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There are so many directions to go when building new decks for the upcoming Into the Inklands metagame. I wanted to look at the new card type in Locations, and not the big flashy ones, instead focusing on being low to the ground and sliding underneath the control strategies to maximize the power of one of the set's standout cards: John Silver.
John Silver - Greedy Treasure Seeker is not simply a payoff for Locations, he is also a payoff for Pirates. First, let's look at the characters. Steel has the best Pirates, but realistically unless you are combining with Ruby, the fact that they are Pirates really only matters for Mr. Smee - Clumsy Sailor needing to see a Captain to avoid taking extra damage. Mr. Smee brings so many stats to the table, and virtually no downside. You have multiple ways to avoid his downside, playing the various pirate captains: Captain Hook - Forceful Duelist, Captain Hook - Thinking a Happy Thought, and John Silver. You can always supplement it by giving Smee Resist +1 through Maui's Place of Exile - Hidden Island (longest card name ever, man filling out decklists with that card is going to be rough..).
Fleshing out the Steel
Since we are heavy Steel, before even choosing another ink color, we need to establish the rest of the Steel cards we will be running regardless. Beast -Tragic Hero and Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy are no brainer additions to start. Beast gives you needed card draw out of Steel, and no matter what other ink color you are using, his draw will be appreciated and needed. You also want access to Steel's pinpoint removal, especially with the uptick of "kill on sight" characters sure to see play. You will want some number of Grab Your Sword, Smash, and And Then Along Came Zeus. The latter has really proven its mettle in testing so far, as a great way to control opposing characters and locations above its cost.
The rest of the Steel you want to run are the Locations to complement John Silver. I see no reason to skimp on any copies of The Bayou - Mysterious Swamp as the card just has a ton of value, low cost, and helps your draws remain consistent. Playing this on turn one really puts the decision to your opponent if they are going to deal with it right away or allow you to gain advantage off of it as the game progresses. I love that there are no board wipes for Locations, or ways to passively deal with them, so even a low willpower location like The Bayou represents a threat in both passive Lore and hand improvement. I am playing one copy of Maui's Place of Exile - Hidden Island to round out the location options for John Silver to gain Lore and Resist from.
Ink Color Partners?
With 41 Steel cards in the shell, we need 19 cards to flesh out the deck. The natural fit is to run Ruby for Jolly Roger - Hook's Ship but the issue I had with this combo was the complete lack of card draw. Gaining Rush was nice, but unnecessary so my first build was to pair with Emerald. That gives you access to one of the best card from Into the Inklands: Ursula - Deceiver of All. Combining her with Let the Storm Rage On or Strike A Good Match is a ton of card advantage. You can also use Mother Knows Best to keep the board clear.
Emerald also gives you access to a cheap and effective Location in De Vil Manor - Cruella's Estate. When you have a John Silver in play this is effectively a two Lore location for one ink that also gives one of your characters Resist +1, and is just really annoying passive Lore gain for your opponent to waste time and effort on.
I am testing out two copies of 003-093 and a full playset of Ursula - Deceiver to take care of the powerful songs you are bound to see in the meta.
Keep in mind you can also add in the pieces of the "Beast - Relentless OTK" deck as a finisher in this shell. You are already running Bayou, so just need to add in the two missing combo pieces of Sheriff of Nottingham - Corrupt Official and Beast - Relentless.
I think Pirates, and specifically John Silver, are currently flying under the radar as a viable option. This color combination already uses some of the most powerful cards from Into the Inklands and has the ability to lift and shift to other ink color combo lineups. If you have not tried the passive lore gain small locations with John Silver, I suggest you sleeve this up and give it a whirl. Take that journey to the Grand Line with John Silver and Smee, and go hunt down Lorcana's One Piece!
