Best Lorcana Emerald/Amethyst Deck List and Guide (Set 6)
The Emerald/Amethyst Lorcana deck may have been something of a meta staple since the beginning, but going into Azurite Sea, it was probably the most hyped deck. The latest version of this deck is arguably the most aggro version to date, taking advantage of a control-heavy metagame to come out gaining lore at an astounding rate.
At the same time, there’s plenty here present in this deck capable of stopping your opponent in their tracks. This is achieved largely through a combination of bounce cards and hefty challenges – bolstered by Merlin – Crab to take out anything on your opponent’s field.
Below, let’s take a look at the deck list that took 2nd place at the exclusive EU Championship event where some of the best Lorcana players in the game duked it out for supremacy!
2nd place by Michele Assireli – EU Championship
-
1 Banzai - Gluttonous Predator
1 Belle - Accomplished Mystic
4 Chernabog's Followers - Creatures of Evil
4 Cursed Merfolk - Ursula's Handiwork
4 Diablo - Obedient Raven
4 Elsa - The Fifth Spirit
4 Genie - Wish Fulfilled
4 Go Go Tomago - Darting Dynamo
4 Kit Cloudkicker - Tough Guy
4 Madam Mim - Fox
3 Madam Mim - Snake
3 Magic Broom - Illuminary Keeper
4 Merlin - Crab
4 Merlin - Goat
3 Merlin - Rabbit
1 Peter Pan - Shadow Finder
3 The White Rose - Jewel of the Garden
4 Ursula - Deceiver
1 Ursula - Sea Witch Queen
Emerald/Amethyst presents a strong early game advantage
One of the things you might notice right away about this deck is the large number of one-cost characters you have to choose from. In total, you have an incredible 15 copies of one-cost characters to choose from. Not only does this afford you with some versatility around your play style, it also virtually ensures you will find a one-cost character turn one no matter what.
While in control decks like the ever-popular Ruby/Sapphire deck starting out strong with a character on the field isn’t necessary to victory, decks that play fast often need to hit that first character in order to stay ahead of the game.
Chernabog’s Followers – Creatures of Evil
While you have four different one-cost characters to choose from, they are essentially three types of different cards. For starters, you have the above Chernabog’s Followers. This card stands out from the rest due to its versatility. Essentially, you can use Chernabog to quest, challenge, or even to draw a card and bolster the resources in your hand.
Meanwhile, Magic Broom and Diablo are here primarily to quest and gain resources via their ablities without offering much on the challenge threat side of things.
Lastly, Cursed Merfolk is an excellent one-cost character to include in a deck like this, letting you quest for two lore as early as turn two, and handily speeding up the game for you.
An added advantage of having Cursed Merfolk exerted on your field is that your opponent will be forced to discard a card when challenging it, giving you a leg-up on hand resources as well as lore.
Two-cost characters are pretty star studded as well
Weirdly enough, Banzai is your strongest two-cost character. As chance would have it, Banzai works well as both a challenger and a quester. Use it to take out most lower level opposing foes, or bolster its attack with Merlin – Crab in a pinch.
Apart from Banzai, you also have the almost universally used (in Emerald decks) Ursula Deceiver.
Ursula – Deceiver
Song cards are some of the strongest and most impactful in the game, so a card that lets you discard them at will is a huge advantage to have. This is especially powerful against the former champion, Ruby/Amethyst as you can pretty reliably disarm your opponent of their Be Prepared and seriously hamper their aspirations at victory.
It has other uses, too, though. Like against Ruby/Sapphire or Amber/Steel. All around, it’s just a good card to have handy when you need it most.
Madam Mim – Snake
The Madam Mim bounce package released in Rise of the Floodborn may just be one of the most significant contributions to the game of all time. Time has not tested the effectiveness of Madam Mim – Snake. Use her to gain a serious advantage over your opponent by bouncing and playing powerful cards with strong effects. This deck is filled to the brim with characters you can bounce and reuse, so have fun with what strategy you choose to roll with her. As long as you are bouncing, you’re good.
Go Go Tomago
Lastly on the two-cost side of things we have the recently released Go Go Tomago. Go Go benefits from being an Evasive character, which means you can use her to take out Evasive threats like Diablo if you need to, while her unique ability lets you gain an impressive amount of lore instantly. This plays well into Emerald/Ametyst’s general theme of gaining lore from playing characters, and also works especially well in a deck that puts such an emphasis on challenging.
Three-cost cards focus on offsetting your opponent
One interesting innovation I find in this version of Emerald/Amethyst is that it doesn’t rely on the over-played Ursula – Deceiver of All character. While she’s a solid card, there are many other and frankly more reliable ways to offset your opponent than waiting a turn to use her to sing songs. And this deck runs the gamut in that regard, especially in the three-cost category.
You have Madam Mim – Fox who is the strongest of the Madam Mim cards to decimate your opponent’s board, Merlin – Crab to add firepower to your units, Kit Cloudkicker who can bounce a lot of lower-powered characters, and even Peter Pan who can grant all of your Evasive characters Rush, enabling a lot of versatile plays.
The White Rose may not offset your opponent’s board but it does let you gain lore when it is played, making it an excellent choice as a bounce target when you play your Madam Mims.
Leverage the popular Merlin bounce mechanic to get even more ahead
Merlin – Goat
Merlin – Rabbit
By this point in your deck’s cost infrastructure, you have the basis for the majority of your firepower and ability to win. However, there are still formidable characters and strategies to mention. The core pieces beyond the three-cost characters center on Merlin – Rabbit and Goat.
This is a pretty well known strategy by now, but in case you aren’t familiar, Merlin cards benefit you when they are played and when they are removed from play. This can be via being banished, sent to the Inkwell, the deck, or (most importantly) the hand. You have plenty of options to bounce both the Goat and Rabbit into your hand, and you’ll have to leverage the means at your disposal most strategically to gain either the lore or cards you need to ensure victory over your opponent.
A note on the Genie
One card that’s become a staple not only in Emerald/Amethyst but also in Amethyst decks in general is this killer Genie card from Azurite Sea. This card – like many in Emerald/Amethyst’s repertoire is versatile. You can use it to rush opponents if you have Peter Pan on the field, draw a card when played, or quest without much danger of being taken out in a challenge due to its nice combo of Evasive with four will power.
Bigger characters and how they help you win
As an aggro deck, most of your characters are lower cost. However, one character that’s vital to this deck’s strategy is Elsa – The Fifth Spirit. Elsa works as effective way to deal with many important threats on the board. She’s also evasive, has the Rush keyword natively and can even exert chosen characters to make them easier to take out with a challenge.
Elsa is a fantastic character who can be great at taking out threats like Floodborn Diablo. When powered up with Crab or Cri-Kee, she is also able to take out even bigger Evasive characters.
Ursula – Sea Witch Queen
Ursula Sea Witch Queen is another beefy character that can be Shifted onto one of your other lower cost characters. Ursula – Sea Witch Queen has been a bit until more recently as people have realized how powerful she can be to counter decks like Amber/Steel that love to sing, sing, sing using their characters.
Additionally, Ursula is a powerful quester. You won’t need her all the time but she can certainly be strong especially as a tech against specific matchups.
Belle – Accomplished Mystic
Lastly, you have one copy of Belle – Accomplished Mystic in this deck, enabling you to move damage around strategically to either help you take out a character, or to gain more lore via Go Go Tomago’s ability.
Emerald/Amethyst is undoubtedly one of the best Lorcana decks right now. With a proven track record, a dedicated player base, and excellent new cards in set 6, it might just be the best deck for you to take to your next tournament.
