So, by now, you've seen all the new cards I am sure. But just in case, here are the Sapphire cards from Shimmering Skies. Hopefully, the reason you're reading this is you want to know my take on the cards. So of course, just to keep my readers happy I will also include my thoughts. Warning - Entering my brain can be dangerous. So read my unfiltered thoughts at your own peril.

I organized the list by Ink cost and type for a reason. I truly feel people buzz too much about the BIG boys and forget the supporting cast that makes them tick. My thoughts today may lean toward the competitive meta, or maybe some casual idea for the card pops up in my mind, or maybe just random comments about the art or flavor. It's truly a grab bag of fun. By the way, you want to read all the way through since the BIG boys are VERY interesting.

Characters

Basil - Practiced Detective - Let me start with my feeling that Support as a Mechanic hasn't found a home yet but I feel it's coming. We have seen Support in 1 ink before, just see HeiHei - Boat Snack and Olaf - Trusting Companion. The thing that is unique about Basil is he gives two power instead of 1.

King Candy - Sovereign of Sugar - Recall back to my article on Lore Values and remember that this is the definition of a "Vanilla" card. Ironic really, to be the Sovereign of Sugar and end up just being vanilla.

Minnie Mouse - Quick-Thinking Inventor - Even though this only cost 1 Ink you NEVER want to play her on turn 1. Her surprise change of Challenge math could be valuable. For sure I would grab her early in a draft format. Not a first pick mind you, but pretty early.

Chicha - Dedicated Mother - Moving on to the 2-drops we first find a doozy. While only having 1 toughness her ability doesn't need exertion so she can survive for a while. So many cards get amped when she is in play. Now One Jump Ahead replaces itself. Gramma Tala - Storyteller wears a Kuzco llama coat if played aggressively. How Far I'll Go nets an Ink plus two cards in hand instead of just one. Fishbone Quill no longer worries about depleting your hand for the sake of Ink. Now your hand is the same size and customized to your liking. Belle - Strange but Special goes the same way but better at 10. So many plus factors if she stays in Play! Love this card!

Tanana - Wise Woman - We already have Jasmine- Heir of Agrabah not seeing much play. But while Tanana cost 1 more Ink she does have a bigger backside and can heal locations. Maybe she can find a small niche but I'm not feeling it.

The Queen - Cruelest of All - There are some interesting things happening with The Queen in this set. I will go into that at some future point. Might even build a deck for it in a casual environment. But without those facts this is basically a support target. The zero strength is needed since Ward with a 4 willpower is normally above the 2 Ink realm.

Tipo - Growing Son - A faster Mickey Mouse-Detective might have a home. Jumping from 2 to 4 does curve out more often than jumping 3 to 5.

Pacha - Emperor's Guide - Encouraging card type diversity in your deck. Could be a source for 4 lore per turn. Not shabby and a Hero to boot.

Prince John - Opportunistic Briber - If you have some cool item shenanigans (foreshadowing) he might but okay. Probably not still.

Belle - Of the Ball - Love the name. Kinda like Bond, James Bond vibe. Not much of a reason to see play.

Chaca - Impressive Daughter - Boring. Move along

Merlin - Back from Bermuda - Might be a good base for a Shift target (scroll down). The Arthur help feels too narrow. Like Rafiki's anti-Hyena stuff.

Prince John - Gold Lover - Did I mention Item shenanigans? Won't drop a Lucky Dime for free though, bummer.

Scrooge McDuck - Afficionado of Antiquities - Pass.

The Queen - Crown of the Council - We now have 10 different "The Queens". Playing almost all 10 (color limits) makes the ability within reach. Fun note: Bruno-Undetected Uncle only requires the primary name. So, saying "The Queen" could net you 3 Lore and a card.

Donald Duck - Focused Flatfoot - Mickey's upgrade. Doesn't curve out unless you're playing for Gramma Tala - Spirit of the Ocean.

King Candy - Sweet Abomination - This plays like most Floodborn. If you pull off its Shift 3 then you are getting some value. It's actually net zero on card total but you gain a character that generates 2 lore while maintaining and filtering your hand. At 5 that is still playable but to be noninkable may be a deal breaker.

Ludwig von Drake - Self-Proclaimed Genius - 3 Lore is never something to ignore. Solid draft target in the uncommon spot that many will overlook because of no abilities.

The Queen - Fairest in the Land - Now this is a Queen for the Queens. At 5 Ink it is actually good because you want to drop after the others (most of the time). I don't want to Shift her since that decreases her upside. Make sure you count herself as one of the "The Queen" in play so actually netting 2 lore at least.

Kuzco - Selfish Emperor - Item or Location removal at 6 is too late. The second ability might be some concoction where tons of Ink pays off. Notice that you could spend 8 to make Resist +2 since Resist does stack. I don't personally value Resist at 4 ink though.

Merlin - Intellectual Visionary - If you didn't see it before I already wrote a whole article for this guy. . I stand my ground that this is the best card in this set. If you are a competitive player, you better prep for Blurple Merlin. I do see a few routes a person can go with this card but it's Meta for sure.

Mufasa - Ruler of Pride Rock - I meant what I said on Merlin but this guy is also calling our attention. First, with a Sapphire deck made for Ink ramp he can drop on turn 4 or 5 without issue. Then you get two cards in hand that you may have intentionally put in storage via your own Inkwell. AND your 6 remaining ink now kind of acts like 12. I say "kind of" because you can't "float" ink. So, if you use it for Kuzco-Selfish Emperor then you would only get Resist +2. But if you have 8 ink available Kuzco could give Resist +4. I would not be worried about exerting a 4/9 with Resist 4 at all. On top of all that he nets 4 Lore.

Sheriff of Nottingham - Bushel Britches - Coming in at 9 noninkable we have a real question mark. Remember the item shenanigans I mentioned earlier. Within those shenanigans and some basic ramp he shows potential. In casual play I see some real fun to be had.

Actions

All Funned Out - More ramp in Sapphire. This one is design dependent. I have had games where Mickey Mouse-Detective feels worthless after grabbing the extra ink. Now he can be Gramma Mickey as well for the cost of the extra Ink he gave me. The question is whether to sacrifice the card slots in your 60?

Ever As Before - When it comes to healing, this is rather pedestrian.

Hide Away - Similar to All Funned Out. Pawpsicle can give you a card at 1 and then turn to Ink on 2 but I'm not likely to see it. Mufasa-Ruler of Pride Rock might like it.

Vision of the Future - Currently there are few real "combos" in Lorcana. What we call a combo is just synergy. But if you need to dig for the pieces AND you're in Sapphire, this card is really good.

Royal Tantrum - If only there was some way to bring Items back from the discard (more foreshadowing). I think there is room for an Item heavy deck to make its way into play. Probably going to make an article about it soon (shameless plug).

Items

Basil's Magnifying Glass - Item digging could be valuable in a certain deck I am thinking of. The first iteration for a total of 4 Ink may seem high but each use lowers the cost average. Making this a better card with each use.

Medal of Heroes - Have you ever played a game where you had the win on table for next turn and your opponent does just enough to hold you at 18 or 19. Now you can wipe that smug look off their face by dropping this Medal. Now one of your sources gains a surprise 2 lore. I wish that either it didn't self-banish or there was some way to bring items back.

Sapphire Chromicon - Same as Medal above but it costs more and loses the surprise factor. In exchange you don't need a character in play. It also doesn't self-banish so it can throw away a Pawpsicle for Lore.

Merlin's Carpetbag - Have I mentioned that we could use a way to return items to our hand? I will be honest with you. When I first saw this card, I didn't register the exert symbol. Imagine using this more than once per turn! Fortunately, the exert symbol is there or I would have to move my #1 card opinion.

Locations

Merlin's Cottage - The Wizard's Home - At 1 Ink 7 damage is a big location. No passive Lore and an off-beat ability. I can imagine a Bruno-Undetected Uncle loving it.

The Great Illuminary - Radiant Ballroom - The 9 damage at 3 Ink is better than we've seen in the past. The synergy with Alice-Growing Girl is interesting but the cost of 2 to move a character there probably puts it out of reach.

That's my take on Sapphire. I hope you enjoyed it. I did cover every card and I will gladly admit if I am wrong on anything. The point of covering all cards and not just the ones that "matter" is to encourage you to do the same. Do you really think a card is made just to fill your junk box? Appreciate the set for the whole set. I first picked Sapphire because I feel it's the best color in Shimmering Skies especially the Blurple possibilities.

As always remember that all the Ink that is cool is sold at coolstuffinc.com.

Be sure to check out the other Ink Colors here:

• Steel by Dan Eckstein
• Ruby by Garrett Farrington
• Amber by Garrett Farrington
• Amethyst by Stefen Delgado
• Emerald by Stefen Delgado