Greetings, Illumineers! Today, we'll be going over another ink from Archazia's Island, Ruby. Ruby, traditionally known for self-damage, strength buffing, and strong removal mechanics had a few neat inclusions this set to strengthen the identity a bit more. Once paired with a great supporting ink, such as Sapphire for ramp or Amethyst for card draw, you'll be off to a great start. Or, take another more ambitious path and explore Ruby Steel for an ultimate removal package through challenges, spot, and wide removal. After reviewing the new set, here are my top cards to keep an eye on early on.

Unconventional Tool

Unconventional Tool is a 1-cost, ink-able, item that synergizes well with Ruby/Sapphire item control decks by supporting not only Belle - Apprentice Inventor, but her Floodborn version, Belle - Mechanic Extraordinaire and some of our old favorites, such as Hiram Flaversham - Toymaker. Once banished, you're looking at a very solid 2 ink discount for your next item. How about a Fishbone Quill as soon as turn two? Items like this prove that both Ruby/Sapphire and Sapphire/Steel items will be decks to prepare for in the upcoming meta, so if you're not playing it you'll need to do something about dealing with it.

Devil's Eye Diamond

Devil's Eye Diamond is a 2-cost, ink-able item that leans more into the self-damage and challenge aspects of Disney Lorcana, gaining lore once one of your characters was dealt damage. Teeth and Ambitions, as well as Scar - Heartless Hunter are some cards from previous sets that you can explore, as well as Break Free. Stacking a few of these on the field can be problematic for opponents without item removal, so I'm excited to see what Illumineers end up doing with this card, which is why it's number two on my list of Ruby cards to look out for this set.

Queen of Hearts - Losing Her Temper

Queen of Hearts - Losing Her Temper is a 2-cost, ink-able character that has great stats when damaged. A potential 4 strength, 4 willpower character that can check aggro-style decks is nothing to scoff at. In a world where she can potentially still be around when Belle - Accomplished Mystic is played, you can take up to 3 damage that was dealt to her, and send it right over to an opponent's character, giving you even more options to keep her around for value trades. Self-damage decks are still unexplored in Disney Lorcana, and I'm excited to see what's in store for this card during the early meta for Archazia's Island.

Lyle Tiberius Rourke - Crystallized Mercenary

Lyle Tiberius Rourke - Crystallized Mercenary is an 8-cost bomb of a character that's ink-able and a really interesting mechanic toward this part of the game once he's dropped. With a built-in Grab Your Sword mechanic every time you place ink in the inkwell, you're dealing 2 damage to EACH character in play. This could trigger effects for self-damage decks, as well as dealing area damage to control the board a bit. I know that Be Prepared can do the same for less, but there's something about leaving a ticking time bomb on the board that commands a bit of respect until he's been dealt with.

We've Got Company!

We've Got Company! Is my last pick for this review of Ruby for Archazia's Island. I'm a sucker for ready mechanics and this one is attempting to punish you if played incorrectly, but if you're constantly making value trades, you can ready your characters and use them to sing songs or even use Cogsworth - Talking Clock to pseudo-quest with them. I truly hope this card is explored sooner rather than later, because this is screaming to be used in a combo-heavy deck.

These are the Top 5 Ruby cards I'm keeping an eye out for in Archazia's Island. We haven't included any dual inks as they'll get their own article, so stay tuned for that. Keep an eye out for the rest of the base inks this week as we're building up to a strong start. This article was brought to you by CoolStuffInc, the best place to not only buy these amazing Ruby cards, but more Disney Lorcana and other popular TCGs, such as Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, and YuGiOh!