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Of all the colors inDisney Lorcana, Ruby may just be the best suited to the Into the Inklands expansion. This is a set all about exploring new frontiers, taking risks, and rolling with the highs and lows of each fresh adventure, all things that Ruby’s deckbound daredevils have always excelled at.
Naturally, this means that the new Ruby cards brought to the table in this expansion are some of the most exciting Lorcana has seen yet. Creatures of myth and legend rub shoulders with plucky voyagers here, bringing with them many new ways to ruin your opponent’s day. If you’re ready to walk on the wild side in the Inklands metagame, then these are the Ruby cards for you.
10Moana, Born Leader
Ready, Set, Go!
Locations are Into the Inklands’ biggest contribution to Lorcana as a whole, and many of the best support cards for the type can be found right here in Ruby. Case in point: thisnew Floodborn versionof Moana. While at a Location, she can rally the other characters there once per turn, an ability that is far more flexible than it first appears.
You can use this to let your characters challenge twice, quest then challenge, or do either and then stay ready, preventing your opponent from challenging them in return. However you use her, Moana can give you the second wind you need to complete your voyage.
9Hydra, Deadly Snake
Straight Out Of The Mists Of Myth
A good way to evaluate the power level of a card is to calculate how many of your opponent’s cards it can deal with by itself. When judging by these standards, Hydra is an absolute powerhouse, as it can easily chomp its way through three or more opposing characters before it’s finally brought down.
Its ability, which essentially reflects damage dealt to it back at opposing characters, makes challenging and damage-based removal both bad options for your opponent. Even if they don’t play right into it, cards like Teeth and Ambitions and On Your Feet! Now! allow you to trigger it yourself for some nice bonus damage.
8Madame Medusa, The Boss
There’s No Rescuing Your Characters From Her
While Lorcana is very much still in its early days, the player base is quickly getting to grips with what works and what doesn’t when it comes to specific mechanics and concepts. One standout from the first two expansions is the idea of characters doubling as removal spells, a concept embodied in meta menaces Maleficent, Monstrous Dragon and Lady Tremaine, Imperious Queen.
Madame Medusa is the latest addition to this lineup of literal femme fatales, and she may well prove just as potent in time. While her removal effect is more limited, three or less Strength gives you a fair range to work with, and her 4/4 stats are hardly embarrassing, either.
7Sumerian Talisman
You Dare Challenge Me?!
Three mana may seem like a lotfor an Itemthat does nothing the turn it comes into play, but Sumerian Talisman’s value ceiling is so high that it doesn’t even matter. Drawing a card whenever one of your characters is banished in a challenge lets you play recklessly, questing every turn safe in the knowledge that you’ll maintain card parity if your opponent tries to control the board.
This plays incredibly well alongside characters with ward and bodyguard, which essentially force your opponent into combat in order to deal with them. If a Midrange Ruby deck rises to prominence in the new meta, Sumerian Talisman will more than likely be its crown jewel.
6RLS Legacy, Solar Galleon
A Sturdier Ship You’ll Never See
Named after legendary Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Planet’s signature vessel is just as impressive in Lorcana as it was on the big screen. It’s the clear standout among thenew Location cardsin the set, providing cheap protection for your characters and two Lore a turn, with a chunky eight Willpower to back it all up.
Many have already pointed out the excellent synergy, both mechanical and flavorful, between this card and Jim Hawkins, but in doing so it’s easy to overlook how good the Legacy is on its own. Even in Jimless decks it’s still reasonably costed and very powerful, capable of enabling Location synergies through its movement discount effect.
5Prince Eric, Expert Helmsman
Mutually Assured Destruction
This swashbuckling version of Prince Eric offers your opponent a difficult choice: do they leave him be and let you rack up two Lore every turn, or banish him and hand you a universal removal spell instead? Both options are great for you, making the Prince worthy of your four Ink investment regardless of his mediocre stats.
Eric is reliable enough to see play as a standalone value card, but he also has some nice synergies you can lean into if you’d like. Teeth and Ambitions immediately springs to mind, letting you sacrifice the Prince to deal two damage to an opposing character, then banish another using his effect.
4Heihei, Accidental Explorer
Go Further Than Any Chicken Has Gone Before
While not quite as powerful, or iconic, as Rise of the Floodborn’sHeihei, Persistent Presence, the Inklands iteration of Moana’s chicken chum is still well worth considering for any Location-heavy deck. Each time this Accidental Explorer mindlessly wanders onto one of your Locations, you get to reduce your opponent’s Lore by one, thus slowing down their clock and buying you some valuable time.
Sadly this ability only triggers once per turn, which prevents you from shifting Heihei back and forth between two Locations to totally deplete your opponent’s Lore, but you can still wear it down over time. And even if you don’t, his base stats are well worth two Ink regardless.
3Simba, Scrappy Cub
For When You Just Can’t Wait For Your Win
Due to the nature of its combat system, Lorcana is a game that rewards getting on board early and building up Lore fast. Simba, Scrappy Cub lets you do both of those things, pairing a low Ink cost with a huge Lore total for some serious Aggro potential.
Simba’s glass cannon stats are intended to balance his high Lore, and for the most part they will, but thanks to the protection offered by Locations you have more options than ever for keeping a small Lore generator like him around in the Inklands. When deciding what to add to your Ruby Aggro deck, ensure Simba is next in line.
2Jim Hawkins, Space Traveler
A Card With The Makings Of Greatness In It
The poster boy forLocations as a whole, Jim Hawkins has the potential to generate upwards of 10 Ink worth of value the turn he comes down. Between his solid 4/4 body, the free Location, and the free movement, you’re likely getting your Ink’s worth with Jim even if you don’t have a pricey Location in hand when you play him.
Immediately setting himself up in a Location means that Jim will likely be tough to take down at first, but even if your opponent deals with your first Location Jim can move to subsequent Locations you play for free also. Packing both short-term explosiveness and long-term value potential, Jim is a standout not just in Ruby, but in Into the Inklands as a whole.
1Ariel, Adventurous Collector
Use Songs To Slip Through Unseen
Evasive is a fairly low-impact keyword in Lorcana, and is therefore one you might gloss over when evaluating cards for competitive play. When a card has the potential to grant your entire board evasive, however, it’s worth paying attention to, and Ariel, Adventurous Collector can do just that.
Granting evasive for a turn each time you play a Song has a myriad of uses, whether it’s protecting the characters you use to sing the Songs, or protecting those that are questing or using abilities this turn. It may sound hard to trigger on the surface, but Songs are so common in Lorcana that this generally won’t be the case.
