It’s been almost two weeks since Ravensburger’s announcement to ban two cards from Disney Lorcana’s constructed format. One of the card hits was Hiram Flaversham - Toymaker, the Sapphire ink color’s strongest draw engine.
While some players have decided to hedge their bets on different ink colors altogether, others are still trying to overcome the loss of a core component in their arsenal.
Necessity is the mother of invention, or so the saying goes. Let’s see what Sapphire cards have performed well since the recent shakeup.
5. Belle - Apprentice Inventor
Our list starts with one of, if not the, biggest problem cards still in legal status for Sapphire. Doubling down on the focus of items, Belle - Apprentice inventor is Sapphire’s strongest first turn drop.
A little bit of an asterisk is tacked on here - Belle is a natural 3 ink cost drop. She is able to circumvent this if the controlling player can banish an item in-lieu of Belle’s ink cost.
Given that Sapphire already has a good array of 1 ink cost items that can be played on the first turn, any partner ink color can easily make sure Belle - Apprentice Inventor can hit the board way earlier than it should.
With robust threes in both Strength and Willpower, Belle can handle any turn 1 or 2 trades with other characters and withstand most early game direct removals like Brawl or Let the Storm Rage On.
With her 3 ink cost, Belle is also an in-house Singer 3. All these make Belle - Apprentice Inventor quite a popular staple for any player heavily investing into their item roster.
4. Tipo - Growing Son
The next on the list is more in-line with Sapphire’s core characteristic of inkwell acceleration. At 2 ink cost, Tipo - Growing Son is a little simple in its design by allowing its controlling player to add another card to their inkwell.
Tipo - Growing Son is both a cheap and consistent way for Sapphire decks to quickly gain access to their higher ink cost cards.
While there’s not many cards using the Universal Shift mechanic at the moment, the fact that Archazia’s Island introduced Baymax - Giant Robot as a Emerald-Sapphire dual ink card means that Tipo can also act as a shift line for bigger body three whole turns faster than it should be available.
3. Sail the Azurite Sea
Sail the Azurite ekes out the number three spot on this list above Tipo - Growing Son, but just barely. At the same 2 ink cost, and the same inkable nature, both cards are almost spitting images of each other.
There are some differences though. First of all, Sail the Azurite Sea does allow the controlling player to put a card into their inkwell without being exerted. This makes the resources immediately available for use.
The other key difference is that Sail the Azurite Sea allows the controlling player to draw a card.
The ability to replace itself is a popular design choice in the game of Disney Lorcana, a game in which card advantage is king.
2. Tamatoa - Happy as a Clam
Next on the list is one of Sapphire’s latest additions to its roster. Tamatoa - Happy as a Clam doubles down on Sapphire’s love for items.
This crustaceous character comes with almost a complete package: mid-game item recursion, a robust body that requires significant investment from the opponent to remove, and a way for high-costing items to be cheated out, reserving valuable ink for other plays.
We say ‘almost’ as despite all these good characteristics, Tamatoa isn’t exactly leading the pack in terms of strength and willpower. At best, Tamatoa leans to the average.
There’s also no getting around the fact that Happy as a Clam has very little ways to be cheated out since he doesn’t come with a shift line.
But all things considered, Happy as a Clam is still a strong candidate for any Sapphire deck, doubly-so if there are any particular powerful items the controlling player would like to see come back or be played for free.
1. Pawpsicle
Coming in at the number one spot, as well as being the oldest card on this list, Pawpsicle has seen the kind of staying power as Steel’s Pete - Games Referee from our previous list.
At a single ink cost, inkable nature, and the ability to draw a card, Pawpsicle is as much a resource on the board as any card being placed into the controlling player’s inkwell. Not only does the card immediately replace itself, but it turns on lots of powerful synergies across the Sapphire color.
We’ve seen the likes of Belle - Apprentice Inventor ply her pressure by the virtue of single ink cost item cards like Pawpsicle. Sapphire also has access to cards like Monsieur D'Arque - Despicable Proprietor and Judy Hopps - Optimistic Officer that can draw even more cards when used with Pawpsicle.
Ravensburger has to tread a very thin line. With Pawpsicle still legal, any attempt to make something similar or better may see another intervention as they did two weeks ago with the introduction to the game’s Forbidden List.
It would be a tall order for any future card to be able to dislodge Pawpsicle from its throne.