"It's a big tough town, good place to start building a rep."
— Philoctetes
You too have probably faced the tough decision whether to use Mr. Smee - Bumbling Mate for a quest or a challenge when he already has 2 damage, right? Don't you feel like there should be a better option? Similarly, how would you like it if your Robin Hood - Champion of Sherwood gained 4 instead of 2 lore when he banishes an opposing character? And what if we made Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy even more dangerous, letting her ability not just deal 2 damage but getting you 2 lore closer to your goal?
Thanks to Ravensburger, Cardmarket is able to take part in the card reveals for Ursula's Return, and we're proud to show you one particularly famous location. It was here that Hercules met and fell in love with Meg, whom he later had to defend against the Titans that Hades unleashed.
"One town. A million troubles. The one and only Thebes. The big olive itself."
— Philoctetes
Location, the card type introduced in Into the Inklands, sees further support in this followup set. Thebes costs 2 ink to play but can itself find the way into your inkwell as well. Next to the uninkable Pride Lands, it features the best cost-to-willpower ratio of all locations seen so far. And while Thebes doesn't gain any lore at the beginning of the turn by itself, it grants characters at this location the ability to gain 2 lore whenever they banish an opposing character in a challenge during your turn. Now you can add the popular "Robin Hood" ability to any character!
In general, Lorcana requires you to exert characters to …
- either challenge other characters,
- or sing songs,
- or use some special abilities,
- or gain lore on a quest and get closer to the game's primary goal.
While it's hard to say whether or not Thebes will find a place among competitive decks, combining two of these exclusive actions is an exciting proposition and has definite potential! Here are just some ideas how you could gainfully incorporate Thebes into your game:
Maui - Hero to All is mainly tasked with getting rid of opposing threats that are characters. He can't quest himself, but at this location he can really demonstrate his divine nature—much, in fact, like Hercules. Admittedly, the combination of Ruby and Steel hasn't exactly been common yet, but maybe Thebes will enable it.
And if Ruby and Steel becomes possible as an ink combination, how about Scar - Vicious Cheater? Pick off all of your opponent's smaller characters and gain 2 lore on each challenge? Both Scar and Maui show how rush characters can now not just attack on the turn they're played but also gain lore right away.
Steelsong decks (Amber and Steel) may cherish the ability to have characters challenge and gain lore at the same time when they don't have any more songs to sing. So Mr. Smee - Bumbling Mate can take an opposing character down with him when he already has 2 damage and still gain 2 lore. We've mentioned Robin Hood - Champion of Sherwood multiple times already, and that's because he becomes multiple times as dangerous in combination with Thebes.
Emerald Steel Aggro, perhaps? While the usual Emerald characters are rather on the small side, there may be some opportunities to instigate a trade and gain lore rather than cede the battlefield to the opponent completely. Let Ursula - Deceiver take down a character and collect one more lore than she'd make via quest? That doesn't sound too bad, especially after she's done her job with her come-into-play effect already.
Amethyst likewise offers plenty of options to benefit from Thebes: Rafiki - Mystical Fighter, Madam Mim - Fox, or Madam Mim - Snake are predominantly tasked with controlling the board. Now you can let them gain lore while doing so!
"If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere."
— Philoctetes