Summary

• Disney Lorcana's new expansion set, Into The Inklands, introduces location cards, creating new game dynamics and strategies.
• Ursula: Deceiver Of All, Kida: Protector Of Atlantis, and And Then Along Came Zeus are cards likely to impact competitive play.
• Cards like Jim Hawkins: Space Traveler and Morph: Space Goo enhance gameplay with new mechanics and strategic possibilities.

As each set is added to the trading card game Disney Lorcana, the dynamics for competitive play and what cards are most desirable to create the strongest meta decks get switched up, and Into The Inklands is doing it again in a big way. The introduction of location cards adds a whole new game mechanic for players to learn, and present large changes to strategies. Of course, when building any deck, players should think about the strategy they want to use, as simply having a great card will mean very little if it doesn't match the style of play incorporated.

Disney Lorcana: Into The Inklands is the third set released for the game, and is available for sale at many local game stores and hobby shops on February 23, 2024, with a larger retail launch on March 8. As per usual, the cards will be able to be mixed with others from The First Chapter and Rise of the Floodborn, as long as no more than two inks are represented per deck. This means that players will have a larger pool of cards to sift through when building custom decks, and many new strategies can be considered. The following cards are some of the most likely to change the Disney Lorcana meta for competitive play.

12 Ursula: Deceiver Of All

Card Number 91/204, Emerald Ink

Ursula: Deceiver of All is going to be a difficult card to find, as it is listed at the Legendary rarity, yet for those lucky enough to get her, she can be a vicious card in a song-heavy deck. Only costing three ink to play, every time this Ursula sings a song, she can essentially sing it twice and then be placed back in the deck rather than discarded. Unfortunately, as her cost is only three, it limits which songs she can do this with, but this could still be a very powerful card when used well.

11 Pride Lands (Location)

Card Number 33/204, Amber Ink

Before Into The Inklands cards have even hit the table, creative players have already come up with ways to work the system using the Pride Lands location card in Lorcana. Any character at this location has an extra plus-two defense, and the location offers one lore. An especially dangerous combo for opponents comes when a player combines Pride Lands, Simba: Protective Cub, Madam Mim: Snake, and Merlin: Shapeshifter to receive nearly infinite lore.

10 Kida: Protector Of Atlantis

Card Number 7/204, Amber Ink

A good all-around card, Kida: Protector of Atlantis can quest for two and has decent challenging power (attack) and willpower (defense). The truly impressive part of this card comes when she is first played, as playing her will make all characters attack for three less until the next time this player has a turn. That does apply to the Kida's owner's cards as well, though, so it must be used strategically if any attacks are going to be made.

9 And Then Along Came Zeus (Song)

Card Number 195/204, Steel Ink

Although the Song card And Then Along Came Zeus cannot be used as ink, there are very few times when a player would not want to use it in play anyway. For only four ink, it can be sung by a character to deal five damage to either a location or character. This means that this song could effectively take out some location cards in one shot, such as Maui's Place Of Exile.

8 Jim Hawkins: Space Traveler

Card Number 109/204, Ruby Ink

With the focus of Disney Lorcana: Into The Inklands being on the new game mechanics of location cards, having this Jim Hawkins card in a deck will help ensure that the locations can be used as much as possible. When the card is first played, any location with a cost of four or less can also be played for free. Additionally, Jim Hawkins can move to a new location for free whenever one is played. If locations are running thin, it is still a good card, being able to quest for two lore and having both attack and defense of four.

7 Robin Hood: Champion Of Sherwood

Card Number 190/204, Steel Ink

Robin Hood: Champion of Sherwood has the Shift mechanic, which means he can be played on top of another Robin Hood or Morph card for only three ink, although even at five ink, this card is a steal. Not only does this Robin Hood quest for two lore, and offer a wonderful six in defense, but when he banishes another character he gets another two lore. Even when this card is defeated in a challenge, the player may draw a card when Robin Hood is banished.

6 Morph: Space Goo

Card Number 81/204, Emerald Ink

One common complaint in Disney Lorcana is that players don't always want to utilize the Shift mechanic because of sacrificing the lesser card for it. This is what the new Morph: Space Goo Into the Inklands card addresses perfectly. Morph is only a cost of two ink, and then he can be used for any character with Shift to be played on top of as if he was the needed card. Making it even better, Morph is only classified as a Rare card, so players will have a better chance of having multiples in their deck.

5 The Queen's Castle (Location)

Card Number 67/204, Amethyst Ink

A common problem that players can run into while playing Disney Lorcana is running out of cards in their hand. This location, The Queen's Castle, will help ensure that does not happen, as players can draw cards for each character they have there, every turn. Additionally, while The Queen's Castle only costs four ink to play, it will give two lore and has a defensive willpower of seven.

4 The Bare Necessities (Song)

Card Number 28/204, Amber Ink

A perfect song to be used against decks using a lot of actions or items, The Bare Necessities allows the player to see the opponent's hand and discard one card from it that is not a character. Used at the right time, this can be a huge blow against an opponent who is strategically saving an action for maximum effect. If the player is facing off against someone who doesn't use many items or actions, this card can also simply be inked so that others may be used instead, and therefore, is a good defensive card to have in the deck.

3 Gramma Tala: Spirit Of The Ocean

Card Number 143/204, Sapphire Ink

Gramma Tala: Spirit of the Ocean will absolutely be a highly coveted and useful card for Sapphire ink decks. She can quest for two and has a defense of eight, but more importantly, she has an ability where, as long as she is in play, whenever a card is added to the player's inkwell, they gain one lore. Used with some inkwell-adding Sapphire cards, such as Heart of Te Fiti, this can quickly add up to a lot of lore gained on every turn.