Images courtesy of Ravensburger
Archazia’s Island, the newest set in Disney Lorcana, looks to provide a massive shift to the metagame. Sure, it has plenty of powerful cards we’ll get to, but it also introduces a major new mechanic: dual-ink cards.
These cards share two ink colors that must be played in a deck with both colors. For example, let’s look at Lady – Miss Park Avenue.
She’s only playable in an Amber Emerald deck, but the payoff is that she’s powerful enough to make it worth experimenting with the underrepresented color combination.
It’s a gamble that Ravensburger hopes will pay off. You can print powerful cards that enhance underperforming archetypes without buffing the best decks in the meta; whether or not it pays out will remain to be seen. While some of these dual-ink cards are strong, the rest of the deck needs to hold its weight.
Thankfully, there are plenty of other incredible cards coming in Archazia’s Island that look to have a major impact on Disney Lorcana. Let’s start with one of the most talked about cards in the set.
On Paper, Sapphire Coil is the Best Card in Archazia’s Island
Ruby Sapphire is one of the best decks in Disney Lorcana thanks to its powerful removal suite, backed by Sisu – Empowered Sibling. On paper, Sapphire Coil will make those big Sisus even better.
Ideally, on turn two the deck wants to ramp with Sail the Azurite Sea or Tipo – Growing Son. From there, it can draw cards with Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker or Gramma Tala – Keeper of Ancient Stories, or deal with threats with cards like Brawl, Sisu – Daring Visitor, and Goofy – Super Goof. If you land a small Sisu, the goal is to shift Big Sisu and deal with the enemy’s board while progressing on your own; but even that isn’t enough sometimes. In theory, that’s where Sapphire Coil would come in. So when are you playing it?
Drop it the turn before you shift Sisu for maximum value, and it’s a play that overperforms if you can back it up with additional removal. Even if all you do is Sapphire Coil into small Sisu or Brawl, you’re killing more things than you could before. If you have an Ice Block in play, that’s even more valuable. It may not stem the bleeding, so I’m not fully sold on it just yet, but the card is clearly good. We’ll see if the aggro decks can have enough resiliency to survive.
That’s not all Sapphire is getting, though.
The rich get richer. Tamatoa – So Shiny saw reduced play over time as it was too expensive to keep up with an aggressive meta. Ruby/Sapphire is also trimming on items, so Tamatoa’s Glam ability has lost some of its luster.
This new Tamatoa looks to be an excellent compromise that we can get out sooner while deploying items for free.
Finally, Sapphire got a new toy that was so last second, I had to come in and update this post.
This is a Belle that can be played for free. Last time I checked, free is pretty good. Yes, there’s a scenario where you can play a bunch of items early on and Shift the new Belle – Mechanic Extraordinaire ahead of curve to get an early 7/7 body that quests for three lore with upside, but you’re jumping through so many hoops to make that happen. I’m not sure it’s worth having a third of your deck filled with bad cards. On paper, getting Shift Belle out early is great, but if your opponent interrupts your game plan, you’re left with a bunch of bad cards in hand.
Instead, this is a better addition for Sapphire/Steel. Not only does the deck play more desirable one-drop items like Pawpsicle and Fortisphere, but it also gives the deck a character that can sing Let the Storm Rage On as early as turn two. Eat your heart out, Cinderella!
Archazia’s Island Gives Ruby/Steel Some Much-Needed Love
We’ll hear plenty about Sapphire Coil over the coming months, so let’s look at more cards that should impact the upcoming meta.
Mushu is finally making his debut in Lorcana and looks to give a much needed boost to the Ruby Steel archetype. This is what a good dual-ink card should do: help give fringe decks the push they need to become valuable.
Cards like Calhoun – Marine Sergeant and Goofy – Super Goof can already grant lore through challenges. Now Mushu can give you additional lore while buffing them? Sign me up. And what’s Mushu without Mulan?
Being able to challenge into Maui Half-Shark and, provided you have Mushu out, live is a huge deal. Best of all, Mulan’s ability can let you challenge into ready characters, removing potential threats before they harm you and potentially gaining lore.
It’s also silly to include this, but Mulan – Imperial General only works with a good shift target, and we have one coming.
Steel Continues to See Lots of Love
One of my knocks against Steel is that while its removal is fantastic, you sometimes have to work to handle troublesome threats. It’s one thing that has kept Amethyst/Steel in check during the Azurite Sea meta, though that might be about to change.
Is this the perfect board wipe? No, you still have to be able to make it work with a strong board presence. However, even if you don’t get full value by clearing your opponent’s board, you also gain a considerable amount of lore.
Imagine banishing something with Calhoun; that’s four lore right there. Remove something with Merlin – Goat? That’s another three lore. We’re up to seven for the turn, and why stop there?
I can see this card working not just as a way to remove threats on your opponent’s board but also flat-out winning the game. And speaking of ways for Amethyst/Steel to gain lore…
Vanish is a new keyword mechanic introduced in Archazia’s Island that appears on Illusions. When an opponent’s action targets it, it’s banished. This allows cards like Giant Cobra – Ghostly Serpent to be over-statted; a 4/4 for three ink is very good, but comes with a cost.
I’m not sure that cost matters, especially when you can gain lore when it enters. Sure, it’s pretty much dead on arrival if you play it against any Steel deck on curve, but the card is also inkable, which means you can easily put it into your inkwell and focus on better threats. I’m more excited to see how it performs to help give these Amethyst decks more reach alongside Merlin – Goat and The White Rose – Jewel of the Garden. That’s the potential for a lot of lore gain.
Of course, you don’t have to worry about your opponent’s actions if they can’t play them.
Gantu – Experienced Enforcer will be a major house against any deck running actions. Sure, its ability to shut down characters singing songs is only one turn, but as we’ve seen with Pete – Games Referee, sometimes all you need to win the game is one turn.
Speaking of which, this and Pete are one heck of a one-two punch. Delaying a timely Be Prepared by two turns is huge; Ruby/Sapphire will have to find a way to adapt. Maybe if there’s a way an item can help shrink characters to become susceptible to Sisu – Empowered Sibling…
Oh, hey, we’ve come full circle!
Cards That Are Powerful but Don’t Have a Home Yet
I have two more cards I want to discuss that look powerful but don’t have the support needed to work.
Disney Lorcana has a Show and Tell! It’s an exciting time, but I’m not sold on the current crop of characters being impactful enough for this to make a difference in the meta.
Yes, it’s fun to cheat out something like Goofy – Knight for a Day, but that doesn’t win the game on the spot. Personally, I’m more interested to see if something is viable with Prince Phillip – Vanquisher of Foes and Chief Bogo – Respected Officer.
People far smarter than me will surely try to break this card, and I wish them luck in doing so.
Ink Geyser was all the rage when it was revealed; it reverts all the ramp from Sapphire and brings the game to an even playing field! My biggest issue here is that there’s not an obvious spot to play it where it has a meaningful impact.
You don’t want to play it on curve because what’s the point; it’s too early in the game to make a meaningful impact. At the same time, Ruby Sapphire’s board presence might already be too much to deal with by the time you’re playing this. Even then, the deck can ramp back up in the blink of an eye.
I’d love to play this card alongside Disney Lorcana‘s best friend, but alas…
What cards are you most excited about in Archazia’s Island?
