Disney Lorcana continues to gain followers, male and female players at a rapid pace. With the release of the third edition, the meta begins to stabilize and seems ready for the start of the competitive circuit, which is the creative responsibility of the stores that have competitions until now. Ravensburger’s game is coming on strong and continues to provide plenty to talk about.
Entering the Inklands affects the fleet more than expected.
It’s here to the Inklands and the meta has officially been shaken up. There are currently a wide variety of classes in the hierarchy, none standing above the others in terms of market share or percentage wins. I’m sure things will converge around a few high-end decks, but for now the meta is diverse and noble.
In the 1st step, we see a familiar color scheme at the top of the list. Yes, Amethyst/Ruby takes first place again. But at least this time he’s more meta, not completely running away from the original position. If this continues, we will see in the future. Three new decks round out the list: Emerald/Iron Control, Amethyst/Emerald Tempo, and the combo with Jafar from the Amethyst/Iron deck.
In Lorcan, the goal is different, and that’s where the fun comes from
The meta was already easily dominated by the Amethyst/Ruby control deck, and it was only a matter of time before a successor emerged. It was a few days on the unofficial app where everyone was trying new things and Amethyst/Ruby was nowhere to be found. But it’s the deck that ultimately shares the highest meta after returning and entering the first week of Enclands.
However, it always seems to be a matter of time before the deck is raised again. Environments were a huge influence on the early stages of Into the Inklands, and one of the best answers to environment-based strategies are the characters in Rush. Often, they allow you to instantly remove a space on the turn it’s played, either alone or in combination with a character already on the board. And which deck has the best Rush characters in the game? Yes, an Amethyst/Ruby controller.
The deck isn’t just a carryover from the previous meta, as it includes its own location with Jim Hawkins – the space traveler and the Queen’s Castle – mirror room. These cards act as both a strong moment in play and provide additional card draw to the deck.
Ruby Amethyst
4 Maui – hero for all
3 Cuzco – wanted llama
3 Merlin – Crab
3 mini mouse – always classic
4 Lady Mim – Snake
4 Merlin – goat
3 Pinocchio – talking puppet
2 Maui fish hook
4 friends on the other hand
4 Rafiki – Secret Warrior
4 Madame Medusa – The boss
4 Merlin – rabbit
2 teeth and wishes
4 Lady Mim – Fox
4 The Queen’s Palace – The Mirror Room
4. Prepare
2 Maleficent – monster dragon
2. Jim Hawkins – Astronaut
Green and gray come in strong and provide very consistent control
Emerald / Iron Control
Emerald got some shiny new toys, and with that some new deck archetypes are now possible. As we’ll highlight here, Emerald’s two new Ursula cards really elevate the color and allow it to compete with the best decks in the meta. The ability to interrupt your opponent’s hand with Ursula – Deceiver is so powerful that the amount of time or card draw amount you can generate with Ursula – Deceiver is a game winner.
These two cards alone make Emerald a fantastic support color, and when you pair it with one of the best colors in the game, you have a very powerful combo. Emerald/Steel has several tiers in the tier list and it’s easy to see why. However, this Emerald/Iron control list has the best meta share of all.
The deck we’re highlighting is Strog, which placed 8th out of 64 players in the $1,000 tournament in France. It includes both Ursulas along with many of Steel’s most powerful songs, acts and characters from Foodborn.
3 Cinderella – Knight in training
2 fire the cannons!
4 Robin Hood – the beloved outlaw
3 Keith Cloudkicker – Tough Guy
3 The tide will turn.
2 Rise of the Titans
2 breaking
1 Jafar – Dreadnought
4 Ursula – deceiver
4 intensity of burning fire
4 Morph – Space Goo
2 Hold your sword
2 Then Zeus came
4 Cinderella – Stoutart
4 Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy
4 New world
4 Ursula – the deceiver of all
4 Robin Hood – Champion of Sherwood
4 beast – tragic hero
Amethyst/Emerald or how it takes time to win
Amethyst/Emerald Tempo
Another deck where Emerald is a key component is Tempo Amethyst/Emerald. This deck avoids the long Emerald/Steel game and opts for an aggressive strategy that seeks to dominate the early and mid game with strong seekers and strong timing plays.
Keith Cloudkicker – Tough Guy is a key card in this strategy, allowing you to continue developing your early board while eliminating some of your opponents. Ursula – Trickster of Everything is another key card in this Emerald deck (no surprise) as it can be a card draw with friends from the other side or the mother of all crazy moments.
Here’s a list of the winners of last week’s 32-player $1,000 tournament in the United States. The list, by Nicholas Wylie, includes 4 copies of the game’s best location, The Queen’s Castle – Mirror Chamber. This position not only draws more cards, but the two traditions are a good way to close the game.
3 followers of Chernabog – creatures of evil
3 Merlin – Crab
2 Lady Mim – Snake
4 Merlin – goat
4 Mother knows best.
3 Tinker Bell – very helpful
4 Keith Cloudkicker – Tough Guy
4 friends on the other hand
4 Ursula – deceiver
3 Rafiki – Secret Warrior
2 Yzma – scary beyond all reason
4 Flynn Rider – Charming Rogue
4 Merlin – rabbit
4 Cursed Merfolk – Ursula’s Handicraft
4 Lady Mim – Fox
4 The Queen’s Palace – The Mirror Room
4 Ursula – the deceiver of all
Jafar is excited but not in control as much as he is afraid.
Amethyst / Iron Jafar wheel
The card that everyone feared would break the game turned out to be, well… a very, very good card. Fortunately, Jafar – the hit illusionism, is not breaking the game. But the deck that it does work on is pretty good and finishes Tier 1 for this first week of Encland.
As the name suggests, the goal is to take out Jafar and play a whole new world (also known as a “wheel” that does the same thing for Magic: The Gathering Card). This gives you a whopping 7 lords and if your opponent can’t handle your Jafar they can probably do it again next turn and probably win the game that time. The rest of the deck consists of cards that allow you to find pieces of your combo, set up your combo, or pause until you’re done.
This Frank Zheng roster is one of the top eight in the Pixelborne tournament, with 178 players. This list has definitely grown into some solid Amethyst/Iron control options and has a Jafar/AWNW combo as a win-win situation. This is probably the best version of the deck, rather than the all-rounder in the combo.
3 Captain Hook – Powerful Duelist
2 Jafar – Royal Vizier
2 ba-boom!
4 Blue fairy – rewarding good deeds
3 Tinker Bell – Tiny Tactics
4 Robin Hood – the beloved outlaw
3 Rise of the Titans
3 friends on the other hand
1 break
2 Mr. My Name – Screaming Spouse
4 Jafar – Dreadnought
2 Yzma – scary beyond all reason
2 Merlin – rabbit
3 Hold your sword
2 Then Zeus came
4 Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy
4 Jafar – amazing illusionist
4 New world
4 Robin Hood – Champion of Sherwood
4 beast – tragic hero
We’ll have to see where the meta swings and if that translates into different tournaments without clear dominant teams. If you want to see more ships, the source for current art is Lorcana Gigi.
What are your colors?