Disney Lorcana’s new Attack of the Vine! set is almost here, and with it comes a much-anticipated rotation in Core Constructed.
This means that cards from Sets 5 through 8 will no longer be legal in the format, which means it’s time to say goodbye to powerful Sapphire cards like Tipo – Growing Son and Sail the Azurite Sea and decks like Amber Emerald Dogs. Instead, we’ll now get to play with new and exciting deck archetypes like Amber Emerald Toys.
Hey, wait a second…
While there’s plenty of pre-release buzz around that particular deck, and rightfully so, there’s still plenty of room for experimenting and deckbuilding when Attack of the Vine! releases.
With that in mind, here’s a brand new Attack of the Vine! decklist for every ink pairing in Disney Lorcana
Amber Emerald
Might as well start with the obvious choice here.
I’ve been testing a lot of various iterations of Amber Emerald decks thus far and will likely continue to do so. One thing that’s stood out to me with the color pairing is that there are multiple ways to build it, all of which have their own pros and cons.
As a generic catch-all approach, the best bet may be to completely ditch the Toys package and instead go for raw efficiency. The plan here is to flood the board, gain value from Eolinor – Renowned Diplomat, and use Pocahontas – Peacekeeper as a way to protect your board. Dale – Ready for His Shot also helps turn your innocent looking characters into a far more menacing threat.
I went with Mowgli – Man Cub over Ursula – Deceiver since he can grab more than just songs, even if you don’t get to choose. There’s a world, though, where both are viable.’
Amber Ruby
Lukas Kaupa piloted an intriguing Amber Ruby deck that focused on drawing cards with Webby’s Diary and the Boost mechanic introduced in Whispers in the Well. The goal was to control the board state, draw cards, and then eventually wipe the board with Raging Storm before you play your haymakers and slam the door shut.
With rotation, the deck is arguably even better thanks to the introduction of the Sulley cards. Sulley – The New Boss allows you to bring back characters from your discard, allowing you to gain card advantage through alternate methods. Red Alert also serves as a nice way to at least have some removal against more aggressive characters, too.
The Mulan shift package isn’t reliable, but sometimes you just need to play an Ohana Means Family on your Mulan – Injured Soldier to draw some cards!
Amber Sapphire
Sapphire is in a tricky spot after rotation with the loss of its vital ramp cards. One Jump Ahead still exists, but it’s not something I’m excited about playing.
Having said that, there’s still the potential for an explosive start when you One Jump Ahead into Cinderella – Dream Come True into Moana – Curious Explorer. This allows you to end your fourth turn with a whopping seven ink in play. From here, the world is your oyster, and something like Stitch – Carefree Surfer will let you draw even more cards to use your ink acceleration to your advantage.
Spooky Sight is a concession to the aggressive decks in the format and will probably be a necessary evil to run, even if it’s beyond awkward at times.
Amber Amethyst
The Amber Amethyst shell was one that put up respectable results last season. It’s only losing two cards in Genie – Wish Fulfilled and Elsa – The Fifth Spirit. Two very important cards, sure, but there’s still plenty to work with here.
I opted to exclude Dumbo – Ninth Wonder of the Universe simply because there aren’t enough playable characters with Evasive. Instead, we should have more than enough card draw here, especially since I’m opting for the Stitch – Carefree Surfer on the top of my curve to play nicely along with Dale.
Gaston – Superior Archer is a very nice addition, too, providing the World’s Greatest Criminal Mind effect on a buddy.
Amber Steel
There’s definitely a lot of potential here, especially since Meilin Lee – Losing Control is able to find both songs and Red Panda characters. She may be better suited in an Amber Ruby song deck, but I still like her here to help find the songs that help you draw cards off of a boosted Ariel – Ethereal Voice. Plus, playing a discounted Ming Lee – Proud Parent is fun!
Goliath – Clan Leader is a natural fit at the top end of our curve to keep the cards rolling, especially when we have an Angel – Experiment 624 in play.
I’d love to find a way to get a Support character in here, but something like Elionwy – Princess of Lyr is such a liability against Elionors. Maybe Augustin Madrigal – Exceptionally Kind can find a spot in here somehow?
Ruby Amethyst
Ruby Amethyst has undergone quite a few changes since it dominated the early days of Disney Lorcana. Gone are the Merlins, Madam Mims, and Be Prepareds.
The archetype was always on the outside looking in for the past year, but with Attack of the Vine! and rotation happening, there’s a chance we have something here. The shell of Dumbo – Ninth Wonder of the Universe, Hades – Looking for a Deal, and Demona – Scourge of the Wyrven Clan, along with Junior Woodcuck Guidebook, remains quite strong. Liquidator – Iced Over is a Super, which means it plays nicely with Mr. Incredible – Super Strong. Giving your entire team evasive with Peter Pan & Tinker Bell – Fast Friends is just the icing on the cake.
Card advantage should not be an issue in this deck, but keeping up with your opponents might be, which is why we have Isis Vanderchill – Ice Queen of St. Canard (also a Super!) and Belle – Accomplished Mystic to try to force early interaction.
Amethyst Sapphire
The beloved “Blurple” deck is going to look very, very different after rotation.
This is, without a doubt, the deck that is hurt the most by the loss of ramp cards. One Jump Ahead still exists, sure, but it’s nowhere near as powerful as Tipo or Sail the Azurite Sea. Having said that, this is easily the best archetype to properly utilize What Else Can I Do through the power of several Shift characters singing it as early as turn three, as well as being able to run Kanga – Hunny Bard thanks to Christopher Robin – Hunny Sage.
I’ve had some issues with this deck, though, as it can be a little clunky at times, but it’s an absolute blast to play.
Amethyst Steel
There were a handful of different ways we could take this archetype. Do we make it as aggressive as it has been in the past? Do we go all in with the robots? Personally, I’m feeling a little more villainous.
It’s important for any Amethyst deck to see how easily it can include its shell that I talked about earlier. Wouldn’t you know it that Demona and Hades are villains. They’ll play quite nicely with Diablo – Stone Servant, who cares very much about Villains.
Do you know who else is a Villain? Syndrome – Out for Revenge, and he cares about Robots, so it’s like we can have the best of both worlds! Amethyst just so happens to also have the new Morph – Little Imitator, which can be Shifted on by several characters in this deck. That’s important because our Maleficent options aren’t all too exciting.
Emerald Amethyst
Emerald and Amethyst have always been at their best together when the deck is able to execute a tempo-oriented game plan.
We’re still not quite on the level we saw when Diablo – Devoted Herald reigned supreme, but Vixey – Expert Fisher is beyond annoying to deal with. There are so many ways you can gain an advantage throughout the game, whether you’re drawing cards, bouncing things back to your opponents’ hands, or efficiently dealing with their board.
Emerald Steel
Attack of the Vine! brings us some legitimate discard synergies in Emerald Steel, topped off with an impressive-looking Team-Up Shift card in Rapunzel & Flynn Rider – Unlikely Pair.
While drawing and discarding isn’t exactly card advantage, it is a way to filter away your bad cards while also opening up avenues to get some value on what you’re discarding. Since you’ll probably be discarding a lot, something like Mushu – Stealthy Dragon should get maximum value every time he quests as well.
My gut says that the archetype is at least a set away from becoming competitive, but in the meantime, there’s definitely something here worth exploring!
Emerald Sapphire
This was the archetype I easily played the most over the past year, utilizing the power of Clarabelle – Light on her Hooves with You’re Welcome and the Prince Phillip – Vanquisher of Foes combo, along with Malicious, Mean, and Scary. Those last two cards aren’t going anywhere, but Clarabelle, You’re Welcome, and the ramp are going away, which means it’s time to re-adjust how this deck will look.
I’ve tried so many times to make One Jump Ahead work in various decks, and there’s only been one that actually succeeds in (more on that in a minute). Instead, Emerald Sapphire may be looking for “non-traditional” ramp options off the back of the new Duo Shift Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse – Adventuring Duo. Your shift targets are pretty uninspiring, but the fact that you’ll be able to quest for five as early as turn three is super impressive, especially since this can ramp you three cards into your inkwell.
The top end of Emerald Sapphire remains strong off the back of Milo Thatch – Getting His Hands Dirty. Plus, we can still technically utilize the Prince Phillip combo, it just won’t be as impressive.
Sapphire Steel
Is Blue Steel finally back? Maybe! There’s been so many times I expect the wheels to fall off here, and yet they don’t.
There’s a lot going on here; Robin Hood shifting is back on the menu, Merida is an excellent way to deal damage to opposing characters, and Goliath can keep your hand filled throughout the game. This is also the best shell for the Sapphire 2/4/6 ink curve by going One Jump Ahead into Cinderella into Goliath – Clan Leader. More often than not, that’s enough to put your opponent behind while you assert your advantage.
Even if it’s not a top performing deck, it’s an absolute blast to play.
Ruby Sapphire
I played Ruby Sapphire almost exclusively by the time Lucky Dime was introduced into the game. It’s easily the deck I have the most experience with. Unsurprisingly, I was sad to see it go after the last rotation from Fabled, but at least I had the ramp cards still in the format.
Now those ramp cards are gone, so it’s back to the drawing board for all Sapphire decks. Like the Blurple Hunny deck, this may be the best one to utilize. What Else Can I do with all the Shift power on turn 3? You won’t have the 2/4/6 curve that Sapphire Steel does, but you do have a strong top end with Maleficent – Monstrous Dragon and Olaf – Snowman of Action, even if it’s not as effective as it was in Infinity.
The best thing I can say about this deck is that it won far more often than it had any right to, which means it’s definitely worth exploring and playing with when Attack of the Vine! releases, even if it ironically has zero new cards.
Ruby Emerald
This was, without a doubt, the hardest archetype to brew a deck for.
The problem is that Ruby Emerald has its hands in too many pots. It wants to be involved with locations and songs in particular, but it’s outclassed by other colors in this regard. As such, I wanted to try to focus on a location deck based on the strength of the cards we’ve seen recently, since it feels like that’s where Ravensberger wants this color pairing to go.
You have some explosive lore gain and card draw options off the back of Carl Fredricksen – On the Move and Paradise Falls – Exotic Destination. The Elsa package around locations helps give you some nice top end as well, and all the locations could make Jack-Jack Parr – Incredible Potential efficient removal.
Ruby Steel
Every set release brings about the same question: Is now the time for Ruby Steel?
After months of failed dreams, there’s something here thanks to the introduction of Pixar to Disney Lorcana. Ironically, I’m not running the new Dash or Dash and Violet Team-Up card; I just don’t think it’s good enough for the meta and is ultimately too slow. Having said that, rotation will likely open up some new avenues for experimentation with the Super subtype, of which there are, again, more than you realize, as well as playing quite nicely with Hercules – Mighty Leader.
In fact, Mrs. Incredible – Determined Rescuer can clear your opponent’s board with a Hercules in play and even draw you cards with Mr. Incredible – Super Strong.
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