Hyperia City Sleepers: Four Lorcana Cards Worth a Second Look

Everyone's already talking about the Legendaries. These are cards further down the rarity list that we think deserve a second look before the prerelease on Friday 16 October. Two of them are commons, so you'll open plenty.

First, ink drops

Ink drops are a second resource that sits outside your inkwell. Each one can be removed to pay 1 ink on top of your normal ink. Unlike your inkwell they don't refresh each turn, so you can bank them and spend them on a bigger turn later. They come as physical tokens, so you'll see them in packs and starter decks.

Getting them. Cards hand them out in all sorts of ways: when you play a character (Merlin - Profoundly Curious), when a character is challenged (Go Go Tomago - Extreme Tester) or banished (Tadashi Hamada - Making Waves gets you two), or by paying ink now to bank it for later (Arthur - Novice Blacksmith lets you pay 1 when you play him to get 1 ink drop).

Holding them. Some cards just want you to have one. Sir Kay - Determined to Win gets Challenger +3 while you have an ink drop, and Madam Mim - Bauble Chaser gains Evasive.

Spending them. Others reward you for removing one to pay. Jousting Match deals 5 damage instead of 2, Intense Research looks at 5 cards instead of 2, and Madam Mim - Resourceful Trickster draws you 2 cards.

Sharing them. Amber and Emerald often give your opponent one too. Mickey Mouse - Best in Town gives each player an ink drop, and Kit Cloudkicker - Irrepressible Bear gives you and another chosen player one each. That's the trade-off to weigh.

Around 50 cards in the set mention ink drops. Steel has the most, Amber the fewest.

Rivera Family Photo + The Torn Corner (Ruby)

Rivera Family Photo is a 1-cost Ruby common item. Exert it and pay 1 to either put the top 2 cards of your deck into your discard, or, once you have 10 or more cards in your discard, gain 1 lore.

The Torn Corner is its rare partner, a 3-cost item. Exert it and pay 1 to draw a card if you have 10 or more cards in your discard. And if it's put into your discard from your deck while you have Rivera Family Photo in play, you can play it from your discard for free.

So the Photo fills your discard early. Once you're at 10, it turns into a lore engine while the Corner draws you a card every turn, and if the Photo mills the Corner, you get it for free. Inkkery and ThatMoKid both put this pair in their top 10s, and it looks like a natural fit for discard-focused Amber/Ruby decks.

Jousting Match (Steel)

A 3-cost Steel action: deal 2 damage to a chosen character, or 5 if you removed an ink drop to play it. Five damage for three ink is a lot of removal. Dan Arnold rated it 4 out of 5, but it isn't showing up much in early testing yet, which is exactly what makes it a sleeper. Bank a drop with something like Arthur - Novice Blacksmith and Jousting Match becomes a three-ink answer to a big threat.

Another Tale to Spin (Emerald)

A 2-cost Emerald song, and a common. Draw a card, then you and another chosen player each get 1 ink drop. Any character that costs 2 or more can sing it for free. Handing your opponent an ink drop is the catch, but a free card off a cheap singer early is good value, and Dan Arnold reckons it's actually better when you're going second.

Picking them up

We'll have Hyperia City singles listed from prerelease day, Friday 16 October. Sign up on our homepage to hear when they land.

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Thanks to Inkkery, ThatMoKid and Dan Arnold Lorcana, whose Hyperia City reviews helped shape this list.