With the recent success of the Emerald Steel (Green Steel) Discard deck in the Las Vegas Lorcana Challenge, players are picking up the archetype again. The Bucky Errata was a huge hit for the deck, but it took players a couple of weeks to change up the list to better keep up with the current meta, and they’ve finally found the secret formula!
The core strategy of this deck is to gain a resource advantage by depleting the opponent’s resources through discard effects while generating value through card draw.
Decklist
2 Anna - Diplomatic Queen
4 Beast - Tragic Hero
4 Diablo - Devoted Herald
4 Diablo - Maleficent's Spy
2 Hidden Cove - Tranquil Haven
4 Hypnotize
4 Let the Storm Rage On
4 Morph - Space Goo
4 Pete - Games Referee
4 Prince John - Greediest of All
4 Strength of a Raging Fire
4 Sudden Chill
2 The Muses - Proclaimers of Heroes
2 Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy
4 Ursula - Deceiver
4 Ursula - Deceiver of All
4 We Don't Talk About BrunoHow to Play
The Emerald Steel deck focuses on forcing your opponent to discard cards, limiting their resources and making them rely on whatever they draw next. This also puts them in tough situations regarding which cards to Ink, as they may be forced to Ink cards they’d rather keep in their hand.
Cards like Diablo – Devoted Herald, Prince John – Greediest of All, and Beast – Tragic Hero provide a resource advantage by drawing extra cards, putting pressure on the opponent to find answers to them.
By cutting down the opponent’s resources and controlling their board, you can slow their Lore generation and make it difficult for them to rebuild a threatening position.
Discard Cards
Ursula – Deceiver is usually the first discard option to play, allowing you to look at your opponent’s hand to gain valuable information and discard a Song from their hand. You should prioritize discarding the Song that poses the greatest threat to your game plan, potentially shutting down the opponent’s strategy.
Ursula – Deceiver stays on the board as a potential Challenger, especially when boosted by Hidden Cove – Tranquil Haven’s +1|+1 stat boost. She can also Sing Sudden Chill to discard more of the opponent’s cards without you spending Ink.
Sudden Chill and Hypnotize are additional discard options, but the opponent gets to choose which cards to discard, reducing their resources. Hypnotize also draws you a card, further widening the resource gap.
Diablo – Maleficent’s Spy and Morph – Space Goo are low-cost Characters that should be kept safe rather than used for Questing if an opponent’s Character can challenge them. They are meant to stay in play until you shift a stronger Character onto them. Diablo – Maleficent’s Spy is an ideal shift target for Diablo – Devoted Herald, allowing you to utilize the extra card draw earlier.
Morph – Space Goo lets you shift any Character with a Shift ability onto it. This means Characters like Beast – Tragic Hero or Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy can enter the game early, allowing you to benefit from their abilities. Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy is especially useful for board control, enabling you to Banish multiple Characters per turn.
Draw Value
Diablo – Devoted Herald is an Evasive Character that needs to be exerted to activate his ability, which lets you draw a card whenever the opponent draws. This means Diablo – Devoted Herald needs to Quest or Sing to draw a card at the start of your opponent’s turn. Additionally, you draw more cards if they draw multiple times, forcing them to remove Diablo – Devoted Herald. Since he’s an Evasive Character, they will need another Evasive Character or a removal effect to deal with him.
Diablo – Devoted Herald can also Sing most Songs in the deck, meaning you can play those Songs without spending Ink while keeping him exerted to draw more cards.
Prince John – Greediest of All is another card-draw generator that should be played as early as possible. As long as he stays in play, you’ll draw a card whenever the opponent discards, further widening the resource gap. Ideally, play him before using a discard effect, and you can activate the effect the same turn by Singing Sudden Chill with Ursula – Deceiver or Diablo – Devoted Herald. Having Ward makes Prince John – Greediest of All difficult to answer.
Beast – Tragic Hero also generates card advantage by drawing you an extra card at the start of your turn if he remains undamaged. To maximize this effect, avoid Questing with him if you need more cards, forcing your opponent to deal with him. Additionally, Beast – Tragic Hero can gain +4 Strength, allowing him to deal 7 damage, useful for Banishing a Character or Location.
Prince John – Greediest of All and Beast – Tragic Hero can Quest for 2 Lore, so if we don’t need the draw anymore, we can start Questing to advance our Lore and get closer to winning the game.
Damage and Removal
Let the Storm Rage On is effective against low-Willpower Characters, allowing you to Banish them and draw a card, maintaining your resources.
Strength of A Raging Fire deals damage based on the number of Characters you control, so you’ll want to build your board to match the amount of damage needed.
We Don’t Talk About Bruno is a great Song for dealing with high-cost Characters, sending them back to the opponent’s hand. It also discards a random card from their hand, which could end up being the returned Character if their hand is empty. This helps you weaken their side of the board, shifting the game in your favor. You can Sing it with Beast – Tragic Hero and Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy so you can use your Ink to develop more on the board.
With the multiple Songs in this deck, Ursula – Deceiver of All fits perfectly with the deck’s strategy. She can replay a Song from the discard pile if she Sings it, increasing the value of each Song you play. For example, if she Sings Let the Storm Rage On, you deal 4 damage and draw two cards, making her a high-priority target for opponents.
Pete – Games Referee is best played when you anticipate the opponent using Actions on their upcoming turn. For instance, to prevent them from playing Be Prepared and destroying your board, you can use Pete – Games Referee to stop them. He’s especially useful in the late game when you need your Characters to stay in play to Quest for a win, effectively preventing opponent Actions that could interfere. Pete – Games Referee strives in the hands of experienced players who understand the matchup and what the opposing player’s deck is capable of.
Anna – Diplomatic Queen offers three versatile options for 2 Ink: force your opponent to discard a card, give one of your Characters +2 Strength, or Banish a damaged Character. These options allow you to either reduce opponent resources or maintain board control, with the Banish effect synergizing well with your damage Songs like Let the Storm Rage On.
Not all lists include The Muses – Proclaimers of Heroes since it’s more of a meta call, but she works with this deck since you have the Songs to activate her ability, allowing you to return a chosen Character with 2 Strength or less to the player’s hand. The Muses – Proclaimers of Heroes can return the opponent’s 2 Strength or less Characters to their hand to weaken their presence on the field or return your own Characters like Ursula – Deceiver to reactivate her discard ability.
Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy is your strongest card, dealing 1 damage to all opposing Characters, which can Banish them or make it easier to Banish Characters by Challenging or damaging them with Songs.
When Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy Banishes a Character in a Challenge, she deals 2 more damage to another opponent Character, allowing you to remove weak Characters or set them up for removal with other tools, especially if it’s in ready state.
Other Cards to Include
Cursed Merfolk – Ursula’s Handiwork and Flynn Rider – Charming Rogue are good if you prefer a more aggressive playstyle. They Quest for 2 Lore, forces opponents to address them. If they are Challenged, your opponent will have to discard a card, ensuring you don’t fall behind on resources.
Captain Hook – Forceful Duelist and Mr. Smee – Bumbling Mate are best for winning the board in the early game, allowing you to Quest or threaten to challenge the opponent’s exerted Characters.