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
With a little over a week to go until the release of set 3, the Rise of the Floodborn meta is nearing an end. Once again, Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Control reigns supreme and everything else is left to battle it out for second-best. For the second week in a row, the deck at the top of that heap is Steelsongs. Funnily enough, the top two decks from The First Chapter meta are still the top two decks in the meta almost three months later. The more things change, the more things stay the same.
All in all, there was not much change in the meta this week compared to last. The tier 1 decks are all the same with very similar meta shares week-over-week. In tier 2, it was much the same story. Down in tier 3, we see Emerald/Ruby Evasives popped back up onto the tier list again. And perhaps most notably, there is no Steelsongs Classic deck to be found. It finally fell under 2% meta share and finds itself off the tier list this week. The Flutes have taken over.
Next week, we will have the final meta report for Rise of the Floodborn. With very little time now left for any further refinement or innovation, there is not likely to be much change in the meta next week either. So we will use it to look forward to Into the Inklands and see how things might change in the meta with the 200+ new cards, including locations, soon coming to the game.
But, for now, we look back at this penultimate week in the Floodborn meta. And so, the tier list...
Tier List
| Tier | Deck Name | Meta Share | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 0 |   Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Control | 15.5% | 50.3% |
| Tier 1 |   Amber/Steel Steelsongs Flute | 6.8% | 49.9% |
 Sapphire/Steel Resist Ramp | 6.7% | 49.2% | |
| Amber/Ruby Red Mufasa | 6.0% | 50.6% | |
 Emerald/Steel Discard | 5.8% | 50.6% | |
| Tier 2 | Ruby/Sapphire Pawpsicle Control | 5.0% | 50.0% |
| Amethyst/Steel Bounce Control | 4.9% | 50.2% | |
| Amber/Emerald Greenfasa | 4.0% | 50.7% | |
| Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Aggro | 3.7% | 48.5% | |
| Sapphire/Steel Control Ramp | 3.6% | 50.0% | |
| Amber/Steel Tiana Aggro | 3.4% | 50.3% | |
| Amber/Amethyst Hyper Aggro | 3.0% | 48.8% | |
| Tier 3 | Emerald/Steel Mill | 2.7% | 50.5% |
| Ruby/Steel Full Control | 2.7% | 50.0% | |
| Amber/Steel Greyfasa | 2.3% | 49.7% | |
| Emerald/Ruby Evasives | 2.2% | 49.3% |
Tier 0
Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Control
Not sure there is anything else that can be said about Amethyst/Ruby Control at this point. It was clearly the best deck in the Floodborn meta. It spent the majority of the 12 weeks on the top of the tier list... often way, way on top. It also racked up the most top 8s, top 4s and top 1s in tournament play than any other deck out there.
To wit, here is a winning deck list from a 102-player tournament at TCG Con in Houston over the weekend. This list, piloted by Alberto Garcia, runs the now popular tech of Peter Pan's Shadow - Not Sewn On, which is a Rush character that can deal with Evasive threats. Either by itself or by giving your other Rush cards like Maui - Hero To All Evasive as well.
Tier 1
Amber/Steel Steelsongs Flute
Steelsongs is now Flute and Flute is now Steelsongs. The addition of Sleepy's Flute really kept this deck relevant, especially in the Amethyst/Ruby Control matchup. Having a way to close out a game quickly was invaluable. Without this deck choice, we may have seen Steelsongs fall out of the meta entirely.
This deck by Pavel came in 2nd place in a 124-player tournament in Austria last week. Hercules - Divine Hero, the card we've pegged as one of the biggest price risers across the whole of Lorcana, continues to be a key card in the deck.
Sapphire/Steel Resist Ramp
Sapphire/Steel was a strong deck in The First Chapter and, while it took a bit for players to recognize its power after Floodborn released, once they did it has remained a steady presence near the top of the tier list. The combo of ramp and draw is a strong one, and when you can through Resist into the mix, it makes for a powerful deck.
Here is a deck that landed a top 8 at the TCG Con in Houston. This deck, piloted by Kris Coy, has become the typical Resist Ramp list with Nothing to Hide now a standard choice.
Amber/Ruby Red Mufasa
Unlike the first three decks, the Amber/Ruby Mufasa deck did not exist before Rise of the Floodborn released. It wasn't even a thing in the first month or so of Floodborn's release. It took some time for players to realize how strong Mufasa - Betrayed Leader was, but once they did, the card found its way into multiple decks. But Amber/Ruby Mufasa is the original and arguably the best.
This version from Steadfast looks to be the standard Amber/Ruby Mufasa list. With Ruby's control tools and Amber for card draw and Mufasa to bring extra value, it is a strong deck.
Emerald/Steel Discard
The premier discard deck of Rise of the Floodborn wasn't Amber/Emerald Discard, which was the deck every tried out first. It turned out to be Emerald/Steel Discard. One of the main reasons this combo worked so well is because Bucky - Squirrel Squeak Tutor paired so nicely with all of Steel's powerful Floodborn characters such as Jafar - Dreadnought, Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy, and, of course, Beast - Tragic Hero.
This deck list from Vincent Pohl went top 4 at the 124-player tournament in Austria. It throws in a couple copies of Hercules - Divine Hero to help in Steel mirrors and to add even more Floodborns for Bucky discard procs.
Tier 2
Ruby/Sapphire Pawpsicle Control
The Pawpsicle deck came out of the gate as a hot new deck from Rise of the Floodborn. The insane draw engine and recursion loop of Pawpsicle, Hiram Flaversham - Toymaker and Nick Wilde - Wily Fox was quickly discovered and abused. But the deck failed to really capitalize on that early momentum. It disappointed in tournaments and was soon eclipsed by Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Control, a matchup it particularly struggled against.
The deck looks to end the Floodborn meta on a high note with a good tournament performance. This list from ghostphoenix took home a top 8 spot in a 29-player tournament, Manticxre's Tavern Major, hosted on Pixelborn.
Amethyst/Steel Bounce Control
Amethyst/Steel Control has been a consistently performing deck since it popped up in the meta. I mean, Amethyst and Steel are arguably the best two inks in Lorcana, at the moment, so it makes sense to put them together.
This list from Drew W. landed a top 8 at a recent 1k tournament in Utah. This is pretty close to the standard Amethyst/Steel control list and I expect this deck will continue to be strong as we move Into the Inklands.
Amber/Emerald Greenfasa
Once players found success with Mufasa - Betrayed Leader in Amber/Ruby, they began looking for other decks that Mufasa could be built around. This Amber/Emerald version quickly proved to be a powerful one, as Emerald has many strong questers that are great pulls for Mufasa. However, despite this deck being quite popular on ladder, it has not had really many tournament successes, especially in paper formats. Maybe there is room for the deck to grow and evolve in Into the Inklands?
This list from Grayson Smith is the best recent result in a tournament for the deck, going top 32 in the 164-player Pixelborn tournament. This list definitely hopes to high-roll on Mufasa with lots of big, juicy targets.
Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Aggro
Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Aggro was a deck that came on strong out of the gate and then tapered off, only to see a second life in the last couple weeks here. The deck has come back retooled for the current meta, with less full-on aggression and more mid-game value and control.
This list from Matteo Rossi, which he managed a top 8 in the 164-player Pixelborn tournament, showcases that refined strategy perfectly. The deck can be quite fast when it needs to be, with cards like Pascal - Rapunzel's Companion but can also control the mid and late game with Maui - Hero to All and Be Prepared.
Sapphire/Steel Control Ramp
The other version of Sapphire/Steel continues to see some play on ladder. This one has always floated on the edges of the meta, never quite having the success of the Resist version with Cogsworth - Grandfather Clock. But still, it is a viable deck, thanks to the combination of Sapphire's ramp and Steel's card draw.
This list from LorcanaUniversity is an item-heavy version of this deck, which utilizes Ariel - Whoseit Collector as a win condition.
Amber/Steel Tiana Aggro
Amber/Steel as a color combination may have the most decks across the whole of Lorcana. This Tiana Aggro deck came out of nowhere the last few weeks to land in tier 2 on the tier list. It looks to take advantage of Tiana - Celebrating Princess's ability to protect its board against cards like Be Prepared and Grab Your Sword.
This deck list by Kristopher Baxter managed a top 16 spot in the 100+ player tournament at TCG Con Houston. Beast - Selfless Protector looks to have solidified a spot in this decklist, working as yet another board protection option for your small characters.
Amber/Amethyst Hyper Aggro
Look, the other aggro decks may be called "aggro" but nothing goes harder than Amber/Amethyst Hyper Aggro. A deck that from the very beginning of the meta was turning sideways and gaining lore, this deck has always wanted to go fast. It has been hurt by the prevalence of Steel in the meta, but if you can managed to dodge Steel decks on ladder and in tournaments, there aren't many decks that can withstand its aggression.
Here is a deck that took home a top 8 spot in the 5k SCG Con Hartford tournament. Piloted by OmnipotentOz, this deck can easily win on turns 5 or 6, completely negating that Be Prepared your opponent may be holding.
Tier 3
Emerald/Steel Mill
Emerald/Steel Mill has been on the fringes of the meta through Rise of the Floodborn. A Whole New World enables a lot of mill strategies and when you can add action recursion into the mix like Do It Again!, you can easily deck your opponent out. While the deck is not universally strong across the field, which holds it back from broad success, it can easily end the tournament run of a heavy control deck.
We'll spotlight a fairly standard mill build, which comes from Pataclap, who decides to run Lady Tremaine - Wicked Stepmother for even more recursion.
Ruby/Steel Full Control
Ruby/Steel Full Control only recently made a dent in the meta and it likely won't move up any higher than tier 3 for now. But once Into the Inklands comes out, we may see this deck be the location deck of choice, thanks to Jim Hawkins - Space Traveler, Voyage and Map of Treasure Planet.
For this set though, the deck relies on fully controling the board with Steel's damage and Ruby's Rush and removal. This list from Axel B., which finished in the top 16 in a tournament in France recently, showcases that perfectly.
Amber/Steel Greyfasa
Mufasa once again manages to find himself in the meta. This is the least played Mufasa deck and is, in many ways, quite similar to the Amber/Steel Tiana Aggro lists. Just built slightly different to take advantage of the tempo Mufasa gives you.
Here is what many consider the optimum Greyfasa build, provided by the prolific tournament player and Greyfasa pioneer Bjornfot.
Emerald/Ruby Evasives
The final deck on our tier list this week, Emerald/Ruby Evasives, has floated on and off the tier list for the past month or so. The deck isn't a great one, but it is a nice beginner and budget option, which has its own advantages. It's a good deck for any new players to look towards building. And it should have some more tools when the next set drops.
Here is a perfect budget Evasives list for new players to work towards. At only $50, it is the cheapest deck on this list and is good enough to take to your locals and be able to have a fighting chance against some of the top meta decks.
We have one more meta report to go before Into the Inklands drops. I can't wait to see how the new cards are going to shake up the meta! I'm already deep into deck brewing mode with what has been revealed so far. I think (and hope!) that Amethyst/Ruby Control's reign of terror should soon be ending.
Until then, good luck and have fun!
