Disney Lorcana · Inks
Steel Ink in Disney Lorcana: How It Plays and Key Cards
Steel is Disney Lorcana's gray ink: big, armored and hard to beat in a fight. It deals more damage outside challenges than any other ink, has every card printed with Resist in Core, and plenty of Bodyguard and Challenger. This page covers how it plays and the cards that show it, as of November 2026.
Steel is the gray ink, one of Disney Lorcana's six. Damage and durability. Steel deals more direct damage than any other ink, has every card printed with Resist, and plenty of Bodyguard and Challenger.
Ravensburger's word for its characters is "strong." As of November 2026, 207 of the 1,229 cards legal in Core Constructed are Steel.
How Steel Plays
Steel removes characters with damage. It has 36 cards in Core that deal damage or put damage counters, the most of any ink, from songs like Strength of a Raging Fire (damage equal to the number of characters you have in play) to Angel - Experiment 624, who discards a card to deal 2 damage once a turn.
Its characters are built to win the challenges that follow. Every card printed with Resist in Core is Steel (15 of 15), and Resist reduces the damage a character takes, so a Steel character can challenge, survive and challenge again. Bodyguard and Challenger round it out: Prince Charming - Protector of the Realm is a 3/10 Bodyguard that lets only one character challenge each turn.
Steel draws more than its reputation suggests (34 cards, second only to Amethyst), and many of those cards ask you to empty your hand first. Angel gains Resist +2 with no cards in hand, and Goliath - Clan Leader makes each player discard down to 2, or draw up to 2, at the end of their turn.
How inks work in deck building →What It Does Well, and What It Doesn't
Strengths
- The most direct damage of the six inks, so it removes characters without risking its own in a challenge.
- Every card printed with Resist (15), plus Bodyguard and Challenger, so it wins and survives fights.
- More card draw than every ink but Amethyst.
Weaknesses
- No cards that remove damage, so its characters wear down over a long game.
- Its lore per character is only average (1.5), so it relies on clearing the board before it can race.
- No Rush or Ward characters, so a new threat waits a turn to challenge and its questers can be targeted.
Steel 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 Steel with the other five.
Keywords Steel 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 Steel has an unusually large share of: Detective (15), Super (15) and Alien (11). The Lorcana keywords guide explains each keyword.
What Steel Cards Do
How many Steel 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 Steel Does
Each is Steel 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.
Angel - Experiment 624
Winterspell #191
Repeatable damage
Strength of a Raging Fire
Fabled #201
Damage song
He Hurled His Thunderbolt
Whispers in the Well #197
Damage song
Prince Charming - Protector of the Realm
Whispers in the Well #189
Bodyguard wall
Flash - Efficient Clerk
Hyperia City #171
Resist, stops Rush
Goliath - Clan Leader
Whispers in the Well #173
Hand control
- Angel - Experiment 624: Once a turn, discard a card to deal 2 damage to a chosen character, and with no cards in hand she gains Resist +2.
- Strength of a Raging Fire: A 3-cost song that deals damage equal to the number of characters you have in play.
- He Hurled His Thunderbolt: A 4-cost song that deals 4 damage to a chosen character.
- Prince Charming - Protector of the Realm: A 3/10 Bodyguard, and while he's in play only one character can challenge each turn.
- Flash - Efficient Clerk: A 2-cost Resist +1 character that quests for 2, and while he's in play no character has Rush.
- Goliath - Clan Leader: At the end of each player's turn, that player discards down to 2 cards, or draws up to 2.
Steel Ink Pairs
A Core Constructed or Infinity deck uses at most two inks, so almost every Steel deck is one of these five pairs. Each page covers how the pair plays, its key cards and its starter decks.
Steel 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 Steel.
Lilo & Stitch - Fun-Loving Friends
Attack of the Vine! #31
Amber & Steel
Maleficent & Diablo - Evil Incarnate
Attack of the Vine! #63
Amethyst & Steel
Rapunzel & Flynn Rider - Unlikely Pair
Attack of the Vine! #100
Emerald & Steel
Dash Parr & Violet Parr - Super Siblings
Attack of the Vine! #133
Ruby & Steel
Darkwing Duck & Launchpad - St. Canard's Finest
Attack of the Vine! #165
Sapphire & Steel
Where to Start With Steel
A starter deck is the simplest way to try a Steel deck: it arrives as a legal two-ink deck you can upgrade. Ravensburger has made 7 with Steel; each has an upgrade guide on TurnZero HQ.
- The First Chapter Sapphire & Steel Starter Deck (Sapphire and Steel, Infinity only)
- Rise of the Floodborn Amethyst & Steel Starter Deck (Amethyst and Steel, Infinity only)
- Ursula's Return Sapphire & Steel Starter Deck (Sapphire and Steel, Infinity only)
- Shimmering Skies Emerald & Steel Starter Deck (Emerald and Steel, Infinity only)
- Archazia's Island Amethyst & Steel Starter Deck (Amethyst and Steel, Infinity only)
- Reign of Jafar Ruby & Steel Starter Deck (Ruby and Steel, Infinity only)
- Whispers in the Well Sapphire & Steel Starter Deck (Sapphire and Steel, 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 Steel in Lorcana?
Steel is gray. Its symbol under a card's cost is gray and the frame is tinted to match, so players often call a Steel deck a gray deck.
What is Steel good at in Lorcana?
Removing characters and winning fights. In the Core sets as of November 2026, Steel has the most cards that deal damage or put damage counters (36), every card printed with Resist (15), and the second-most card draw after Amethyst.
What does Resist do in Lorcana?
Resist +N reduces any damage dealt to the character by N, whether from a challenge or an ability. As of November 2026, every card with Resist printed on it in the Core sets is Steel, though some Sapphire and Emerald cards give Resist to other characters.
How many Steel 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): 154 characters, 17 actions, 11 songs, 15 items and 10 locations. 5 of them are dual-ink cards from Attack of the Vine!.
What ink goes best with Steel in Lorcana?
It depends on what you want the deck to do, and the strongest pair changes with each set. Steel can pair with any of the other five inks: Amber (bodyguards and a wall of willpower), Amethyst (challengers and removal), Emerald (discard and board control), Ruby (challenging and board control) and Sapphire (items, ramp and removal). Each pair has its own page on TurnZero HQ.
Build a Steel 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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