We’re just over a week away from the official release of the Reign of Jafar expansion for Disney Lorcana. While we've seen a lot of Dual Ink cards being shown for this upcoming release, it’s time we started to look at more of the in-house tools the ink colors have in store.
Charlotte La Bouff - Mardi Gras Princess
Mardi Gras Princess is just a vanilla body, but that doesn't mean she's terrible. Her inkable nature makes her easier to run if you’re just starting out in the game. Fairly robust for her cost as well, Mardi Gras Princess isn’t a bad choice for any new player taking their first few steps into Disney Lorcana.
Tiana - Natural Talent
Natural Talent continues the tradition of Amber’s monopoly on the Singer ability. At 4 ink cost, however, Tiana has to compete with the likes of Ariel - Singing Mermaid for the current rotation or Prince Naveen - Ukulele Player for the next.
While Tiana - Natural Talent may not be the strongest Singer around, she does have one advantage. Unlike Prince Naveen, Natural Talent isn't a Legendary or Enchanted Rare card. Due to this, many casual players may prefer to use Natural Talent simply due to its accessibility.
To top off that slight strength, Natural Talent can also lower the Strength of all opposing characters whenever she sings. This should make your allies last a little bit longer, even if the Strength reduction isn't permanent.
Clawhauser - Front Desk Officer
On top of being another Singer for Amber, Clawhauser - Front Desk Officer also has Bodyguard. While Front Desk Officer doesn't exactly have the most robust body, this ability is always welcome to keep bigger threats alive.
At the very least, Clawhauser - Front Desk Officer can also just be used for their raw Lore gain. They might not be anything revolutionary, but two Lore is always a nice get.
Mirabel Madrigal - Curious Child
Sadly, Mirabel Madrigal - Curious Child doesn't offer a lot for just one ink cost. While she can get you ahead on the Lore race early on, revealing information to do so isn't ideal. Unless you're planning on piling the pressure on relentlessly, Curious Child may be too costly to use.
To make matters worse, currently, characters like Cinderella - Ballroom Sensation are just better. Once rotation rolls around, however, the metagame may be shaken up. This could give Curious Child its time to shine, but that remains to be seen.
Lady - Family Dog
Lady - Family Dog may be a bit below average in terms of Strength and Willpower, but she makes up for it with her 2 Lore and the fact that she can bring a second body down with her for free.
This kind of acceleration can easily be taken advantage of in decks that either like to field a wide board or with characters that have an effect when played, like Sapphire’s Tipo - Growing Son.
Even in the current set rotation, Lady - Family Dog might be a suitable 3 ink cost drop for any Amber deck. When rotation arrives alongside Fabled, this card might be poised to be auto-include.
Jim Dear - Beloved Husband
Speaking of having an ink cost of 2 or less, Beloved Husband comes in as a pretty robust Bodyguard. He doesn’t offer much aside from that, but given his common rarity, that's not so surprising.
Darling Dear - Beloved Wife
Beloved Wife comes in as a pretty subpar 4 ink cost drop, as far as her stats are concerned. Her ability does offer some subtlety when it comes to the Lore race.
Being able to bridge the gap with a ready-to-quest character can easily turn a score of 17 to 18 Lore into a game-winning scenario if Beloved Wife is held in reserve until the last minutes.
Gene - Niceland Resident
Gene - Niceland Resident embodies Amber’s virtue. While having a recurring source of healing can be valuable, Niceland Resident’s low stats make him the low-hanging fruit for any opponent.
But Gene’s healing capability has some surprising value if paired with a rather tough Bodyguard like Minnie Mouse - Daring Defender. His constant healing would also be a constant source of irritation for the opponent if a direct banishment tool isn’t available.
Antonio's Jaguar - Faithful Companion
Antonio's Jaguar - Faithful Companion is arguably the most niche card on this list as it's wholly dependent on whether a deck is running a copy of Antonio Madrigal or not.
When played on ink curve, Faithful Companion’s stats are pretty average. Even if the parameters of its ability are met, the lore gain for the investment is a bit lopsided.
In this set rotation or the next, it’s difficult to see any experienced player purposefully using Faithful Companion.
Joey - Blue Pigeon
Joey - Blue Pigeon offers pretty standard stats for its ink cost. While the healing capabilities of his character can be similar to Gene - Niceland Resident, it’s a little more preferential, targeting only Bodyguards.
A crafty deck builder could pair up Joey and Gene to build an almost impenetrable wall for character challenges. That said, this strategy does little to answer direct board removal.
Currently, a lot of Amber’s best Singers like Ariel - Spectacular Singer are in this ink range. As a result, Joey - Blue Pigeon has a lot of competition when it comes to deck slots for a very niche return.
Calhoun - Hard-Nosed Leader
Ending this list, we have Hard Nosed Leader acting as a pretty standard Bodyguard.
Hard-Nosed Leader comes with a higher-than-normal strength that Bodyguards normally don’t have. The 2 Lore she has still contributes to the Lore race and works synergistically in her role as a Bodyguard.
Her utility, however, ends there. Her ability to float into a single lore once banished is pretty lackluster. With no way to cheat her out natively, players may be more inclined to run other options at this level of ink cost.