Disney Lorcana’s first expansion Rise of the Floodborn is only a week away, and it's set to be the biggest shakeup to the game we may ever get. With 204 new cards entering the pool, the number of available cards will double, opening up countless new opportunities for deck building and experimentation. Last weekend I wrote about the huge power spike coming with the expansion, which is making The First Chapter look more and more like a basic introduction to the game with each new card revealed. Naturally, a lot of the cards that saw play during the first set are going to be replaced by better options come Set 2, so let’s take a moment to recognize some of the cards that we’ll probably never play with again.

Pongo, Ol Rascal

Pongo might be the single biggest casualty in Rise of the Floodborn, for a few reasons. The 4-cost 2/3 with Evasive was a staple of many Ruby/Emerald and Evasive-themed decks thanks to his ability to quest for two and single-handedly (or single-pawedly) win games if the opponent couldn’t fi🔯nd an answer. His power shows through in his star💯ter deck (example below, in which co-design Ryan Miller destroys me with a pair of Pongos) and he was an easy inclusion even in Ruby decks that didn’t focus on Evasive characters.

But🌺 Rise of the Floodborn is giving us a lot of new Evasive🧔 options, and Pongo will almost surely get left in the dust. Ruby has Fidget, Ratigan’s Henchman; Minnie Mouse, Stylish Surfer; and Minnie Mouse; Wide-Eyed Diver, which are all cheaper options than Pongo. The new Emerald Flynn costs the same as Pongo, but can quest for up to four lore depending on how many cards your opponents have. And for just one Ink more you can play/shift Ray, Carefree Firefly and Cheshire Cat, From the Shadows, which both get a lot more value than Pongo.

But what really seals Pongo’s fate is the things that take him out. As a 2/3, he can now be banished by Cruella De Vil, Fashionable Cruiser; Jafar, Royal Vizier; Madam Mim, Purple Dragon; Cheshire Cat, Ray, and anything that happens to be on your opponent's board when their Li Shang, Archery Instructor quests. It’s become a dangerous world for a little doggy, and it may be time to send Pongo out to grandpa’s farm.

Mad Hatter, Gracious Host

Mad Hatter has always been the second-best choice when you can’t pull your Kuzco, Temperamental Emperor. He seems great on paper, but in practice it feels like he never actually gets to draw cards. Yes, he’s a nuisance an𓆉d a high quester, but the competition for his slot just got fierce.

We’ve got Belle, Hidden Archer, the first legendary we saw for RotF and still one of the best cards we’ve seen in the set. She’s not inkable, but she quests for the same as Hatter, can be shifted into play early, and while she doesn’t give you a card when challenged, she does cause your opponents to discard their entire hand. Like Mad Hatter, her ability likely won’t get triggered often, but if it ever does it’s usually going to be game winning. Alternatively, we have the aforementioned Ray, Carefree Firefly, which is a much stickier option thanks to his Evasive, and likely an easy swap for any Emerald deck, unless you really, really need the card draw.

Hans, Scheming Prince

Not to pick on Emerald, but the green Hans probably isn’t long for this world. I was a big fan of this card, which is an aggressive 4-cost 3/3 that quests for three, and I used him in my Emerald/Steel deck to great effect. 🐼This was one of the few rares I bought on TCGPlayer because I had a hard time pulling it and I knew I would get a lot of use out of it. There aren’t that many playable vanilla cards, even in The First Chapter, but wit💫h a lack of options, Hans was easy to include in Emerald. Not so much anymore.

All of the new Emerald 4-drops are incredible. Donald Duck, Perfect Gentleman is a Floodborn that can be playable for three and lets everyone draw a card every turn. Daisy Duck, Secret Agent makes your opponent discard every time she quests. Flynn Rider, His Own Biggest Fan, as I mentioned before, can quest for as much as four lore if your opponent's hand is empty. Hans hasn’t been power-crept per se because he still has a unique stat line, but there’s so many more impactful choices in the four slots now. A quick glance at the other colors reveals even more 4-drop options, like Sisu, Divine Water Dragon, which we got to reveal last week, and Merlin, Goat, which could be the best card in the game.

Rafiki, Mysterious Sage

As many pointed out when it was revealed, Madam Mim, Fox has some pretty big advantages over Rafiki. They’re both 3-cost characters with Rush, but Madam Mim is inkable, and she has four strength while Rafiki only has three. She does require you to put one of your characters back into your hand, but with how much bounce synergy RotF is introducing with Merlin’s cards, it's easy to build in a little package that ensures this Fox’s ability always benefits you.

Rafiki♕ was an absolute staple in the first chapter, I don’t know if I ever saw an Amethyst deck that didn’t run at least two of them. But Madam Mim hits harder, has more utility, and she’s more versatile since she can be inked. Other than niche situations, this one seems like a no-brainer. Old Rafiki’s day in the s꧋unlight has come to an end.

Tinker Bell, Giant Fairy?

This o♋ne is interesting, as Big Tink is incredibly important in TFC and considered by many to be one of the best cards in the game right now. But with the new Resist keyword being introduced in Rise of the Floodborn, we could see a giant drop-off in Tink&rsq🦋uo;s usability going forward.

The big threat to her playability is Cogsworth, Grandfather Clock, a card that gives your entire board Resist +1, meaning Big Tink’s Rock the Boat ability is useless. Cogworth also has Ward, so he can’t be targeted by any of Steel’s removal actions. If this caꦑrd sees a lot of play, he may push Big Tink out of the meta completely.

Interestingly, Cogsworth is also a threat to Aurora, Dreaming Guardian, another Floodborn 5-cost Sapphire card with a similar, but seemingly less powerful effect. Aurora gives your other characters Ward, which seems really strong, but unless you can get two of them on the board, it just makes her the single target for all of your opponent’s removal. Unlike Aurora, Cogsworth protects himself and your other characters, so it seems like an easy swap to make in Sapphire dec♔ks. Whether this old clock will be as strong as he looks, only time will tell.

Next: Forget Power Creep, Rise Of The Floodborn Is Giving Lorcana A Power💯 Bum Rush