Lorcana Deck Guide: Sapphire-Steel Heroes and Allies

Hello, everyone!

Here in Brazil, we have a celebration very similar to Valentine's Day. We call it Dia dos Namorados, which roughly translates to Lovers' Day. Instead of using February 14th - Saint Valentine's day - we use June 12th - eve of Saint Anthony's day. In popular culture, Saint Anthony is regarded as the blesser of marriages.

So, paying homage to that special date, and also that on this same month we celebrate forty-eight years of The Rescuers' release, let's showcase a deck with one of Disney's cutest couples: Bernard and Bianca!

In the movie, Bernard and Bianca are part of the Rescue Aid Society, an international mice organization that helps people in danger. Both of their cards in Lorcana have synergy with Ally type characters - that's a 10/10 flavor, props to the design team!

In addition to Bernard and Bianca, we have other characters that also have synergy with Allies, such as Jasmine. Also, many alles have synergy with the Hero type - precisely the type of Jasmine, Bernardo, and Bianca!

Based on these interactions, we now have the basis of our deck: setup a board with good characters that will strengthen each other, and overwhelm the opponent's board!

Let's present the list and then talk in more detail about each card.

The idea behind our list is to develop many characters in the first 4 turns of the game, and based on the synergies between Allies and Heroes, gain small advantages to maintain a superior board over the opponent.

The deck is designed to be fast, with 16 1-Drops and 12 2-Drops (not counting Doc - Bold Knight as a 2-Drop), so almost half of the deck encompassees low ink cost cards. You will hardly need more than 5 ink in a game, which also maximizes the use of cards in your hand. In addition, the deck also has some ways to draw cards and refuel in a longer game.

Heroes

We have twelve cards that synergize with Ally cards, and between the different versions of Jasmine, there are twenty Hero cards as well.

Bernard - Over-Prepared is an excellent 2-Drop that remains useful even in a longer game, since if you have any allies on the board he will draw a new card. His better half, Miss Bianca - Unwavering Agent, is also extremely useful, being a 6-cost character that can be played as early as turn 4! With her good 5/5 stats, she can really mess up an opponent's board.

While the mice couple helps to redraw cards and keep the board under control, Jasmine - Steady Strategist combines the win condition, through Quest, with potential card draw - and, even better, always for an Ally type character. We have thirty-one Allies in the deck, which means that the chance of Jasmine failing is very low.

In addition, we have eight 1-cost Jasmine, allowing you to start with a smaller version of her to immediately Shift into Jasmine - Steady Strategist on turn 2! With her Quest, you can immediately recover a card - and with her good 2/5 stats, she will probably make it to the next turn and with that draw you another card.

Allies

Now let's talk about the Allies! We have options on every spot of the curve, from 1-ink to 4-ink.

Toulouse and Kit Cloudkicker are the 1-drops, ideal to setup a turn 2 Bernard - Over-Prepared. Both are resilient, with Toulouse having 3 Willpower, and Kit having the powerful Ward ability, making it difficult for the opponent to interact with him.

At cost 2, we again have resilient Allies - after all, the deck needs them to stay on the board to help the Heroes! Toby and Mr. Arrow are tough ones thanks to the Resist ability, while Penny is another character with Ward, as long as you have a Hero on the board.

These 1 and 2-cost allies are your main board presence, and activate your important synergies. At 3 and 4 cost, we have characters with a different focus.

Lawrence is an excellent cost-benefit, a 4/4 for 3 that, after a challenge, can sit there and generate 2 Lore each turn by Questing. And Pluto, in a similar way, is a 5/5 for 4 ink, which also comes with Bodyguard, protecting the rest of your board.

Card Draw

We've already talked about Jasmine and Bernard in the Heroes section, so let's talk about the deck's other options to recover resources.

Doc should usually be played as the last card in hand, precisely to maximize its effect and draw two new cards. In addition, he's also an Ally! This is very important, since he can be found with Jasmine's ability.

Desperate Plan, similarly, can be used to cycle a hand of unwanted cards and, in a longer game, be one of the most efficient card draws in the game! Drawing 3 cards for 3 ink is very strong, and with the deck's low cost characters, you'll probably be able to play a few more cards in a row.

Interactions

Last but not least, we have a few interactions to deal with problematic threats from the opponents.

Pete is the card that ensures our board doesn't die to a mass removal, like Be Prepared or Grab Your Sword. It can also completely paralyze a Song deck for a turn.

Let It Go is a catch-all spot removal. Although it has a slightly higher cost, remember that it's a song - Miss Bianca can sing it for free! Furthermore, since it's inkable, if it's not needed you can use it as ink and just move on.

Considering that the first 4 sets of the game will rotate out of the Core Constructed format once Fabled is released, the good news is that our deck today should remain reasonably intact!

We only used 4 cards from the first sets, 14 copies in total, which can be replaced by other allies - in the case of Kit and Lawrence - or other removals - in the case of Let It Go. The loss of Jasmine - Heir of Agrabah is perhaps the most impactful, as it decreases the consistency of Jasmine - Steady Strategist on turn two.

In any case, once we have the Fabled set released, we can update the deck accordingly! And, of course, the deck will be totally playable for the Infinity format!

And that's our deck for today!

Although it wasn't the main goal, it's also a reasonably budget deck, with a few rares, only one super rare and no legendaries! If you're looking for a very efficient, fast deck, with affordable cards, this could be a good choice. If you're a fan of The Rescuers, even better!

As always, leave your comment, suggestion, or feedback!

Cheers and see you next time!