Disney Lorcana Challenge Las Vegasand Birmingham were the first two official tournaments of the Shimmering Skies era, and they couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.
With this season’s Set Championships starting up next weekend, it’s time to lock down a deck and practice as much as you can before you head to your local store and fight for your chance to wina lovely Enchanted Mirabel. If you’ve been waiting to see the DLC results to choose your deck, the wait is over. Here are the five decks I recommend playing based on the results at DLC Vegas.
This list isn’t purely based on tournament results, but rather was developed based on a variety of factors. While results obviously weigh the highest, I’ve also considered the cost of the deck, the complexity of the playstyle, and whether or not the deck is likely to take your opponent by surprise, which can give you a big advantage at set champs.
Emerald/Steel Discard Control
Naturally, we have to start with the winning deck. Emerald had an incredible showing at DLC Vegas, with ten out of the top 16 decks all featuring some combination of Emerald. Three of the Top Four decks were Emerald/Steel, with some variation of playstyle between them. The winner, Zan Syed, piloted a Discard-heavy Emerald/Steel Control deck to perfection. Many thought this archetype was dead thanks to the Bucky nerf, but Syed proved that with a little innovation, Emerald/Steel can still be the best Control deck in the game.
Syed’s deck combines the draw power of Prince John, Greediest of All and a staggering 18 cards that force discard in order to interrupt the opponent’s gameplay while increasing your resources to keep the pressure on. With Diablo, Devoted Herald you can ensure that you always have more resources than your opponent, even if they manage to out-draw your discard shenanigans.
Syed’s day two run demonstrated how much technical skill it takes to run this deck, particularly in the mirror match, as he used the combined abilities of Prince John, Ursula, Deceiver of All, and The Muses, Proclaimers of Heroes to efficiently sing songs, force the opponent to discard, and bounce opposing characters off of the board. This deck can quickly strip away every option your opponent has to fight back. You may not have a lot of time to practice this new deck, but that means your opponents won’t have a lot of time to practice against it, either.
If discard isn’t your style and you’re looking for a Floodborn list,check out Franz Borden’s top 64 deck.
Cons:
Ruby/Sapphire
While no Ruby/Sapphire deck survived past the quarter-finals in Las Vegas, Federico M. won DLC Birmingham witha fairly conventional Ruby/Sapphire list. Not only was Ruby/Sapphire the most represented archetype in Las Vegas, with 416 players on the deck, but it also had the most Top 64 appearances at 17. The most popular deckanda positive conversion rate to Day Two? Who cares if it actually won, this is arguably the best deck in the game right now.
Ruby/Sapphire AKA Pawp Patrol (I hope that catches on) has largely the same game plan it had since Lucky Dime was introduced at the start of Into the Inklands. This is a ramp/control deck that aims to stall the game as long as possible while adding tons of items to the board until it can eventually use Tamatoa, So Shiny! and Lucky Dime to quickly quest to 20 in one or two turns.
Shimmering Skies gave this deck an incredible new tool in Vision of the Future, an upgrade over Develop Your Brain that lets you dig into the deck even further. Sisu, Empowering Sibling is well-positioned to deal with the popular Amber/Steel Song decks, while Madame Medusa, The Boss and Maleficent, Monstrous Dragon can deal with most other threats as you set up for your big game-winning turn.
There’s a lot of flexibility in this list, but one of the most traditional versions that made it to the quarter-finals in Las Vegas wasJonathan Williams’ list.
Amber/Steel Songs
After Brian DeCandio’s incredible run at the CCS 10K last month, many expected Steelsong to be the most popular deck at DLC Las Vegas. While it wasn’t quite as popular or successful as Ruby/Sapphire, with only eight in the Top 64, this may be a case where the deck performs a lot better in a best-of-three format than in two-game rounds.
The high-roll nature of the deck means it’s prone to bricking more than some others, which is fatal in a two-game format, but can be overcome in a best-of-three. In any event, Steelsong has been one of the strongest and most popular decks since The First Chapter and is a perfectly good choice for your set championships.
Its rise in popularity comes from two cards: Prince Naveen, Ukulele Player and Pete, Games Referee. These new characters ensure you can always play your A Whole New World with singer-like value, and protect your wide boards from a well-timed Be Prepared. With a new song-focused Emerald/Steel deck rising in popularity, it may be wise to move away from the more aggressive version of the deck, but there’s little doubt Steelsong will be winning quite a few Mirabels next month.
For an interesting, more aggressive take on Amber/Steel that doesn’t rely on songs as much, check outScott Alshanki’s Top 64 list.
Ruby/Amethyst
Old reliable Ruby/Amethyst. This is a deck archetype that has changed a lot over the last year, starting as a control deck before settling into a more flexible mid-range spot. Ruby/Amethyst’s only new tool in Shimmering Skies is Elsa, The Fifth Spirit, but she’s proven to be an invaluable tool for the deck in the mid-game.
Some versions also play The Library, A Gift For Bell, which provides a lot of value from one-drop card draw characters like Chernabog’s FOllowers and Magic Broom, Luminary Keeper. There’s not too much to say about Ruby/Amethyst right now, it’s virtually the same deck it’s been since Into the Inklands, and it’s still great. Play this deck if you expect your Set Championships to have a lot of variety and you want something that can deal withalmosteverything.
Kendall Burdette is one of the most well-known and successful Ruby/Amethyst players. Check outhis DLC Las Vegas list here.
Amber/Emerald Aggro
Clara Cyr’s Amber/Emerald deck really blew me away at DLC Las Vegas. This inventive list got Cyr all the way to the Top 16 before she eventually lost to Chrisitan Pelayo’s Ruby/Amethyst deck, so if you’re looking for something spicy, I highly recommend trying this one out.
Most people think of Amber/Emerald as a Discard deck, but Cyr’s take is closer to an Amber/Amethyst Hyper Aggro, with just a touch of discard to protect the board from Be Prepared. What’s impressive about this deck is that it doesn’t require you to turn all your characters sideways and dump your hand in the first five turns to win. With cleverly timed bodyguards, evasives, bounce, item removal, and efficient trading thanks to The Queen, Commanding Presence, this is an aggro deck that has a lot of tools to respond to your opponent’s game plan.
It also features a pair of incredible comeback cards in Clarabelle, Light on Her Hooves and Chernabog, Evildoer. The former allows you to instantly refill your hand to match your opponent when you run out of cards, while the latter is an amazing follow-up to a board wipe that can often be played for free. This is the thinking player’s aggro deck and it’s sure to catch your Set Champ opponents off guard.
If you’re interested in wacky aggro decks, check out thisRuby/Steel list from Philip Quiettthat also showed up in the Top 64
