Howdy everyone! If you’re here, you’re likely just picking up Lorcana and looking for easy-to-build budget decks. Trading card games is an expensive hobby to get into, especially if your goal is to play at a highly competitive level. Powerful cards can go up in price, raising the overall price of a deck and since the top decks rely on those cards for a better game plan, it can be difficult to find alternatives to those cards while keeping the deck semi-competitive.
This article will be a starting point to help you find budget decks that can still hold their own in a tournament setting.
1- Amethyst Amber
4 Amethyst Chromicon
4 Baloo - von Bruinwald XIII
4 Befuddle
4 Chernabog's Followers - Creatures of Evil
4 Daisy Duck - Donald's Date
4 Donald Duck - Musketeer Soldier
4 Friends On The Other Side
4 Gathering Knowledge and Wisdom
4 Lilo - Making a Wish
4 Madam Mim - Fox
4 Madam Mim - Snake
4 Maleficent - Biding Her Time
4 Merlin - Goat
4 Piglet - Pooh Pirate Captain
4 Pinocchio - Star AttractionPrice: ~$140
The Amethyst Amber is a hyper-aggressive deck that aims to win games quickly by solely focusing on Questing. The list has low-cost Characters with high Lore, giving you tons of Lore quickly and forcing opponents to control your side of the board.
You don’t really care about maintaining control of the game, your game plan is to gain as much Lore as possible and win the game before opponents get to stabilize.
This is a popular budget competitive deck among players, and it can yield results if you don’t go up against decks that can counter your early start. If you’re looking for a cheaper list, you might want to cut out cards like Daisy Duck – Donald’s Date, Maleficent – Biding Her Time, or Piglet – Pooh Pirate Captain, the three highest-cost cards in this list.
2- Ruby Amethyst
4 Brawl
4 Chernabog's Followers - Creatures of Evil
4 Cogsworth - Illuminary Watchman
4 Friends On The Other Side
3 Hercules - Daring Demigod
4 Madam Mim - Elephant
4 Madam Mim - Snake
3 Madame Medusa - The Boss
4 Magic Broom - Illuminary Keeper
4 Maximus - Team Champion
2 Merlin - Crab
4 Merlin - Goat
4 Merlin - Rabbit
3 Olaf - Happy Passenger
2 Peter Pan - Shadow Finder
4 The Library - A Gift for Belle
3 The Sword ReleasedPrice: ~$40
Ruby Amethyst is well known in the competitive scene as a powerful deck for multiple metas now, so you can’t go wrong investing in it. This version of the list takes out all the expensive cards and replaces them with cheaper substitutes.
No more Be Prepared as it’s too expensive to buy, but if you already have it, you should definitely add it to the list. Instead, we have cards like Peter Pan – Shadow Finder which is useful against Emerald decks that use Diablo – Devoted Herald for the draw engine. The Rush + Evasive allows you to attack a rested Diablo and banish it on the spot.
Instead of Maui – Hero to All, this list has Hercules – Daring Demigod, capable of attacking a Location on the turn he’s played with his Rush and 7 Strength. You can also use him to banish a rested Character, but the 3 Willpower is a downside compared to Maui – Hero to All.
3- Amethyst Sapphire
2 Befuddle
4 Chernabog's Followers - Creatures of Evil
4 Doc - Bold Knight
4 LeFou - Opportunistic Flunky
4 Madam Mim - Fox
4 Madam Mim - Snake
4 Magic Broom - Illuminary Keeper
4 Maleficent - Biding Her Time
4 Merlin - Goat
4 Merlin - Rabbit
4 Mickey Mouse - Food Fight Defender
4 Mickey Mouse - Playful Sorcerer
4 Mr. Smee - Bumbling Mate
4 Pete - Games Referee
2 Smash
4 The Library - A Gift for BellePrice: ~$82
This Amethyst Sapphire list takes a more aggressive approach, trying to gain early Lore through Maleficent – Biding Her Time and Mr. Smee – Bumbling Mate. Since the deck consists of low-cost cards, we’ll find ourselves running out of resources quickly and this is where cards like Doc – Bold Knight and The Library – A Gift for Belle are useful to gain more resources. Through bounce cards, Madam Mim – Fox and Madam Mim – Snake, you can continue to reactive Doc – Bold Knight‘s ability for more resources.
4- Ruby Sapphire
2 Be Prepared
3 Chicha - Dedicated Mother
2 Glimmer vs Glimmer
4 Gramma Tala - Keeper of Ancient Stories
3 Great Stone Dragon
4 Hiram Flaversham - Toymaker
4 Madame Medusa - The Boss
2 McDuck Manor - Scrooge's Mansion
4 Medal of Heroes
3 Merlin's Carpetbag
3 One Jump Ahead
4 Pawpsicle
4 Prince Eric - Expert Helmsman
3 Scar - Vicious Cheater
4 Sheriff of Nottingham - Bushel Britches
4 Tipo - Growing Son
4 Vision of the Future
3 VitalispherePrice: ~$75
If you’re a fan of the Ruby Sapphire ramp deck, this is a budget list to get started as you continue building your collection.
Ruby Sapphire uses ramp cards like Tipo – Growing Son and One Jump Ahead to accelerate its game plan and start playing higher-cost Characters on earlier turns. Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker, Gramma Tala – Keeper of Ancient Stories, and Vision of the Future draw you cards to keep the engine running, ensuring you have a powerful late-game.
Two copies of Be Prepared since we need a removal tool to remove the opponent’s board and slow down its game plan, it also synergizes with McDuck Manor – Scrooge’s Mansion to halt opponents from banishing it easily. However, Be Prepared is around $10 each, so you’ll have to cut out the two copies if it’s too expensive to buy.
Glimmer vs Glimmer, Prince Eric – Expert Helmsman, Madame Medusa – The Boss, and Scar – Vicious Cheater are control cards to keep the opponent from taking over the board.
Sheriff of Nottingham – Bushel Britches is a win condition, offering 4 Lore when it quests and Support, to enable one of your Characters to push more damage when it attacks.
5- Amber Emerald
2 Baloo - von Bruinwald XIII
2 Remember Who You Are
2 Lilo - Making a Wish
4 Simba - Protective Cub
4 Flynn Rider - Charming Rogue
4 Sven - Reindeer Steed
4 Piglet - Pooh Pirate Captain
4 Daisy Duck - Donald's Date
2 Chernabog - Evildoer
4 HeiHei - Bumbling Rooster
4 Tinker Bell - Most Helpful
4 Pegasus - Gift for Hercules
4 Pegasus - Cloud Racer
4 Cursed Merfolk - Ursula's Handiwork
4 Ursula - Deceiver
4 Donald Duck - Musketeer Soldier
2 Perdita - Devoted Mother
2 Clarabelle - Contented WallflowerPrice: ~$65
This aggressive version of the Lemon Lime deck tries to win the game as early as possible. You can cut out Daisy Duck – Donald’s Date to drop the cost of the deck, but if you already have copies of her, add them to the list!
This list has Daisy Duck – Donald’s Date, Lilo – Making a Wish, and Piglet – Pooh Pirate Captain for the early Lore generation, forcing opponents to take a defensive approach and focus down your Lore generators. We also have discard options in this deck with cards like Chernabog – Evildoer, Flynn Rider – Charming Rogue, and Ursula – Deceiver to cut down on the opponent’s resources.
Since the list is heavy in low-cost plays, we’ll likely empty our hand quickly and rely on Remember Who You Are and Clarabelle – Contented Wallflower for additional card draws to get more plays available.
Cards like Baloo – von Bruinwald XIII, Donald Duck – Musketeer Soldier, and Sven – Reindeer Steed can protect your exerted low-cost Characters so you can Quest with them a second time to push yourself closer to that 20 Lore.
Tinker Bell – Most Helpful and Pegasus – Cloud Racer can give other Characters the Evasive keyword, making it exceptionally difficult for opponents to remove, even if they’re Exerted.
You could add Kit Cloudkicker – Tough Guy to this list, which weakens the opponent’s presence on the board by returning a 2 Strength Character back to their hand.