If you want the best Steel cards from Fabled right now, start with four standouts that actually change games: Nala - Undaunted Lioness, Lilo - Best Explorer Ever, Scar - Finally King, and Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy. These cover early pressure, combat math, card draw, and wide-board damage.

TL;DR

• Start here: Nala, Lilo, Scar, Tinker Bell, Strength of a Raging Fire.
• They solve early pressure, favorable trades, draw, and sweeps.
• Amethyst/Steel is the most popular Steel shell. Sapphire/Steel is rising. Amber/Steel depends on your local field. (inkdecks.com)

What Changed for Steel After Rotation

Steel lost some of its comfortable song-centric removal and now leans more on proactive challenge math plus chip damage from on-play effects. That is why Nala, Lilo, Scar, and Tink matter - they push the board while generating value. Fabled also introduces new chase rarities for collectors and uses reprints to keep key cards legal in Core Constructed.

The Picks

Nala - Undaunted Lioness (Steel, 2 cost, Rare)

Direct answer: Nala turns your turn two into real pressure by adding lore and Resist while undamaged.

What it does: While Nala has no damage, she gets +1 lore and Resist +1. That turns a small body into a sticky quester that punishes slow starts.

How to play it:

• Play Nala on curve on turn two. On three, play a character with Bodyguard so Nala stays protected, then quest with her for extra lore.
• In Amber/Steel, you have Strength of a Raging Fire as one of the remaining Steel removal songs. While we don't have Cinderella - Ballroom Sensation, both Ursula - Vanessa and The Troubadour have great stats that can sing. Use this to your advantage while trying to quest with Nala safely.

Pros: Cheap pressure, awkward for opponents to trade into.

Cons: Folds in midgame challenges and Ruby removal, non-inkable can punish greedy mulligans..

Lilo - Best Explorer Ever (Steel, 3 ink, Super Rare)

Direct answer: Lilo creates immediate tempo by giving your team Challenger +2, and her quest trigger lets an Alien hit ready characters.

What it does: On play, your other characters gain Challenger +2 this turn. When Lilo quests, choose an Alien to gain Challenger +2 and can challenge ready characters for the turn. That breaks parity and steals initiative.

How to play it:

• Curve a 2-drop into Lilo and take two favorable trades that same turn.
• If you include a small Alien package, Lilo's quest trigger lets you pick off threats before they quest.

Pros: Instant swing turn, clean answer to boards that try to wait.

Cons: Needs bodies on board. Alien tag to fully unlock her second ability.

Visual reference: https://lorcanaplayer.com (search Lilo - Best Explorer Ever)

Scar - Finally King (Steel, 5 cost, Legendary)

Direct answer: Scar is a solid synergy for Allies-based decks and a card-draw engine if you also synergize with Support for crazy draws.

What it does: Your Ally characters get +1 Strength. At end of turn, if Scar is exerted, you may draw cards equal to the Strength of a chosen Ally, then discard two and banish that Ally. It rewards by turning cheap Allies in draw power.

How to play it:

• Attack, quest, or sing with Scar to exert him. End step, cash in a used Ally for cards.
• Pair with low-cost Allies you do not mind sacrificing.

Pros: The static +1 strength can change combat math a bit, plus repeatable card advantage.

Cons: Costs you a body and demands specific sequencing.

Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy (Steel, 6 ink, Super Rare - reprinted in Fabled)

Direct answer: Tink stabilizes boards on entry and turns every successful challenge into extra damage.

What it does: Shift 4 onto a Tinker Bell. On play: deal 1 damage to each opposing character. During your turn, whenever she banishes another character in a challenge, deal 2 to a chosen opposing character. Fabled reprints keep her in Core Constructed and give a solid choice of a proven finisher.

How to play it:

• Use Shift to land her early after a smaller Tink for immediate value.
• Time the ETB to wipe one-toughness boards, then follow up with challenges to finish remaining characters.

Pros: ETB sweep plus pressure in one card.

Cons: Six cost can clog slow hands. Thankfully its inkable.

Strength of a Raging Fire (Steel, 3 ink, Rare - reprinted in Fabled)

Direct answer: One of Steel's remaining song-based removal. Auto-include in almost all Steel decks.

What it does: For 3 ink, this removal scales the amount of damage based on how many characters you have in play. Since it's a song, it can be sung by any character with a cost of 3 or more or any character with Singer 3 or more.

How to play it:

• Build a large board of characters. Sing on turn four after playing characters on curve for maximum damage.
• Sing/Play it before challenging with your characters to get maximum value.

Pros: Song-based removal allows you to sing and continue establishing board threats.

Cons: Having little to no characters on board makes this weak and or unplayable. Thankfully it's inkable.

Current Meta Snapshot

Direct answer: Amethyst/Steel is the most common Steel pairing right now, while Sapphire/Steel Allies is trending up.

• Amethyst/Steel seems to be popular in early Fabled results. Lists split between evasive and Challenger-focused packages. (inkdecks.com)
• Sapphire/Steel Allies has a steady stream of new lists and placements as players lean into ramp and Ally payoffs like Scar. (inkdecks.com)

Amber/Steel varies by region and event size. Expect it to swing as the field reacts to Amethyst/Steel. (Track metagame pages and recent events on Inkdecks.) (inkdecks.com)

Gameplay Examples

Steel Aggro Curve - Amber/Steel Style

• T2 Nala.
• T3 Bodyguard to protect Nala.
• T4 Lady, playing Nala for free and another strong quester that cost 1-2.

Sapphire/Steel Allies Midrange:

• Ramp early, develop cheap Allies.
• T5 Scar for +1 Strength at the right time and a card draw when necessary.
• Follow with Tinker Bell to lock the board and push damage.

Pros and Cons at a Glance

Nala - Undaunted Lioness

Pros: Early lore, Resist while undamaged, punishes slow starts

Cons: Non-inkable, vulnerable to midgame challenges.

Lilo - Best Explorer Ever

Pros: Team Challenger +2 tempo burst, can hit ready characters via Alien trigger

Cons: Needs bodies, wants Alien tag

Scar - Finally King

Pros: Ally anthem plus repeatable card draw

Cons: Sacrifices Allies, needs a specific curve for full value

Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy

Pros: Shift, ETB 1 to all foes, extra 2 damage on banish

Cons: Six-cost can clog, needs earlier Tinks for earlier impact.

Collectibility Notes

• Fabled adds Epic and Iconic rarities on top of Enchanteds.
• Reprints keep names legal in Core Constructed, and earlier printings with the exact same name are legal too.
• Scar - Finally King has an Enchanted version in Fabled. Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy is reprinted in Fabled, increasing supply on a solid 6-drop.

Tournament schedule

PPG Summit - Denver, CO: Sept 12 - 14 at Gaylord Rockies. Expect a large field and high competition as it is a CCQ for Disney Lorcana Challenge - Nationals this year.

People Also Ask

What are the best Steel cards from Fabled?

Nala, Lilo, Scar, and Tinker Bell are the safest first picks for both Amethyst/Steel and Sapphire/Steel builds.

Is Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy legal after rotation?

Yes. It is reprinted in Fabled, and reprints keep the name legal in Core Constructed.

How do Steel decks remove threats now?

Less through songs, more through challenge math and ETB ping damage - Lilo's Challenger turns, Nala's early pressure, and Tink's one-to-all pings. Strength of a Raging Fire is one of the only removal songs available as of right now.

Next Steps

• Build: Start with Amethyst/Steel or Sapphire/Steel, lock in 4 to 6 of the picks above, then tune for your locals. Track lists on Inkdecks. (inkdecks.com)
• Test: Practice lines that keep Nala undamaged for extra lore, and learn when to cash in Scar.
• Play: Hit local events, then watch early data from PPG Summit Denver as the Fabled field settles. (PPG Event Management)

Conclusion

Thanks for reading. I hope you and your play group are just as excited for Fabled as I am! Be sure to check out other ink analyses, such as my Ruby one here. This article was brought to you by CoolStuffInc, the best place for all Disney Lorcana products, and other popular TCGs. Love reading or hearing me yap about TCGs? Follow me on X!