The first Lorcana Challenge for Set 5 took place in Birmingham, UK, and Las Vegas, US. As the pinnacle of Disney Lorcana’s competitive scene, these events draw players looking to compete with their best decks, pushing to go as far as possible to get their hands on the tournament rewards.
Players usually fight tooth and nail to reach the top 8, securing the golden Mickey Mouse. They can let out a sigh of relief, but things aren’t over just yet, three more wins and one of those top 8 players can cement their name as the winner of the Lorcana Challenge.
Lorcana Birmingham meta (2,012 Players):
| Deck Name | Meta Presence | Deck Name | Meta Presence |
  Ruby Sapphire | 22% (410) |   Amber Emerald | 6% (100) |
 Amber Steel | 20% (364) | Emerald Steel | 5% (90) |
 Ruby Amethyst | 14% (247) | Amethyst Steel | 4% (79) |
| Amethyst Emerald | 10% (190) | Sapphire Steel | 4% (75) |
| Amber Amethyst | 6% (110) | Amethyst Sapphire | 3% (62) |
First Place
Ruby Sapphire – Federico M. “Fedemeco”
2 Be Prepared
3 Brawl
1 Fang Crossbow
4 Fishbone Quill
4 Gramma Tala - Keeper of Ancient Stories
1 Great Stone Dragon
2 Hide Away
4 Hiram Flaversham - Toymaker
2 How Far I'll Go
3 Ice Block
2 Lucky Dime
2 Madame Medusa - The Boss
3 Maleficent - Monstrous Dragon
4 Maui - Hero to All
1 Mufasa - Ruler of Pride Rock
2 One Jump Ahead
4 Pawpsicle
2 Sisu - Daring Visitor
4 Sisu - Empowered Sibling
4 Tamatoa - So Shiny!
4 Tipo - Growing Son
3 Vision of the FutureThe Ruby Sapphire deck had the highest representation in Birmingham and it managed to beat Emerald Amethyst in the finals to win first place.
The ramp Ruby Sapphire deck uses One Jump Ahead, Tipo – Growing Son, and Fishbone Quill to gain more Ink, allowing you to make bigger plays on the upcoming turn. This means the deck truly shines in the late game and so it doesn’t run out of resources, it has Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker for the valuable card draw.
Ruby offers control cards like Sisu – Empowered Sibling, Madame Medusa – The Boss, and Be Prepared to banish key Characters on the opponent’s side of the board, slowing down their Lore generation and prolonging the game until your win condition is online.
The Lucky Dime creates a finisher play, especially when comboed with Tamatoa – So Shiny! or Mufasa – Ruler of Pride Rock for high Lore generation.
Second Place
Emerald Amethyst – Jonаthаn ‘JohnnyR’
4 Banzai - Gluttonous Predator
1 Belle - Accomplished Mystic
3 Clarabelle - Clumsy Guest
3 Clarabelle - Light on Her Hooves
1 Cogsworth - Illuminary Watchman
1 Cursed Merfolk - Ursula's Handiwork
4 Elsa - The Fifth Spirit
4 Friends On The Other Side
2 Kit Cloudkicker - Tough Guy
3 Lyle Tiberius Rourke - Cunning Mercenary
4 Madam Mim - Fox
4 Madam Mim - Snake
4 Merlin - Crab
4 Merlin - Goat
4 Merlin - Rabbit
2 Mother Gothel - Conceited Manipulator
2 Mother Gothel - Unwavering Schemer
2 Rafiki - Mystical Fighter
4 Ursula - Deceiver
2 Ursula - Sea Witch Queen
2 You're WelcomeEmerald Amethyst came in second place, losing to the Ruby Sapphire deck. Amethyst Emerald is the 4th most brought deck to this tournament and it’s been crushing it in tournaments. This deck combines the bounce and discard mechanics as part of its game plan.
Madam Mim – Fox and Madam Mim – Snake can return Characters like Merlin – Goat and Merlin – Rabbit for additional value. You’re not tied to those two Characters, but can also return Ursula – Deceiver for another discard activation. Kit Cloudkicker – Tough Guy can return one of the opponent’s Characters, slowing down their Lore generation.
Ursula – Sea Witch Queen can be a game changer, preventing opponents from singing Songs, which proves useful against the popular Amber Steel deck.
Third Place
Ruby Amethyst – Dаniele Mаtrigаle “BB_IBONT97”
4 Be Prepared
4 Brawl
3 Chernabog's Followers - Creatures of Evil
4 Flynn Rider - Frenemy
4 Friends On The Other Side
2 Goofy - Super Goof
2 Lady Tremaine - Imperious Queen
4 Madam Mim - Fox
3 Madam Mim - Snake
2 Madame Medusa - The Boss
4 Magic Broom - Illuminary Keeper
3 Maui - Hero to All
1 Merlin - Crab
3 Merlin - Goat
4 Merlin - Rabbit
2 Pegasus - Flying Steed
4 Sisu - Emboldened Warrior
1 Sisu - Empowered Sibling
4 The Library - A Gift for Belle
2 The Queen's Castle - Mirror ChamberThe good old Ruby Amethyst is still a top performer in these tournaments, finishing in 3rd place at the Birmingham Lorcana Challenge.
This is a control deck that makes use of cards like Be Prepared, Madame Medusa – The Boss, Lady Tremaine – Imperious Queen, and Sisu – Empowered Sibling to banish opponent’s Characters and weaken their presence on the board.
The Be Prepared is the strongest play for this deck, banishing all Characters on the board, which means having The Queen’s Castle – Mirror Chamber and The Library – A Gift for Belle can be great Lore generators and will force opponents to look for answers quickly to stop the Lore generation.
Fourth Place
Ruby Sapphire – Ricemаster
4 Be Prepared
4 Brawl
1 Dig a Little Deeper
4 Fishbone Quill
4 Gramma Tala - Keeper of Ancient Stories
1 Hide Away
4 Hiram Flaversham - Toymaker
2 How Far I'll Go
1 Kuzco - Selfish Emperor
2 Lucky Dime
3 Madame Medusa - The Boss
4 Maleficent - Monstrous Dragon
4 Maui - Hero to All
3 One Jump Ahead
4 Pawpsicle
2 Queen of Hearts - Impulsive Ruler
1 Sisu - Empowered Sibling
4 Tamatoa - So Shiny!
4 Tipo - Growing Son
4 Vision of the Future
2 VitalisphereRuby Sapphire takes fourth place, this version though is on Vitalisphere, which increases the Strength of a chosen Character and gives them Rush, so it can be crucial if you’re looking to banish an exerted Character.
Another interesting card is Dig a Little Deeper, letting you Sing Together to draw two chosen cards from the 7 cards of your deck. This can be useful in slow matchups where any bit of resources will be critical to win the game.
Top 8
5th Place Ruby Sapphire – Gаbriel Dinu “Dinu”
2 Be Prepared
2 Brawl
4 Fishbone Quill
2 Gaston - Arrogant Hunter
3 Gramma Tala - Keeper of Ancient Stories
2 Hide Away
4 Hiram Flaversham - Toymaker
4 Ice Block
2 Lucky Dime
2 Madame Medusa - The Boss
1 Maleficent - Monstrous Dragon
4 Maui - Hero to All
3 Maurice's Workshop
4 Pawpsicle
2 Shield of Virtue
3 Sisu - Daring Visitor
3 Sisu - Empowered Sibling
4 Tamatoa - So Shiny!
4 The Queen - Diviner
4 Tipo - Growing Son
1 VitalisphereA third Ruby Sapphire deck, solidifying its presence as the best deck in Set 5 meta. Two interesting cards in this list, are Maurice’s Workshop and The Queen – Diviner. Both cards are aimed at upping the deck’s resource value, Maurice’s Workshop is a draw engine, drawing you a card every time you play another item. As for The Queen – Diviner, she looks at the top 3 cards in the deck and lets you cheat out an Item that costs 4 or less without having to spend Ink.
6th Place Ruby Amethyst – Luke Smythe
3 Be Prepared
3 Brawl
4 Chernabog's Followers - Creatures of Evil
4 Flynn Rider - Frenemy
4 Friends On The Other Side
2 Lady Tremaine - Imperious Queen
4 Madam Mim - Fox
4 Madam Mim - Snake
2 Madame Medusa - The Boss
4 Magic Broom - Illuminary Keeper
3 Maleficent - Sorceress
4 Maui - Hero to All
4 Merlin - Goat
4 Merlin - Rabbit
2 Sisu - Daring Visitor
4 Sisu - Emboldened Warrior
1 Sisu - Empowered Sibling
4 The Queen's Castle - Mirror ChamberAnother Ruby Amethyst deck in the top 8, cementing itself as one of the top decks in the Set 5 Lorcana meta. The Flynn Rider – Frenemy addition has proven useful against the popular Ruby Sapphire deck, allowing you to take a more aggressive approach to win the game before they can take over.
7th Place Emerald Amethyst – smpcаvery
3 Banzai - Gluttonous Predator
2 Chernabog's Followers - Creatures of Evil
4 Clarabelle - Clumsy Guest
4 Clarabelle - Light on Her Hooves
4 Elsa - The Fifth Spirit
1 Emerald Chromicon
4 Friends On The Other Side
2 Kit Cloudkicker - Tough Guy
3 Lyle Tiberius Rourke - Cunning Mercenary
4 Madam Mim - Fox
4 Madam Mim - Snake
3 Merlin - Crab
4 Merlin - Goat
4 Merlin - Rabbit
3 Pegasus - Gift for Hercules
2 Sir Hiss - Aggravating Asp
4 Ursula - Deceiver
3 Ursula - Sea Witch Queen
3 You're WelcomeAnother Emerald Amethyst deck makes it into the top 8! Although this archetype had half the showing of Amber Steel, it performed better in both the Lorcana Challenges in Birmingham and Las Vegas.
One top 8 deck remains unknown, once they’re public I’ll share them here.