I’m so ready for the next Lorcana expansion. In the past, it’s been hard to let go and embrace the unknown. Into the Inklands represented such a healthy and exciting time for the game, so it felt inevitable that Ursula’s Return could only change things for the worse. I wish those fears had been misplaced, but after living for three months under the reign of Bucky, it's hard to argue otherwise.

But change is inevitable in any trading card game, and not having to mourn the end of Ursula’s Return gives me more time to get hyped about Shimmering Skies. We’ve seen just over half of the cards coming in the new set and there’s a lot to be excited about, especially if you’re looking for some new ways to combat the most dominant deck archetypes in the current meta. The launch of Shimmering Skies coincides with the big Bucky errata that will see the squirrel get nerfed into oblivion, which is reason enough to get excited. But if you need a little more, here are the five most promising Shimmering Skies cards revealed so far.

Chicha, Dedicated Mother

Fishbone Quill has been the cornerstone of Sapphire ramp decks since the very beginning of Lorcana, and that likely won’t change in the new set. The downside of inking twice as many cards from your hand is that you run out of cards twice as fast, which is why Hiram Falversham, Toymaker is such a crucial draw engine for Ruby/Sapphire and Sapphire/Steel decks. Chicha feels like an auto-include in ramp decks as she fully negates the downside of using the Fishbone Quill, especially because she ramps perfectly into a turn-three Fishbone.

It is an uninkable card, which is difficult to balance, but ramp decks have the luxury of running more uninkables than most because the Fishbone lets you ink uninkable cards. Having multiple Chica in play can even provide you with a net positive card draw, and if you ramp into a Cogsworth, Grandfather Clock the turn after you play Quill, you can protect Chicha from retributive Big Tinks. I will be shocked if Chicha isn’t a staple in Sapphire decks in the new meta.

Ruby Chromicon

Among the six new Infinity Stone-style Chromicons, Ruby Chromicon stands out as the clear winner. This one-cost item may seem like it has a minor effect, but there are so many lines that change when a character’s strength is increased by just one. The most obvious one is Maui, Hero to All, which can take out a Queen’s Castle in one hit with Ruby Chromicon, but if you think outside the box there’s a lot more synergies this new item unlocks.

Just as Sisu, Empowered Sibling gained additional range from Ice Block, Ruby Chromicon enables World’s Greatest Criminal Mind to now banish four-Strength characters like Merlin, Goat and Big Tink. This is also another one-cost item that Hiram can banish to draw cards from in Ruby/Sapphire.

Doc, Bold Knight

Doc is the first “hear me out” on this list, but there’s a lot more to this card than you might notice at first glance. Doc gets the most value from an already empty hand, since you don’t have to discard anything, and because he costs two, he can also activate Stitch, Rock Stars ability, turning him into a two-cost 1/3 that lets you draw three cards. There’s also potential synergy with Pedita, Determined Mother, because her recursion will allow you to replay Doc for card draw and an additional threat. The hardest thing about playing aggro is how easy it is to run out of cards, so cheap characters like this that offer card draw and synergize with other aggro pieces have a ton of potential.

Daisy Duck, Donald’s Date

Here’s another card that gives me hope aggro can make a comeback this set. The abundance of Steel decks in the meta has always held aggro back, which has let the control decks run wild for a long time. Daisy Duck is a one-cost character that can’t be removed by any one-cost card currently in the game, which means it’s almost always going to generate a lot of value early on. The downside is that it potentially gives the opponent an extra card each turn, but the deck this card goes in is trying to win so fast that it won’t matter how many cards the opponent has - they just won’t be able to keep up on board.

Another Stitch, Rock Star companion with a lot of potential. I’m excited to see some Amber/Steel and Amber/Emerald decks that go fast in Shimmering Skies.

Mufasa, Ruler of Pride Rock

I’d like to include an Emerald or Amethyst card here to represent as many colors as possible, but there’s no way to make this list without mentioning Mufasa. The abilities and stats on this card have the wow-factor you hope to see on any Legendary. Whether it ends up being viable or not, Mufasa is the most exciting card we’ve seen yet for Shimmering Skies.

This is the first time a card has ever allowed you to retrieve cards from your inkwell, and it’s also the first card that lets you reset your ink after you’ve already spent it. It effectively doubles your inkwell while providing card advantage, at the cost of two ink. Whether you play this on curve or late in the game when you have ink to spare, it’s going to cause a serious headache for your opponent either way. An eight-cost uninkable with no ETB other than card draw isn’t going to be broken, but this is the definition of a bomb, and the Timmy in me can’t wait to make some big plays with him.

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Every Card Revealed For Disney Lorcana's Shimmering Skies

It's time for a celebration with Disney Lorcana's fifth set, Shimmering Skies.

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