Disney’s Lorcana came out of the gate swinging and has quickly become one of the fastest selling card games of all time. With the best decks in format, you can run an exorbitant amount of money with cards like Be Prepared as a regular rare costing double digits and the consensus best deck in format playing 4x of some of the highest costing cards in the game. This can make the game seem daunting but what if I told you, it's very possible to play this game on a budget and be cost effective? In this article we will discuss one of the least sought-after theme decks and some very budget minded upgrades that can both make this deck competitive at a local event and easy for anyone to upgrade.
Above is the standard Emerald and Ruby theme deck featuring Cruela De Vil and Aladdin – Heroic Outlaw. In and of itself it's an OK beginner point for players and simple to play but not what I would call a deck that does anything overly special. It comes with some nice commons and uncommons that will be the building point for our budget minded players. This deck will also still be casual and new player friendly with its selections.
Here are the alterations we made. This deck now will barely run you more than the original price of the theme deck coming in at just over $25 dollars (as of the writing of this article). This deck gives you a nice combination of speed, Lore Control, and some tricks to use of your own against your opponent.
First lets discus the 1 cost cards:
Duke of Weselton and Sergeant Tibbs both are generic 1 drops that lore for one and can be inked. They provide decent bodies that can deal with other low-cost drop characters to keep you from getting overrun too early. Stampede is a nice battle trick and can help you get over the hump by running smaller creatures into large creatures and then finishing them. Shield of Virtue is a decent item that when combined with circumstances helps you deal with aggressive fields and banish multiple characters. Your shields and characters also and good ink targets as the game goes along and their effectiveness wears off.
Now on to the 2 cost cards:
Aladdin – Prince Ali is a decent 2 drop that has ward which will protect it from actions like Fire the Cannons! And Befuddle. Your opponent will have no choice but to run a body into it to displace it from the field. Combine it with things like Stampede and Stolen Scimitar and it makes for a potent way to remove pesky characters off the field. And later in the game it's also usable if it's on the field to shift in your Aladdin – Heroic Outlaw (more on this later in the article0. Genie also puts a solid body on the field that's got a nice 3 health, so it makes it not as easy to kill either and it follows the same principles with Stampede and Stolen Scimitar. Added bonus for Genie just like Aladdin is that our higher cost Genie can shift into it later in the game if it sticks on the field.
Next let's cover our 3 Costs:
Aladdin – Street Rat isn’t the biggest body on the block, but he still turns some heads with his ability that leaches a lore from your opponent. Now taking 1 lore might not seem like much, but in Lorcana a single lore can make all the difference between a loss and a win. He also is solid for the same reason as Aladdin – Prince Ali as later in the game he can be shifted into by our Aladdin – Heroic Outlaw. Jasper is a very solid and very efficient card at 3 drop. He has a very solid stat line of 2 Damage and 4 Health and his ability to lock a character out of questing when he does is seriously game altering against aggro and temp decks alike. Mother Knows Best might be one of the best cards in Emeralds setup as it can bounce a Character back to hand. Not only is it cheap but it can be sung by characters 3 drop and higher making it a free reset your character. Very efficient in those clutch moments where a bodyguard is blocking you from removing a threat or when you are just out pacing your opponent.
Now for our single 4 cost:
Pongo is one of the best 4 drops for our color combination. Not only does it have a decent stat line, but it also has Evasive and lores for 2. A lot of decks and players areas are still not taking full advantage of Evasive and a lot of them aren’t playing evasive creatures at all making this an unchallengeable menace to your opponent!
5 Costs Inbound:
Mad Hatter is one of the best 5 costs characters in the game. His stat line might not look too impressive but his ability as well as lore 3 makes it a monster for your opponents. Mad Hatter draws a card every time a character challenges it so if your opponent doesn’t have a removal spell to outright deal with it or a large creature to pop it in one blow you can see situations where not only do you make your opponent feed your hand, but you also see them aid you in clearing their field to do so. Dragon Fire is self-explanatory as a 5-cost action that outright banishes a character. Except for cards like Kuzco this card can make quick work of even the largest characters in the game. Absolutely cannot play Ruby without it.
6 costs:
Rapunzel might not be the best 6 drop for our color combination, but she is efficient, has a solid stat line, lores for 2, and denies our opponent lore just like out Aladdin – Street Rat. She makes a solid choice for our situation.
7 cost boss:
Arguably the second best 7 drop in the game Aladdin – Heroic Outlaw is an absolute unit of a character. A solid stat line that lores for 2 he also has the ability to shift for 5 making him a potential 5 drop instead of 7 and giving new life to our lower costs Aladdin's and making them more potent. Combining this card with Stolen Scimitar and Stampede and he can take down even the largest characters in the game. Not only can he take large units down but when he does, he leaches 2 lore from your opponent and gives you 2 lore. This effect resolves even if Aladdin gets banished from the challenge as well making him a very nice one for one target.
8 cost - Powers Unleashed!
One of my favorite units in the game, Genie – Powers Unleashed is a fun character to play with. With the ability to shift into it for 6 he makes your 2 drop Genie more potent later in the game. Combine this character OK stat line with the fact it has Evasive and lores for 3 and it makes for a potent 8 drop. This is even more apparent when you realize when you quest with this character you can play an action of 5 cost or less for free and it can be a devastating outcome for your opponent. I enjoy nothing more than casting Genie than lore for 3 and free cast my Dragon Fire on targets.
All in all, this deck is a solid beginner tier deck with potential and lots of options for playability. It's a cheap and fun way to get going in the more competitive side of the game and has very good more expensive upgrades that can be made when you are ready to dive much deeper into the card game and invest much higher amounts of money.
Good luck players and always remember to refill your ink!
Chris Howie
TopDeckTCG Disney Lorcana Writer Since September 2023
Disney Lorcana Singles can be found here: Disney Lorcana
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