James, Son of Alphaus Article

JAMES, SON OF ALPHAEUS - "HE MUST BECOME GREATER, I MUST BECOME LESS” JOHN 3:30
by Bryon Hake

The world is obsessed with big wigs, big shots, hot shots, and cool cats. The media parades their escapades across the airwaves while Americans idolize them and teens imitate them - aspiring to be one of them. Rarely do we witness - much less champion - the quiet, faithful, dutiful deeds of the humble. They toil behind the scenes, out of the spotlight, seldom noticed by anyone save their own family and little circle of friends, yet steadfastly, diligently, conscientiously carrying their cross and serving our Lord. But while the world ignores the humble and abhors the concept of servitude, God honors those who faithfully exhibit those qualities. The Bible is filled with God's promises for His humble servants. He hears them, remembers them, gives them grace, lifts them up, and upholds them in spirit.

The New Testament mentions numerous humble contributors to the kingdom of God, many of whom are known for little more than having their name in a list. James, Son of Alphaeus is one of those heroes. As one of Jesus' twelve disciples, this James heard most of Christ's teachings first hand. He witnessed the miracles, heard the parables, shared the last supper, hid in the upper room, and experienced the joy of seeing the risen Savior on multiple occasions with his own eyes.

While very few details about this James are known with certainty, it is likely that James, son of Alphaeus is the same person that Mark calls "James the less." There are a few theories as to how he got that name: perhaps his height or his age or his fame in comparison to James, son of Zebedee. Regardless of how he got that moniker, it reminds me of what John the Baptist said about Jesus: "He must become greater, I must become less." While that was true for John the Baptist in a particular sense, it is true for each of us in a general sense. And for the Redemption hero, James, son of Alphaeus, it was true in a numerical sense.

Of the seven disciples printed in The Disciples expansion set, only James, son of Alphaeus ("James the less," as I often call him) had his numeric abilities changed. His strength is less. A lot less. It dropped from 8 in The Apostles version to 1 in The Disciples version. One of the drawbacks to a Disciples deck in the past was the lack of initiative. James the less helps get that initiative, while still maintaining access to the Lost Soul that can only be rescued by a hero of */4 or less. While his stats help get initiative much more often, his special ability also helps him get a chance to play the first enhancement in battle. With his "less" special ability and another disciple in play, he negates the special abilities on weapons such as horses that evil characters use to play the first enhancement. And, if you have enough disciples in play (or if Crown of Thorns is active), he negates the special abilities on evil characters like Uzzah and King Zimri and Egyptian Warden which seek to end the battle before you get a chance to play an enhancement. Playing good enhancements is good, and James the less can help that happen a lot more often.

Like the two disciples in the 10th Anniversary starter deck and all the other disciples reprinted in The Disciples expansion set, James, Son of Alphaeus is purple brigade. In Redemption, Purple is representative of Royalty and Authority. While the disciples were humble fishermen and not royalty, they were certainly given authority by Jesus - authority to cast out demons and to cure every kind of disease and sickness. And since the Authority of Christ is such a pivotal card in Redemption, it makes sense that the disciples can use it. After Jesus gave his disciples that authority, he sent them out two by two. It is generally accepted that the pairings of the disciples matched the way they are paired in the lists in the Gospels. In the gospel of Matthew, James son of Alphaeus is paired with Thaddeus, who may have been his cousin. In Redemption, these two-by-two pairings are represented by banding abilities: James already bands to John (his brother), James son of Alphaeus bands to Thaddeus, Thomas bands to Matthew, and Philip to Bartholomew. Simon the Zealot doesn't band to Judas Iscariot (bummer to get stuck with Judas for a travelling buddy), but Simon the Zealot can discard Household Idols so that the disciples with banding abilities don't get locked out of battle. Hopefully sometime soon, Andrew will be reprinted with an ability to band to his brother, Peter. And, of course, banding isn't the only thing these disciples can do. But you'll see that for yourself all in good time.

The Disciples set will give players what many have been wanting for a long time - the ability to make a competitive Disciples deck. With the "X" special abilities on James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Matthew and another card or two, it is likely that decks will be made with as many disciples as one can fit in the deck. Though James, son of Alphaeus is not the most celebrated or popular disciple in the Bible, he has become less, so that the number of redeemed souls can become greater.

James, Son of Alphaeus 1/4 Purple hero SPECIAL ABILITY: Negate special abilities on Evil Characters (and weapons) with toughness X or less. May band to Thaddeus. IDENTIFIERS: Disciple, X = # of your good disciples in play SCRIPTURE: Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Matthew 10:2-3 ARTIST: Alonso Cano CARD NUMBER: 63 of 115