The Toledo, Ohio Lorcana crew has THOUGHTS on what the most impactful cards will be from the newest set. I solicited feedback from three other competitively minded locals, and together we’d like to present the Top 3 cards for each ink from Shimmering Skies, Toledo style. While you wait for those sweet sweet booster packs to crack open, have some fun reading through and (dis)agreeing with our flaming hot takes.
Let’s get into these absolutely definitive, completely indisputable card selections!
Amber
Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, Daisy – Donald’s Date is the most important addition to Amber from Shimmering Skies. This new Daisy is a 1-cost uninkable that is an aggro deck’s dream, with 2 lore and 4 willpower. At first glance, she seems like a very well-balanced card for the meta, with her ability “Big Prize” giving the opponent an extra card on a majority of quests. However, the decks that will utilize Daisy don’t necessarily care about the opponent getting extra characters. Daisy is built for aggro builds that will be racing the opponent by placing as many characters as possible on the field. The large willpower of 4 for a 1-ink character makes Daisy a Lilo – Making a Wish on steroids.
Unless you’re playing a mirror, an extra character card in your opponent’s hand is most likely going to be more expensive and will not be able to keep up with her and the additional low-cost characters played on your turns. Not to mention the “otherwise” of her ability sends a non-character card to the bottom of your opponent’s deck. The way to keep aggro in check is to sing removal songs for free and drop as many characters as possible to engage when not singing. A late-game Daisy can stop Ruby from top decking a Be Prepared or prevent Steel from drawing a needed A Whole New World. I see Daisy being an Amber staple playing nothing less than 4 copies in almost every archetype.
Prince Naveen – Ukelele Player
Naveen, Naveen, Naveen, the card everyone is talking about as their set 5 chase card. The excitement is fitting for a card with a beautifully broken ability. The legendary Prince Naveen is an uninkable 4-cost character with 3 strength, 3 willpower, and quests for 2 lore. He carries the ability of Singer for 6 cost or less songs and a secondary ability “When you play this character, you may play a song with cost 6 or less for free.”. It’s beautiful, no?
Have you ever pulled the perfect song from your Turn 3 Ariel and are just waiting to sing it with her the following turn, only to have your world turned upside down by an untimely Brawl or Along Came Zeus? In comes Naveen to save the day. Playing Naveen leaves a commanding presence on the board that will be able to sing any song in your playlist. Did I forget to mention that that song you were saving for your now-perished Ariel is sung as soon as Naveen hits the field? A Turn 4 A Whole New World or Grab Your Sword has a new lead singer not named Ariel or Gaston…or anything shifted…you get the point.
Naveen is a powerful card that has the potential to change games in singer-based decks such as Steel Song or the newly revived Lemon Lime. Naveen can free up other characters to quest by singing high-cost songs for free in the turn he is played and is a threat himself in each area of the game with 3 strength for attacking or 2 lore for questing. The only reason I do not put him at number 1 is that he is highly situational and dependent on the scenarios mentioned above for making a case against that expensive 4-cost uninkable status. With Daisy being a 4-count staple in Amber decks, inkable spaces are in short supply.
The argument for Naveen is further weakened by other inkable Amber singers. Naveen does not trump Turn 3 Ariel against non-Ruby decks or Turn 3 Gaston against Ruby-based decks. Running both alternatives in the same deck gives insurance that your big song will be sung Turn 4 if you get both in your opening hand. The case where you don’t, and your character is banished before Turn 4 is the situational window where Naveen is perfect. Despite being situational, Navene will be seen in a majority of Amber decks moving forward. I think he will see play at 3-4 copies to begin Set 5 and will drop to 2 copies after complaints of “unlucky” hands (aka too many uninkables) begin to add up.
My first thoughts when I saw Alan-A-Dale were Oo-De-Lally! He is a 4-cost inkable character that carries 2 strength, 3 willpower, and quests for 2 lore. His ability reads: “Whenever you play a song, gain 1 lore.”. Essentially an inkable Sleepy’s Flute on a body with 2 lore, what’s not to love? As powerful as Flutes have been in the meta since Set 2, I would caution the average Steel Song player from playing 4 copies of Alan. Alan has a similar feel to Philoctetes from Ursula’s Return. On the surface, you can just keep singing songs and play multiple Alans to double up the effect. The reality is that the ink spent on him would have probably been spent better elsewhere, such as an aggro drop of 1 Smee and 2 Daisy or getting an extra 5 singer on the board with a 1-drop.
Alan will see the most play in Steel Song decks to supplement the removal of Sleepy’s Flutes for Daisy – Donald’s Date. I have my cautions on Alan being a potential gimmick that falls flat, but overall, I still feel the effect is too powerful to ignore. Playing a late game Alan could be the Amber equivalent to the Amethyst Merlin – Goat drop. Steel Song will most likely have songs in hand that could potentially win you the game.
Another major reason to include Alan in Steel Song is the emergence of hyper-aggro. The new hyper-aggro demands removal at all costs. This can become a problem if every turn is spent removing the opponent’s board while no lore is coming in. They will win that game every time. With Alan, you can passively gain lore for every removal song sung. This is almost like giving your singers a second turn to quest for 1 after singing. For Steel Song decks that are looking to replace Flutes, I recommend playing 2 Alan-A-Dale to create pressure on opponents while you are wiping their board.
Overall impression of Amber: After Amber had such a lackluster set 4, set 5 pulled out all the stops. Shimmering Skies will make Amber every deck builder’s favorite toy. Countering Turn 1 Daisy will be on everyone’s mind this meta as well, as stopping the hyper-aggro decks that she opens the door to. These new Amber additions should only strengthen the momentum Steel Song decks built in the latter half of Set 4. Expect to see plenty of Amber combinations at your LGS this go around. And if you are skilled enough to make Top 8 at Set Championships, you will receive the promo Amber Mirabel Madrigal – Family Gatherer card; the first card to quest for 5 lore! – Alex
Amethyst
I am most excited for the Amethyst cards in Shimmering Skies, and it was extremely difficult to narrow the list down to just three cards. First up is Elsa – The Fifth Spirit. Say goodbye to Peter Pan and his Shadow – we now have an inkable rush evasive character, who gives herself or any other character the ability to target a threatening opposing character by exerting it. In combination with other rush characters and Merlin – Crab to buff your team’s attack, no character is safe from this iconic Disney queen. Return her to your hand with the Madam Mim cards, and repeat as needed!
The Library – A Gift for Belle
“How can Ravensburger keep getting away with this?” is a question you might ask after reading The Library – A Gift for Belle. The Queen’s Castle is widely considered to be the best location in the game. The Library might now be the second best location in the game – and it’s also in Amethyst! Consider Agrabah – Marketplace. For one less passive lore, we now gain three extra willpower, and an easily accessible ability to draw cards. Eight willpower on a three ink location is so much, drawing cards is just about the best thing you can do in a card game, and its inkable to boot. You could easily make the argument this is the best set 5 Amethyst card.
Cogsworth – Illuminary Watchman
This one might be a bit of a surprise, but one cost cards with an immediate impact are always in the running to be an important meta consideration, and Cogsworth – Illuminary Watchman is no exception. Pocket Watch was a critical component of the set one Ruby Amethyst deck. There are a number of cards – old favorites like Aladdin and Tiana, new to the scene cards like Madam Mim – Elephant and Genie – Main Attraction, that want to be exerted on the turn they are played. Now we can easily accomplish this for one extra ink. Keep an eye on the combos this card enables as more cards are released.
Overall impression of Amethyst: Going into set 5 Amethyst will continue to be a strong pairing with any other color you choose, whether it’s for aggro, control, or midrange purposes. Its core identity as a value-oriented strategy with high draw power remains fully intact. There wasn’t even room to address the new aggressive cards Amethyst received in Gathering Knowledge and Wisdom, as well as Amethyst Chromicon, or the hand protection that Magica De Spell – Cruel Sorceress provides. Expect to keep running into plenty of Amethyst decks in your upcoming tournaments! – Josh
Emerald
In the ashes of a nerfed Bucky arose a new terror in Prince John’s Mirror. Plenty of decks, including my beloved Ruby Amethyst, only thrive with a hand full of cards. This mirror says no, you can’t have them. Why Ravensburger chose to include so much discard, one of the more negative play experience mechanics a TCG can have, in Lorcana is a bit beyond me, but luckily it is far easier to interact with this card than our fallen squirrel comrade.
This card is extremely annoying to play around. Emerald Chromicon allows you, on your opponents’ turns, to return a chosen character – yours OR your opponents – to that player’s hand. The use cases for this card are endless. You can protect one of your aggressive questers. You can bounce a Merlin Rabbit or Goat to your hand. You can temporarily remove ANY targetable character your opponent has. Every time one of your characters is banished on their turn, it is going to cost your opponent something. I am looking forward to hearing about the most painful ways this card annoyed you!
I honestly had the most trouble evaluating the Emerald cards for Shimmering Skies, so when in doubt, prioritize versatility. Anna – Diplomatic Queen has versatility in spades (not hearts, thank goodness). Overall Anna is best served as an understatted five drop, but on the plus side, she can be anything you need. Is there a value trade just out of reach? Boost your own character’s attack. Need a little bit extra to whittle down your opponent’s hand? Discard. Is there a damaged bully terrorizing your board? Goodbye. You won’t be excited to pull Anna, but she can make an impact in many Emerald decks.
Overall impression of Emerald: Emerald is a bit Lost in the Woods at the start of set five. With the Bucky nerf, Emerald Steel is undergoing a major rework, and it will take some time for the deck to reemerge. Emerald Amber was a late arriving deck in the set 4 meta, and will look to keep the discard train rolling as we launch into set 5. Finally, thanks to all the great cards Amethyst got, Emerald Amethyst has the potential to be an exceptional tempo deck. Emerald might look a lot different than it did in set four, but promises to still play a role in the Lorcana meta. – Josh
Ruby
This guy is crazy good. A nine cost uninkable with a 10/6 statline would normally be completely unplayable. However, costing 2 less for each damaged character you have, while also having rush, means that Gaston could very reliably come down for 5 ink. By himself he can take out any location in the game currently. He can successfully challenge and defeat the highest toughness on any character. He has great willpower to keep him alive, AND he quests for two. All of this wraps up into an extremely playable card that I would not be shocked to see in Mufasa builds, or maybe a couple in Red Purple to combat the new Library location. I can see a multitude of spots where you might want Gaston in your hand. He is my number one overall impactful card for Ruby.
Coming in for six ink, we have the new and improved Maximus. In Shimmering Skies it seems like the name of the game is passive lore gain, and Maximus surely leads the pack with the option for up to 5 lore at the end of your turn. That is going to make for some huge lore gains that completely flip the script on the game. The new Gaston – Pure Paragon gains you 5 lore off of Maximus on his own! Realistically if you play Maximus on 5, meet the condition to gain 2 at the end of your turn, and then when it comes back around you can swing in with Maximus if you need to or just quest, play Gaston and swing with him, and then gain a passive 5 lore at the end of your turn. Plays like that are going to be huge when your opponent thinks they have plenty of time to win the game. I can’t wait to see wins out of nowhere with Maximus leading the charge.
I think that The Sword Released has a good chance of being very playable at set five release. For only 3 ink you can establish a long term lore drain on your opponent, while generating passive lore without the downfall of being able to be challenged like locations. It also has no downside to you not having the greatest strength character in play. Add in the fact the The Queen – Diviner can put this item into play for free off an activation, and I think we have a real winner here that could impact control decks strongly.
Overall impression of Ruby: For the first four sets of Lorcana, Ruby has received obvious staples that have been instant includes in the two titans, Ruby Amethyst and Ruby Sapphire. In Shimmering Skies, there doesn’t appear to be the same low-hanging fruit. The above cards offer interesting strategies on gaining passive lore. There are a lot of location based Wreck It Ralph themed cards in this set that may find a home in a Ruby Amber or Ruby Amethyst deck, but only time will tell. – Tristan
Sapphire
As set four progressed, we noticed a very prevalent pattern taking over the Sapphire shells. 1 drop item, turn two One Jump Ahead, turn 3 Hiram Flaversham. People would mulligan hard for this combination, because it sets you up with so many cards and an engine to push you into the late game, where Ruby Sapphire shines. Now what if you could do that more consistently? With Tipo – Growing Son, you now have access to essentially 8 One Jump Ahead, meaning you have double the looks for that nut draw.
On top of this, Tipo actually allows for more nut draw potential. Imagine a world where you go turn 2 Tipo up to three ink. Turn four you ink, play Fishbone Quill, sing One Jump Ahead, play One Jump Ahead or another Tipo, now you have seven ink turn three. This would allow for a turn four Maleficent – Monstrous Dragon. That’s a possible (I’ll be it fairy tale) world! On top of that, this card can also sing other songs like Teeth and Ambitions to help slow down aggro decks. Tipo also being inkable helps the deck’s inkable count. All in all, I think this card is exactly what Ruby Sapphire needs to continue in this evolving meta.
Would it really be a predictions article without talking about the big flashy legendary of the color? Fortunately for Sapphire, that card is Mufasa – Ruler of Pride Rock. This card comes down and gives you card advantage by returning two cards you previously inked into your hand. It also threatens to double your ink if he survives. In the Sapphire shells, this card presents itself as an excellent threat alongside the likes of Tamatoa – So Shiny! to give you 6-8 incredible Lucky Dime targets. And when paired with steel, the threat of A Whole New World into quest to get all of your ink back is terrifying. I truly believe that Mufasa – Ruler of Pride Rock, is the alternate payoff and win condition that these Sapphire decks were so desperately searching for.
Now this is another Sapphire card that I find very interesting. On one hand it’s uninkable, which is a problem that the Ruby Sapphire deck possesses. On the other hand, the power to allow you to draw anytime you ink twice is one that can’t be ignored. If you play this card on two, then follow it up with Fishbone Quill, that means for every turn of the game, you are able to make two ink drops along with draw a card. I don’t need to explain how that can snowball out of hand quickly.
On top of that, the support ability on this card is actually super relevant. Near the end of the set four meta, we saw Ruby Sapphire decks start adapting Vitalisphere, and Hercules – Daring Demigod as answers to The Queen’s Castle. The issue with these cards is outside of specifically The Queen’s Castle, they were kind of underwhelming. Yeah you could always ink Vitalisphere, or sacrifice it to Hiram to draw two, but they weren’t cards you were ever excited to draw outside of that situation.
With Chicha, the support ability can do a good job impersonating those cards with the help of a Maui – Hero to All and or larger character, such as Sisu – Empowered Sibling or Tamatoa. So while this card is uninkable, I think it takes the spot of fellow uninkables and allows you to open up spots to other inkable cards that you may have had to trim otherwise, such as Maui, to make room for your The Queen’s Castle answers.
Overall impression of Sapphire: Overall, I think Shimmering Skies adds a lot of power to the already designed theme of Sapphire. It gives you more payoffs for ramp, more ways to ramp, and also gives us multiple tools for things that Sapphire has previously not had access to, such as locations. Time will tell the prevalence that Sapphire will end up having on the Shimmering Skies metagame. But I believe that with these cards and the already powerful core that Sapphire has, that Sapphire will be in a good spot to take its place back as one of the prevalent colors in Disney Lorcana. – Richie
Steel
So i don’t really love the set 5 Steel cards, except this ink color probably got the most meta defining card of the set … and it’s uncommon?! Pete’s ability “Blow the Whistle” is game ending. Dump your hand in the midgame, or drop the combo piece you need to protect along with Pete, and so many answers your opponent could have are turned off. Combined with the Amethyst Madam Mim bounce package, you can protect your board throughout the game. Get ready to see this card – A LOT – in the set 5 meta.
Feels like a pretty big drop from Pete to Simba – Son of Mufasa. However, I think this card will be very playable. Yes, this costs twice as much as Rise of the Titans, but for an extra three ink it also comes with a 3/5/1 body, and can even be cheated out earlier with a shift target. The Queen’s Castle has been terrorizing the meta since its release, and now Steel has a character answer to any pesky locations or items.
To close out the Steel cards I wanted to highlight a card I think could be a very nice addition to Steel aggro decks. Aggressive decks tend to play many low cost characters that can quickly lead to an empty hand. If your deck is built to synergize with his ability, Doc – Bold Knight essentially becomes a two ink 1/3/1 that draws you two cards. Card draw is a mechanic every deck is looking for, and Doc, at the cost of being uninkable, provides another way to refill your hand.
Overall impression of Steel: Aside from Pete – Games Referee, I am struggling to see how Shimmering Skies Steel cards are going to impact the meta. The legendaries are flawed. Jafar – Tyrannical Hypnotist has an extremely enticing “Intimidating Gaze” ability; however, he is removed by a number of cheap Ruby and Emerald cards. Arthur – King Victorious has some amazing art, but I think I want Cinderella – Stouthearted more often than not, with her very similar ability/statline and inkability. Only time will tell how set 5 Steel cards will impact the meta. – Josh
Good luck to everyone with their early season Shimmering Skies brews! Happy deck building!
