More spoilers from Lorcana TCG: Rise Of The Floodborn!
Beast
Beast – Relentless seems insane at first glance. His ‘Second Wind’ ability says Whenever an opposing character is damaged, you may ready this character.
He is easily comparable to Tinker Belle – Giant Fairy (One of the best characters in the game so far). They share the same stats of four Strength, five Willpower and a quest value of two lore. They are both inkable cards that cost six to play. Big Tink probably pips it for me slightly due to her additional on-play ability but there will be plenty of shenanigans to be had with resetting Beast.
We currently have a Steel Beast – Hardheaded from The First Chapter which offers a different style of play, however the new Emerald version opens up a much more aggressive approach. While both have a quest value of two lore, it is possible that Beast – Relentless will be pushing to quest a number of times in a single turn.
Offensively (and aside from generally challenging with characters), there are plenty of cards from The First Chapter that can make use of his ability. Big Tink for a start deals damage on-play. Hans – Thirteenth in Line will also help Beast ready along with action cards such as Grab Your Sword, Smash, Fire The Cannons, Stampede and item card Plasma Blaster.
Defensively, should a character challenge but not banish him, then he will Ready as the challenging character will take damage back. This will mean unless you can take him out in one go or with the additional help of damage from hand then you won’t be able to make another challenge against him that turn. Unless of course you are able to exert him.
He also plays around certain cards such as Elsa – Spirit Of Winter, Anna – Heir to Arendelle, and from the new set The Rise Of The Floodborn action card I’m Stuck. Although he won’t be able to Ready at the start of the turn, his ability means it is likely you will be able to Ready him throughout your turn.
Jasper – Common Crook will be a good character to have to in order to keep the Beast at bay.
Another character that will work with resetting Beast is the new Robin Hood – Capable Fighter…
Robin Hood
We were a little disappointed with Robin Hood – Unrivalled Archer from The First Chapter so we are delighted to see Robin Hood – Capable Fighter join the fray. You can exert him to deal one damage to a chosen character. He is comparable to the item Plasma Blaster however it doesn’t cost an extra two ink to use. It also means having a character on the board over an item. His ability is great as he won’t take damage back unless you use him to challenge instead. A couple of resets and you can ping several damage across the board in a single turn. He takes up a non-inkable slot but only costs two ink to play. Not so great against characters with Ward or Resist however. With Resist being a key feature in The Rise Of Floodborn, does this make him less likely to see play?
Ruby
By the time you play Minnie Mouse – Wide-Eyed Diver, you are likely to have enough ink down, have a selection of cards in your hand and therefore be able to take several actions during your turn: meaning her ability ‘Undersea Adventure’ is likely to be available most of the time, allowing this character to gain +2 lore this turn.
Itis worth noting that she can Shift for two onto Minnie Mouse – Always Classy so it is possible to get her on the board on turn two.
Mulan – Soldier In Training: A four cost Ruby character with the Rush keyword has a Strength of four and Willpower of three. Although non-inkable, does having Rush give her the edge over the similar character Raya – Warrior of Kumandra from the new set.
Steel
Cinderella – Knight In Training has the same ability as Simba – Future King from The First Chapter: When you play this character, you may draw a card, then choose and discard a card. She costs one more ink to play but has a better Strength value of two. Additionally, with the upcoming shift character Cinderella – Stouthearted (a clear and thematic shift option) it may mean we will see her replace Simba in Steel decks.
Mouse Armor is a nice little Item card which allows a chosen character to gain Resist +1 until the start of your next turn. You can use this offensively when challenging on your turn, or defensively on your opponent’s turn. A two cost non-inkable card which will surely see play. This will also stack with any characters that already have Resist.
Emerald
When you play Panic – Underworld Imp, a chosen character gets +2 Strength this turn. If the chosen character is named Pain, he gets +4 Strength instead. It will be interesting to see what his pal Pain is like. You would expect some synergy between them. If anything, like similar cards Jetsam – Ursula’s Spy & Flotsam – Ursula’s Spy then it is likely Pain will be an inkable card with similar Willpower to Panic. His Strength is likely to be zero due to the +4 modifier given to him by his mate and a low/zero lore value.
Improvise is a solid one cost inkable action card. Chosen character gets +1 Strength this turn. It also allows you to draw a card so you are benefitting from increasing a Strength stat AND replacing the card you just played.
Bucky – Squirrel Squeak Tutor: A two cost inkable character with Ward lets you force your opponents to choose and discard a card whenever you play a Floodborn character. There are already twelve Floodborn characters from The First Chapter and at the time of this article, six from The Rise Of The Floodborn. With the title of the next Chapter being: Rise Of The Floodborn, you would expect there to be plenty more to come. With a Willpower of one, it won’t be too difficult to kick that buck-toothed rodent off the board.
Hypnotize looks like a decent Action card, even more so in Multiplayer. Forcing an opponent to lose a card can certainly slow them down and frustrate them especially if they have been holding on to a specific card for several turns. Getting to draw a card can get you out of a tight spot.
