Images courtesy of Ravensburger
It’s a Sapphire Steel world, and we’re just living in it until Ravensburger does something about it. That’s what the Lorcana community wants you to believe, anyway.
There’s no denying that Sapphire Steel is well positioned at the start of the new Archazia’s Island meta in Disney Lorcana. Cards like Belle – Apprentice Inventor and Tamatoa – Happy as a Clam have helped Sapphire, in particular, grow in power. They also happen to pair naturally with Steel for various reasons, leading to powerful turns that result in gaining over 20 lore in one turn.
While I’m not sure if the deck is a definitive Tier 0 in need of a banning/errata, it’s still something you always have to be aware of if you’re playing in a tournament. With that in mind, I want to spend this column dissecting the deck: what it looks like, why it’s so good, and how you can attack it.
The New Flavor of Sapphire Steel
Previous versions of the Sapphire Steel deck looked to leverage powerful cards in those ink colors and establish a smooth curve. The idea is that you’re playing the best possible cards for the cost every turn to obtain maximum value.
It was an efficient strategy for most of Lorcana until Set 6, when Ruby Sapphire dominated the meta. Sapphire Steel lacked the pinch Ruby Sapphire provided on the back of Maui – Half-Shark. It also couldn’t keep up with the other strong decks in the meta; the color combination had powerful cards, but together, it was too slow to keep up.
That all changed thanks to the printing of Belle and Tamatoa. Now the deck can play a 3/3 capable of singing Let the Storm Rage On as early as turn one, slamming the door shut on aggressive decks while having a more aggressively costed finisher in Tamatoa that lets you play Lucky Dime for free.
Sapphire Steel by Jeremy Bertarioni – First Place at SSG Archazia’s Island 10 Case Tournament
Characters (29)
- 4 Oswald – The Lucky Rabbit
- 2 Tipo – Growing Son
- 4 Belle – Apprentice Inventor
- 4 Pete – Games Referee
- 4 Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker
- 3 Scrooge McDuck – Resourceful Miser
- 4 Tamatoa – Happy as a Clam
- 4 Tamatoa – So Shiny!
Items (20)
- 4 Fortisphere
- 4 Pawpsicle
- 1 Shield of Ardenelle
- 4 Fishbone Quill
- 1 Great Stone Dragon
- 3 Maurice’s Workshop
- 3 Lucky Dime
Songs (11)
In experimentation and testing spearheaded by Zan Syed and Jeremy Bertarioni, an item-oriented build featuring Oswald has taken the Lorcana meta by storm. Cheating items into play while you ramp lets you churn through the deck with ease. There’s no longer a need to “take a turn off” to play something like Lucky Dime. You can just play it for free!
Why Sapphire Steel Is So Good in Archazia’s Island
That’s the biggest reason for Sapphire Steel’s breakout success; being able to play Lucky Dime for free on the back of several cards is huge.
One big reason for the deck’s weakness in the last set was how aggressive and fast the format was. It’s an issue that also spread to Ruby Sapphire; Lucky Dime was too slow, and the deck needed a way to keep up with everyone else.
After winning the Southside Gaming event, Jeremy said that Oswald doesn’t need to constantly hit on its reveals. It just needs to do it enough. He’s completely spot on here; you’re not playing Oswald to gain constant value, you’re playing it to high roll and cheat out your win condition as soon as possible. Even if Oswald doesn’t cooperate, you have Tamatoa ready to cheat Dime into play free of charge.
This is just one way the deck gets around the aggressive decks in Disney’s Lorcana. The other way is Belle, whose mere existence may represent the death of aggro.
Many people saw Belle’s ability to sing powerful songs a turn early, similar to Cinderella – Ballroom Senstation, as the card’s ceiling, but its 3/3 body cannot be ignored. This thing is difficult to remove early and takes out any aggro card not named Daisy Duck – Donald’s Date.
It’s the combination of all these cards in general that makes the deck so strong. Oswald can get you an early Lucky Dime, but you still need time to play Tamatoa alongside items. That’s where Belle comes in, holding the fort against aggressive decks as you build velocity and draw a steady stream of cards.
And yes, Benja or Hide Away can remove Lucky Dime, or Be Prepared can wipe the board, but you can reload incredibly quickly.
How to Beat Sapphire Steel
It’s easier said than done, but there are ways to fight back against Sapphire Steel. Ironically, one way is with Sapphire Steel.
Sapphire Steel by Artabax – LCCC Event
Characters (38)
- 3 Captain Hook – Forceful Duelist
- 3 Calhoun – Marine Sergeant
- 4 Mr. Smee – Bumbling Mate
- 4 Belle – Apprentice Inventor
- 3 Benja – Guardian of the Dragon Gem
- 4 Lawrence – Jealous Manservant
- 4 Pete – Games Referee
- 4 Gramma Tala – Keeper of Ancient Stories
- 4 Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker
- 2 Cogsworth – Grandfather Clock
- 4 Tamatoa – Happy as a Clam
Items (8)
- 4 Fortisphere
- 4 Pawpsicle
Songs (10)
Locations (4)
This more aggressive version from Artabax returns the deck to its roots, focusing on an efficient curve that keeps questing pressure on. Let the Storm Rage On can’t banish most of these early characters, and most of them all quest for two. Those that don’t are designed to challenge well or draw cards. Plus, McDuck Manor is an excellent tool for gaining steady lore.
Speaking of McDuck Manor, I hear it’s pretty good behind a Be Prepared, and if we’re wanting to run Be Prepared alongside McDuck Manor, there’s already some strong cards in those colors, alongside a powerful newcomer.
There are several ways to build Ruby Sapphire that can combat these Sapphire Steel lists. You can use the “DKP burn” lists to slam McDuck Manor and gain lore off the back of Maui – Half-Shark to keep pressure on your opponent. Or, if you want to go a more controlling route, the more traditional “Sisu on Ice” lists now get to enjoy Sapphire Coil in their arsenal, buffing their removal and bringing back Madame Medusa – The Boss to decklists. There are a lot of ways to build Ruby Sapphire that make it a flexible option to attack the current meta, including being proactive.
Though to be fair, if I want to be proactive, I should probably be playing the deck with cards that gain lore when I play them.
Amethyst Steel by Kendall Burdette – 1st Place at CASE Tournament
Characters (52)
- 4 Chernabog’s Followers – Creatures of Evil
- 4 Diablo – Obedient Raven
- 3 Magic Broom – Illuminary Keeper
- 3 Calhoun – Marine Sergeant
- 4 Doc – Bold Knight
- 4 Madam Mim – Snake
- 4 Mr. Smee – Bumbling Mate
- 4 Giant Cobra – Ghostly Serpent
- 4 Madam Mim – Fox
- 3 Merlin – Crab
- 4 Pete – Games Referee
- 3 The White Rose – Jewel of the Garden
- 4 Genie – Wish Fulfilled
- 4 Merlin – Goat
Songs (4)
Locations (4)
Here’s the efficient curve to bring early pressure against Sapphire Steel combined with the finishing power from cards like Merlin Goat. Maleficent is a great touch here to gain early lore, but Belle does admittedly counter it perfectly. Still, I like being able to get to ten lore in the blink of an eye before playing Cobras, Roses, and Goats.
Also, I feel like it needs to be said: if Kendall is off of Ruby Amethyst, that deck is borderline unplayable.
Does Sapphire Steel Need a Banning?
Here’s the thing: there’s no denying that these item builds of Sapphire Steel are incredibly powerful. They excel because they break the basic fundamentals of Lorcana, allowing players to play powerful cards for free. Anytime that happens, questions about bans/errata will be brought up.
With that being said, I’m not sure we’re there quite yet. It’s still early in the meta; at the time of this writing, Archazia’s Island hasn’t even been released in large retail stores. There’s still plenty of time for strategizing, theory-crafting, and attacking the meta.
Is the deck very, very good? Absolutely. Is it as good as Ruby Amethyst from the game’s early sets? Honestly, I don’t think so, as there are more obvious ways to attack this iteration of Sapphire Steel.
Let’s say, though, that something needs to be addressed with the deck. Which card would Ravensburger update? There are three obvious targets, and they’re the ones I’ve already discussed: Belle, Tamatoa, and Oswald. I wouldn’t touch Scrooge, as you have to build your deck in a specific way to get the most value out of him. You’re playing him for free and getting items, but it comes at a cost.
I’m still not sure Oswald even belongs in the deck to begin with. He’s great at cheating out items, but you’re at the mercy of RNG to maximize its potential here, so I wouldn’t touch it.
That leaves the two new cards: Belle and Tamatoa. There’s no denying Belle’s strength on turn one, but it does come with a cost and is a terrible draw late game. Yes, she’s singlehandedly pushing aggressive decks out of the format, but is that worthy of a ban? It might be; having one card completely eliminate archetypes from the game is unhealthy.
The other option is Tamatoa, which is another card that lets you play items for free, most notably Lucky Dime. I’d argue that this is a card that, currently, is most worthy of a ban/errata. It doesn’t need to cheat items onto the playfield, and most likely, you would still see some play even if you removed that part of its text. A six-cost 4/5 that can still bring back multiple items and quest for two is a strong card.
Ironically, we haven’t heard a peep about Sapphire Coil being busted. Maybe Ravensburger knew what they were doing with this set, and it’s up to us to find the answers.
Looking for more Archazia’s Island? Check out our full card gallery here.
