Hello, Illumineers! As we continue our journey through the exciting new cards from the latest set, it’s time to talk about the color that always loves to bring the heat: Ruby. This article will provide a deep dive into the most impactful Lorcana Whispers in the Well Ruby cards. With the full card list for Whispers in the Well now revealed, it’s clear that Ruby is getting a massive injection of raw power, board control, and fascinating new strategies. Let’s dive in and look at the cards that are poised to make a major impact.
The New Face of Early Aggression
Ruby is doubling down on its identity as the premier color for early-game pressure. The theme for low-cost characters in this set seems to be “big stats for cheap,” and I am here for it. These cards are designed to challenge the board immediately and put your opponent on the back foot.
Diablo, Watchful Raven
Right out of the gate, we have a two-ink, 3/3 body with 2 Lore. While he’s uninkable, Diablo is an absolute menace on turn two. A 3 willpower body is tough for most early-game characters to deal with, allowing him to trade up or banish most anything your opponent plays in the first few turns. He’s a simple, effective, and powerful card that will demand an answer.
Ares, God of War
Another two-ink character, Aries is an inkable 3/3 with Reckless. His ability is what makes him truly interesting: once per turn, when you put a card under one of your characters or locations (hello, Boost!), you can choose an opposing character and prevent them from questing for the turn. This is a fantastic tempo play that lets you maintain board control while disrupting your opponent’s lore plans.
Shere Khan, Keen-Eyed Hunter
Rounding out the trifecta of two-drop threats is another inkable 3/3, Shere Khan. While he only has 1 Lore, having a 3/3 body this early is just fantastic value. Cards like these seem to be a direct answer to strategies that want to build a wide board of small questers. Your opponent will have a hard time establishing a board when you can consistently drop a 3-power challenger on turn two.
Mid-Game Menaces and Control Kings
Once you’ve established your early board presence, Ruby has some incredible new tools to control the mid-game and press your advantage. The mid-game is where many of the Lorcana Whispers in the Well Ruby cards truly begin to shine, offering powerful control and game-ending threats.
Hercules, Mighty Leader
This new Legendary Hercules is one of the most unique Lorcana Whispers in the Well Ruby cards. For four ink (uninkable), you get a 5/3 body that quests for two. His first ability is incredible: “This character can’t be dealt damage unless he is being challenged.” This makes him completely immune to cards like Fire the Cannons! or Strength of a Raging Fire. But it gets better. While Hercules is exerted, your other Hero characters gain the same ability! This creates a protective bubble for your board against action-based damage, forcing your opponent into combat on your terms. This card alone could spawn a whole new Hero-themed archetype.
Headless Horseman, Terror of Sleepy Hollow
This is the card many of us have been waiting for. For five ink (uninkable), the Headless Horseman is a 4/2 that quests for two. His first ability is pure board control: “When you play this character, banish chosen opposing character with 2 or less power.” This is fantastic for sniping pesky support characters or small questers.
His second ability is where things get wild: “During your turn, whenever an opposing character is banished, each of your characters gets +1 Power this turn.” This is an explosive effect that turns every trade, every challenge, and every removal action into a massive power-up for your entire team. Imagine challenging to banish a character, then swinging with your newly buffed team to clear the rest of the board. This card is an absolute game-changer for Ruby’s ability to dominate combat.
Lady Tremaine, Sinister Socialite
Lady Tremaine introduces a powerful new recursion engine. She’s a five-ink, 5/4 with Boost 2. Her ability is what makes her stand out: when she quests and you activate her Boost, you can play an action with a cost 5 or less from your discard pile for free, which then goes to the bottom of your deck. Unlike Maximus, this isn’t limited to Songs—it can be any action. You can reuse powerful removal, card draw, or utility actions turn after turn. I expect to see some very creative and powerful Ruby/Emerald decks leveraging this ability.
The “Power Matters” Payoffs
A clear new theme in Ruby is a focus on characters with high power, and the payoffs are huge.
Donald Duck, Ruby Champion
This is the anchor of the new “big Ruby” strategy. For four ink (uninkable), Donald is a 4/4 who gives all of your other Ruby characters +1 Power. That alone is solid, but his second ability is the real prize: your other Ruby characters with 7 or more power get +1 Lore.
This creates an incredible engine. If you have a Lumiere on board, Donald immediately pushes him to 7 power, making him a 3-lore quester. This card rewards you for going tall and can quickly create an unstoppable lore-generating machine that your opponent can’t keep up with.
Elisa Maza, Intrepid Investigator
Elisa Maza is a direct beneficiary of the Donald Duck strategy. She’s a three-ink, 4/3 character. Her ability gives her +2 Lore as long as you have two or more other characters with 5 or more power. With support from cards like Donald, Elisa can easily be swinging for 7+ power and questing for 4 lore. That is an insane amount of pressure from a single character.
Actions and Locations of Note
Ruby’s supporting cast of cards is just as impressive, offering utility, control, and even more combo potential.
Next Stop, Olympus!
This card is just wild. It’s a two-ink action that you can play for free if you have a character with 5 or more power. It allows you to ready a chosen character (they can’t quest that turn) and gain 1 lore if they challenge another character. In a field full of opposing characters, you could chain this together for massive board-clearing turns.
Final Verdict: What is Ruby’s Place in the Meta?
Ruby has been given an incredible suite of tools in Whispers in the Well. The color now boasts a brutally efficient early game, powerful and unique mid-game threats, and a cohesive “power matters” strategy that can end the game in short order. Cards like Headless Horseman provide much-needed board control, while Hercules introduces a new defensive dimension.
I fully expect to see the best Lorcana Whispers in the Well Ruby cards paired with Emerald to take advantage of recursion like Lady Tremaine’s, or with Sapphire to build a dominant control deck. Whatever happens, one thing is certain: Ruby is coming out swinging, and the rest of the meta had better be ready for a fight.