Table of Contents
Introduction
Welcome to Lorcana.gg's weekly meta report! Each week we analyze the state of the meta using data from the previous week of online and tournament play. Our tier list is updated with the latest data, while this meta report will go over what it all means, as well as highlighting some particularly strong and interesting decks in each archetype.
The tier list is separated into three tiers. Tier 1 has the strongest decks that boast a high meta share (percentage of games played) and often a high win rate as well. Tier 2 and Tier 3 decks are a notch below the top tier, with these decks usually having one or two weaknesses keeping them from dominating the meta.
Meta Overview
Once again, Amethyst/Ruby Control tops the tier list. But at least it has plateaued at around 15% meta share and isn't climbing to tier 0 status. For now, it remains the most popular and arguably best deck in the meta, but there are other decks out there that are on its level.
One example is Ruby/Sapphire Control, which has vaulted from tier 3 all the way up to second place on the tier list in a span of two weeks. The deck has always had a consistent draw engine to pair with its powerful ramp, but lacked a reliable win condition. But now it has found one in the form of Lucky Dime.
Other risers this week include the Emerald/Steel Discard deck, which is slowly becoming the deck of choice for Emerald/Steel players. The Emerald/Steel Control variant moves down to tier 2 this week and the Beast OTK version fell off the tier list altogether.
The fallers this week are Amethyst/Steel Jafar Wheel, which falls out of tier 1 for the first time this expansion. The deck's high variance is likely keeping many players away from playing it. Steelsongs also falls a bit this week, however some strong tournament showings from the deck this past weekend will likely push it higher soon enough.
Down in tier 3, Red Mufasa is the only deck that is on an upward trend. It is pushing to climb up into tier 2 in the near future. While Amber/Amethyst Aggro and the Pirate deck have both fallen this week, with Ruby/Steel Pirates just barely clinging to a spot on the tier list. The pirate dream is now just a meme...
Anyway, onto the tier list!
Tier List
| Tier | Deck Name | Meta Share | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 |   Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Control | 15.2% | 49.7% |
 Ruby/Sapphire Pawpsicle Control | 10.6% | 50.2% | |
  Emerald/Steel Discard | 7.3% | 49.9% | |
| Sapphire/Steel Ramp Wheel | 6.8% | 50.2% | |
| Tier 2 | Amethyst/Steel Jafar Wheel | 5.4% | 50.1% |
| Emerald/Steel Control | 4.7% | 50.0% | |
| Amethyst/Emerald Tempo | 4.5% | 50.6% | |
 Amber/Steel Steelsongs | 4.4% | 50.3% | |
| Tier 3 | Amber/Ruby Red Mufasa | 3.7% | 50.8% |
| Amber/Amethyst Hyper Aggro | 3.2% | 48.8% | |
| Ruby/Steel Pirates | 2.2% | 50.6% |
Tier 1
Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Control
The Amethyst/Ruby Location Control list has evolved and the location package is no longer a staple of the deck. At this point, calling it "Location Control" is a bit of a misnomer. It's really the same deck from last meta, with only a couple minor tweaks, so we'll call it "Bounce Control" again.
As mentioned, most players have opted to cut Jim Hawkins - Space Traveler and, if they are running any locations at all, it's likely only a couple The Queen's Castle - Mirror Chamber. The thing is, locations are not great into the mirror matchup, with Maui - Hero to All on the hunt. And you are going to be facing a lot of mirror matchups, especially in tournaments.
Speaking of tournaments, Amethyst/Ruby Control had another great showing this past weekend. The largest in-person tournament in the US took place over the weekend, with over 225 players, and Amethyst/Ruby Control decks made up 5 out of the top 8 spots. This deck from Edmond C. came in 2nd place in the tournament. As you can see, he's not running any locations and instead seems to mostly be targeting the mirror with this deck list.
Ruby/Sapphire Pawpsicle Control
The Pawpsicles deck is back, in a big way. The deck has seemingly finally realized its true potential. The missing piece was a way to close out games and it now has a finisher card in Lucky Dime. This Legendary item can allow you to gain a lot of lore very quickly. With the amount of ink you can ramp up to, you can even play the item and a big lore character like Tamatoa - So Shiny! down in the same turn for unexpected burst. This lets the deck have a way to win against other control decks, while still being able to shut down aggro and midrange decks.
The deck is beginning to pull in some good tournament results, including this top 8 deck from Killian Ma, competing in the latest Pixelborn tournament. Two Lucky Dimes is all that is needed, as the deck can easily find one with all the draw potential it has. Of course, McDuck Manor - Scrooge's Mansion is another key card for the deck, getting you that passive lore gain and putting you in range for finishing the game out with a Lucky Dime play.
Emerald/Steel Discard
Everyone's favorite squirrel continues to power the best discard deck in the format, with Emerald/Steel Discard taking advantage of Bucky - Squirrel Squeak Tutor and loads of Floodborns to wreck opponent's hands. This is especially useful in a format with lots of control decks that want to play with full hands, giving you ample opportunity for discard.
Our deck highlight for this week is this one from Rofellos, who placed top 8 in the largest in-person tournament for Lorcana to date, which was 247 players strong and held in France. Rise of the Titans is pulling double-duty as a tech card, letting you deal with pesky Locations as well as powerful items like the aforementioned Lucky Dime. I would not be surprised to see this card increase in popularity in Steel lists.
Sapphire/Steel Ramp Wheel
Last week's second most played deck falls off a bit this week, but still holds onto its tier 1 status. Sapphire/Steel Ramp is obviously still a very strong deck and it can certainly hold its own amongst the other top decks. As long as A Whole New World is around in the format, I think the combination of Sapphire's powerful ramp and this Song's ability to refill your hand so efficiently will keep this deck meta relevant.
Case in point, this list from Schuyler Duntz was the winner of the most recent Pixelborn tournament. Once again we find Lucky Dime making the cut in a competitive list. Even without a big lore target like Tamatoa, the card still provides some useful lore gain options. And with the ramp potential provided by cards like Fishbone Quill you can consistently get to high ink amounts and then a whole world of explosive plays open up.
Tier 2
Amethyst/Steel Jafar Wheel
The Jafar combo deck continues to be a polarizing one. Many players swear by the deck's potential in the meta, but others find it just too inconsistent to be worth the trouble. If you don't find your Jafar - Striking Illusionist early enough, you are just playing a worse control deck than everyone else.
So maybe it's not the most consistent of tournament decks, but it can still get results. This deck from Elliott Schwarzman, for example, finished in 3rd place in a fundraiser tournament in Memphis this past week. This version of the deck looks like it is pretty close to the standard for Jafar Wheel decks.
Emerald/Steel Control
Emerald/Steel Control falls to tier 2 this week and, honestly, it makes sense. When looking for deck lists to highlight the past couple weeks, lists with Bucky are consistently outperforming Emerald/Steel lists without him, so this version of the deck falling off a bit is expected. The lists are otherwise so similar and just including 4 Buckys improves your matchup against other control decks significantly.
That being said, there are occasional lists out there that skip the Bucky for more control options. This one from Benjamin Chappell took home first place at the fundraiser tournament in Memphis. Cutting the Buckys gives you room to run cards like Lyle Tiberius Rourke - Cunning Mercenary and Helga Sinclair - Femme Fatale.
Amethyst/Emerald Tempo
The Amethyst/Emerald Tempo deck continues to be a solid option on ladder and occasionally manages to pull in some tournament results. In a meta that is wholly dominated by control decks, it can be tough for a low-to-the-ground, tempo deck to compete. But this deck manages to do it thanks to lots of card draw and plenty of early and midgame threats.
This deck from Nicholas Wylie came in 4th out of 186 players in the most recent Pixelborn tournament. In addition to Ruby/Sapphire running McDuck Manor, this deck might be the only other one in the meta consistently running locations, with 4 copies of The Queen's Castle - Mirror Chamber being pretty standard.
Amber/Steel Steelsongs
The Amber/Steel Steelsongs deck is a surprising faller this week. But it is still hanging in there in tier 2 and, honestly, it is probably one of the better tier 2 decks, in my opinion. It has a solid win rate on ladder and a number of good tournament results so far this expansion.
One of those impressive tournament results includes a win by Amber/Steel Steelsongs in the large 226 player tournament in the US this past weekend. This list by Zan Syed brings back everyone's favorite item, Sleepy's Flute. Back in the last meta, Flute was added to help the deck against Amethyst/Ruby Control and, once again, that matchup is becoming a very common one.
Tier 3
Amber/Ruby Red Mufasa
Red Mufasa is still the only Mufasa deck making it consistently on the tier list. We see a small amount of Greenfasa, but not enough to make the charts. Amber/Ruby Mufasa was the original and best version of the deck, so not a huge surprise to see it still around in the meta.
Our deck highlight is this deck from Brennan DeCandio, which managed a top 16 in the 186-player Pixelborn tourney. The list is a fun one, with lots of interesting inclusions, especially Maui - Whale. Side note: there was also a Maui Whale in a Ruby/Sapphire deck that performed well at the largest Lorcana tournament ever in France. Could the Whale become meta? Hmm...
Amber/Amethyst Hyper Aggro
Aggro has been having a rough time of it in Lorcana. When two of the most popular ink colors are Ruby and Steel, both of which have all the best removal, it becomes very difficult for aggro to make it. I would advise against playing the archetype competitively until Ravensburger decides to print more ways for aggro to survive the plethora of removal.
But if you do want to give aggro a go, you can try out this list from Lorcana YouTuber Earlmeister (soon to be a Lorcana.gg contributor!). This deck can win real fast and if you time your The Bare Necessities correctly, you can even beat Steel decks, by forcing a discard of their Grab Your Sword.
Ruby/Steel Pirates
You best start believin' in ghost stories... because this deck is about to ghost right out of the meta. Ruby/Steel Pirates is a fun deck but it's just not strong enough to compete with the best decks out there. We can only hope that Pirates get more support in the next set. And if it is an ocean-themed expansion, more pirate cards may make sense?
Pirates have struggled to make a splash (heh) in tournaments, so nothing terribly exciting to highlight here. If you want to play Pirates though, you could give this deck from YouTuber Inkwell Gaming a try. At only around $100, it's a decent budget option as well.
And that's the meta report for this week. Overall, I'm happy to see that we have a fairly diverse meta with about 6-8 truly viable decks. Yes, Amethyst/Ruby Control looks like it is still the "best" deck but it's not a slam dunk, tier zero deck any more. There are other decks that can go toe-to-toe with it and get results both online and in-person.
With official tournaments set to kick off next month and the next set likely to be announced very soon, it's an exciting time for Lorcana players, competitive and casual alike. I can't wait to see what the future has in store.
Until next time, good luck and have fun!
