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. Lastly, we may highlight a Sleeper deck or two, which are decks with very low meta share but a high win rate. These decks are ones to watch out for, with further refinement, they could vault themselves into the top tiers of the meta.
Meta Overview
Welcome to the last Disney Lorcana meta report of 2023! It has been a fantastic year for Lorcana, what with the game launching and all. It has been fun to watch the game grow and the meta develop. And with the year drawing to a close, we can evaluate where things stand in the meta.
The Lorcana meta in 2023 may become known as the year of Amethyst/Ruby Control. This deck archetype has been a strong option in the meta from the launch of the game and this week is no different. The deck continues to grow in meta share and now has more then double the percentage of the 2nd deck on the tier list. It is now so head and shoulders above the rest of the meta, that I've invented a new tier for it. It's Lorcana's first tier 0 deck.
The rest of the tier list is much of the same. Steelsongs Flute and Pawpsicles Control make up the tier 1 decks this week. And while these decks are clearly the best of the rest, they are much closer to the pack than they are to Amethyst/Ruby Control. That just illustrates how broken Amethyst/Ruby is right now.
In tier 2 this week, we have the most decks as there are a large assortment of builds being experimented with and play tested here. Amber/Amethyst Aggro continues to show a good win rate and a steady meta share. Emerald/Steel Discard has remained steady while the Midrange variant has fallen off a bit. The traditional Steelsongs list has also seen a small drop in meta share. The Mufasa Roulette deck on the other hand has increased in play rate and now sits in the middle of tier 2. Lastly, there is a new deck on the tier list here in tier 2 which is Amethyst/Steel Tempo Control. More about this deck and why it has suddenly shot up in meta share down below.
And finally, we have tier 3 which consists of two decks that have seen better days in Amber/Emerald Discard and Amethyst/Ruby Aggro. Amber/Emerald Discard actually increased in meta share a bit this week, but is still a far way off from its early meta numbers. While Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Aggro has been completely overshadowed by the bounce control deck and is now practically non-existent on ladder. And then we have one other new deck to make an appearance on the tier list and that is Amber/Sapphire Healing Midrange. This deck has been slowly gaining in meta share over the past couple weeks and now finally breaks through to appear on the list.
Tier List
| Tier | Deck Name | Meta Share | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 0 |   Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Control | 15.5% | 50.1% |
| Tier 1 |   Amber/Steel Songs Flute Midrange | 7.4% | 49.5% |
 Ruby/Sapphire Item Control | 6.6% | 49.9% | |
| Tier 2 | Amber/Amethyst Aggro | 5.8% | 50.7% |
 Emerald/Steel Discard | 5.8% | 49.9% | |
| Amethyst/Steel Tempo Control | 5.7% | 50.1% | |
| Amber/Steel Songs Midrange | 4.8% | 49.3% | |
| Amber/Ruby Mufasa Roulette | 4.4% | 49.8% | |
| Sapphire/Steel Item Control | 4.0% | 50.6% | |
| Emerald/Steel Midrange | 4.0% | 50.4% | |
| Tier 3 | Amber/Emerald Discard Aggro | 2.5% | 49.9% |
| Amber/Sapphire Healing Midrange | 2.1% | 49.8% | |
| Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Aggro | 1.9% | 49.9% |
Tier 0
Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Control
Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Control is the undisputed king of the meta right now. It is, by far, the most played deck on ladder and also continues to dominate the tournament scene as well. In a recent 160-player tournament in Italy, six out of the top 8 decks were Amethyst/Ruby Control builds. If this were a digital card game, I fully expect one or more of the key cards from this deck would have been nerfed already. The deck is oppressive in its dominance and I don't see anything that can stop it. We just have to hope set 3 introduces something that can knock it down a peg or two.
For our deck highlight, we are showing off the deck that won that aforementioned 160-player tournament. Piloted by Luca Lazzara, this deck includes all the usual Amethyst/Ruby stuff. It also has a couple copies of Merlin - Crab, a relatively recent inclusion to some lists. The crab pairs very well with Madam Mim - Fox, allowing her to rush and take out characters with up to 7 Willpower.
Tier 1
Amber/Steel Songs Flute Midrange
The Amber/Steel Songs Flute Midrange deck drops a bit in meta share this week but still holds the title as second most played deck on the ladder. It manages to maintain a decent win rate, despite having minus matchups into many of the top decks including Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Control.
This list we are highlighting, from Samuel "Howdy" Partner, topped a 42-player US tournament from last week. His list looks pretty standard although he did choose to include one Ursula's Shell Necklace for slightly more draw options.
Ruby/Sapphire Item Control
The Ruby/Sapphire Item Control aka "Pawpsicle" deck is in a weird spot. As we covered in a post by Scott from The Forbidden Mountain, the deck can do some powerful things and subsequently manages to land as the third-most popular deck online. But it has really been struggling in tournament play. The culprit seems to be an inability to effectively close-out games.
To that end, Scott has put together a list that looks to take advantage of an early aggressive game plan with the option to combo out with Grand Pabbie - Oldest and Wisest as a late-game win condition. It's a fun build and it will be interesting to see if something like this can turn the deck's fortunes around in off-line play.
Tier 2
Amber/Amethyst Aggro
At the top of tier 2 we find the Amber/Amethyst Aggro deck, which continues to display an impressive win rate on ladder. It is also a totally viable tournament option, arguably better than the Pawpsicle deck, as it has managed to finish top 8 at many recent tournaments.
One example is this list from Timothy Pham which came in 2nd at a 2k tournament in Florida over the weekend. His inclusion of Just In Time with a plethora of 5-drops you want to cheat out is an interesting one, especially seeing the vanilla Eudora - Accomplished Seamstress as one of them. But with 9 Willpower, she is very difficult to remove and when cheated out on turn 3, has a great follow-up play in Rapunzel - Gifted with Healing to heal her up and draw you cards.
Emerald/Steel Discard
Emerald/Steel Discard has spent some time in the oven and has emerged as a solid and competitive deck archetype. Its meta share remains at 5.8% again this week, putting it firmly in tier 2. It also bagged some very impressive tournament finishes this week. At the 160-player tournament in Italy, we saw 2 Emerald/Steel Discard decks make it into the top 8.
In that Italian tournament, this list from Ash Kaufman came in 2nd place. The deck includes the usual discard stuff but also runs four copies of Bucky - Squirrel Squeak Tutor. In conjunction with multiple Floodborn characters, this list can take full advantage of Bucky's Squeak ability to force your opponents to discard lots of cards.
Amethyst/Steel Tempo Control
A new entry to the tier list this week is Amethyst/Steel Tempo Control. This archetype looks to pair Amethyst and Steel's excellent early-game control and plethora of draw options into one list, making life miserable for any aggressive deck. Amethyst/Steel has mostly flown under the radar since Rise of the Floodborn launched but has recently seen a bump in popularity. This likely can be attributed to some impressive finishes in tournaments from last week, with a version taking home the win in a 1k US tournament and another placing 9th in the large Pixelborn tournament.
This week in tournament play the deck continued to show promise, as this list from Frank Palencia snagged the win in the 2k Florida tournament. The deck just has so many ways to slow down aggressive decks with Rush characters like Madam Mim - Fox and direct damage like Smash and Let the Storm Rage On, while late-game bombs like Elsa - Spirit of Winter allow you to compete with other control lists as well.
Amber/Steel Songs Midrange
The Amber/Steel Songs Midrange deck keeps dropping in meta share, with most players seeming to prefer the Flute variant instead. Those players don't seem to include some of the top Pixelborn players though as Steelsongs Flute saw a marked drop in play amongst the top 100 players and the classic build surged up to be the second-most played list. Could this resurgence in classic Steelsongs be a sign of things to come? Or just top players wanting to experiment with different builds? We will have to wait and see how things develop.
For this week's deck highlight, we offer up this classic Amber/Steel Songs list with Lanterns, which Jeffrey Wiscovitch piloed to a top 8 finish in the 2k Florida tournament. The list is pretty standard stuff but it just proves that Sleepy's Flute isn't necessary for Amber/Steel decks to make some noise.
Amber/Ruby Moufasa Roulette
The Amber/Ruby Moufasa Roulette deck keeps steadily climbing the tier list, jumping up into tier 2 this week thanks to an impressive improvement in meta share. Are players gravitating to the deck because it is good or just because it is fun to "spin the Moufasa roulette wheel"? Maybe a bit of both, as the deck has a solid win rate and also some top tournament finishes to its name.
One of those finishes was this deck from Stefano Zamagni, which landed in the top 4 at the large tournament in Italy this past weekend. With multiple ways to ramp ink, this deck doesn't rely solely on Mufasa - Betrayed Leader to cheat out big threats but he is certainly one important piece to that strategy.
Sapphire/Steel Item Control
Sapphire/Steel Item Control saw a small bump in meta share this week, but it's enough to push it out of tier 3 and up into the next tier. Despite that, the deck still does not seem to be performing as one would expect in tournament play. Either players aren't bringing it or it isn't making the top cuts but either way it is very underrepresented at tournaments of late.
Maybe the archetype needs to reinvent itself to compete? To that end we are spotlighting this list from Lorcana streamer Wintertooth, who has ditched the item package and instead built a deck around Tiana - Celebrating Princess. With a bunch of Resist characters, and Tiana to lock down your opponent's ability to deal with them, this deck seems like it could be very annoying to play against.
Emerald/Steel Midrange
The Emerald/Steel Midrange deck fell in meta share this week but still manages to hang on to tier 2 status. The non-discard Emerald/Steel lists do seem less powerful than the discard variants, with the latter continuing to gain meta share and top 8 finishes alike, while the former threatens to drop down into tier 3.
That being said, there is still innovation and exploration happening with these two ink colors. This very unique Emerald/Steel Midrange deck from Roger Parra, which took home a top 8 finish in the 2k Florida tournament, utilizes Weight Set and a boatload of 4-Strength characters to build a never-ending draw engine that forces your opponent to keep up.
Tier 3
Amber/Emerald Discard Aggro
Amber/Emerald Discard Aggro actually saw a slight bump in meta share this week, although it wasn't enough to rescue it from tier 3 status. That bump likely stems from the deck's first place finish in the Decks & Dice 1k tournament last week. But with no notable tournament finishes for the deck this week, we might see its meta share drop back down again next week.
The one good thing about a deck falling mostly out of the meta is it gets cheaper and more accessible to more players. This Amber/Emerald Discard budget list from Gabriel Barreto is a nice option for those who don't want to break the bank to play a viable deck at their locals.
Amber/Sapphire Healing Midrange
Another new deck archetype makes its debut on the tier list this week in this Amber/Sapphire Healing Midrange deck. This deck is built to take advantage of the item and healing synergies present across Amber and Sapphire. We can pair Amber's healing characters like Rapunzel - Sunshine with Grand Pabbie - Oldest and Wisest for some lore burst. And since we want lots of healing, we can have a small item sub-package with Gumbo Pot and Pawpsicle.
This list we are highlighting, from David Oloko, was entered into the 240-player online tournament and looks to utilize all the above synergies. One notable exclusion is no Hiram Flaversham - Toymaker. While I expect the reason is you don't want to destroy your healing items without getting the healing off, the draw engine Hiram enables is just too powerful and feels like it should be included.
Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Aggro
Amethyst/Ruby Bounce Aggro has nearly bounced itself right off of the tier list. It is just so much worse to play an aggro version of this deck instead of the control version right now, that it appears that no one is making that choice.
Well, almost no one. This deck from Nicholas Petrosky landed in the top 8 at the 2k Florida tournament over the weekend. So while this build might not be as good as its control cousin, it is still a viable deck. This is thanks mostly to cards like Madam Mim - Fox, Merlin - Goat and Arthur - Wizard's Apprentice just being very, very good.
That wraps it up for this week's meta report. It's been a great year of Lorcana and I'm looking forward to many more to come! Will Amethyst/Ruby Control continue its dominance into the new year? Or will another deck rise up to challenge it? And how might Into the Inklands shake things up when it releases early next year? I can't wait to find out!
Thanks for reading and happy new year!
