The fourth Disney Lorcana set, Ursula’s Return, is so close now I can practically taste it (it’s salty like the sea). We’ve just seen the full reveal of all 204 cards this week, and while I should be focusing on perfect𝓰ing my🍒 deck for the Disney Lorcana Challenge in Atlanta this month, all I can think about is all the new decks I want to build next season.
There are fun new characters, interesting mechanics, and some puzzle pieces we’ve been waiting for since The First Chapter, so while I’m nervous to see such a good meta change, I’m excited to see what the changes will look like. That said, there’s a bit of a dark cloud hanging over the new expansion that’s got some players worried - and I’m not talking about t🤡he sea witch.
Following the Ursula’s Return card reveals, there’s been some debate about whether or not Madam Medusa, The Boss is healthy for Lorcana, or if it&rsquo🌱;s a card destined fo♌r the ban list.
The Into the Inklands meta may be on its way out, but the impact of the cards it introduced are going to be felt for a long time. We got some incredible new tools this season such as locations, which gives some decks entirely new ways to intera🐎ct and earn lore, and hand checks, which are cards like Ursula, Deceiver and The Bear Necessities that let you look at your opponent’s and choose a card for them to discard.
All of those cards contributed to the wi♔de-open meta we have today by providing counter-play options to existing meta decks. Cards that solve a specific problem or provide a specific advantage typically help support healthy metas, but then there are the overpowered and oppressive cards that seem to do too much and provide too many answers to every other deck, like Madam Medusa.
Pro TCG player Savjz kicked off the debate last week with a tweet, saying “The first card ever to be banned will be Madame ✅Medusa. The Card single-handedly chokes out countless cool legendary cards into unplayable ones. Seeing new cards and thinking they are unplayable🌃 [because] dies to Medusa is real, and it won’t stop.”
Whether Medusa is keeping cards in check or keeping them down is up for debate. Powerful cards should have counterplay, 💎but the concern is that Medusa has𒆙 far too much counterplay potential.
There’s a lot to unpack here. Madame Medusa is a six-cost🍸, uninkable Ruby character with the ability to banish a chosen character with three Stre🥃ngth or less when she enters play. It’s a simple enough ability, but the consequences of it have been massive.
The argument against Medusa is that she keeps a lot of exciting and powerful cards out of the meta, and to some extent we’ve already seen that bear out. Both Beast, Tragic Hero and Robin Hood, Champion of Sherwood Forest were hyped, seemingly powerful cards going into Into the Inklands, and while they both see play, they&♕rsquo;ve definitely been held back by Medusa. Arguably the two best decks, Ruby/Amethyst and ꧃Ruby/Sapphire, play Medusa, making all the Steel decks that could play Beast and Robin Hood less successful by comparison.
Ursula's Return Legendaries That Fall To Madame Medusa
Looking ahead to Ursula’s Return, it’s easy to see where the Medusa anxiety is coming from. Among the 12 Legendary characters in this expansion, and nine of them fall to Medusa. Cards like Hades, Foul Player; Donald Duck, Buccaneer; and Cinderella, Melody Weaver are particularly vulnerable because they have to sit on the table and dry for a turn before you can get any value out ofꦗ them.
It’s tough to justify making a spot for a card that does nothing the turn it's played when your opponent is very likely to have a card that can remove it and put a 4/4 quester on the board.
Legendary cards are🔯 not meant to be the most powerful cards, but rather the most unique. Still, they’re the rarest to f🗹ind and often the most valuable, so there’s an expectation that they’re going to be playable.
As more Lorcana expansions are released, the overall impact of each one will naturally decline. We’ve got enough good cards now that we aren&rsquo💦;t necessarily looking to replace weak links in existing decks, and are instead looking for opportunities to strengthen existing archetypes. Savjz is right when he says that looking at new cards and immediately thinking “I can’t play this because Medusa exists” is not a good fe🍌eling, especially when spoiler season is meant to be one of the most exciting times for the game.
But perception isn’t always reality, so even if it feels like Medusa is suppressing the meta it’s important to keep things in perspective. You can still only have four Madame Medusas in a deck af🦋ter all, and while Ruby/Amethyst decks can bounce them back to hand to be replayed, it’s not as though your opponent can just play Medusas every turn to banish every card you play. Like Be Prepared and A Whole New World, Medusa is another card you need to find ways to play around.
Is It Weird That I Kind Of Don't Want A New Lorcana Expansion Right Now?
Lorcana is so goo🌠d right now I'm afraid of an🎶y change.
Medusa’s potency will also be affected by the abilities of future cards. We’re already seeing a potential counter this set in Lumiere, Fiery Friends, which gives your other characters one extra Strength. Having Lumiere in play puts all of your three Strengths characters out of range of Medusa&rsqu🍸o;s ability - and t🐎hat includes Beast and Robin Hood.
Just as The Bear Necessities and Ursula, Deceiver he♚lped keep Be Prepared in check, there are other ways to out-design Medusa without needing to write her name on a ban list. Ward exists, let’s not forget.
It remains to be seen whether or not Medusa will dominate the set four meta, but she’s no doubt a major threat that needs to be considered when building decks and playing matches. Hopefully the most exciting new legendari𓄧es and super rares will still see play anyway. There are worse things than uninkable six-cost cards with single-target removal.
Maybe Medusa came to the game soonerও than she needed to, considering Ruby already has Dragon Fire, Be Prepared, and Lady Tremaine, Imperious Queen. But she&rsqu☂o;s here now, and we’re just going to have to deal with her.
