Lorcana: Deck Guide - Amber Steel Aggro

Hello, everyone!

Last week, we analyzed the Amethyst-Steel Evasives deck, which won a tournament in the US with over 180 player.

This week, we'll analyze a new deck that won another major event, with over 300 players! Let's go!

The competitive season is underway, and the metagame is quickly developing. Initially, midrange decks, especially those focused on Amethyst ink, managed to excel due to the combination of board control and card advantage.

In response, we're now seeing aggressive decks adapting to midrange answers, as well as taking advantage of Amethyst decks' tendency to slot in heavier threats to better deal with mirrors.

This was evident in the PPG 15k tournament, held on the weekend of September 13-14 – a tournament that, while not part of the official Disney Lorcana Challenges circuit, was worth a spot at the next World Championship! Ravensburger, as previously announced, is supporting independent organizers, who are promoting major events and receiving official support from the company, ensuring Disney Lorcana continues to be a success!

Returning to the event, we had a total of 303 players. Official events no longer use the 2-Game Format, but rather the traditional Best of 3 Format, already familiar and present in most other card games. At the end of the rounds and the top cut elimination rounds, Skyler Thompson was crowned champion with his powerful Amber-Steel Aggro list:

Let's understand the game plan and analyze the cards in the list.

The Game Plan - Lore, Lore, Lore!

This is one of the most efficient aggros in the format, simple and straightforward. There are sixteen 1-cost characters, plus sixteen 2-cost characters—more than half the deck costs 1 or 2 ink!

This makes the game plan quite clear: load the board with characters in the first three turns, and then go all out for the Lore race, in which you have a large lead, as many characters generate 2 (or more!) Lore.

From turn 4 onward, the game plan involves protecting your board, especially with the deck's larger characters and with the Steel ink actions and songs, which provide the most efficient board control in the meta at the moment. You want to be in a position to win the game within, typically, the first six turns of the game.

Overall, that's the deck's plan! Let's analyze each card and its role.

1-Drops: Speed and Resilience

One-drops will allow the deck to get on the board from the first turn and establish rapid Lore generation.

Daisy Duck is almost always one of the best plays, combining high Lore generation with high Willpower, making it difficult for your opponent to deal with her until you've gained 4-6 Lore.

Aurora isn't as defensive, but makes up for it by giving you an ink advantage, helping you build a board full of characters and play out your hand.

Mulan is essential for filtering the deck, especially since the list has nineteen uninkable cards, which can hinder your ink development.

Finally, Rhino combines a great effect that makes it difficult for your opponent to Challenge, with a cheap character that allows you to Shift its larger version, which we'll see later.

2-Drops: Protection and Card Draw

In the 2-Drops, the idea is to once again present threats that are difficult for the opponent to deal with, allowing for continuous Lore generation.

Nala is a significant threat, with the potential to generate three Lore per turn, and an excellent target for the deck's protective cards.

Penny is one of those protections, and it also works for any other character, in addition to generating two Lore on its own. Note that it's not necessary to remove damage for the chosen character to gain Resist, so it can also be used preemptively!

Troubadour may seem strange, since the deck has only one song, but its job is actually to be a resilient character, with Resist, and eventually gain tempo when you use it to sing.

And of course, we couldn't forget one of the best 2-Drops right now: Doc, with its powerful ability that allows you to, if your hand is empty, essentially draw two cards! Possibly the best value in the format, with the requirement that you have an empty hand—something that, in an aggro deck, is a frequent occurrence.

3-Drops: Ink Advantage and More Protection

On 3-Drops, the goal is to reassert your initiative at the board and preemptively protect your characters from opponents' interactions.

Lady is a very strong play on turn 3, as you'll be playing two characters for 3 ink—and if it's a 2-drop, you've gained both tempo and ink! If you also bring a character that generates 2 Lore, you basically secured your position to take the lead in the Lore race.

Tiana and Pete seek to protect your characters, respectively, from Challenges or Actions, which depends on what deck the opponent is playing. Tiana also synergizes with Aurora and can even be played on turn 2!

4-Drops: The Final Touch

The deck doesn't always need to reach 4 ink, but occasionally the above characters may be worth the investment.

Rhino can actually enter the board as early as turn 2, via Shift, but can also be played on turn 4 full price as well. It's another resilient character, and also quests for 2 Lore.

Pluto has excellent stats, having initially 5 Strength and Willpower, and on top of that, has Bodyguard, ensuring your smaller characters are protected. Against opponents with many small characters, Pluto will guarantee that the rest of your board remains intact.

Sven is an indirect way to protect your characters, untapping them after generating Lore, thus preventing their exposure to Challenges. Occasionally, it can also be used to untap someone you're going to use to sing.

Actions: Board Control

Rounding out the deck is a small action package, which are important tools when your opponent has a faster start than you. They'll help you catch your breath while reestablishing control over the board.

Fire the Cannons! is exactly what the deck needs against faster opponents: invest as little ink as possible and deliver the best possible damage in one action.

Strength of a Raging Fire, although being conditional to the number of characters you control, has two huge advantages: it's a Song, so you can save a lot of ink by using a 3-Drop or a Troubadour to sing it; and it's inkable, so it'll never be a dead card in your hand if your opponent doesn't have any interesting threats to target.

The Core Constructed format metagame is evolving, with interesting strategies emerging and attempting to break the dominance initially established by Amethyst and Steel.

I'm sure we'll see new archetypes emerge and develop to address the metagame—and, of course, we'll be analyzing these new archetypes as well!

Hope you enjoyed! Please leave your feedback in the comments below.

Cheers, and see you next time!