Few Magic: The Gathering mechanics have become as ubiquitous as Treasure tokens. These artifacts can be sacrificed to generate one mana of any color, which means that, regardless of the deck’s colors or strategies, they can help cast more expensive cards ahead of schedule. Or you can stockpile them for a single explosive turn.
Treasure tokens have become so common and popular since their debut in 2017’s Ixalan block that they're now less of a specialized mechanic and more a fundamental part of how modern Magic works. Disney Lorcana is about to introduce its own version in the game’s fourth year. When Hyperia City arrives at local game stores on Oct. 16 for prerelease events ahead of the wider Oct. 23 launch, ink drops will also arrive as a new way to ramp up ink generation.
They’re functionally identical to Treasure tokens and can be generated in a variety of ways. Once created, they’re added to the inkwell and can be removed to generate one ink (unlike mana in Magic, ink isn’t color-specific during gameplay). Having gotten hands-on with various Hyperia City cards provided by Ravensburger, however, I realized ink drops are more than Treasure tokens with a Lorcana makeover.
Hyperia City distributes them across all six ink types (but not evenly). The most interesting cards don’t just generate extra resources. They reward each color for producing and spending ink drops in its own particular way.
In particular, Hyperia City really wants you to combine two of those strategies into a deck focused on cards featuring characters from 1963’s The Sword in the Stone. Hyperia City treats ink drops as something you can accumulate, preserve, and spend for effects beyond their generic value. Certain cards generate ink drops by questing, challenging, or being banished.
Other cards become stronger if you have one in your inkwell when you play them or spend one as part of their cost. An ink drop can help you play a large character early, but using it immediately may mean giving up a more powerful effect later. Emerald, for instance, connects ink drops to a large collection of “Super” characters from Big Hero 6.
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