7/6 statline. Centurions are cool, and a package of cards like this could finally make them a viable deck.
- Building a deck around Cornelius would be especially neat. His ability would not be as consistent as Jeremiah the Weeper’s, but I think it could be even more fun.
- Faith at the Cross is an all-around excellent design. I love it!
- Editor's Note: Surviving the Storm was inspired by MTG's iconic Brainstorm and the card's title pays homage to it.
This theme has so much potential. Now I really wish it were developed, tested, and printed!
As an extra, Tim also designed a card for evil Romans:
I like it! It’s simple and thematic. If I were to suggest any change, it would probably be to make it less splashable by either changing “bearer is discarded” to “your Roman is discarded” or “protect Lost Souls from rescue” to “protect N.T. Lost Souls from rescue.” But it’s great as-is, too.
Thanks for sharing all these great ideas, Tim!
Card Creation Prompt
If you would like to create a card for the next article, check out this week’s challenge: in honor of Simon the Tanner, design a card for the Joppa church theme. This can be a new version of Simon the Tanner, or something else.
Please submit any cards you make to me (Ear-A-Corn on Discord) by the end of Saturday, 9/20. That’s a day later than normal, because my next article won’t release until the following Monday, to coincide with a certain celebration on September 22.
Thanks for reading!