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

Overall

• After the reprint set Fabled, Whispers in the Well is again a normal set, bringing mostly new cards.
• New character classifications are introduced: Gargoyle, Ghost (1 card), and Whisper.
• Whispers are a new Character classifications, all leveraging the new keyword ability Boost. Boost is an interesting ability that enables you to pay the Boost cost once during your turn to put the top card of your deck facedown under the Boost card to gain a benefit. As you have to pay a cost and it “eats” a card, we should watch out that the cost is worth the benefit. There is no “Whisper” synergy, but there are several cards that have synergy with having or putting cards under a character or location (but that’s for later sets as there are no locations with Boost in this set). Each color has 3 cards with Boost. Two 2 of those gain an advantage when they have a card under them, while 1 card per color gains a repeatable advantage whenever a card is put under them.
• Gargoyles cards appear in Amethyst (4), Ruby (5) and Steel (6).
  • Several Gargoyles cards come with a downside as they can’t ready if you have 3 or more cards in hand. That’s quite a restriction, so why play them? They have bigger stats for their cost, but if you can only use them once until late game, they may not be worth the risk. The key card to turning the Gargoyles downside into an opportunity is Goliath - Clan Leader in Steel, unfortunately a legendary and a 6-cost. His first ability makes every player discard at the end of their turn until they only have 2 cards in hand. If they have fewer, the player gets to draw cards until they have 2 cards in hand. It’s a necessity for Gargoyle decks so they can ready their characters; it’s a dream for aggro decks; it’s a big challenge for control decks who have much card draw and like to have an answer to any threat in hand – they will have fewer answers due to Goliath. Thus, Goliath – Clean Leader is strong on his own. But does he also make it worth it to play the other Gargoyles, especially since he is a 6-cost?
  • In Amethyst, the poster girl is Demona – Scourge of the Wyvern Clan. Her first ability exerts all opposing characters (including those with Ward), and each player gets to draw cards until they have 3 cards in hand (why 3 and not 2???? – this creates a dependency on Goliath or makes you wait a turn so you can put a card in your inkwell after you play her). If you have her book Grimorum Arcanorum in play (Anna - Mystical Majesty will like this book as well), you gain 1 lore per character exerted and she gains Rush. You evidently get to challenge those exerted characters. She has high stats for her cost, should enable you take out one or more opposing characters when you play her and if you time her right, she could draw you 3 cards. She will likely find her way into decks without other Gargoyles. Coldstone – Reincarnated Cyborg is a reserved for Gargoyle decks (with Goliath and draw-discard effects you should be able to discard unwanted Gargoyles).
  • In Ruby, Goliath – Guardian of Castle Wyvern gains lore whenever a Gargoyle character challenges another character. Shere Khan – Menacing Predator is however a cheaper, smaller alternative without restrictions. Bronx – Ferocious Best (nice stats for taking out characters!) and Brooklyn – Second in Command (evasive) are filler cards to get to your Gargoyle count, focused on challenging . So… nothing special here… bigger stats on variations of existing cards, with a big dependency on having max 2 cards in hand at the end of your turn.
  • In Steel, Goliath – Clan Leader’s own color, we have Hudson – Determined Reader (draw discard), Lexington – Small in Stature (nice stats and Alert for his cost!) and Broadway – Sturdy and Strong (Bodyguard) who are also bigger stats on variations of existing cards, with a big dependency.
• Detectives are a theme in Sapphire and Steel, focusing on granting Resist, Alert and getting more Detectives in play.
• The new keyword ability Alert allows the character to challenge characters with Evasive. Is this just a shorter way to say, “During your turn, this character gains Evasive”? They won’t benefit from cards that synergize with Evasive though…
• Each color has a color champion Character card that synergizes cards of that color. Some are actually good and could drive us to only use characters of that color.
• Items are most present at Amber, Emerald and Sapphire (4), Steel has 3, Amethyst 2 and Ruby just 1.
• Steel brings 3 new Locations, Ruby 2, while the other colors only have 1 Location. The Steel Illuminary Tunnels – Linked Caverns may be a reason to build a Location deck.
• Sapphire has the most Actions (6), the other colors have 5, except Emerald who has only 4 Actions. Out of those Actions, Amber, Amethyst and Emerald have 2 Songs, Steel has 2, Sapphire just 1, but Ruby has none. Thus, Ruby’s Song theme of The Goofy Movie Fabled cards doesn’t continue. Amber has a few Singers but not much else in Song-synergy.
• These are the reprints of previous sets that thus become legal again in Core Constructed:
  • Mickey Mouse – Detective
  • Dragon Fire (new art, moved from common to uncommon)
• There are several (simple) cards who are strictly better cards than older cards. For example, Rajah – Devoted Protector has 1 more Strength than Fix-it Felix, Jr. – Trusty Builder. Munchings and Crunchings is a better Healing Decanter (if you want to play Gurgi). Tinker Bell – Fancy Footwork is an inkable Toby – Dogged Companion. Diablo - Watchful Raven is a Della Duck - Unstoppable Mom without Reckless. Ares - God of War is a Della Duck - Unstoppable Mom with an additional ability. Castle Wyvern – Above the Clouds (rare) is a strictly better Maui’s Place of Exile – Hidden Island (uncommon) as it also provides Challenger +1.
• Some new cards are functional reprints – for example, Gurgi – Apple Lover is a Snow White – Lost in the Forest with different character classes. Kaa – Suspicious Serpent is a Prince Phillip – Royal Explorer with different character classes.

Amber

• Boost, the new kid on the block, is well supported in Amber.
  • Simba – King in the Making is the star of Amber’s Boost cards as his ability can trigger multiple times and he gets to play characters for free! He comes at a high cost (7 to cast, 3 to boost), but luckily has solid stats as a 5/5, 3 lore value. You’ll likely want to play him with Scrooge McDuck – Cavern Prospector (free card under a boost card) and possibly Scrooge McDuck – On the Right Track (gives a one-time lore value boost to a character with a card under it, thus including shifted Floodborns) as shift target for the other Scrooge. Recovered Page should draw a character and can put a card under one of your Boost cards. Webby’s Diary could be your Boost draw engine.
  • Gaston - Frightful Bully brings a new type of exert ability upon quest to Amber and could help you to take out opposing characters, something that Amber can struggle with.
  • Della Duck – Returning Mother readies a character with Boost – a rather Ruby ability but this one mostly serves as protection. Her ability is conditional, so Amber likely has stronger alternatives to protect their characters.
  • Ariel – Ethereal Voice brings card draw when you play a Song if she has a card under her. So consider her to cost 4 + 1 ink. Worth a test run!
• Continuing on Song synergies:
  • Micky Mouse – Amber Champion is the first of the color champions. He boosts your other Amber characters with +2 Willpower, and he gets Singer 8 (as a 4 cost) when you have at least 2 more Amber characters in play. Worth a try in Amber-X Song?
  • Gazelle – Ballad Singer is another Singer, and allows you to bring back a Song in your discard to the top of your deck. She's uninkable so you may want 1 or 2 in your deck.
  • Shanti – Village Girl is a Singer 5 for 3 ink, but is an easy target with 0 Strength.
  • Or Rewrite History! is cheap character recursion to your hand.
  • Della’s Moon Lullaby draws a card, but not sure that Amber is looking for the -2 Strength.
• Sebastian – Loyal Crab is the first (uninkable) 2 cost Amber character with an unconditional 3 lore value. Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst and Sapphire (a 0/2) have an equivalent, but do consider that Amber is the aggro color. Piglet – Pooh Pirate Captain saw a lot of play and was conditional (but inkable and a 2/2).
• Mowgli – Man Cub may have a low stats, but comes with a strong ability as you get to see your opponent’s hand and they get to discard a non-character card of their choice, hopefully hitting an Action or Item that you’d have trouble with. Staple card as he fits in any deck?
• Rapunzel – Ready for Adventure may have low stats, but her Act of Kindness ability prevents the next damage to one of your characters chosen for Support, until the start of your next turn. Considering you generally use the additional Strength on the supported character to challenge a character of an opponent, this should have a big impact! Best of all, she has Support herself. Just don’t forget that it’s only the next damage – not all damage until the start of your next turn.
• Talking about Support, Amber gets a cheap character in Eilonwy – Princess of Llyr, a big Bodyguard in Baloo – Friend and Guardian, and special case Taran – Pig Keeper. Taran has strong stats (5 cost, 5/5, 2 lore value with Support) and can return Hen Wen back to your hand from discard. The second ability is however not that formidable for now as there’s currently only 1 Hen Wen. She is in Sapphire and isn’t built to land in your discard on purpose (as a 1/4, 1 lore value you’ll need to use Support on her to take out an opposing character, and Rapunzel may prevent that from happening). He’s still a Support card with 5 Strength, joining Sheriff Of Nottingham – Bushel Britches. Sapphire has 3 new Support cards, with Daisy Duck – Paranormal Investigator as annoying roadblock. You may want to consider these new cards in a deck with Alice – Growing Girl, or if you want to go more offensive with Maximus - Team Champion in Ruby.
• The Black Cauldron brings a slow way to (re-)play characters from your discard. Don’t forget that the second ability does not allow you to play the characters for free. This is not cheap, fast or surprising, but it is consistent and repeatable.
• Duckburg – Funso’s Funzone is location I’d like to test. It’s cheap to play, the move cost is 2, but you get that ink back when you quest for the first time with the character there as a reduction to the ink cost next time you play a character that turn. As from the second time you quest with that character at Duckburg, you get the real benefit, and best of all, it triggers for each character that quests there. It should be worth a try in a go-wide deck. Something for Tuk Tuk – Lively Partner or Transport Pod?
• Flash - Record Specialist and Search for Clues bring a bit of Detective synergy, but aren’t really worth it to make it a theme in Amber?

Amethyst

• See Gargoyles cards above, especially on Demona – Scourge of the Wyvern Clan.
• Boost cards:
  • Cheshire Cat – Inexplicable has a repeatable Boost ability, allowing you to move 2 damage counters whenever you put a card under him, giving repeatable Belle - Accomplished Mystic vibes.
  • Merlin – Completing His Research is ok as a 2 cost, and very nice if you get a card under him as you’ll draw 2 cards when he’s banished in a challenge.
  • Ursula – Whisper of Vanessa is essentially a 5 cost 4/5 2 lore value you can upgrade for 1 ink to get Evasive and to 3 lore value, which is a great combination.
  • Lena Sabrewing – Mysterious Duck has ok stats and gets you 1 lore if you time her right.
  • Duckworth – Ghost Butler lets you add a card under your Boost card when he’s banished in your turn (likely when he challenges a character).
  • Magica De Spell – Spiteful Sorceress moves a damage counter when you put a card under another card. Cheshire Cat already does this though?
• Minnie Mouse – Amethyst Champion provides card draw in your Amethyst decks that like to challenge. Amethyst has many cards with Rush and Challenger, and allows you to exert opposing characters, so Minnie may be drawing you many cards. For example, Iago – Stompin’ Mad (Challenger 5) and Duckworth – Ghost Butler, Olaf – Helping Hand (bounce a character of yours) become more interesting if you know you’ll get a card back when they take out a character.
• Hades – Looking for a Deal is another strong Hades – you either draw 2 cards or take out a character. Efficient.
• Gwythaint – Savage Hunter has a nasty ability on an Evasive character with 2 lore value: your opponents have to exert one of their ready characters, allowing you to challenge it. Any Evasive character can trigger a clock, but this dragon should also allow you to take down protected characters.
• The Horned King – Triumphant Ghoul could get to 3 lore value as a 2-cost if a card left a player’s discard. How does that happen consistently? With Amber’s The Black Cauldron or Lilo – Escape Artist, or Amethyst’s Scarab?
• Olaf – Helping Hand lets you return a character of yours to your hand when he leaves play, an ability that has proven to be very strong on “play” like Madam Mim – Snake. Don’t forget that any cards under a Boost card also return to your hand!
• Creeper – Loyal Lackey gets an honorary mention as a non-conditional 4 lore value character.
• Magica Da Spell - Conniving Sorceress draws 4 cards if you shift her in, which is a lot. Interestingly, her Shift cost is the same as her ink cost.
• Can’t Hold It Back Anymore is interesting as it is a Song, “heals” all your Characters and should take out an opposing character directly or in a challenge right after.
• Swooping Strike just costs 1, but your opponents choose which character they exert…
• Performance Review is a tricky one – do you want to draw 2 or more cards, or do you want to gain as much lore instead?
• Junior Woodchuck Guidebook is 3 ink to draw 2 cards. Friends On The Other Side has the same effect and proved to be strong because it is a Song. Can we play the Guidebook cheaper or recycle it somehow to replay it for free?
• The Great Illuminary – Abandoned Library only costs 2 ink, has a move cost of 1 and allows your characters to exert to draw a card, but it only has 3 Willpower. This shouldn’t live long enough to stay in play long. You'll want to play it when you can move several characters there and exert them to get real benefit.

Emerald

• Boost synergy in Emeral is straightforward. 1 win condition and 2 cards that support it, and fillers that have slower alternatives.
  • The win con: Little John – Impermanent Outlaw is the Emerald boost card with an ability that triggers whenever you put a card under him. He wins you the game if you have enough ink as he readies (without restrictions) whenever you put a card under him. Either by paying the 3 Boost cost, or for example with Emily Quackfaster – Level-Headed Librarian who lets you put a card under one of your Boost cards when you play her. Blessed Bagpipes does the same and may gain you a lore.
  • The Boost cards that have slower alternatives are
    • Flynn Rider – Spectral Scoundrel is a simple 1 cost, 1/2, 1 lore value, but for Boost 2 he becomes a 3/2, 2 Lore Value. For the same total cost you get Kaa – Suspicious Serpent with Ward. Flynn's benefit is that you can play him on turn 1, boost on turn 2 and quest or challenge on turn 2. Kaa comes in play on turn 3 and can exert on turn 4.
    • Megara – Secret Keeper is plain without Boost. With a card under her, she becomes a big Flynn Rider – Charming Rogue.
    • Flintheart Glomgold gains Ward if you have a boosted card or a Shifted Floodborn card.
• Goofy – Emerald Champion grants your Emerald characters Ward, and he makes it very difficult to challenge your Emerald characters efficiently as he’ll banish the challenging character. That’s a nasty combination!
• Bellwether – Master Manipulator and especially Malicious, Mean, and Scary (a 3 cost Song!) go well with King of Hearts – Picky Ruler and especially Prince Phillip – Vanquisher of Foes as they deal 1 damage to all opposing characters. Prince Phillip – Royal Explorer can sing Malicious, Mean, and Scary followed by Shifting Prince Phllip - Vanquisher of Foes for a one-sided board wipe! Shere Khan – Fearsome Tiger would be another great addition to a King of Hearts – Queen of Hearts deck. Potion of Malice as well, as a 1-turn Mother Gother – Selfish Manipulator? Would that deck want Chomp! or Wake Up, Alice!?
• Scrooge McDuck – S.H.U.S.H. Agent could be annoying as he could be coming back repeatedly.
• Webby Vanderquack – Junior Prospector is cheap, has Ward, ok stats and could help you keep up with the inkwell of ramp decks. Niche or staple?
• White Agony Plains – Golden Lagoon is interesting for an aggro go-wide deck due to its low costs and 7 Willpower. Quest and move here to gain passive lore. What does your opponent take out – the characters or the location?

Ruby

• See Gargoyle characters above.
• Boost cards:
  • Lady Tremaine – Sinister Socialite is the Boost character with the repeatable ability. When she quests if she was boosted this turn, you get to play an action with cost 5 or less from your discard for free, and then put it at the bottom of your deck. Ruby has some nice Actions, even if it’s a simple Dragon Fire. Solid, but I don’t see this spiraling out of control.
  • Beast – Aggressive Lord is a standard 2-cost without a card under him. Once he is boosted (2 cost) opponents lose 1 lore and you gain 1 lore when he challenges.
  • Ares – God of War lets you ready a character (no questing) once per turn if you put a card under another card.
  • Aladdin – Barreling Through Boosted would be an in-color Cogsworth - Talking Clock, granting your Reckless character the ability to exert for 1 lore. Something for Ruby-Steel Mulan-Mushu decks?
  • Mulan – Standing Her Ground doesn’t take damage when she challenges if you’ve put a card under one of your characters or locations. Solid!
• The Headless Horseman – Terror of Sleepy Hollow can take out a character with 2 Strength or less, just like the much-played Brawl. His second ability could be useful now and then. We’ll have to see if his cost, uninkability and 2 Willpower will be sufficient to play him.
• Hercules – Mighty Leader is a tricky one to value. His cost and stats are ok, but his first ability is not Ward. He can still get targeted when moving damage counters, can be put in an inkwell, or bounced, etc. That ability will mainly mean protection when he challenges, and against Steel and Emerald effects that deal damage. He only has 3 Willpower, so he’ll likely be challenged quickly. He squarely fits into a Hero deck as your Heroes get the same protection when Hercules is exerted – should be enough for 1 round of challenging without taking damage. He will like Next Stop, Olympus and Ghostly Tale (no need to step into Amethyst). By the way, in Infinite Constructed, do try Hercules with Beast – Relentless 😉.
• Shere Khan – Fierce and Furious has a big body and should be able to take out 2 maybe 3 opposing characters quickly, like Scar - Vicious Leader. Shere Khan doesn’t have Rush, but you can Shift him on Shere Khan – Keen-Eyed Hunter (great stats!) to attack immediately.
• David Xanatos – Charismatic Leader grants a character of yours Rush when he quests, and whenever a character is banished during your turn, you draw a card. Nice if you go head-to-head in challenges. Do note that Queen of Heart – Sensing Weakness has an easier trigger on challenge, instead of on banish. David brings a bigger body at a higher cost, and a sweet back-up when you play Be Prepared (in Infinite Constructed).
• Donald Duck – Ruby Champion’s second ability is quite conditional. It’s nice that your other Ruby characters get 1 more Strength, but that’s something that Lumiere – Fiery friend can do better and cheaper. Does his second ability make it worth to play him (as an uninkable)? It would be tricky as it only applies to your Ruby characters with 7 or more Strength… There are only 4 Ruby Characters with +6 Strength in this set, 3 in set 9. So … I have my doubts here.
• Hans – Brazen Manipulator could be niche, but there are many kings and queens. His passive lore gain could be troublesome for your opponent.
• The Bitterwood – Underground Forest has a good effect (draw a card), but a high cost (4 to play, 2 to move) and tough condition (only 5 Strength or more).
• Sleepy Hollow - The Bridge and Get To Safety! are to be played together to make any sense. Sleepy Hollow grants 2 lore when a character quests there and gives them evasive until your next turn but also banishes itself. Get To Safety! returns Sleepy Hollow back to play and lets you draw a card, so you can move another character there (1 move cost) and repeat it. Funny but clunky?

Sapphire

• Boost cards:
  • Scar – Eerily Prepared is the Sapphire Boost card with a repeatable trigger. Scar is a 6/5 and when you put a card under him, an opposing character gets -5 Strength this turn, allowing Scar to take challenge him without taking dames (or very little). Solid.
  • Jasmine – Soothing Princess is a standard vanilla card without boost. If she quests with a card under her, she removes up to 3 damage from each of your characters. That’s a lot of healing!
  • Kristoff – Mining the Ruins ramps on quest when boosted.
• Sapphire has a detective theme, with Judy Hopps – Lead Detective as center point as she gives Alert and Resist +2 to your Detectives during your turn, making them good at challenging. You’ll likely shift her on Judy Hopps – On the Case who puts an item in an inkwell when you have another Detective in play. Judy Hopps – Uncovering Clues may draw you a Detective character and keep things going. Pluto – Clever Cluefinder is a conditional mini-Tamatoa as he can return items to your hand. He only has 2 Willpower, so you won’t be able to use him a lot without protection. Sapphire has other Detectives that don't provide synergies to the theme but could earn a spot in your deck. For example, Daisy Duck – Paranormal Investigator has nice stats, Support and is an annoying roadblock as cards enter your opponent’s inkwell exerted. Detective’s Badge grants a character Resist +1 and the Detective classification for a turn. The new Chief Bogo in Steel and Detective’s Badge (Sapphire item) are the first cards that change or add a character classification. Interesting design space!
• Daisy Duck – Sapphire Champion is straightforward. Your other Sapphire cards get Resist+1 and when they quest you get to filter the top card of your deck. No need to bend over backwards to get her in your deck, I think?
• Cinderella – Deam Come True is a great ramp card in a Princess deck as you also get to draw a card (and she triggers her own ability). Fairy Godmother’s Wand is another Princess card, but it is conditional and only grants Ward to one Princess. Why not just play Aurora - Dreaming Guardian, which is also a Super Rare?
• Spooky Sight could be aggro’s nightmare as all characters with cost 3 or less are put in their inkwell. It costs 6, is uninkable and isn’t a Song, and the inkwell drought is over, but it’s an emergency switch you may need. Considering aggro usually isn’t good at card draw, it might do the job.
• Might Solve A Mystery could find you 2 cards and is a Song.
• Sudden Scare removes an opposing character by putting that character and the top card of their deck into their inkwell. Unconditional removal, but at quite a price.
• Ink Amplifier depends on your opponent. Could be very strong against the right deck or do nothing at all…
• Inkrunner is an item that draws a card when you play it so it attracts attention. This item exerts to give a character Alert this turn. It’s not a Pawpsicle but could fit in the set 7 Beauty and the Beast items deck.
• Castle of the Horned King – Bastion of Evil readies an item when a character quests there, once per turn. It’s cheap and thus might find its way into Lucky Dime style decks (in Infinite Constructed)?

Steel

• See above on Gargoyles, especially on Goliath - Clan Leader.
• Boost cards:
  • Fairy Godmother – Magical Benefactor brings the repeatable Boost effect for Steel. Without Boost, she’s rather plain, but whenever you put a card under her, through her expensive 3 Boost cost or otherwise, you get to banish a chosen opposing character. However, this is the Fairy Godmother - she converts one thing into another, so that player may reveal cards until they get to a character or item card and play it for free. A bit of a gamble, no?
  • Robin Hood – Ephemeral Archer deals 1 damage to up to 2 characters when questing if boosted. Nice!
  • Zeus – Missing His Spark is a plain 3 cost 2/3, 2 lore value but gets a +2/+2 upgrade when he’s boosted. Nothing fancy, but he's flexible.
• Quite a bit more Detective synergy in Steel:
  • The card that stands out is Chief Bogo – Calling the Shots who can’t be dealt damage during your turn (great when he challenges) and gives your other characters the Detective classification.
  • Nick Wilde – Persistent Investigator has some good Shift targets, a good Shift cost and a good triggered ability as he draws a card when a Detective banishes another character in a challenge in your turn.
  • More mundane cards are Donald Duck – Ghost Hunter (a Detective gains Challenger + 2 on play), Basil – Tenacious Mouse (he gains Resist +1 when you play a Detective) and Minnie Mouse – Ghost Hunter (a Detective gains Alert on play).
• Pluto – Steel Champion is a solid option. His stats are ok; his first ability grants 2 lore when another Steel character banish another character in a challenge; his second ability banishes an item when you play another Steel character. That all fits within the standard Steel game plan. Time to test him!
• Prince Charming – Protector of the Realm brings a new effect: only one Character can challenge per turn. He’s a 3/10 7-cost Bodyguard so it will take some turns to take him down fairly through challenges while your other characters quest. But be careful as your opponents get the same benefit of questing more safely. In other games this effect brought a new deck archetype, but Disney Lorcana is different as you don’t win the game by challenging/attacking – you win by questing.
• The Headless Horseman – Cursed Rider brings an ability I don’t appreciate greatly due to its random nature. Each player draws 3 cards and then discards 3 cards at random. Given it is a physical card game such “random selection” is often awkward and prone to cheating. You get to deal 2 damage per action discarded this way, so hopefully (especially in multiplayer) you can banish a character when you play him while avoiding pesky actions. If you can Shift him, he comes at an interesting cost as well, but The Headless Horseman – Relentless Spirit (a 4/4 Bodyguard) isn’t the best of Shift targets.
• Honorary mention for Black Heron – Real Bad Egg for Core Constructed. She’s not Mr. Smee - Bumbling Mate as he can quest for 2, but she is a 2-cost for a 3/3 without a downside. Note that Ruby's Shere Khan - Keen-Eyed Hunter is identical except in name and color.
• He Hurled His Thunderbolt is a tuned-down version of And Then Along Came Zeus. It’s also an uninkable 4-cost Song, but deals 4 damage instead of 5 to a character (you can’t choose a location). On the bright side, your Deity characters gain Challenger +2 this turn as well. There are several good Deities like Hercules, Zeus, Hades, Sisu, Maui cards, but interestingly only 2 in Steel in Core Constructed: the new Whisper Zeus - Missing His Spark and Maui – Stubborn Trickster (who is actually Emerald-Steel). Will more Deities be added to Steel in the next few sets?
• The Sword of Hercules, a 2-cost item, will face a similar challenge. Its first ability banishes an opposing Deity character. Great if you can hit a Hercules, Maui, Hades or Sisu, but they aren’t in all decks. Its second ability gains 1 lore when you banish a character in a challenge in your turn – something Pluto – Steel Champion and Mushu – Majestic Dragon already do better. Until Deities are more played in a bigger variety of decks, this Sword may end up in the inkwell quite often.
• The Robot Queen and Ingenious Device have similar design challenges. The Robot Queen is a slow way to deal 2 damage to a character for 1 +1 ink. So why play this above Fire the Cannons! or Twin Fire? Ingenious Device is a complicated way to deal 3 damage like Smash. Ok, you get to target a location as well and you get to draw and discard a card, but it costs 3 +2 and is uninkable. You'll only want to play these if you have item synergy, play them cheaper or if you could replay them.
• Steel brings 3 Locations and 1 Action, and a new reason to build a location deck:
  • The Illuminary Tunnels – Linked Caverns is a reason to play many locations: if you have a character there, the Tunnels gets +1 Lore Value for each other location you have in play, and your Locations cost 1 less. Sweet! John Silver – Greedy Treasure Seeker will want to visit. The Wall – Border Fortress will want a spot in that deck, along Galactic Council Chamber – Courtroom.
  • The Game’s Afoot! has a rare effect as it moves 2 characters to a location for free and gives your location Resist +2 until the start of your next turn. Should be a good card in a locations deck.
  • Zootopia – Police Headquarters provides card filtering.
  • Castle Wyvern – Above the Clouds provides characters there Challenger +1 and Resist +1.