Disney Lorcana Reign of Jafar set analysis

Note: This article was written in the week of the release, so this is mainly theorycrafting. Let's get brewing!

Overall

• It feels odd to start with this, but it’s an important design concept: we have the first two reprints (with new art) with Dalmatian Puppy - Tail Wagger and Captain Hook – Forceful Duelist. Consider them appetizers because the next set Fabled will have many reprints. So why reprint these now? Not sure about the Captain Hook, but the original Dalmatian Puppy - Tail Wagger cards were part of Into the Inklands (set 3) and will rotate out of Core Constructed in August – September. Including them in this set again implies we’ll still have them as fillers for our Core Constructed Puppy decks. Does it also mean that we won’t get new puppies in Year 3?
• Looking at the statistics we see zero Locations and very few Items similar to the previous set. When looking into the actual cards, you’ll see that several themes carry over from Archazia’s Isle. Should we look at Set 7 and 8 together? Considering Ravensburger has announced that set rotation will come when the next set Fable arrives, this set will be the last set of a yearly cycle (year 2 – consisting of Shimmering Skies, Azurite Sea, Archazia’s Isle and Reign of Jafar) so it makes sense that themes close in this set, and new one themes will rise in the next set: Fabled.
• Talking about continued themes (that may wrap up in this set?): we see more Dalmatian Puppies, Lady and the Tramp, Madrigal singers, Alice in Wonderland Damaged Characters, Wreck-it Ralph Racers, Big Hero 6 Floodborn, Jafar Illusions and Aladdin/Jasmine Allies to test out and see how they can improve the decks. Please check our set analysis of Archazia’s Isle to get an introduction to these themes, as our findings here could be seen as part 2 of the analysis.
• Bambi and his friends are introduced in this set, in Amethyst and Ruby. They don't bring a new theme though.
• Dual Ink Glimmers return! We’re still on Archazia’s Isle, where they were first introduced. Hopefully they’ll keep them when the story moves to other locations.
• Again, no locations! Zero! Second set in a row. We hope it’s because the story is still on Archazia’s Island and the Glimmers aren’t exploring other locations for now …
• No new keyword abilities.
• 27 Actions, back up to the average, up from the low number in Archazia’s Isle. Interestingly, most Actions have rather low ink costs, except the two direct removal cards and the Sing Together Songs. Out of the 18 Actions, there are 9 Songs – more than the previous set. 6 of them have Sing Together (with a high ink cost) – 1 in each color. Amber, Amethyst/Sapphire and Sapphire each get 1 more Song. Amber also gets 2 new (not very impressive) Characters with Singer.
• Exceptionally low Item count: only 10. This is the lowest ever. The previous set has 16, while Azurite Sea has 18, Shimmering Skies has 17. Amber, Amethyst, Amethyst-Sapphire, Emerald, Emerald-Sapphire, Ruby and Steel each have 1 item. Sapphire has 3 items.
• On Lore Value, we can’t avoid looking closer at the new Mickey with a whopping 5 Lore Value. 2 cards come with 4 Lore Value – the vulnerable Bolt, and an expensive and demanding Ratigan. 9 cards have 3 Lore Value, with the new Queen of Hearts – Haughty Monarch who can get to 6 Lore Value! Out of the many 2 Lore Value cards, Lumiere - Fired Up and Gepetto – Skilled Craftsman can gain extra Lore Value.

As the themes and dual inks of the previous set continues, we've structured the card analysis on colors and color pairs instead of just by color. Where a single-color card is clearly meant to be played in a color pair, we've put it in the color pair.

Amber

• Goofy – Groundbreaking Chef’s ability removes up to 1 damage from each of your other characters at the end of your turn, and then you can ready the ones that got a damaged removed. He doesn’t need to be exerted. This is especially interesting in Amber, Sapphire and Steel whose characters tend to have high Willpower and often lower Strength. You can safely challenge, sing or quest with damaged characters, heal them and ready them so they can’t get challenged. Sweet. + he’s a counter to Emerald Ruby damaged characters decks relying on Queen of Hearts – Unpredictable Bully.
• Donald Duck – Coin Collector and The Nephews’ Piggy Bank look like a nice pair. Donald isn’t really playable without the Piggy Bank due to his cost, but he provides card draw in Amber, which it still sorely lacks. The Piggy Bank could be free, given the number of Donald cards available to us, and its Payoff ability is stronger than Ice Block, which has been a staple for a long time.
• More bodyguards: 3 Bodyguards in Amber, and 2 cards that synergize with Bodyguard, with a call out to Chief Bogo – Commanding Officer. His ability lets you look at the top card of your deck and play it for free if it’s a Character with cost 5 or free, when an opponent banishes a Bodyguard of yours. In a deck with a very high number of Bodyguards, this could mean you’ll get a Bodyguard (exerted) in play protecting your high lore characters. Yes, I’m imagining a bodyguard sprinting and jumping in front of his client to stop a bullet 😊. Bodyguards received a few synergy cards in most sets. She’s Your Person in Amber-Steel is another one. This Chief Bogo triggers my deck brewer’s itch. Too bad he isn't a Bodyguard himself.
• It Means No Worries does make me worry… Its effect is great recovery – but it looks like a win-more card to me. As an uninkable 9 cost, it's very hard to play it for ink, and her Sing Together can only be used when your board state is good, when you likely don't need this card to win. But as always, please prove me wrong.

Amber-Amethyst (Madrigals):

• 6 new Madrigals, 4 of which have Song synergy. Antonio Madrigal – Friend to All lets you tutor (look in your deck and put it in your hand) for any Character with cost 3 or less. Mirabel Madrigal - Hopeful Dreamer or Ariel -Spectalar Singer for example, many choices! Bruno Madrigal – Singing Seer could draw you a lot of cards, and Alma Madrigal – Accepting Grandmother readies your Singing Characters, calling for a Sing Together like Fantastical and Magical. Both Bruno and Fantastical and Magical work better if you go wide and have many Singing Characters. This could be the end of this Madrigal theme? Do we have sufficient pieces to make it work quickly enough?

Amber-Emerald:

• Aka Lady and the Tramp / Chernadog. Lady – Family Dog looks like an auto-include as you get to play 2 characters for 3 ink, and she has 2 Lore Value. Tramp – Dapper Rascal draws you a card when one of your characters is banished by your opponent and thus helps against board wipes - the big threat against this archetype. Lady – Decisive Dog is a sweet addition and possible replacement for Nala or Little John (both 0/4) as she can get meaner and quest for more. And she’s a Shift target.

Amber – Ruby (Racers):

• 5 new racers. King Candy – Sugar Rush Nightmare and Wreck-it Ralph – Big Lug both return Racer cards from your discard to your hand. Vanellope Von Schweetz – Spunky Speedster is an efficient Evasive Racer as a 3/1 at 2 cost. Contrary to Pegasus – Flying Steed, you should be able to recover Vanellope in a Racer deck. Wreck-it Ralph - Back Seat Driver is a nice offensive card.

Amber-Sapphire (Puppies):

• As mentioned, we’re continuing (wrapping up?) Puppy cards: 2 new puppies, a reprint and 3 cards that synergize with puppies. Patch – Playful Pup looks interesting as he should be a 1cost 2 Lore Value Character. Rolly – Chubby Puppy (unfortunately not a 2cost) returns a character from your discard to your inkwel (like Pepper - Quick-Thinking Puppy), and therefore synergizes well with the new Perdita – Determined Mother and the Pongo – Dear Old Dad of Set 7 . Television Set could draw you a card if you have enough puppies in your deck.
• Ludwig Von Drake – All-Around Expert is excellent value: 2 cost, see your opponent’s hand, discard a non-character of your choice, put him in your inkwell when he’s banished. Great! He happens to be in Amber-Sapphire like Puppy decks, and one of their vulnerabilities is board wipe Actions in Ruby and Steel.

Amethyst:

• Amethyst likes to Challenge in this set. Several cards grant Challenger. Monstro – Infamous Whale is a Maui look-alike. Can we abuse his self-discard somehow (e.g., Beyond the Horizon or Desperate Plan)?
• Pinocchio – Strings Attached should draw you a card each turn, has evasive and quests for 2 Lore, but he has 0 Strength. He’s quite vulnerable and as a 4 cost, he’s not a fast card. If your opponent doesn’t have an answer, he’ll take you far though.
• Jiminy Cricket – Level-Headed and Wise is a nice “sideboard” card for aggro decks as he slows Characters with Rush for a turn. Against opponents without Rush, you’ll ink him most of the time.
• Bambi – Little Prince is a tricky one. You get 1 lore to play him (3 ink), he quests for 3 but only has 1 Willpower, meaning you can only quest with him (more than once) when it’s safe. He’s returned to your hand when your opponent plays a character, so you can replay him for 1 lore again. But that’s a slow strategy. Not sure that this one is much better than Pinocchio – Star Attraction or Magic Carpet – Amazing Flyer, but please prove me wrong.
• Everybody’s Got A Weakness, which likely should be in the Amethyst-Ruby section, could be massive. Watch out though that it’s just 1 damage per character. Deal 2 damage, draw two cards is good for 4 cost, as of 3 it is excellent. Funny to see that the art is green-red: the colors of Queen of Hearts – Unpredictable Bully.

Amethyst-Emerald:

• Oddly, the theme of the previous set is not continued. No self-discard cards that you can abuse with Kronk – Laid Back. Instead, we get Yzma-lever shenanigans. Yzma – On Edge isn’t needed to make it work. Pull the Lever! draws 2 cards (voila, playable! – but is not a Song) or discards a card. I’d only play Wrong Lever! with Pull the Lever! as the first option is an expensive bounce but if you play it with Wrong Lever!, it removes a character - something Emerald (and Amethyst) isn’t good at.
• Kuzco – Impulsive Lama has a nice Shift cost and takes out an opposing character of their choice.
• Magica De Spell - Shadow Form is interesting as she has a Madam Mim self-bounce with the added advantage of drawing a card, and she’s evasive. Worth a test run!

Amethyst-Ruby:

• Three cards that deal 2 damage to another character of yours to get an ok effect. Madame Medusa – Deceiving Partner (bounce) has a nice cost, Hades – Ruthless Tyrant draws two cards (always strong) but is an uninkable 6cost. Mother Gothel – Knows What’s Best sends one of your characters on a suicide challenge, and you get it back in hand, for just 2 ink – unfortunately, she’s uninkable and you will rarely play her on turn 2.
• A new self-bounce Madam Mim – Rhino with Shift 2 and a 6/5 body. Shift her on a Snake or Fox, challenge a Character, and bounce the Rhino + the Snake/Fox back for your next round of Madam Mim bounce. Sweet!

Amethyst-Sapphire:

• More Anna-Elsa cards. Anna – Magical Mission draws a card on quest, if you have Elsa in play, and she has Support and nice Shift cost and stats.
• Into The Unknown is direct character removal Song if the character is exerted, which shouldn’t be too hard to do with Elsa in your deck.
• Ice Spikes will also help with that, and don’t disregard its ability to cancel out an item like a Lucky Dime. Item removal isn’t big in these colors.
• Blue Fairy – Guiding Light is a cheap Evasive with Support. Nice combination.
• Anna – Trusting Sister provides ramp if you’d need it.

Amethyst-Steel (Illusions):

• We get 4 new Illusions, all with Vanish. The Sultan – Royal Apparition has nice stats, and his ability is great for taking out opponent’s characters because when your Illusions, like Magic Carpet – Phantom Rug, quest you can exert an opposing character. Strong! To top of Illusion decks, Jafar – High Sultan of Lorcana would be the engine, questing for 3 and likely playing an Illusion for free. Scarab is an item that exerts to bring an Illusion back to your hand for 2 ink. Not sure if Amethyst needs that given their card draw, but this would assure you have an Illusion in hand to play for free with Jafar.
• Lena Sabrewing – Pure Energy has the same ability as Robin Hood – Capable Fighter, but she has Evasion. If you’re looking to ping for damage (and perhaps move the counter around), try her out.

Emerald:

• I look at Louis – Endearing Alligator as a roundabout removal card. He gives an opposing character Reckless when you play him (like many Emerald cards), but he enters play exerted and thus will have to be challenged by that card. As a nice 3 cost and a 4/3, he’ll be able to take out many threats.
• Raya – Infiltration Expert has ok stats, but her ability is bonkers. On quest, pay 2 ink to ready another chosen character – without the cannot quest restriction. Ramp to Sapphire’s Mufasa – Ruler of Pride Rock, play two of these they can ready each other, and quest for a bajillion on your next turn. Greedy? Yes, but I’ll try it. 😊
• Rapunzel – High Climber is an improved Jasper – Common Crook. Solid control card.
• Flynn Rider – Breaking and Entering is an improved Charming Rogue, but is an uninkable 4 cost. Will he fit in your deck curve?

Emerald-Ruby:

• Alice in Wonderland Damaged continues!
• Queen of Hearts – Haughty Monarch might be the finisher the deck needed as she can quest for 6 (instead of 3) when there are 5 or more damaged characters in play (including your opponent’s). I do wonder if that number is feasible, as you’ll want to take out your opponent’s characters.
• Dormouse – Easily Agitated acts like a Mosquito Bite with a body, an enabler in this type of deck.
• Alice – Clumsy as Can Be has a great Shift cost but lacks a Shift target! It is weird that the only other Alice in the set and only on color Alice is an ok 4 cost in Ruby. Does this mean we’ll get more Alice in the next sets? By the way, watch out with her ability as she also hits your own characters in colors that don’t excel at high Willpower.

Emerald-Sapphire:

• Big Hero 6 Floodborn theme continues, with Fred – Giant-Sized as Floodborn Tutor with 3 lore value with a good Shift cost, and Go Go Tomago - Cutting Edge as character removal. By the way, she’s the first card with a Shift cost equal to her Ink cost. Go Go Tomago – Mechanical Engineer is also the first card that provides a benefit (ramp in this case) when you shift a character onto her. Don’t forget about Baymax’s Universal Shift!
• Jeweled Collar is great passive ramp.

Emerald-Steel:

• The Pirate / no-Song Action theme continues as well. Captain Hook – The Pirate King is the poster boy/man here with a great Shift cost and a great ability. Walk the Plank! could be a killer with Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy or John Silver – Stern Captain.
• The new Maui – Stubborn Trickster packs a punch, like most Maui cards do. Contrary to most other Maui cards, you’ll want to quest with him (for 3) and only challenge with him when you get the most benefit from his ability - all are great depending on the matchup. It does surprise me that his ability doesn’t have the “During Your Opponent’s Turn” or “Whenever this character is challenged and banished” restriction. But hey, he's Maui. Normal rules don’t apply to him.

Ruby:

• Lilo – Causing an Uproar could be played for free when you play three actions in a turn. She reminds me of a meta-defining Magic: The Gathering card, but Ruby likely lacks the card draw in cheap actions to pull this off consistently, and the MtG card triggers from the discard, not your hand. Her stats, cost and other ability are fair so if you can’t play her for free, there are likely better alternatives.
• Prince John – Fraidy-Cat has great stats for a 3 cost.
• Nothing We Won’t Do readies all your characters (including the singers) and they don’t take damage and can’t quest for the rest of the turn? Maui – Half Shark’s new favorite Song? You likely want to play it with Steel to challenge readied characters.

Ruby-Sapphire:

• Sorry to disappoint, but there aren’t a lot of cards for the Belle item-discard theme, or rather, cards that are need for that type of deck? Even more, Figaro – Tuxedo Cat could slow item decks down! Lumiere – Fired Up has nice stats and is evasive, but don’t expect him to grow to more than 4 lore value though. Luckily, there are 4 item related cards in Sapphire worth considering. See below.

Ruby-Steel:

• Mulan-Mushu time! Mushu – Your Worst Nightmare isn’t as strong as Mushu – Majestic Dragon, but he’ll speed up your deck quite a bit, especially when paired with Mulan – Charging Ahead and other characters that can challenge ready characters.
• Light The Fuse just costs one, and Ruby Steel likes to exert to challenge or quest, so this Action could be quite efficient removal. Is this the alternative for Strength of a Raging Fire after rotation?

Sapphire:

• Item discard/banish synergy comes with The Wardrobe – Perceptive Friend, Mrs. Potts – Head Housekeeper (both doing their best to help us forget about the banned Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker), Geppetto – Skilled Craftsman (on quest discard items to gain that much lore - why isn't this a Maurice?), and Belle’s Favorite Book (ramp – similar to the Hearth of Te Fiti but instead of paying 2 ink, you banish an item).
• Stitch – Experiment 626 keeps coming back, but don’t forget you ramp your opponent very time you play him and that he returns exerted.
• Roquefort – Lock Expert is a sneaky item remover – an alternative to Hide Away.
• Down In New Orleans should never miss if you build your deck for it. Do try to Sing it as paying 6 ink to possibly play a cheaper card wouldn’t be your dream come true.

Sapphire-Steel

• The Allies Aladdin-Jasmine plot thickens! Jasmine – Resourceful Infiltrator is a 1 cost Jasmine, prime Shift target for the new Jasmine – Steady Strategist which should draw an Ally on quest. Aladdin – Vigilant Guard could heal a lot every turn. He can take a hit thanks to his 9 Willpower, so opponents will have to take him down in 1 turn (or use Brawl – as his downside is his low Strength).
• Arthur - Determined Squire doesn’t fit the Ally theme, but he’s worth mentioning as he’s a stats beast as an inkable 4cost 6/6 with 3 lore value, and that at uncommon! (-> great card for limited). You skip your draw step, but his colors provide ample alternatives for drawing cards.

Steel:

• As usual, Steel has quite straightforward cards: solid stats, but complex abilities are rare.
• 3 new Bodyguards, all with ok cost and stats. We should have enough cards to build an Amber-Steel bodyguard deck now, right? (See Amber for the new Chief Bogo). The card we need to talk about here is the new Mickey Mouse – Giant Mouse. Uninkable, 10cost, 10/10, 5 Lore value, Bodyguard and when he’s banished, he deals 5 damage to each opposing character (yours are safe!). That’s HUGE! 10 ink is however a remarkably high cost. Sapphire Ramp could get you there, and Mickey Mouse – Inspirational Warrior and Trumpeter could play him for free. Bodyguards could protect those Mickeys. Oh, and do try to quest with Giant Mouse (for 5) and then cast Most Everyone’s Mad Here on your own Giant Mouse to banish him, get 5 lore and deal 5 damage to your opponent’s characters 😊
• Dumptruck – Karnage’s Second Mate is a 1cost, 0/1, 1 lore value who deals 1 damage to a character when you play him. Too bad he’s uninkable, but you may need him to take out some Inspirational Warrior or Trumpeters 😉
• Quick Shot also deals 1 damage, and draws a card for 1 additional ink cost, but it’s not a Song like Let the Storm Rage On.
• Namaari – Single-Minded Rival has a nice recurring draw-discard ability, and she should have decent stats. Her Strength should be high enough to take out any threat.
• Desperate Plan is an excellent card draw!
• Beyond the Horizon is an (uncommon) alternative to A Whole New World. More expensive, but Sing Together. You choose the players who discard their hand but they only draw 3 cards. If A Whole New World isn’t reprinted in Fabled, Beyond the Horizon and/or Desperate Plan will likely take its place in Core Constructed.