Buckle up; there’s a lot to go through in this week’s Lorcana The Pack tournament. This week’s tournament held 285 players, battling it out in the Swiss format to make it into the top 16. The Swiss format follows the official “best of 2” rules. Each player gets to go first; winning 1 game gives you 1 Point, winning 2 games nets you 3 Points, and losing both games means you’ll end up with 0 Points. The goal is to win the 2 rounds to secure the 3 points.
As the competition heats up in the Top 16, the format shifts to single elimination, where players face off in intense best-of-three showdowns for a shot at winning it all.
The meta feels diverse, with various decks performing well in the tournament, proving a healthy meta. 8 different decks made it into the top 16, with Ruby Sapphire and Emerald Steel each represented by 3 players.
Prize Distribution: First Place: $1100, Second Place: $800, Third Place: $600, Fourth Place: $500, Top 8: $300, Top 16: $100.
Top 16 Deck Distribution
There isn’t a single dominating deck in the meta. We have 8 different decks in the top 16, with the highest representation being 3 out of those 16. Contrasted with a month ago, when Ruby Amethyst ruled the scene, the game has evolved to a stage where players can select from a range of decks and perform in tournaments!
Ruby Sapphire and Emerald Steel are tied for first place in terms of deck distribution. Steel Sapphire, Steel Amethyst, Emerald Amethyst, and Amber Steel all had 2 players each make it into the top 16. The last two spots were Ruby Amethyst and Amber Amethyst.
First Place
Emerald Steel
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Emerald Steel crushed the second game, with the one-off Kit Cloudkicker – Tough Guy returning the opponent’s Ursula – Deceiver of All back to hand and wasting a whole turn. On top of that, the Emerald Amethyst deck wasn’t having the best time, holding 3 Mother Knows Best in the early hand made it difficult to commit to solid plays.
The finals ended with a 2-0 score, with Th3 Rat going second in both games! After a long run, they took home $1100 Prize with Emerald Steel. According to Th3 Rat, they valued Daisy Duck – Secret Agent in the deck for the Ruby Sapphire matchup specifically, even though they didn’t end up seeing many of them.
Second Place
Emerald Amethyst
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Regardless, the Emerald Amethyst had an amazing run throughout the whole tournament, beating multiple opponents with its ability to adapt to matchups. It can either focus on draw value, Lore generation, or card discard with the bounce mechanic of Madam Mim – Snake and Madam Mim – Fox.
Third Place
Ruby Sapphire
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This is a ramp deck that grew in popularity and overtook the Sapphire Steel version. Its control tools Lady Tremaine – Imperious Queen, Madame Medusa – The Boss, Be Prepared, and Maleficent – Monstrous Dragon lets the deck keep things under control as it takes things to the late-game where Tamatoa – So Shiny! + Lucky Dime wins you the game.
The Ruby Sapphire was close to winning it back-to-back, but Emerald Steel had other plans. The discard mechanic can be awful for Ruby Sapphire, especially if it loses its card draw mechanics, slowing down its mid-game plan exceptionally. It ended up losing 1-2 to Emerald Steel.
Ruby Sapphire’s knockout of top 2 meant it had to go toe to toe with the Jafar deck. With a close 2-1 score, it secured 3rd place.
Fourth Place
Amethyst Steel Jafar Wheel
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The Jafar Wheel deck relies on, well, Jafar – Striking Illusionist. The ideal goal is to have Jafar – Striking Illusionist on turn 5 by shifting him on your other Jafars and follow up that play with Singing A Whole New World, exerting Jafar – Striking Illusionist and getting that Lore generation online.
This deck usually shines against decks that can’t answer Jafar – Striking Illusionist with a removal card, and it seems Brett managed to dodge the counter matchups. Emerald Steel having Ursula – Deceiver allows them to discard the A Whole New World, potentially shutting down the main game plan.
Top 8
Ruby Amethyst
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The meta diversity in Lorcana tournaments proves a healthy meta and provides an exciting experience for viewers! We aren’t watching 1 or 2 decks crushing everything, instead, every deck that made it in the top 16 has put up an amazing fight and had a shot to win it all.
Ruby Amethyst used to be a meta-dominant, but players have now figured out how to keep the bounce deck in check. Another bounce deck that made it into the top 8 is the Amethyst Steel, including Yzma as a value draw or removal card.
The Emerald Steel deck is all about discarding the opponent’s cards and disturbing their game plan. Cursed Merfolk – Ursula’s Handiwork, Flynn Rider – Charming Rogue, Ursula – Deceiver, Friar Tuck – Priest Of Nottingham, and Sudden Chill + Ursula – Deceiver of All are the goto cards to discard all the cards. Prince John – Greediest of All is the MVP of the deck, drawing you cards as he sits there and watches you discard things.
Amber Steel lost a lot of popularity but is still managing to perform in tournaments, with two players getting to make it into the Top 16 and Top 8. The deck relies on Sleepy’s Fluet for Lore generation and A Whole New World to replenish their hand and get to play a Song every turn.