The Toledo, Ohio Lorcana crew has THOUGHTS on what the most impactful cards will be from the newest set. I solicited feedback from other competitively minded locals, and together we’d like to present the Top 3 cards for each ink from Azurite Sea, 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
How many Amber players feel like they need therapy after the Ruby infested Set 5? You may be suffering from PTBPS, Post-Traumatic Be-Prepared Syndrome. The horrific memories of building a strong board, all to be washed away when your opponent lays their 7th ink. The cure has finally arrived in the beautiful waters of the Azurite Sea with Lilo – Escape Artist. At the low cost of 2 ink, you can play a 2 lore character with 1 strength and 2 willpower. Boom! Brawled, Medusa’d, Be Prepared, or Sisu’d next turn. Have no fear, because you can’t keep this Disney darling away from the fun! At the beginning of your turn, if Lilo is in your discard you may use your readied ink to replay her, exerted. This ability is strong for late game if you have multiple Lilo’s in your discard and nothing in your hand but the card you drew.
A common scenario is hitting 16-19 lore and being stuck after a top decked Be Prepared. Ruby control decks from that point on will be able to skillfully wipe your board every turn after you have played your entire hand. With Lilos in the discard, you can continuously play 2-3 characters every turn to keep the pressure on them, despite their new advantage. Most of the time, Lilo’s ability will also be a big deterrent for removing her since she’ll return the following turn. Used correctly, Lilo will be a very troublesome card for your opponent. I foresee her becoming Ohana in Hyper Aggro and low to the ground, aggro Steel Song decks.
Simba – Pride Protector passes one of the major tests in Lorcana: doesn’t die to Medusa! Failing this test has lead to the fall of our Tragic Hero and Champion of Sherwood. Simba is a powerful 4 strength, 4 willpower, 2 lore character that can be shifted in for 3 ink. Having plenty of shift targets is important for this card; otherwise, he is a 5 cost uninkable. A 5 cost uninkable makes him nearly unplayable in most Amber decks, except that his ability is incredibly powerful.
“Understand the Balance” states that at the end of your turn, if this character is exerted, you may ready your other characters. Amber characters are notoriously low in strength but make up for it with strong abilities such as Singer or with high lore for aggro. Simba protects these low strength characters, that your opponent wouldn’t think twice about attacking, by readying them before your opponent’s turn. Simba will be very popular early on in the set and will then slowly drift off into the Azurite Sea, making subtle appearances in off-meta Steel Song and some fun Pride Lands decks.
Sugar Rush Speedway – Finish Line
Location decks have been given a new life with the ultra-spicy deck created by Alvaro Jirau for the Seattle DLC. The deck uses 28 locations in an Amber Steel build and landed him in the Top 32. This will have brew masters wanting to create the same magic in set 6 with the addition of the Sugar Rush Speedway Finish Line. A 2-cost uninkable location that has a defense of 7 holds up well to the Maui test. This location costs 6 to move there but once a character is moved, you may banish the location to gain 3 lore and draw 3 cards. This is very powerful for location-based decks, but specifically in Ruby Amber builds.
The cost of 6 seems astronomical for most decks, but when paired with Ruby, there are tons of synergies to cheat characters in for a lower cost. The Sugar Rush Speedway Starting Line from Set 5 allows you to move for free if you exert a character and give them 1 damage. 1-cost Voyage from Set 3 allows you to move 2 characters to a location. 3-cost Tuk-Tuk from Set 4 gains a new life by allowing another character to follow him to a location when he is played. A nice setup in a turn prior could even use Jim Hawkins to establish the 1st location and move him on the consecutive turn.
These combos are lengthy and take a crafty setup. This card may bring life to an Amber Ruby locations deck that just needed an extra piece to shine. I foresee this card being the spiciest ingredient for some of the craftiest in the community. In the right hands this card could create a meta nightmare.
Overall impression of Amber: Ships set sail on the Azurite Sea and the Amber ship appears to be a small paddle boat, with Lilo wondering where her supporting crew is. There are plenty of cards that may see play from Amber, but Lilo is the only surefire star here. Simba will catch a lot of hype for Steel Song builds early on but will have a tough time making a clear name for itself against better, inkable shift options. Sugar Rush Speedway is very niche and may never come to fruition.
Other honorable mentions could be Tiana – Restaurant Owner, Roo – Littlest Pirate and Scrump. Otherwise, you are looking at a bunch of Pirate tribals that will struggle under the Amber flag. Roo and Scrump you say??? Roo could be a potential cheap Muses target for continuous bouncing to make Under the Sea more powerful in Amber Emerald (Lemon Lime) decks. Scrump can have similar utility enhancing Under the Sea and may even be better in Ruby Amber decks to pair well with 8-cost Sisu, Brawl, Medusa, etc. Overall, not the largest hall seen from Amber but there may be a few surprises in store. – Alex
Amethyst
This card is on the short list of best cards in set 6. Genie – Wish Fulfilled really does it all. Evasive, 2 lore, and an extra card, and another character to disrupt an opposing Diablo. Merlin – Rabbit is still a great card, but for any deck that wants to be one degree more aggressive, Genie might be the new 4 cost uninkable. This is the card I am most chasing this weekend – I can’t overstate how good I think this card is.
Yzma, on the other hand, is a bit of a risk. Paying four ink and then having her be immediately removed will likely be a backbreaker for many of the decks that look to play her. However, if she gets even one use of her ability “Feel the Power”, then watch out! Having card draw that dodges opposing discard might be extremely important over the next few months. Players can use Yzma’s ability, and then play or ink all the drawn cards, and repeat as many times as able over the next few turns to keep the pedal to the floor. She does dodge Brawl, but there are a good number of ways to remove her still, so proceed with caution.
I am including Diablo due to community sentiment only. During reveal season, I was sure Diablo – Obedient Raven was potentially the best 1 drop character in the game. After experimenting with it some, I am finding the 0 attack to be a real hindrance; unlike other one drops, a boosted by Merlin – Crab Diablo will not be able to banish an opposing Daisy Duck or Sisu. Diablo is still likely a strong inclusion in aggressive Amethyst decks that just want to quest and draw cards, and Diablo gets even better when moved into The Library. I am not as high on this card as many others, but it’s very likely I will be regretting these words in just a few short weeks.
Overall impression of Amethyst: Amethyst got a very good set 6. While I don’t see a build-around card that is going to singlehandedly shake up the meta, Purple received a number of strong supporting pieces. The White Rose will be a welcome addition to aggressive decks, serving as a Diet Merlin – Goat. Tinker Bell – Fast Flier, hereto now known as Surfer Tink, is a welcome addition to Amethyst Steel as a compelling shift target for Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy. And Hades – Lord of the Dead has a chance to lock opponents out of the game if he isn’t removed, by turning every other character of yours into two extra lore. Amethyst will continue to be a force in the Azurite Sea meta. – Josh
Emerald
Go Go Tomago (GGT) is an insane card. There are so many ways to get damage on opposing characters, whether through Steel damage actions, or Amethyst’s ability to exert characters on their turn. GGT synergizes with these effects to help close the door through burst lore gain. Is one use of the ability not enough? Then bounce GGT with your own The Muses, or any of the Madam Mim cards. This card will help define the Azurite Sea meta. The Maui – Hero to All that you were previously glad was able to get a value trade now becomes a liability against Emerald decks.
Inkable, quests for 3, and has ward?! Goofy – Expert Shipwright is a Steel deck’s worst nightmare. This card could help Emerald Steel speed up its timer to 20 lore, while providing protection to your other powerful characters, such as Beast or Diablo. Goofy also looks to curve nicely into the new Amethyst Hades – Lord of the Dead, in more aggressive decks. Just be careful to make sure this card gets good value before eaten by a Madam Mim – Fox!
Basil – Disguised Detective has a lot going for it. An early shift cost, good stats, and an easy way to repeatedly discard cards from your opponent’s hand. While Basil may be a tough fit in traditional Emerald Steel discard decks, Basil could be a critical component in a new Emerald Sapphire discard deck, with all the ways Sapphire has to ink multiple cards a turn. While none of the Basil shift targets are particularly appealing, Morph – Space Goo can always be used, since your deck is likely to have other shift candidates such as Diablo – Devoted Herald.
Overall impression of Emerald: Emerald looks to have received an extremely strong set 6. Go Go Tomago might be the best card in the whole set. Goofy will protect key combo pieces while Basil provides a consistent source of discard. There are plenty of cards who could have made this list. You Came Back might become an eventual go-to ender of games, allowing high lore characters like Tamatoa – So Shiny! and Isabela – Golden Child to close out the game quickly. And while I am thinking (hoping?) Bend to My Will is a meme, the card will be an ever present Sword of Damocles in Emerald decks, just waiting to punish greedy Amethyst players who drew too many cards. Expect Emerald Steel to remain a top tier deck, and other color combinations to blossom in a set 6 meta. – Josh
Ruby
I am not 100% sure that Maui – Half-Shark is a top tier Azurite Sea card, but I am definitely sure he is the coolest. Inkable, evasive and a statline that dodges everything but Zeus, combined with two abilities, one which can swing a game back in your favor, the other which can power you quickly to 20 lore – this card really does it all. The obvious concern is that a 6 cost character who does not impact the board when played might be too slow in a meta where decks are achieving maximum efficiency. Luckily, this concern can be mitigated when paired with Amethyst cards such as Peter Pan – Shadow Finder and Cogsworth – Illuminary Watchman that can give Maui rush on the turn he is played. Expect to see quite a bit of experimentation in Ruby decks when paired with Amethyst, Sapphire, or Emerald.
THIS might actually be the best aggressive 1 drop in Azurite Sea, not Diablo – Obedient Raven. In most decks, there aren’t going to be a lot of captains you can play on turn 2 or 3, so why would you run this character who can essentially only quest? Because Moana – Self-Taught Sailor is an inkable stat monster. Unless your opponent matches you with a 2+ attack one drop, Moana is going to quest away, and pain your opponent by making them run a 2 or 3 ink character into your 1 drop. When an opponent is forced to use a card with a higher ink cost to remove your lower cost card, you are in general winning that exchange. Moana becomes even crazier when you move her into The Library; when your opponent does banish her, she is also drawing you a card. While the prerelease hype was mostly centered around Moana – Kakamora Leader, 1 drop Moana may actually be the best of the bunch this set.
The Islands I Pulled From The Sea
Probably the most original set 6 deck that the community is working on is an Amber Ruby locations deck, highlighted by the addition of Sugar Rush Speedway – Finish Line. There are a couple of cards that almost took this spot, including Minnie – Pirate Lookout to recycle the aforementioned location. However, I am going to give this spot to The Islands I Pulled From the Sea. Being able to find the specific location you need at any time is a powerful ability. On turn 4 you can sing this action to find the needed location and play it, or save it for turn 5 to pair with Jim Hawkins – Space Traveler. If a more comboish location deck does become a relevant player in the set 6 meta, it will be because of this card.
Overall impression of Ruby: Ruby has now had two consecutive sets that have both been lacking in powerful cards. Whether Maui turns out to be a game changer is still up for debate, and trying to fill out the rest of this list was a bit of a challenge. The last two sets have featured a lot of support for a location-focused deck that looks to abuse the cards from the Wreck-It Ralph franchise, and hopefully that deck will finally materialize this set. – Josh
Sapphire
As we saw with my top prediction for set five, Tipo – Growing Son, two ink ramp spells are exceptionally powerful in this game. The downside to Tipo is it is a card disadvantage play to ramp, because you basically go down two cards (one for Tipo and one for the card into your inkwell). While I don’t think this card will replace Tipo, I do think it will be the best of the two mana ramp options and will either push out One Jump Ahead and lower the number of Tipo – Growing Sons, or lead to turbo ramp strategies that want 8+ ramp spells on two. The strength of cutting One Jump Ahead, is the consistency of both lowering your uninkable count, as well as making you better against the ever Emerald menace, Ursula – Deceiver. While it’s not the most flashy card in Azurite Sea, I believe that Sail the Azurite Sea will be the most prevalent, and most played sapphire card from the set.
While Sail the Azurite Sea may not shake up the meta, Alice – Savvy Sailor will. Being hard to interact with on its own, while also giving that sticky ward keyword and bonus lore to another character, this card has the potential to make some waves in Azurite Sea. From being a good three drop in heroes decks, to giving protection and another lore to a potential combo card like Ariel – Whoseit Collector, this card has the potential to skyrocket many archetypes we haven’t yet been able to see in Lorcana.
Oswald – The Lucky Rabbit was one of the first cards we saw from Azurite Sea, and it did not disappoint. The opportunity to play this on turn two, then on three ink, hit an item (maybe a Lucky Dime some might say?) then play a Fishbone Quill to ink again, get another trigger, then, if you still play One Jump Ahead, sing One jump Ahead for potentially a third free item, can lead to some insane ink efficiency. While the downside of being weak to Steel removal is there, I think the fact you can hold Oswald for a later turn to play and immediately ink for a trigger gives this card enough options to potentially see play – the dreamland of a free Lucky Dime is too good to pass up.
Maybe Oswald is the card we need to see a resurgence of the The Queen – Diviner item heavy builds of Ruby Sapphire pawpsicles return to the meta. Maybe we’ll even see an Emerald Sapphire deck make use of Lorcana’s very own brainstorm Hypnotic Deduction to guarantee the value off Oswald. No matter the shell, I feel like it’s safe to say that Oswald will have an impact on the Azurite Sea meta.
Overall impression of Sapphire: Overall, I think Azurite Sea adds a lot of powerful tools to Sapphire. It gives you more consistency in ramp, allows you to replace uninkables with inkables, and keeps the cards flowing. It also may open us up to potential new/returning archetypes like items, heroes, and combo. I’m really excited to see the future of the Lorcana metagame with Azurite Sea, but one things for certain, Sapphire will have a major part in whatever that metagame may be. – Richie
Steel
In set 6, the name of the game for Steel is great characters that fit specific decks. First up is Calhoun – Marine Sergeant. While her uninkability may make her a difficult inclusion in Amber Steel Song, she pairs excellently with Smee – Bumbling Mate in Amethyst Steel tempo and midrange decks. She is essentially a mini Robin Hood – Champion of Sherwood, with her ability to both banish pesky characters while simultaneously gaining lore. The Resist +1 will allow her to survive early Steel removal, and she naturally dodges Brawl. Look for this card to be a staple in more aggressive Steel decks.
Sometimes I need a minute to think of an explanation for why a card is good, and sometimes I can just lean on a pro to succinctly describe why a card is so good. Here is Alex Brosseau, widely regarded as a top Amber Steel Song player, on what makes Pluto – Guard Dog so good: “Pluto is absolutely incredible in this deck. Amazing turn 4 that protects all your characters, kills Maui, sings Zeus if it lives, and gets max Rapunzel value.” What else is there to say?
Jim Hawkins
Finally, both of the Jim Hawkins Steel cards have been early favorites for Sapphire Steel players. The deck naturally wants to be inking multiple times a turn, which can allow Jim Hawkins – Stubborn Cabin Boy to trade up into characters that cost a lot more ink than him. Jim Hawkins – Rigging Specialist is an early shiftable singer 5, with an excellent stat line. Don’t forget, if you ink while Jim is a 2 cost character, and then shift, Jim5 will keep the +2 Challenger buff, which combined with his ability “Battle Stations”, allows him to banish both Queen’s Castle and The Library on the turn he is shifted.
Overall impression of Steel: The story of Steel this set is well-statted character cards that can support the overarching goal of the deck they are placed in. Calhoun, Pluto, and Jim can all make good value trades with your opponent’s board, and also serve some secondary role that helps push your deck to 20 lore. Otherwise, both Steel legendaries, Wreck-It Ralph – Ham Hands and John Silver – Stern Captain, have potential to be included in top tier decks, but only time will tell if they make the cut. – Josh
Good luck to everyone with their early season Azurite Sea brews! Happy deck building!
