Deck Guide: Amethyst-Steel Aggro: Countering the meta!

Hello, everyone!

As we see the metagame stabilize after the release of Archazia's Island, many new decks and adaptations have emerged.

The biggest force so far, without a doubt, is the Sapphire/Steel Items deck, which we analyzed in a previous article. The archetype combines consistency, card draw, and is able to transition between the early and late game with a good progression of threats.

One of the ways to combat this new meta deck is to be faster, to make single-target tools inefficient. With that in mind, a very interesting deck that has emerged in tournaments is an aggressive Amethyst-Steel, combining fast Lore generation with card draw to sustain a longer game.

So, let's take a closer look at this deck - could it be a possible answer to the Sapphire infestation in Lorcana? Let's go!

Decklist and Gameplan

Being a newcomer, the archetype's lists are still in phase of refinement - that is, it's not clear that we have a definitive best possible version of the deck.

So, as a reference, we'll highlight the list used by Cody Childers to reach the Top 8 of the CCS 13k Tournament, in the USA, which had more than 300 participants:

The deck's game plan is, at first, quite simple: Quest, Quest, and Quest! As any good aggro, the idea is to generate Lore faster than the opponent can deal with your characters, and thus take the lead in the Lore race.

However, if we look a little more closely, the list doesn't have many characters that generate 2 or more Lore - in fact, only ten of the fifty-six characters can Quest for 2 Lore at all!

Actually, that's part of the plan - instead of concentrating on one character for a 2-Lore gain, it aims to split this between two characters. So, if the opponent deals with one of them, you still have the other to keep generating Lore.

Of course, this strategy at first seems pointless, since you would inevitably run out of resources! That's where the Amethyst ink comes in: most of the characters are able to draw cards, and with that you can gradually replace your board and consistently increase your Lore.

Another important point is the ability to close out games once you have a high amount of Lore! Several cards generate Lore just by being played, and with that you can surprise an opponent with an abrupt generation of 2-4 Lore and reach the magical 20.

Let's analyze the cards in the list and understand their roles:

1-Drops with Card Draw

The deck has 12 1-Drops, and notice that all have an ability that involves drawing a card when the character is banished.

Diablo is one of the best early plays, since it basically forces the opponent to waste time to remove it from the board, and when this happens you'll regain a card.

Magic Broom and Chernabog’s Followers are a little more conditional, since recovering the card needs a play on your own turn. On the other hand, they do not depend on the opponent, so you have a little more control over when they leave the board.

Turn 2 - Advancing your Board

Most of the time, your turn 2 will consist of two 1-Drops, but the deck also has a good selection of 2-Drops to help you advance your board.

Mr Smee is one of the best 2-Drops in the game, and can be used for both Challenges and Lore. Calhoun is similar, although it is preferred for Challenges - the Resist ability makes her a very resilient threat!

Turns 3 and 4 - Improving advantages

At the 3-Curve, we have characters that generate Lore when played, and characters that provide slight disruption on the opponent.

Giant Cobra and The White Rose will do their job just by being played, and they also pressure the opponent to respond to them. Otherwise, they will keep gaining more Lore - or, in the case of Cobra, even threat to make good trades on the opponent's board.

Merlin is another way to make good trades, especially if you have Calhoun to challenge and gain Lore in the process, or a Diablo to trade and gain a card back.

Pete and Benja are good ways to break potential opponents' plans - Pete against action or song decks, such as Be Prepared, Brawl, Strength of a Raging Fire, among others; and Benja against items, especially Lucky Dime, Maurice's Workshop, etc.

At the 4-Curve, we have the deck's finishers.

Genie immediately replaces itself, and the combination of Evasive + 2 Lore forces the opponent to quickly find an answer. Merlin presents a real dilemma: if the opponent trades with it, you will still gain Lore - but if they leave him on the board, it will also gain Lore!

In short, these characters are able to force plays from the opponents while keeping you with plenty resources - just perfect for the deck's plan!

Getting tricky - Bounces and Card Draw

Both Madam Mim cards are low-cost characters, but you don't necessarily want to play them on-curve. Ideally, save them in order to benefit from some on-play effect from your characters - especially Lore gain, with Giant Cobra and the like.

Doc - Bold Knight should also not be seen as a turn-two character. In fact, its ideal use is when its the last card in your hand, since with that you will basically draw two cards. It also has synergy with Madam Mim, allowing you to keep refilling your hand!

Removal

Let's get down to business! Oops, sorry, got carried away!

As the deck is capable of crowding the board, Strength of a Raging Fire is an important removal, as it combines being inkable and a song - that is, flexible and adaptable according to the game state.

Other possible builds

As mentioned at the beginning, it is still early to state that there is a definitive and ideal list, and as a result we have seen many variations. Some of them are:

Flexible 1-Drops - Board presence

Some lists exchange a few 1-Drops, especially the more conditional ones, such as Chernabog’s Followers - Creatures of Evil, for characters with a stronger board presence, such as Captain Hook - Forceful Duelist.

We have also seen some lists explore the use of Mulan - Disguised Soldier, as a way to filter out non-inkable cards and have a 2-power character on the first turn.

More card draw

Another interesting option has been to exchange 4-cost characters for cheaper options that draw cards, such as Friends on the Other Side and The Library - A Gift for Belle. The idea of ​​adding Locations also makes the Lore-generating threats more varied, making it harder for opponents to respond.

Budget

Despite not having any legendaries - in fact, the list we highlighted doesn't even have super rares! -, some important cards in the deck are hard to find, or are highly valued on the secondary market.

Therefore, you can opt for budget replacements, like Fire the Cannons!, Ba-Boom! or Smash for Strength of a Raging Fire, or Kuzco - Wanted Llama as an option for Doc - Bold Knight.

Even when we consider a well-established archetype in Lorcana, such as Aggros, we can see that there is still a lot of room for innovation - like today's highlighted deck, an aggro focused on exchanging resources and resilient characters.

As we mentioned in other articles, the impact of the 7th set has been not only on the new decks themselves, but on the dynamics of the game and how to pressure the opponent - not only with character trades, but in overall resource management and card quality.

If your local metagame is full of slower decks, especially item decks, I recommend testing this deck out! Amethyst-Steel seems to have the right tools to counter the current meta.

Be sure to share your experiences with us!

Cheers, and see you next time!