Hello, Illumineers! The latest set, Fabled, is right around the corner. We’re already seeing a seismic shift in the landscape of the game. The era of easy, massive card draw from cards like A Whole New World is fading, replaced by a more controlled, strategic pace. To stay ahead of the curve, you need to know which new cards are true power players and which are just fool’s gold.
I’ve been sorting through the ink and testing the new glimmers to bring you my breakdown of the cards that will have the biggest impact on the game. We’ll start with a few that are getting a lot of hype but might not be as dominant as they seem, and then we’ll dive into the definitive Top 5 game-changers from Fabled.
The Hype Check: Cards on the Watchlist
These cards are powerful, but their situational nature might keep them from becoming true meta staples.
Dumbo – The Ninth Wonder of the Universe
On the surface, Dumbo looks incredible. An evasive character who can bring his friends along for extra lore is a tempting prospect. However, the reality is a bit more complicated. Dropping Dumbo on turn four often provides no immediate value, unlike a card like Genie – Wish Fulfilled, which replaces himself instantly. Dumbo is a “win-more” card—he’s fantastic when you already have a board of evasive characters, but he’s too slow to build a board around. He’s a late-game win condition, not a mid-game powerhouse.
Ursula – Voice Stealer
The idea of using your opponent’s characters to sing your songs is devious and brilliant. However, Ursula – Voice Stealer requires a perfect storm to work. First, at five ink, she comes down fairly late. Second, you must have a song in your hand. Third, and most critically, your opponent needs a high-cost character on the field for you to get significant value. Against aggressive (aggro) decks that swarm the board with low-cost characters, you’ll be lucky to play a two or three-cost song for free, which is far too little payoff. Her potential is undeniable, but she’s too inconsistent for most matchups.
The Top 5 Meta-Defining Cards from ‘Fabled’
Now for the main event. These are the cards I believe will be format staples, shaping the very core of new deck archetypes.
5. Powerline – World’s Greatest Rock Star
While he might seem a bit slow with a shift cost of four, the payoff for getting Powerline on the board is astronomical. With a whopping Singer 9, he can sing almost any song in the entire game. But his true power lies in his ability: when he sings a song, you get to look at the top four cards of your deck and play another song for free!
Imagine this: you shift him in, sing Circle of Life (more on that later), and then his ability triggers, letting you hit a free A Pirate’s Life. The value is immense, enabling “double-sing” turns that can completely swing the game in your favor. He requires some setup, but his game-winning potential is off the charts.
4. Jasmine – Fearless Princess
Steel decks just got their new queen. Jasmine – Fearless Princess is a powerhouse packed into a five-ink, inkable card. Her 3/7 stats and Evasive keyword already make her a formidable threat, but her ability pushes her over the top. By discarding a card, you can give her Challenger +3 for the turn.
The key here is that this ability is not once-per-turn. If you need to take down a massive threat, you can discard multiple cards to turn Jasmine into an unstoppable force. A 6/7 Evasive character for one discard is already fantastic. A 9/7 that can clear any character in the game is simply incredible. She offers flexibility, power, and a direct answer to your opponent’s biggest threats.
3. Circle of Life
This card is going to create some truly wild and powerful decks. Circle of Life is an eight-cost song with a deceptively simple effect: return a character from your discard pile to play for free. In a game with powerful discard outlets, this is a recipe for a game-breaking combo.
Picture this: on turn three, you use a card to discard the amazing Maui – Half Shark. On your next turn, you play a character who can sing for eight (Sing Together!) and cast Circle of Life, slamming a huge character onto the board on turn four. This card single-handedly makes “reanimator” a top-tier strategy and will force the meta to respect the discard pile like never before.
2. Lilo – Best Explorer Ever
Simple, efficient, and overwhelmingly powerful. Lilo – Best Explorer Ever is the new must-have for any Steel-based strategy looking to control the board. For just three ink, she gives all of your other characters Challenger +2.
This is a persistent, board-wide buff that turns every one of your characters into a serious threat. Your Captain Hook – Forceful Duelist is now challenging for five. Your resilient bodyguards become fearsome attackers. Lilo completely changes combat math and allows you to dominate the board through challenges. While her Alien-specific ability is a nice bonus for the future, her primary effect is what makes her one of the most impactful cards in the set.
1. Max Goof (Chart Topper & Rebellious Teen)
Taking the top spot is the duo that will become the ultimate engine for any deck focused on songs. Both Max Goof – Rebellious Teen and Max Goof – Chart Topper provide something Lorcana decks have been craving: song recursion.
The three-cost Rebellious Teen gets a song back to your hand upon entering play, ensuring you can reuse your best tools. However, the four-cost Chart Topper is the real star. When he quests, you can play a song from your discard pile for free! He is the new Ursula – Deceiver of All, providing a repeatable way to generate incredible value. Playing a card like Mother Knows Best once is good. Playing it two or three times over the course of a game is game-winning. This ability to grind out value and reuse your most powerful songs makes Max Goof the undisputed number-one game-changer from Fabled.
Final Thoughts
The Fabled set is pushing Lorcana in an exciting new direction, rewarding smart deckbuilding and careful, turn-by-turn strategy. These five cards are at the forefront of that shift, and I can’t wait to see the incredible decks that you all cook up with them.
To put these theories into practice, I’ve been brewing up an exciting new Ruby/Emerald deck that leverages the insane value of both Powerline and Max Goof. It’s designed to control the early game and then explode with powerful, game-winning song combos in the late game.
What are your top picks from the new set? Did I miss a hidden gem? Let me know in the comments below!
Check out these other great resources:
- Lorcana Roadmap 2026 Reveals: See what’s next for the game.
- Introducing Statcana: Track your matches and improve your skills with this powerful new tool.