The Threshing Floor

Episode 14: The Road to Nationals Starts Here

This week's episode is chock full of exciting news! We sat down with John Earley to discuss the details that were released for the 2022 National Tournament and tell a few stories along the way. Don't know what to expect as a first year Nationals participant, we've got that covered as well. We also discussed the exciting new National Promos, including two that will be determined by community vote. In addition to the Nationals news, Cactus Game Design owner and creator of the game, Rob Anderson, provided an update from the printer regarding the GoC Phase 1 rollout plan, so we discuss those details. Included with this update from Rob, we also learned about new packaging for the I/J Starter Decks that will include 6 additional I/J+ cards. Jump in and give it a listen!
 
2022 Nationals Information
I/J+ Starter Decks

Episode 13: ”For Where Two or Three Are Gathered”

... we call that a playgroup. This week's episode is featuring a good friend of mine, Chris Fachman, who is one of the game's Elders and a long time player that has had some success building a playgroup within his youth group in Knoxville, Tn. We sit down and pick his brain on what has worked for him and what hasn't so you can get some ideas that will hopefully help you in your situation. We also discuss the importance of finding your "Brad" and how pivotal that can be in your development as a player and potential playgroup host. Also included in this week's episode is several items of note from within the community from the past week. It's such a great time to be a Redemption player!
 
* I completely skipped over providing the name of the spoiler that we discussed. The title is Lost Sheep/Good Shepherd and it can be viewed here. 

Episode 12: Why So Defensive?

In this episode, we sit down with Redemption veteran Jay Chambers to discuss rotation format defenses pre-GoC. We talk about the strongest characters and themes to build around and then discuss defensive strategy and the importance of being adaptable to multiple game states that you may encounter. Also, we hint at what to expect on the next episode and ask for your help to decide the discussion topic with our all new guest that will be joining next week. 

Episode 11: Reddit, Set, Go!

On this episode, we sit down with new player Bobby Fears, AKA Arkon, to discuss some of the hurdles for new players getting into the game and what we as a community can do to improve that experience. We also go over the revamped Redemption CCG subreddit, a valuable new tool for the community with an emphasis on ease of access and user friendliness. 

Episode 10: Unwrapping the Phase 1 Set List

On this week's episode, we are joined by friend of the podcast and co-conspirator Brad Gaillard, to discuss our initial thoughts on the GoC Phase 1 set list that Santa brought us on Christmas Day. We also connect the dots to reveal the one spoiled UR and take stabs at guessing the remaining two for Phase 1. Come for the spoiler talk, stay for the laughs... 

Episode 9: Retail Me Not

On this week's episode, we sit down with Derek Tirado, owner of Your Turn Games, to get a look at the retail side of Redemption. Learn about the background of YTG as we discuss what goes into coming up with card values, maintaining inventory and other day-to-day operations. Derek also gives us all the details for his Contender Deck online tournament coming up on 12/18. 

Episode 8: Type 2 TAKEOVER!

On this week's episode, we sit down with Type 2 royalty in Jayden Alstad and Tyler Stevens. Between the two of them, these guys have several Nationals titles and placings in Type 2 categories, so we use their knowledge and wisdom to give you an overview of the category and how it differs from that of Type 1. Throughout our conversation, you'll learn more about the competitive background of both Jayden and Tyler while also hearing stories about past Nationals and some of the top Type 2 decks in the game's history. Feel free to step away and listen to this over the course of the week if need be as it is a longer episode. I didn't want to shortchange future content by splitting this across two episodes. 

Episode 7: Redemption‘s ”Man in the Arena”

On this week's episode, we sit down with Redemption Elder and multi-time Nats champion John Earley and talk about what keeps him motivated as a competitive player and how he balances that and his role as an Elder. We also discuss a little GoC before diving into competitive deckbuilding. There were quite a few hints and spoilers dropped along the way, including some big news about the disciples. Check it out and see what you can learn from Redemption's "Tom Brady". 

Episode 6: The First One is Always the Hardest

Happy Thanksgiving!! We all have been blessed with things in our life to be thankful for this holiday season, and I would like to first and foremost thank you all for tuning in week after week and helping build a foundation for this podcast project on which we can continue to grow into what I hope it will become. On this week's episode, we talk with Rob Smith, winner of last weekend's online tournament, about what it was like getting his first tournament win in Redemption. We discuss the deck he played and what decks he matched up against to give some perspective into what the tournament field was like for this month's online tournament. We also provide details about the Christmas Card Swap (full details available on Land of Redemption) and recount our experience with that last year. 

Episode 5 - All Aboard the Hype Train!

Want more GoC, a set that we learn has been nearly a decade in the making? Want another peek behind the curtain of Redemption's leadership group? More spoilers? We've got all that in this week's episode as we sit down with Elder Gabe Isbell and talk GoC playtesting. Through our conversation, we get a look at what the team's process is for testing a new set, what they look for when recruiting community assistance and also what the future of the game may look like as Gabe talks about passing the torch to the next generation of card designers. We also learn about some of the most broken interactions that came to light in the process of GoC playtesting and designing. Trust me, you do not want to skip this week's episode! All aboard the hype train!!