There are nine total different keywords that have been presented in Disney Lorcana's The First Chapter, and all range in usefulness depending on the game situation at hand. Challenger, which adds attack stats to the already base attack stat, is one of the abilities that has a decent number of playable cards in it.
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The thing to remember when putting Challenger cards into your deck is it only applies when you are challenging, so when your opponent comes back and challenges one of your characters, they only swing for their base challenge stat. Nonetheless, this ability is rather useful when needing to deal with high-Willpower characters throughout the game.
8 Tinker Bell, Peter Pan's Ally
Tinker Bell, Peter Pan’s Ally is the only card that gives Challenger to another character. Her ability Loyal And Devoted says that any of your characters named Peter Pan gets a plus one Strength when challenging. This ability doesn't have that big of a splash, due to the fact there are only two Peter Pan cards in the game. Once more come around though, it can be looked at as a more viable option.
Even though Tink isn’t the best Challenger card, she does have Evasive, which is a very strong keyword, and has a lore value of two which can prove pivotal at certain points in a game.
7 Dr. Facilier, Charlatan
The most noticeable part about Dr. Facilier, Charlatan is that he has a base Strength stat of zero. This means when he is challenged it is a free attack for your opponent due to the fact that he won’t be hitting for any damage in return.
While Facilier is challenging though he hits for two, and with his cost being two and his Willpower being four, getting this card down early can be helpful. Being able to take out low-power cards early and also soaking up a few hits can be a reason to consider Dr. Facilier.
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6 Prince Eric, Dashing And Brave
Hitting for three damage on turn three can be very useful and that’s what Prince Eric, Dashing and Brave brings to the table. There are a plethora of cards in the game that have a Willpower of three that can be played on turn two and can be pesky and need to be dealt with, and Eric can help with those.
The reason this card is not the best, though, is the same as Dr. Facilier: when he is challenged, he only swings for one and that won’t take out many characters.
5 Jafar, Wicked Sorcerer
Jafar, Wicked Sorcerer is interesting, to say the least. He has a base Strength stat of two, but his Challenger stat adds three. He also has five Willpower which, if he is played on curve at turn four, is a beefy card to get rid of.
This is as middle of the line you’re going to get with a Challenger card. He can hit high numbers when challenging and soak up a few hits, but there isn’t anything truly outstanding with the other four cost cards being in the game that would want to be played.
4 Captain Hook, Thinking A Happy Thought
It’s a smiling pirate! Who would've thought?! Captain Hook, Thinking a Happy Thought is a jolly good guy who has Challenger 3 on his card. With his base Strength of two, he is able to hit five Willpower characters, which can be very useful considering what else is on his card.
He has Shift 3, which allows him to be played on turn three on a lower-cost Captain Hook card. This, plus his ability Stolen Dust allows him to be played early and also not be able to be challenged by a majority of the cards on the board if he is shifted down.
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3 Captain Hook, Forceful Duelist
The other Hook card that has Challenger on him, Captain Hook, Forceful Duelist is a one-drop with a base one attack stat. This, plus his Challenger 2 ability, allows him to hit three damage when challenging on turn two.
When Hook is down on the board, your opponent always has to respect it. If they choose to quest, they know this Hook will have the ability to take most early-game targets out with ease.
2 Simba, Returned King
Simba, Returned King is one of the cards on the high end of cost for Challenger cards, but there is a good reason for that. At a cost of seven Simba has a base Strength stat of four. Then, his Challenger 4 gives him the ability to, in one challenge, banish any character from the board besides one (King Triton, The Sea King).
Having the ability to take out anything in one shot is very useful especially later in the game. He also has the ability Pounce, which grants him Evasive during your turn, which allows you to hit those pesky Evasive characters as well.
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1 Zeus, God of Lightning
Right off the bat, this card doesn’t look that good. Zeus, God of Lightning has a base Strength of zero and is uninkable, which are two not-so-good characteristics when looking at a playable Lorcana card. He does have Challenger 4 which gives him four attack when you are challenging, but it is his Rush ability that makes this card a very viable choice.
Being able to swing for four damage as soon as Zeus is played down can shift the tides in a big way. Most cards that have been played up to that point have less than four Willpower, so being able to take out a threat in an instant is why this card is so good.
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