Disney Lorcana · Inks
Ruby Ink in Disney Lorcana: How It Plays and Key Cards
Ruby is Disney Lorcana's red ink: the aggressive one. Its characters have the highest average strength, every character printed with Reckless in Core is Ruby, and it has the most ways to make an opponent lose lore, plus a share of the most banish effects with Emerald. This page covers how it plays and the cards that show it, as of November 2026.
Ruby is the red ink, one of Disney Lorcana's six. Aggression. Ruby has the strongest characters, every character printed with Reckless, the most Boost, and the most ways to make an opponent lose lore.
Ravensburger's word for its characters is "daring." As of November 2026, 207 of the 1,229 cards legal in Core Constructed are Ruby.
How Ruby Plays
Ruby challenges. Its characters average 3.7 strength, the highest of the six inks, so they win most challenges against characters of the same cost, and many Ruby cards reward banishing something: The Headless Horseman - Terror of Sleepy Hollow banishes an opposing character with 2 strength or less when played, then pumps your characters whenever an opposing character is banished during your turns.
It also attacks the lore count directly. Ruby has 14 of the cards in Core that make a player lose lore, far more than any other ink, so it can pull an opponent back from 18 while it races to 20. Rapunzel - Letting Down Her Hair takes 1 lore from each opponent when she's played.
Every character printed with Reckless is Ruby (Emerald can force Reckless onto opposing characters instead). A Reckless character can't quest and must challenge each turn if it can, which makes it removal on a body: Gaston - Arrogant Hunter and Tigger - Hunny Barbarian hit hard for their cost and force the opponent to keep characters ready or lose them. Ruby also has the most Boost (8) and the most locations (12).
How inks work in deck building →What It Does Well, and What It Doesn't
Strengths
- The highest average strength (3.7), so it wins most challenges at equal cost.
- Ties Emerald for the most banish effects, and has the most cards that make an opponent lose lore.
- All 9 characters printed with Reckless, and a lot of Rush, so threats arrive and fight at once.
Weaknesses
- The lowest average lore per character (1.4, tied with Amethyst), so it wins by removing the opponent's questers more than by out-questing them.
- The fewest inkable cards of the six inks (160 of 207).
- Less card draw than any ink but Sapphire, so a long game can leave it out of cards.
Ruby by the Numbers
Counted by TurnZero HQ from the 1,229 cards in Fabled (set 9) through Hyperia City (set 14), the sets legal in Core Constructed as of November 2026. Each full name counts once, so an Enchanted version or a reprint isn't counted twice, and a dual-ink card counts for both of its inks. The last column compares Ruby with the other five.
Keywords Ruby uses most
Shift is left out because every ink has plenty of it. A card that only gives a keyword to other characters isn't counted.
The classifications Ruby has an unusually large share of: Deity (9), Super (12) and Prince (10). The Lorcana keywords guide explains each keyword.
What Ruby Cards Do
How many Ruby cards have rules text that does each of these at all, whoever it targets. It shows what the ink leans on, not how strong its cards are: a card that draws one card and a card that draws three count the same.
Cards That Show What Ruby Does
Each is Ruby only and legal in Core Constructed as of November 2026. They show the ink's plan, not a decklist or this month's best cards.
The Headless Horseman - Terror of Sleepy Hollow
Whispers in the Well #125
Removal on a body
Maleficent - Monstrous Dragon
Fabled #108
Banish anything
Mickey Mouse - Brave Little Prince
Fabled #111
Evasive Shift
Rapunzel - Letting Down Her Hair
Fabled #124
Lore loss
Tigger - Hunny Barbarian
Attack of the Vine! #126
Reckless
Hercules - Mighty Leader
Whispers in the Well #118
Protects Heroes
- The Headless Horseman - Terror of Sleepy Hollow: Banishes an opposing character with 2 strength or less when played, and during your turn each opposing character banished gives your characters +1 strength.
- Maleficent - Monstrous Dragon: A 7-strength, 9-cost dragon that may banish any chosen character when played.
- Mickey Mouse - Brave Little Prince: Evasive, and with a card under him (from Shift) he gets +3 strength, +3 willpower and +3 lore.
- Rapunzel - Letting Down Her Hair: Each opponent loses 1 lore when she's played, on a 5/4 body.
- Tigger - Hunny Barbarian: A 5-strength Reckless character for 4: he can't quest and must challenge each turn if able.
- Hercules - Mighty Leader: Can't be dealt damage unless he's being challenged, and while he's exerted your other Hero characters get the same protection.
Ruby Ink Pairs
A Core Constructed or Infinity deck uses at most two inks, so almost every Ruby deck is one of these five pairs. Each page covers how the pair plays, its key cards and its starter decks.
Ruby dual-ink cards
A dual-ink card counts as both of its inks, so it only fits a deck built from exactly that pair. As of November 2026, the Core-legal ones are from Attack of the Vine! (set 13), and 5 of them include Ruby.
Sulley & Boo - Scare Buddies
Attack of the Vine! #29
Amber & Ruby
Peter Pan & Tinker Bell - Fast Friends
Attack of the Vine! #60
Amethyst & Ruby
Carl Fredricksen & Russell - Intrepid Explorers
Attack of the Vine! #98
Emerald & Ruby
Belle & Beast - Certain as the Sun
Attack of the Vine! #132
Ruby & Sapphire
Dash Parr & Violet Parr - Super Siblings
Attack of the Vine! #133
Ruby & Steel
Where to Start With Ruby
A starter deck is the simplest way to try a Ruby deck: it arrives as a legal two-ink deck you can upgrade. Ravensburger has made 8 with Ruby; each has an upgrade guide on TurnZero HQ.
- The First Chapter Emerald & Ruby Starter Deck (Emerald and Ruby, Infinity only)
- Into the Inklands Ruby & Sapphire Starter Deck (Ruby and Sapphire, Infinity only)
- Shimmering Skies Amethyst & Ruby Starter Deck (Amethyst and Ruby, Infinity only)
- Azurite Sea Amber & Ruby Starter Deck (Amber and Ruby, Infinity only)
- Archazia's Island Ruby & Sapphire Starter Deck (Ruby and Sapphire, Infinity only)
- Reign of Jafar Ruby & Steel Starter Deck (Ruby and Steel, Infinity only)
- Fabled Emerald & Ruby Starter Deck (Emerald and Ruby, Core legal)
- 2-Player Starter Set: Amethyst & Ruby Deck (Amethyst and Ruby, Core legal)
To build your own, the Lorcana deck-building guide walks through the 60-card minimum, copies and inks, and TurnZero HQ's Deck Lab checks your list against Core Constructed or Infinity as you build.
The Other Inks
Frequently Asked Questions
What color is Ruby in Lorcana?
Ruby is red. Its symbol under a card's cost is red and the frame is tinted to match, so players often call a Ruby deck a red deck.
What is Ruby good at in Lorcana?
Challenging and pressure. In the Core sets as of November 2026, Ruby characters have the highest average strength (3.7), Ruby has all 9 characters printed with Reckless, the most Boost (8) and the most cards that make an opponent lose lore (14), and it ties Emerald for the most banish effects.
What does Reckless mean in Lorcana?
A Reckless character can't quest and must challenge each turn if it is able. It still can't challenge a ready character, so the opponent can avoid it by keeping characters ready. As of November 2026 every character printed with Reckless in the Core sets is Ruby, though Emerald cards such as Stitch - Naughty Experiment can give Reckless to an opposing character.
How many Ruby cards are legal in Core Constructed?
207 as of November 2026, counting each full name once across Fabled (set 9) through Hyperia City (set 14): 156 characters, 15 actions, 13 songs, 11 items and 12 locations. 5 of them are dual-ink cards from Attack of the Vine!.
What ink goes best with Ruby in Lorcana?
It depends on what you want the deck to do, and the strongest pair changes with each set. Ruby can pair with any of the other five inks: Amber (aggression that comes back), Amethyst (rush and evasive aggression), Emerald (damage, then finish), Sapphire (ramp into removal) and Steel (challenging and board control). Each pair has its own page on TurnZero HQ.
Build a Ruby deck.
The Deck Lab checks your deck's inks, size and copies against Core Constructed or Infinity as you build. Free on iPhone, Android and the web.
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