I took out Grapes for Falling Away, though I'm thinking of going back to Grapes. With that in mind:
- RC is the key to the defense. Without it, there are only 3 blocks available: CM, Go into Captivity, Unholy Writ. Having a way to get it out early seems important - King Hiram, King Solomon, and Zaccheus are the only heroes that will do it (no EC will), though none fit into any of the banding chains. Using one of them would mean a suicide rescue just to get RC, but it's crucial to your defense, so I think it's worth it.
- RC is only usable 4 times (plus any recursions of Shechem): Idolaters/Aaron, King Jehoash/King Amaziah, King Jehoahaz/King Amaziah, and Shechem/female hero. On top of that, those only work if those specific heroes are out when the EC are; I haven't been having much luck in lining those up. I think adding Dungeon of Malchiah will be helpful because it is playable on 4/7 of your EC, has the potential to generate an LS, and can target any hero.
- RC only works if a human EC captures a hero; Canaan, Unholy Writ, and Go Into Captivity don't work. Not sure the artifacts are in there just to stop a rescue or if they're in there to activate/use with RC.