Summary
InDisney Lorcana, Emerald is the color of adaptability and quick thinking. As a result, its cards run the gamut from tricksy threats to specific tech options, giving green-inclined players countless ways of overcoming their opponents. This remains true in the game’s third expansion, Into the Inklands.
This set brings Lorcana to new frontiers, with icons from films like Treasure Planet and Atlantis: The Lost Empire receiving cardboard adaptations worthy of competitive play. Emerald gets some of the very best of these offerings, making it well worth consideration in the new metagame. If you’re ready to adapt and think quick, then these sparkling Emerald additions will help you do so.
10Morph, Space Goo
An Ooze For Any Occasion
Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated cards in the set, John Silver’s shapeshifting sidekick has the potential to blow the metagame wide open. Many of the best characters in the game already make use of the Shift mechanic, and Morph gives you a cheap, flexible way to play them all at a discount.
This is particularly relevant for the likes of Fairy Godmother, Mystic Armorer: that is to say, powerful Shift characters held back by a lack of solid cheap targets to Shift onto. Even outside of such specific scenarios, however, Morph is flexible enough to see play in the vast majority of Emerald decks going forward.
9Fang, River City
An Impenetrable Fortress For Your Forces
It may be too early to properly assess the power level of Into the Inklands’new Location cards, but if any of them have a chance of seeing play, Fang is certainly on the shortlist. Any character that takes refuge within this fortified fortress becomes basically untouchable, with only evasive characters able to damage them at all until your opponent brings down those walls.
Even if it only survives for a turn or two, getting to rack up two turns worth of Lore uninterrupted can set you up for a smooth victory afterwards. Factor in powerful support cards like Jim Hawkins, and Fang is set to spearhead an aggressive new Emerald archetype in the Inklands meta.
8Zazu, Steward Of The Pride Lands
For Those With An Aggressive Leadership Style
Just like in Magic: The Gathering, a 2/1 statline for just one mana (Ink, in this case) is a more than acceptable rate in Lorcana. This gives Zazu a solid foundation of playability before we even get into the really exciting part of the card: its potential to generate two Lore a turn while at a Location.
Cheap Locations like The Bayou and Pride Lands can get Zazu firing on all cylinders early in the game, letting you build up a Lore advantage that will snowball into an early win if you keep it going. He’s not particularly flashy, but he’s certainly efficient: just as every good majordomo should be.
7Lyle Tiberius Rourke, Cunning Mercenary
Allies? You Mean Resources?
While few were probably aware of Rourke’s first two names prior to seeing them on this card, his Inklands incarnation is powerful enough that it may well end up searing them into the collective Lorcana memory before long. For just three mana, he gives you a well-statted body, with twodeliciously villainous effectsattached.
Goading an opposing character into challenging is a brilliant way of dealing with evasive characters or utility characters your opponent prefers to hold back, and it gives Rourke a unique niche as a piece of Emerald removal. Combined with his ability to profit from his fallen comrades, and you have a win in terms of both flavor and function.
6Cursed Merfolk, Ursula’s Handiwork
Make Your Opponent Pay, One Way Or Another
One Ink for a two Lore character is a good deal. So is one Ink to make your opponent discard a card. Cursed Merfolk has the potential to give you both of these things, if your opponent is Poor and Unfortunate enough to lack a means of removing it outside of combat.
Granted, there’s a wide pool of removal that can deal with the Merfolk, given its flimsy one Willpower, but the potential here is high enough to make it worth playing regardless. If your Emerald deck is at all aggressive, you’ll want to enlist the aid of these undersea allies.
5Wildcat, Mechanic
An Easy Answer To Items
Lorcana’s Item cardsaren’t exactly dominating the current metagame, but Into the Inklands brings a suite of new support for the type in its Ducktales package, so their fortunes may just change soon. And if they do, you’ll be glad to have Wildcat, Mechanic there to help you handle them.
Being able to banish any Item, regardless of cost, for free every turn is an incredible deal, making all of the single-use Item removal we’ve seen so far look shoddy in comparison. And beyond this effect, a 2/3 evasive for three is a very solid statline, meaning Wildcat can do some work even in matchups where his dismantling expertise isn’t required.
4Starlight Vial
Ink Or Cards? Take Your Pick
Ramp in Lorcana is largelyconfined to Sapphire cards, but other colors do occasionally get to dabble in its delights. Starlight Vial gets Emerald in on the action, giving you two Ink towards your future Actions for a four Ink upfront cost.
This can be a pretty great deal in drawn-out games, particularly given that the majority of the game’s removal can be found in its Action cards. And when you run out of Actions to play, you can always crack the Vial and unleash the arcane energy within for some decent card filtering.
3Helga Sinclair, Vengeful Partner
If I’m Going Down, You’re Going Down With Me!
Despite her low cost, Helga Sinclair is actually a card that shines in the later stages of a game. Thanks to her ability to banish the character that banishes her, she excels at forcing your opponent’s pricey characters to trade down, punching well above her Ink cost when it comes to combat.
Of course, your opponent could just choose to leave her be, but if they do she’ll essentially generate you one Lore every turn: a great deal for just two Ink. If you’re able to keep cheap opposition to her at bay, Helga can do some serious work for you at any stage of a game.
2Ursula, Deceiver
Snatch Up Your Opponent’s Songbook
The majority of current Lorcana meta decklists read like the back of soundtrack CD boxes, such as thevolume of Song cardsseeing play at high levels. It’s not surprising, given their useful effects and ability to be reliably played for no Ink, but it can be frustrating when you’re on the receiving end.
Enter Ursula, Deceiver, a new version of Ariel’s nemesis that provides a fairly-statted body alongside a Song-specific discard effect that can completely derail some decks, particularly those that rely on key songs like A Whole New World. Until the tides of the meta shift, this Song-sucking Ursula will have a place at the table.
1Kit Cloudkicker, Tough Guy
Turn The Tempo Up A Notch
Tempo isn’t an archetype that’s discussed as often as the likes of Aggro or Control, but it’s nevertheless a crucial part of the Lorcana ecosystem. Kit Cloudkicker embodies the ideals of Tempo perfectly, putting a character into play while removing one of your opponent’s in a single slick move.
Kit’s body may not be particularly impressive for three Ink, but since his ability is limited by Strength and not Ink cost, you can get some pricey stuff off the table with it. Even if you just bounce one or two drops, however, you’ll rarely feel like this Tough Guy is giving you a bad deal.
