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To say that the first ever banning in Disney: Lorcana TCG was impactful would be an understatement. Sapphire Steel is a metagame monster no more, with the deck practically vanishing from the field with the loss of such powerful key cards.
There weren't too many events with sizable attendance in the weekend following the ban announcement, so this just might be a knee-jerk reaction and we'd have to see in a few more weeks whether the archetype can recover.
Still, it's a big win for the rest of the meta, as there's more breathing room for more decks now that the oppressive Items synergy is gone.
Check out the latest snapshot of the Lorcana Constructed metagame along with featured decks from the weekend's events below.
Tier List
| Tier | Deck | Meta Share | Top 8s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 |   Amethyst Steel Bounce | 16% 🔼 | 15 |
 Amber Steel Steelsong | 14% 🔼 | 12 | |
 Amethyst Ruby Bounce Control | 12% 🔼 | 15 | |
| Tier 2 |  Emerald Steel Discard | 11% 🔼 | 8 |
 Ruby Sapphire Pawpsicle | 10% 🔽 | 9 | |
| Amethyst Sapphire Bounce | 9% 🔼 | 7 | |
| Amethyst Emerald Discard | 9% 🔼 | 4 | |
| Tier 3 | Amber Amethyst Aggro | 4% 🔼 | 4 |
| Amber Emerald Chernadog | 4% | 3 | |
| Amber Steel Aggro | 4% 🔽 | 1 | |
| Amethyst Emerald Bounce | 3% 🔼 | 2 | |
| Amber Ruby Mufasa | 3% 🔼 | 1 | |
| Sapphire Steel Aggro | 2% 🔽 | 2 | |
| Emerald Sapphire Songs | 2% 🔼 | 1 | |
| Ruby Steel Mushu | <1% 🔽 | 1 | |
| Amber Steel Mufasa | <1% 🔼 | 1 |
Meta Overview
So long, Sapphire Steel. Or good riddance, depending on your personal experience with the deck.
The banning of 002-149-hiram-flaversham-toymaker and 004-200-fortisphere has wiped the deck from the meta, with only a few remaining holdouts that might show how the ink duo can be played moving forward. (See the featured Sapphire Steel Mines deck that made Top 8 below.)
The resilient Ruby Sapphire has shrugged off the bans like it's nothing, while Blurple (Amethyst Sapphire) has risen to be the next best blue deck.
It's no surprise that Amethyst Steel Bounce and Amber Steel Steelsong are now the most heavily played archetypes, since they were already popular pre-bans and unaffected by them.
What's a bit more surprising is how the Ol' Faithful, Amethyst Ruby, bounced back now that the Sapphire surge is over.
Overall, the meta looks a lot more healthy and balanced now. It feels like FFG hit the right targets for their first ever banning decision, so props to them!
Tier 1
Amethyst Steel Bounce
Amethyst Steel Aggro is largely unchanged from Set 6 versions except for the inclusion of 007-057-giant-cobra-ghostly-serpent. The deck gains value from bouncing 006-040-the-white-rose-jewel-of-the-garden, 002-051-merlin-goat, and 002-052-merlin-rabbit while its Steel cards provide board control.
All the non-quest lore gain in the deck adds up, allowing it to win earlier than other decks anticipate. Its evasive characters are also difficult for some inks to deal with, and cards that replace themselves ensure you're not falling behind in card advantage.
Amber Steel Steelsong
007-195-miss-bianca-unwavering-agent and 007-011-the-troubadour-musical-narrator have become staples in this established archetype, blending well with its synergies.
With lots of singers enabling free songs, it's easy to run out of cards fast. This makes the symmetrical effect of 001-195-a-whole-new-world way more favorable for you, especially when you have singers ready and waiting.
This deck went 7-1-1 running 8 Robin Hoods for a tanky challenger that Rapunzel can heal:
Amethyst Ruby Bounce Control
The old reliable is back in the meta after Sapphire's demise. It was thoroughly eclipsed by what that ink gained from Archazia's Island in addition to not getting anything at all. 007-122-queen-of-hearts-losing-her-temper looks to be the sole addition despite some interesting options.
As such, the deck is the same as it was in Set 6, with plenty of 1-drops for 005-068-the-library-a-gift-for-belle and value characters up to 004-125-sisu-empowered-sibling. 001-064-friends-on-the-other-side can keep the cards flowing and ensure you have more gas after unleashing 001-128-be-prepared.
Tier 2
Emerald Steel Discard
003-081-morph-space-goo does a lot of work in this discard archetype, enabling faster 005-084-clarabelle-light-on-her-hooves, 007-114-pete-space-pirate, or 001-193-tinker-bell-giant-fairy.
With 003-091-ursula-deceiver-of-all doubling songs and 002-089-prince-john-greediest-of-all giving you +1 card while they go -1, the Emerald Steel deck's engine is tough to play against once it gets going.
The version below went 7-1-2 in a 130-player event, doubling down on song synergies with 004-090-the-muses-proclaimers-of-heroes and relying less on discard actions.
Ruby Sapphire Pawpsicle
Turns out Ruby Sapphire doesn't need Hiram at all. The deck is as strong as ever though it has dipped in meta share numbers. Despite now running only 4 items, 007-162-tamatoa-happy-as-a-clam is still too strong to cut from the deck.
The winner of the biggest event last weekend (and most other Pawpsicle players) aims to recur 004-128-a-pirates-life with 006-124-maui-half-shark for the win. It also has a lot more card draw/filtering to dig for the best answer for the moment.
Amethyst Sapphire Bounce
Sapphire Steel players may have transitioned to Blurple since most of the deck's lists are essentially made up of the Amethyst bounce package merged with 007-159-belle-apprentice-inventor, 002-169-pawpsicle, and Sapphire ramp cards.
At the top end is 001-147-hades-infernal-schemer, an amazing answer to the most problematic character on the board. This undefeated deck ran a lot of card draw to compound on the value of bouncing already card-drawing targets.
Amethyst Emerald Discard
A couple of devious birds from Set 7 fit well into Amethyst Emerald's play style. 007-066-diablo-spiteful-raven and 007-049-iago-giant-spectral-parrot joins the other evasive all-stars in the deck, 006-053-genie-wish-fulfilled and 005-048-elsa-the-fifth-spirit.
004-069-cri-kee-lucky-cricket can either assist your challengers or help in a questing race. Simply focusing on discard effects for the disruption instead of as a payoff seems to be working well for the archetype.
Tier 3
Amber Amethyst Aggro
Amber Emerald Chernadog
Amber Steel Aggro
Amethyst Emerald Bounce
Amber Ruby Mufasa
Sapphire Steel Aggro
Emerald Sapphire Songs
Ruby Steel Mushu
Amber Steel Mufasa
Final Thoughts
With the meta veering towards a certain combination of powerful cards, the bans felt timely and appropriate to keep the format healthy with a variety of competitive decks. Still, it may have come at the cost of an archetype falling completely off the map, which is still sad given, ideally, we'd want the most ink combinations being represented.
What did you think about the bans and how it affected the Lorcana meta? Sound off below.
