Single Card Strategy Part 2- The First Suitor

Posted on April 8, 2025

(Imagine this in Lady Whistledon's voice)

Dearest Illumineer;

In our last publication we discovered this season's Diamond. Now our beloved card begins the arduous process of filling her dance card and entertaining the multiple suitors who are vying to be her second color. Our first potential pairing is the young and often brash Lord of Rubydom. While "the ton" has spent generations looking past any potential partnering within Ruby and Emerald. Maybe now is the time for such a pairing. Ruby does enjoy cards with expensive ink costs. At times it almost feels that a Ruby card is only good if it costs too much. Let's look at what this suitor offers remembering what Emerald already brings to the dowry.

Of Course, everyone knows the young lord is a bit of a Momma's boy so he leads his case for being The Return of Hercules partner with:

The Queen does blend well with Prince Phillip, King of Hearts, and Robin Hood. But she also brings along a couple of helpers. Mad Hatter - Unruly Eccentric works if you don't have the King in play. An important thing to notice: If one of their challengers is damaged you draw a card on their turn as well. Also, while The Queen is in play Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum - Strange Storytellers can bounce a character every turn. (Including your own, if you want)

Ultimately, our beloved card is interested in cards that maximize its value. There are many classics for early play in Ruby. Here's a few:

What Ruby has to offer grows with a few helpers that help us get to our main card to our hand the easiest or more often.

So what would the Emerald/Ruby estate look like after the potential marriage? Here is how I envision it.

Ruby Suitor | Dan Eckstein | Casual

What suitor will make their play for the hand of The Return of Hercules? Stay tuned for episode 3. And remember that all cards that are cool to ink are found at coolstuffinc.com.