Table of Contents
- Rise of the Floodborn Starter Deck Amethyst & Steel
- Rise of The Floodborn Starter Deck Amber & Sapphire
- Shimmering Skies Starter Deck Amethyst & Ruby
- The First Chapter Starter Deck Amber & Amethyst
- The First Chapter Starter Deck Sapphire & Steel
- Azurite Sea Starter Deck Emerald & Sapphire
- Shimmering Skies Starter Deck Emerald & Steel
- Ursula's Return Starter Deck Sapphire & Steel
- Azurite Sea Starter Deck Amber & Ruby
- The First Chapter Starter Deck Emerald & Ruby
- Into the Inklands Starter Deck Amber & Emerald
- Ursula's Return Starter Deck Amber & Amethyst
- Into the Inklands Starter Deck Ruby & Sapphire
- Questions?
Looking to start playing Lorcana? While the Disney Lorcana Gateway is your best bet at learning how to play the game, it only contains two small decks and not enough cards for a complete deck. What we recommend is a Disney Lorcana Starter Deck.
Lorcana Single-Player (previously Starter) Decks are perfect for new players to experience the game in full. They come in a variety of ink combinations, showcasing the mechanics of each ink and how they can work together with others. They each contain:
- 1 starter deck of 60 cards, including 2 foil cards of the characters on the package front.
- 11 Damage counters
- 1 paper playmat
- 1 paper tracker token
- 1 Quickstart rulebook
- 1 Bonus booster pack of 12 randomized cards.
Below we rank the 13 Starter Decks based on how easy they are to understand and play, the relative value and playability of the cards in them, and how easy or difficult they are to upgrade into a competitive deck.
This tier list is mainly based on the following factors:
- Playability: The easier the deck’s mechanics and card interactions are to understand and play, the higher its rank. Starter decks are meant for beginners after all.
- Value: If the deck includes cards that have higher individual value or are highly playable in many decks, the higher its rank. Some starter decks contain the best cards of their respective inks.
- Upgradeability: Decks that can be upgraded into a currently viable competitive archetype more easily are ranked higher.
Rise of the Floodborn Starter Deck Amethyst & Steel
Amethyst is one of the strongest inks right now and this starter deck has format staples that nearly every Amethyst deck wants: 002-052-merlin-rabbit, 002-051-merlin-goat, and 002-046-madam-mim-fox.
These powerful cards enable ‘bounce’ strategies that let you take advantage of effects that happen when cards enter and leave play. With two copies of 002-046-madam-mim-fox, this starter is easier to upgrade to a viable Amethyst Steel deck for tournaments.
On its own, the starter deck lacks characters with high strength and willpower, which can be a struggle against other starters. Still, its overall value easily makes it the Lorcana Starter Deck we most recommend.
Rise of The Floodborn Starter Deck Amber & Sapphire
To start with, Amber Sapphire is not a particularly competitive ink duo at the moment, so turning this starter into something strong enough for tourneys is not really on the table.
However, as a starter deck it’s an excellent one for new players. It has a solid concept that’s easy to understand but has some rewarding complexity as well. Winning can take some work but it feels great to pull off its combos.
Finally, its list of cards has some very good ones, including 002-149-hiram-flaversham-toymaker and 002-169-pawpsicle, an iconic duo present in most Sapphire strategies, and 002-026-the-queen-commanding-presence, a staple in Amber challenge decks.
Shimmering Skies Starter Deck Amethyst & Ruby
Amethyst Ruby is the top ink pairing currently, which this starter showcases to some extent. While it’s a bit all over the place when it comes to cohesiveness, the deck is fun to play with many solid cards.
Its headline foil rare, 005-048-elsa-the-fifth-spirit, is an amazing card that’s heavily played in the competitive scene. 005-068-the-library-a-gift-for-belle and 005-060-finders-keepers are also great Amethyst cards to have as well.
If you’re playing purely starter decks, this one from Shimmering Skies is a good choice and can win consistently. It’s far from the premier Amethyst Ruby Bounce Control deck though, so keep that in mind.
The First Chapter Starter Deck Amber & Amethyst
If you want an easy to play deck with straightforward cards, this First Chapter starter is your best bet. It doesn’t have complex mechanics, confusing interactions, or clever tricks. What it does have are characters, and a lot of them to play every turn.
Because of this, it’s very easy to win with this starter against its brethren, making it our recommendation for beginners who want to keep it simple. Unfortunately, this also means turning it into a competitive deck in these inks will require too many new cards.
Its value is redeemed with four copies of 001-064-friends-on-the-other-side, which is an excellent song included in a lot of strong Amethyst archetypes.
The First Chapter Starter Deck Sapphire & Steel
This Sapphire Steel starter deck is a fun one for those who like playing big characters as fast as possible. It has Sapphire’s signature ‘ramp’ cards like 001-164-one-jump-ahead, letting you increase your inkwell and play more expensive cards.
Against other starters, it’s quite easy to win with this one with the right draws. However, it has a higher number of uninkable cards than we’d like and it’s not easy to upgrade as well.
Still, it has staple cards like 001-198-grab-your-sword and 001-197-fire-the-cannons which are popular damage dealing actions to include in any Steel deck.
Azurite Sea Starter Deck Emerald & Sapphire
The entire theme of this starter revolves around Inventors. There’s a lot of cards in the deck that benefit from having and playing this character type. It’s pretty fun to play as a result, with high replayability too.
Emerald Sapphire is slowly becoming a meta ink combo too. It’s not there yet, but having high potential cards like 006-073-go-go-tomago-darting-dynamo is exciting as we near the release of Archazia’s Island.
While the starter deck’s value and upgrade path aren’t the best, it’s overall playability and fun factor are pretty high.
Shimmering Skies Starter Deck Emerald & Steel
A step up in terms of complexity, this starter from Shimmering Skies feels like a combo deck. It cares about damaging opposing characters and benefiting from it.
It’s good fun for new players who want something a bit more advanced to play, since getting combos off is very satisfying especially if it’s game-winning. Well, winning consistently is challenging for it though, since it requires some careful setup.
005-195-pete-games-referee stands out in this starter in terms of playability and future deckbuilding.
Ursula's Return Starter Deck Sapphire & Steel
Heroes are the star of this starter deck, with cards like 004-190-philoctetes-no-nonsense-instructor and 004-137-anna-braving-the-storm rewarding you for playing them. The deck is simple and solid, with a clear plan that’s great for new players.
That’s the best thing going for it, unfortunately. Upgrading the deck to a competitive one would entail getting an entirely new Sapphire Steel deck. Its value isn’t spectacular, either, though it has some nice commons, like 003-189-robin-hood-beloved-outlaw, to start with.
Azurite Sea Starter Deck Amber & Ruby
This starter deck is very thematic: you play a bunch of pirates and send them off to locations to win, essentially searching for treasure.
While the theme is great and the deck is easy to learn, the card choices themselves are wanting. Half the deck cares about pirates and the other about locations, and many of them just don’t work well together. As such, its aggressive plan tends to stall if you don’t draw the right cards.
Upgrading the deck isn’t a simple task either, since Amber Ruby hasn’t been a strong meta choice in a while and the starter lacks many of the cards needed for it to compete.
The First Chapter Starter Deck Emerald & Ruby
Emerald Ruby has never really been a meta ink combination and perhaps this starter deck shows why. Its intended gameplan is a bit too complex for newbies who might be better off looking at simpler starters.
This could be a fun challenge for some, though. You can upgrade the deck with some pretty inexpensive cards and improve it a lot. Sadly, it still won’t likely be competitive for tourneys.
Some of the cards in it might make this aged starter a bump as new sets enter the scene.
Into the Inklands Starter Deck Amber & Emerald
Puppies are cute. This starter deck is full of them. That’s already a win.
That said, this one from Into the Inklands isn’t as strong as we’d hoped and the cards in it aren’t synergistic enough. The effort of upgrading it isn’t worth it and there aren’t any exceptional standalone cards included.
Ursula's Return Starter Deck Amber & Amethyst
If you love Encanto, there’s no better way to start playing the game than with a starter deck based on its characters. The Madrigal Family comes out in full force here and their abilities work really well together.
However, with limited numbers of essential cards like 004-018-mirabel-madrigal-gift-of-the-family and 004-013-julieta-madrigal-excellent-cook, the deck really isn’t a strong choice in terms of overall power. Winning with it is not easy compared to other starters, so be warned.
Into the Inklands Starter Deck Ruby & Sapphire
Ruby Sapphire is one of the top ink combinations in the game, so how come this starter is listed last?
Well, the devs tried to cram a smattering of mechanics and effects from both ink colors that don’t really mesh well into a discernible and consistent plan.
None of the cards in particular see that much competitive play too, cementing this starter deck in last place until a more disappointing one is released.
Questions?
Feel free to ask questions below about these Lorcana TCG Starter Decks, especially if you're a new player. We'd love to help you find the right starter for you so you can continue to enjoy playing Disney Lorcana.
