HOLDER'S HEROES

Have you ever searched through your entire Redemption memory bank for a way to completely stop your opponent from winning? Is this possible? It is, but there are not many ways to accomplish this feat. Site Lockout is one way that you can completely shut down your opponent's offense and stop them from rescuing any of the Lost Souls that come out of your deck. Being that Site Lockout is so powerful, it is very hard to actually achieve the point in the game where your opponent can't make a rescue attempt. Let’s delve into the world of Sites in an easy-to-follow question-and-answer layout and see if we can't shut down some offenses.

Follow up:

How does Site Lockout work?
This is a rather simple concept that very few players take advantage of. One of the first things you check for before making a rescue attempt is whether or not you have access to a Lost Soul in your opponent's Land of Bondage. This is where the "lockout" comes in. If you can take away your opponent’s access, then they will not be able to make a rescue attempt. If they can't make a rescue attempt, then they won't be able to redeem any Lost Souls, and therefore cannot possibly win. This is a rather simple concept that very few players take advantage of.

What do I need for Site Lockout?
Well first, this might seem obvious, but it is impossible to make a Site Lockout deck without any Sites. Make sure you have Sites. Second, you'll need access killers. These are cards that will take access away from your opponent. Some examples are: Jacob's Dream, Vengeance of Eternal Fire, and King of Tyrus. Jacob's Dream will take an access Site from your opponent and give it to you, Vengeance of Eternal Fire will discard two access Sites, and King of Tyrus (and other FbtN Evil Characters) will negate the access abilities of your opponent's Heroes. Third, you will need some artifact killers. Temple Veil and Priestly Crown have the potential to really hurt a Site Lockout defense. The last thing you will want to have is Every Man’s Sword. Every Man’s Sword serves to protect you from Heroes that have access special abilities because their special ability isn’t active until they enter battle. With Every Man's Sword, those Heroes are kept from entering battle so they never get the chance to use their access special ability.

What kinds of things will hurt a Site Lockout defense?
Your most important thing to remember is that you are in the business of limiting access. The fewer number of Lost Souls you have, the better. Capture cards will help win a block, but they will greatly decrease your chances of maintaining a lockout because they add another Lost Soul to your Land of Bondage. Access Sites are your main target. Dragon Raid, The Ends of the Earth, Promised Land, and New Jerusalem (Site) can all be used to gain access. Dragon Raid and The Ends of the Earth are your first targets because they may be used without limit. New Jerusalem comes next because it gives access regardless of whether it remains in battle or not. Then comes Promised Land. Promised Land can be used without limit with a select few Heroes. These include Abraham (not Abram), Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, and King David. If you see any of these Heroes be weary of Promised Land. Promised Land is also the only access Site that can be plucked from the draw pile and retrieved from the discard pile. Priestly Crown and Temple Veil are the two Artifacts that you will need to get rid of because they give access to Old or New Testament Heroes respectively. Being that Priestly Crown could possibly end up in a Glory of the Lord-protected Solomon’s Temple, getting rid of Priestly Crown is a very high priority for a Site Lockout defense.

What are some strategies for making sure I get my lockout going?
One good tactic to use is to block with small Evil Characters. Playing a card that turns the rescue attempt into a battle challenge while maintaining initiative is the best way to go. Then you can simply let your small Evil Character lose. Since you already blocked the rescue attempt, it is okay to lose the battle challenge. Another good way to go is to use your offense to get rid of your opponent's access Sites. Jacob's Dream, Edge of the Sword (Warriors version), and Vengeance of Eternal Fire are great ways to catch your opponent off guard. You'll also notice that there are some good brigades that don't have a lot of good stuff for gaining access. Those are the colors you want your Sites to be. You also want to take note of what colors get played most where you are. If people in your area play a lot of purple, then you probably don‘t want to use purple Sites. You should probably have at least two different colors of Sites. That way you aren't totally messed up if your opponent happens to be playing a color that you are using. However, you can also use just one color Site and then focus on stopping that color for the times when you face it. Another way to get rid of your opponent's access is to create side battles and play the Site-discarders and Artifact-discarders where they are less likely to be negated.

Site Lockout Brigade Breakdown
I'll start with the evil side of things since the evil brigades tend to have more access-killing elements.

Black

• Danites Attack is the lone Site-related enhancement. It allows you to take one Site from your opponent. More often than not, you will be taking Dragon Raid.
• Foolish Advice can also help a great deal when facing Heroes with access special abilities. By negating the special ability you could easily turn a rescue attempt into a battle challenge.
• Joseph in Prison removes from the game all cards in battle. This would include any Sites being used for access.
• Casting Lots and Mask of Self-Glorification will be needed for the two access Artifacts. Casting Lots is a gamble, and Mask doesn't negate. Be aware of these facts when playing these Artifact killers.
• King Amon has the ability to retrieve Danites Attack and Foolish Advice from your discard pile. Even if you play Foolish Advice the same turn you retrieve it, it still has the desired effect of negating access special abilities on Heroes.
• King Jeroboam II has the ability to take one Damascus site from your opponent and use it for your own purposes. This is also a great way to counter Gray's King Rezin.
• Locust from the Pit is a demon that you need to be very cautious of. His ability discards one Site that is occupied by a Lost Soul. What makes it more tricky is the fact that the ability is mandatory and must be carried out, unless negated. You will definitely want to have him if you aren't planning to use Site Lockout in order to maintain your own access. However, Locust from the Pit could also help you take access from your opponent if they happen to be using Site Lockout as well. He is good to have around, but make sure not to leave him hanging around in your territory without Wall of Protection.

Brown

• Jealousy targets Dragon Raid or New Jerusalem for discard specifically. You'll definitely need it.
• Land Purchase allows you to search your deck for any Site and immediately occupy it with a Lost Soul. This is great for when you have one more Lost Soul in play than you have Sites.
• Korah's Rebellion lets you remove from the game all cards in battle, and that includes Sites being used for access.
• Shimei's Malicious Curse negates all special abilities, including the abilities of the common access Heroes.
• Crucify Him will be needed to get rid of an access Artifact.
• Dungeon of Malchiah is the one and only capture card that is easily used with Site Lockout because it sends the Hero to your opponent's Land of Bondage. Since Bad Decision has to have an empty Site, I wouldn't rely on it.
• King Omri's ability to have Land Purchase not be negated is great when facing a FbtN situation. Also, he can search your deck for a Samaria Site every time he enters battle, allowing you to quickly get Sites ready for use.
• King Nadab will let you recover Land Purchase and Shimei's Malicious Curse from the discard pile.
• King Joram lets you draw a card if you have a Samaria Site in play, which goes great along with King Omri.
• Foul Spirit negates all special abilities, so those pesky access Heroes won't be a problem.
• Threatened Lives is a great Enhancement for Site Lockout. Allowing you to send a Site and its contents to the bottom of your deck, is great for limiting the number of Lost Souls in your Land of Bondage. If your opponent wants to negate Threatened Lives they most often lose the battle by withdrawing a Hero. And then you can use the special ability of the “Withdraw” (Acts 23:27) Lost Soul to send it to the bottom of your deck. Threatened Lives provides a win/win situation for you.
• The Panic Demon of the brown brigade, when banded into battle, can help you maintain your own access by removing a Lost Soul from one of your opponent’s Sites but can also be used by your opponent to take Lost Souls out of your Sites.

Crimson

• Mask of Vanity will discard one unoccupied Site from your opponent, maybe turning a rescue attempt to a battle challenge.
• Deceit of Sapphira will discard all cards in battle, including Sites being used for access.
• Midianite Attack and Sapphira will negate any special abilities giving Heroes access.
• King Zimri will discard all cards in battle, including any Sites being used for access (and himself).
• King Abijah will take a single-color Site from your opponent or force them to discard a card from their hand. This is particularly useful if your opponent happens to be playing Sites as well, or if they are using a civilization-based defense.
• A long shot for discarding a Site or other access giving cards is to use Strength Revealed/Treasures of War. Hey, if you can't discard access-giving stuff, you could get a Dominant or other valuable card and that can hurt you.
• Archers of Kedar’s special ability to discard a Hero in a territory may come in handy if you are able to discard a Hero with an access special ability.
• Imitating Evil has the same special ability as Pride of Simon and provides a great help to a Site Lockout defense.
• One thing that crimson does not have is an Artifact discarder (Ed- ...yet... -Schaef). This will be a problem when you come up against Priestly Crown and Temple Veil.

Gold
Gold actually has the least amount of access-killing stuff, but here it is.

• King of Tyrus will negate access special abilities on characters and Enhancements.
• Artifacts Destroyed will discard one of the two access-giving Artifacts.
• Rizpah's Sackcloth will discard all cards in battle so you can get rid of any access Sites in battle as well as winning a block.
• Egyptian Archer can be used to discard a Hero in a territory that has an access special ability.

Gold's other stuff has nothing to do with killing access. My advice is to stay away from gold if you want to use Site Lockout as your strategy.

Gray

• Idolatry targets Dragon Raid or New Jerusalem for discard.
• Deluge of Rain will discard all cards in battle, and hopefully a Site being used for access.
• Job's Wife will negate any special abilities providing access.
• King Rezin can use Damascus very effectively, but I wouldn't recommend using any capture cards. Just go with the banding. Banding to Job's Wife is something to consider doing a lot.
• Men as Gods will discard one of the two access Artifacts.
• Syrian Archer can be used to discard a Hero in a territory that has an access special ability.
• Twice Afflicted works well to reuse your access-killing Enhancements, but only when used by a demon.

Pale Green

• Achan's Sin will remove all cards in battle from the game, say goodbye to that access Site.
• Pierced Heart will discard one of the two access Artifacts.
• Land Made Waste will discard one UNoccupied Site. Hopefully it is one that will hurt you.
• An Evil Character enhanced with Tower will negate any special abilities providing access.
• Confusion can discard an access giving card from the opponent's deck, and if you have to you can just discard their Son of God… bummer huh?
• Plunderers along with Assyria is nice if you get lucky.
• Women as Snares is a huge no-no. It would be a mistake to include her in a Site Lockout defense as her special ability would load up your Land of Bondage with plenty of Lost Souls.

Those are all the evil brigades. You'll notice that I didn't include any cards that put stuff on Sites. This is because Dragon Raid will likely discard them and render them useless. The Sites from the Angel Wars expansion can be used, but the likelihood that you will successfully use cards placed on Sites is not very high. Cards like Evil Advice may be worth using because they can send a Lost Soul to the bottom of your deck. Black and pale green do not have such a card. Pale green does have Possessed though, which prevents a Hero from rescuing the targeted Lost Soul. Now for the good brigades.

Silver

• Silver has 3 Heroes that have access to any site. They are always your first targets.
• Silver can band to all other color brigades with the use of Gathering of Angels. And there are also Angels that band to blue, green, purple, and white. Be aware of this fact as it may give you a bit of trouble.
• Silver also has two FbtN Heroes that can cause you problems, since you need to be able to use the special abilities of your evil cards in order to get rid of the opponent's access stuff.
• Swift is a Hero that will really hurt your chances of getting a lockout, because his special ability protects the holder’s Sites from being discarded or removed from the game.
• Gabriel can potentially cause problems if he goes through your deck discarding your access-killing Enhancements.

White

• War Officer is a big problem because he has access to all Sites and if you defeat him in battle he gets sent to your Land of Bondage as another Lost Soul.
• Destruction of Babylon will discard one single-color Site, so beware.

Red

• Recruiting Officer is the same deal as War Officer.
• Walls Collapse will discard one single-color Site.
• Ambush will grant unnegatable access with the mystery of not knowing the Hero.

Gold

• Vengeance of Eternal Fire will discard two Sites in a territory. This can really hurt you, or you can use it to really help you.
• Joshua can take an unoccupied single-color Site with a successful battle.
• Joshua Burns the City will discard one single-color Site.
• Wedding Party will instantly give access by plucking a Lost Soul from your deck. Hopefully they won't be able to get your "Site Doubler" (Paslm 1:4) Lost Soul.
• Spear of Joshua will give access to all Sites.

Green

• Caleb, quite possibly your worst enemy, will use your own Sites to gain access. Thank goodness for Every Man’s Sword and good thing he's a promo.
• King Asa has access to all Sites.
• Joanna can discard Herod's Dungeon, but we just won't use that particular Site.
• Paladin has access to gold Sites.
• Hur could possibly cause you to draw unwanted Lost Souls
• A New Beginning has the same effects as Hur, but also forces you to start from scratch, not good if you have your lockout up and running.
• Edge of the Sword will discard one Site. You can use the Warriors version to get rid of a multi-color Site but the Kings version only targets single-color Sites.

Blue

• King Joash has access to all O.T. Sites… try to use N.T. Sites if possible.
• Servant Girl doesn't have any additional access, but she does go to the opponent's Land of Bondage when defeated.
• Sound the Trumpet will discard one single-color Site.
• Journey to Egypt will grant unnegatable access to all Sites.
• Jacob's Dream will take one Site from the opponent.

Purple

• King's Daughter has access to all Sites.
• Pharaoh’s Daughter has access to Egypt and Pharaoh’s Prison… Sites not to use
• James (Half-brother of Jesus) has access to Jerusalem, your Pharisees/Sadducees can beat him.
• Elders of the City will cause you lots of problems if you let them win a rescue.
• Break Down the Wall of Gath will discard one single-color Site.
• Crushing Blow will grant access to all Sites for one Hero.
• God’s Generosity can pluck Promised Land from the draw pile or retrieve Promised Land from the discard pile.
• King David can use Promised Land without limit.

Most of the good stuff gains access, but you can use some of the site discarding cards to your advantage. Vengeance of Eternal Fire, Jacob's Dream, and the Warriors version of Edge of the Sword are great cards to have.

How do I make sure I don't lose to someone using Site Lockout?
There are lots of easy ways to make sure that you don't get beat by Sites.

• Include in your deck multiple multi-color Sites so that you won't be sunk if one gets lost.
• Try to have at least one Hero that has access to multiple Sites.
• Set-aside cards that give access are the best because they can't be negated.
• If you are using black for your defense, make sure to always use Locust from the Pit. He will save you if you get locked out early.

That is pretty much all there is to know with regards to Site Lockout. You can look for an update to this article after the release of the Priests Expansion. With the addition of Teal and Orange as new Brigades, Site Lockout will get more exciting. (Ed- those who like Site decks, and those who hate Site decks, should each be quite pleased with some of the cards they'll see this summer. -Schaef)