A level 0 analysis of this post-rotation meta resolves around two things: removal and card draw. Or rather, the apparent lack of either component. What does exist will exist in the two colors that define themselves by it. Amethyst for card draw, Steel for direct damage removal.

Amethyst may have lost Friends on the Other Side, but there are still plenty of characters that replace themselves when played or when banished. While it may not necessarily be the card advantage we're used to, we're relying on the fact that other decks will also struggle to find ways to keep their hand full. Cards like Diablo and Kuzco allow us to establish a board presence early, and when combined with a turn 3 Lilo - Best Explorer Ever, provide us with a counter against the aggro decks while not losing valuable card-based resources. We'll also take advantage of the earliest chase card of Fabled, Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe. While not all-in on the evasive package, 12 targets for its ability will allow this deck to keep up with any other midrange or control deck that emerges into this early format.

Steel managed to keep one of its signature removal songs in Strength of a Raging Fire. With 12 1-drops and 12 2-drops, you should be able to consistently play this on turn 3 to stifle the aggro decks, or sing it on turn 4 as a tempo play against the midrange decks. To shore up the aggro, we've added Fire the Cannons, which also doubles as a good Iago killer. And against opposing Dumbos, we've added in 2 Smashes.

Things to consider: We cannot utilize Lilo's second ability in this build. There are several excellent characters within these two colors that also incidentally happen to be Aliens, like Stitch - Alien Troublemaker and Nathaniel Flint - Notorious Pirate. It is also possible that Pete - Games Referee is not going to be needed nearly as much without Be Prepared in the format.

The second deck at the baseline level takes what we have in Amethyst but goes a little bigger with the help of Sapphire. Because Sapphire's best ramp cards were untouched by the rotation, we can afford to use the best draw action we have access to; we max out our copies of Finders Keepers, able to deploy it on turn 4 if necessary, or later in the game while still having ink to spare (unlike our other Amethyst opponents, who would have to take entire turns off to play it).

Our 1-drop line-up is to help in aggressive matchups. Royal Guard paired with a Hypnotic Strength is more than enough to punch through a Daisy, and Rafiki can trade into much higher costed cards. Late game, Royal Guard plus a Finders Keepers often means trading with anything available, and only for 1 ink.

Ironically, after Steel, Sapphire may have the best removal line up that isn't reliant on challenging. Into the Unknown and Hades can (almost) unconditionally banish any character into the Inkwell, and while it doesn't feel great to give your opponents an ink advantage early with Into the Unknown, aggro decks are going to be hurting for card draw much more than any other deck in the post-rotation meta, so the extra ink will be under-utilized most of the time.

Things to consider: Donald Duck - Focused Flatfoot is to bridge that gap from 5 to 7 to play our Hades up to 2 turns ahead of schedule, as well as get us to a point where we are double-carding sooner. But it is rather lackluster. Same with Scrooge McDuck. A 5/5 that quests for 2 that can be played on turn 3 is powerful, but he is just a vanilla character. It will trade up lots of the time, but won't be helpful as a comeback card that that slot could be used for.

We have two separate lists for the Amber/Steel deck, but the core remains the same. This is the level 0 aggro deck of the new metagame, boasting between 9 - 12 1-drops. Daisy Duck, without the threat of Madam Mim - Fox, remains a dominate force against any deck unable to deal with it quickly. Both lists capitalize on the early aggression in the form of Penny, Calhoun, Lady, and Rhino to help aggressively close the game as quickly as possible, while being able to refill with Doc when resources are low.

The top list also runs 4x the new Aurora - Holding Court, which allows for a power turn 2 Tiana - Restaurant Owner (which will stunt most challenges) or Raya - Guidance Seeker (which becomes a difficult to deal with threat each turn).

The bottom list swaps out some of the mid/top end for synergy with Seven Dwarfs' Mine, playing both Happy and Sleepy in addition to the Doc. Because removal will be at such a premium in the new meta, having a location that doubles as removal without costing a card every turn has the potential to be powerful.

Things to consider: Locations are going to be fragile. Without removal actions like Brawl or Be Prepared, every deck will need challenge-based removal, which also doubles as location removal, in a way that was not the case last season. The Mine maybe prove to be too slow to fully take advantage, or it might split your focus in a matchup where you are the aggressor, not the controller. Additionally, both of these lists are heavy on uninkables. This has been the case for Amber/Steel since very nearly the beginning of the archetype, and it doesn't appear to change now.

We've now reached Level 1. Instead of combining two colors to take advantage of each of their strengths, this deck uses the combined identity of the "Ruby/Amethyst" dual-ink cards: moving damage. With so little direct removal in the format, this deck takes advantage of the damage counters that are left behind and turns them into a massive resource engine for you - as long as you have Mother Gothel - Vain Sorceress, that is.

Like with the other Amethyst decks, we're still going to utilize the new Dumbo has a card advantage engine, and have even added Iago and Maui to up the Evasive count. Maui pairs well with the 2x Break Free, but the action can also just be used as a surprise attacker, as well as a way to get a damage counter on something and get that ball rolling.

Hades and Everybody's Got a Weakness also act as card draw, though less consistent than you may think. Hades being uninkable and costing 7 is a big ask for a format with so little card draw. And there is a tension between Weakness and the rest of the deck. Weakness will only move 1 damage counter from each character to one other opposing character, which is great for removal, but awkward when you want to keep Queen of Hearts active. And Belle - Accomplished Mystic wants one of your characters to have 3 damage so she can move them all at once, the opposite of what Weakness is looking for. Still, both are good at removal and/or card draw, and if there is as much challenging as people are expecting, this deck may just be the trump card.

Things to consider: Iago is a liability, as several decks are including 1 to 2 cost actions that target and replace themselves specifically to combat the giant parrot. However, it still represents a virtual card advantage engine of its own if it survives.

Unlike its previous counterpart, without Diablo and Prince John, this Emerald/Steel deck doesn't focus on discard. It does, however, focus on disruption. Unlike our previous Steel-based aggro deck, we go a little bit bigger to control the board. Helga Sinclair can check opposing Dumbos and survive. And, unlike in Amber/Steel, Lilo - Best Explorer Ever's second ability could even be used on our John Silver - Alien Pirate. I mean, it's right there in the name. It's a good playline to be aware of, even if you'd rather be questing with John Silver.

The two most interesting cards are Genie - Of the Lamp and Scar - Finally King. Genie makes combat complicated for our opponent, especially in multiples, and provides the added benefit of buffing our Allies. Of our 20 Allies, some will be better than others to sacrifice to Scar's ability, but most will provide a huge boost in card advantage (especially you order the triggers properly between Clarabelle and Scar).

Things to consider: we're removal light in this list, even judging from the standard of this new format. Controlling the board will heavily depend on your opponent allowing you to challenge. However, if your opponent isn't presenting characters to be challenged, that means they aren't questing, which gives you time to setup your powerful card advantage engines. Still, perhaps some Smashes wouldn't be the worst inclusion.

And finally, something a little more intricate: Amber/Emerald Songs. Using the singers in Ursula - Vanessa and Aurora - Waking Beauty, we can disrupt our opponent with songs like Huffalumps and Woozles, Mother Knows Best, and You're Welcome. These cards will be used to stall our opponents questing potential. We're also going to take advantage of the minimal card draw in the format by using Sudden Chill. No, we won't be able to draw cards from it like we used to (RIP P.J.), but it'll exacerbate the issue. If we can get an Ursula's Shell Necklace, that will provide us with a healthy flow of cards. And Rapunzel - High Climber with John Silver - Alien Pirate provide the top end, repeatable disruption to close the game.

The real star of the show is capitalizing on the format's other main weakness: no board wipes. This deck has the only board wipe in the format in the card Under the Sea. Under the Sea, combined with either Lost in the Woods or Tiana - Natural Talent (having already sang a song or two prior) will do a decent enough Be Prepared impression, with the benefit of it being one-sided. If you can survive aggro's beginning of the game, this deck has the ability to stall until victory.

Things to consider: Louis has been getting a lot of hype in Emerald decks, and this fledgling meta is already taking notice. Cards like Captain Hook and Rafiki are difficult cards to just walk a Louis into, but it may be the best option at that ink cost. There also exists a version of this deck that uses Tramp - Street Smart Dog along with Circle of Life to bring back high-costed, high-impact cards. Depending on the meta, that may be the better version, but strays away from the Song specific nature of this list.