Welcome to the Party!

Can you believe it's already been one year since the release of Disney Lorcana? What better way to celebrate an anniversary of such a beloved trading card game than a thematic party? Shimmering Skies brings us a pool of new cards to collect and play with. This calls for shifts (see what I did there?) in the meta and I'm sure we're all happy to see that. Let's dive in and take a look at what Shimmering Skies bring to the table for Amethyst players!

Review Criteria

With this set, I wanted to offer a multi-faceted approach when it comes to reviewing these cards. My previous analysis typically focused on the competitive aspect of each card. This time around, I wanted to offer some insight with Limited formats as well. We'll rate each format with a simple 1-5 range, where 1 is unplayable and 5 is a must-include. Without further ado, let's jump into it!

It's clear the designers for this set want to support a Maleficent tribal deck. With Constructed format, it's hard to leverage a wide board of Maleficent characters while also getting to 8 ink without the support of Sapphire to help. The good thing is that there's two Maleficent characters in Sapphire as well, from The First Chapter. If that's the direction you want to head in. Shifting her onto another Maleficent seems counter-intuitive as well.

Constructed: 1

Limited: 1

The Nokk holds good value in limited being a 6-cost inkable, but I don't really see much value anywhere else.

Constructed: 1

Limited: 3

I'm really excited for this card due to the flexibility of it being a 1-cost character with an amazing on-play ability that grants Rush to another chosen character. With all the bounce effects that Amethyst has from previous sets, Cogworth continues to hold a lot of value throughout multiple parts of the game. In Limited, this paired with a late game bomb could definitely turn the tides in your favor.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 4

Another Merlin joins the fray, but I really feel like the 4-cost slot is a highly competitive space for Amethyst decks. This card may see more Limited play than Constructed.

Constructed: 2

Limited: 3

Archimedes joins again in Shimmering Skies with two new cards. Being a 3-cost inkable character with fairly decent stats for the slot means we'll see this in some Constructed and a lot more Limited, thanks to having Evasive.

Constructed: 3

Limited: 4

Bruni has some really solid stats for what it offers. Some of the highlights include the ability to replace itself when banished, as well as having Evasive.

Constructed: 3

Limited: 4

Earth Giant is overstated for a price by granting your opponent a draw when you play it. This could be somewhat of an impactful play in Limited, but it feels bad giving your opponent more card advantage because of it.

Constructed: 2

Limited: 2

Gale has great value in Limited and Constructed games thanks to its ability to return back to your hand when banished in a challenge. This paired with a Merlin - Crab can allow you to make an efficient trade when dealing with a pesky opposing character.

Constructed: 3

Limited: 4

White Rabbit has no additional abilities and makes up for it with a slightly higher Willpower than the majority of other characters in the same slot. Not enough to make a drastic impact, however.

Constructed: 1

Limited: 2

Madam Mim comes back with another variant, and it's really good. In addition to her bounce effect, her Willpower is higher than average of other characters at 4-cost. Her ability, Sneaky Move, allows her to constantly challenge characters and transfer her damage to an opposing character at the start of your next turn. This with Cogsworth - Illuminary Watchman can really help in sticky situations

Constructed: 4

Limited: 4

Luisa is a 6-cost non-inkable character that makes up for it with great stats. If you see this in Limited, grab it. This also gives Amethyst another high Willpower character that makes it a bit harder for Steel to deal with.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 5

Anna is a really great Floodborn with Shift 4, and an okay 7-cost non-inkable character. We will most likely see her try to combo with Genie - Main Attraction for a total lockdown late game.

Constructed: 3

Limited: 3

When paired with its cheaper variants, Archimedes is a phenomenal Shift 3 Floodborn with stats that are well-rounded for almost any situation. With Evasive, this is a great offensive option when having to deal with a board of threats or for simply questing for 2.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 3

Elsa is another great addition to Amethyst thanks to not only Rush, but Evasive. Its ability, Crystallize, allows you to exert an opposing character. Its low Strength might make it difficult to take out much larger threats when we're at 5 ink, but keywords like Support may be able to help us make more efficient trades that way. She can also make for a great shift target for Elsa - Spirit of Winter as well on the following turn.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 4

Genie is quite a bomb at 7 ink. It's non-inkable, with a strong lockdown ability to prevent opposing characters from becoming ready on the opponent's turn. With a perfectly timed Anna - Mystical Majesty, this could spell disaster for your opponent. I really do see this becoming one of the strong plays for Amethyst Sapphire based decks.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 3

Olaf is the showcase character for Amethyst with a heavy cost reduction emphasis for maximum value. In this case, it's the amount of exerted characters your opponent has in play. For lockdown-style decks, he's easy to slot in. However, I question what happens when you start running out of abilities to exert your opponent's characters? We might need to get more play-testing to see if this ability really pans out. Otherwise, Olaf has great stats that become even more valuable the earlier/cheaper you can get him down.

Constructed: 2

Limited: 2

This is a hard card to try and justify the value for. At best, it's ability to bounce characters with a cost of 3 or less when you quest with it as long as you discard a card is situational. Otherwise, I don't really expect to see much play with this one.

Constructed : 1

Limited: 2

A vanilla 5-cost inkable character with okay stats could see some play in Limited. That's really it.

Constructed: 1

Limited: 3

Magica De Spell is a blessing to Amethyst players who HATE discarding their cards. She shuts it down by preventing you from discarding effects on your opponent's turn. Expect to see her teched in for any metas with a heavy discard presence.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 2

A 2-cost inkable character that quests for 2 with 2 Strength and 2 Willpower is pretty solid in Limited. We may see her be used in aggro decks as well.

Constructed: 3

Limited: 4

Amethyst really likes putting some of its best cards in the 4-cost slot, which makes it really hard to diversify and find a slot for Rafiki. Otherwise, this is a fantastic Limited choice.

Constructed: 3

Limited: 4

Anna at 3-cost and being non-inkable is a tough call at this slot. Unless we're trying to use her to Shift to Anna - Mystical Majesty, I don't see much value including her in Constructed.

Constructed: 1

Limited: 2

King of Hearts looks like it's conflicting with itself on whether you want to use it's activated effect or to quest with it. It may be too slow in Constructed at this time, and it doesn't seem to provide much value at a 4-cost slot in Limited either.

Constructed: 1

Limited: 2

Camilo does a great job at flavorwise for its ability. With a built in bounce effect, we may see him strengthen the Madrigal Amber Amethyst decks with the new Mirabel as well. Otherwise, we may not see much of him elsewhere.

Constructed: 2

Limited: 2

Our first action is fairly strong at 2-cost with an ability to not only replace itself thanks to the draw effect, but to grant Challenger +2. This helps deal with early threats like Daisy.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 4

Simple. Straightforward, draw 3 cards. Spending 5 ink to draw 3 cards is tough. We lose a lot of tempo at that slot and would probably be better looking into other solutions for drawing cards.

Constructed: 2

Limited: 3

We Know The Way is a card I look at and ask myself "How do I exploit this?" I have a feeling we're going to see some crazy combo decks that use this for some kind of recursion. I would keep an eye on this card.

Constructed: 3

Limited: 3

Another simple and straightforward action to gain 2 lore. This could be the closer for hyper aggro focused decks utilizing Amethyst.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 4

This action helps make efficient trades with your opponent by not only granting a character Challenge +3, but allowing you to return your own character in the event they get banished. This looks like a solid choice for Amethyst Emerald tempo-based decks.

Constructed: 3

Limited: 4

Amethyst gets more bounce effects through an item that can be used offensively or defensively. It's okay, but I need more play-testing to understand its true value.

Constructed: 2

Limited: 3

Originally teased in the Illumineer's Quest - Deep Trouble, this item seems way too expensive for both of its activated abilities. I don't see it getting too much play in either format.

Constructed: 1

Limited: 1

This kind of item is exactly what Amethyst hyper aggro is looking for. Giving an opponent a card per activation isn't an issue if you can find your pieces needed to close out the game early enough. Probably one of, if not the best, Chromicons in this set.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 4

A lockdown effect for Amethyst through a location is unique. With 4 Willpower however, I can't help to question what can keep this location alive long enough to get the desired value from it.

Constructed: 2

Limited: 3

Amethyst gets another strong location with more draw effects. Probably one of the strongest locations in this set.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 4

What Are Your Thoughts?

There you have it! All of the Amethyst cards reviewed and rated. What are your thoughts? What Amethyst cards are you considering for your deck? Let me know on Twitter @_EmeraldWeapon_, and let's continue the conversation!

And remember, CoolStuffInc is your one-stop shop for all your Lorcana needs. Whether you're looking for singles, sealed product, or the latest accessories, they have you covered. Be sure to check out their website and stock up on everything you need to dominate the Lorcana scene!

Be sure to check out the other Ink Colors here:

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