Lorcana: The First Chapter - Comprehensive Set Review

This is my full set analysis for Lorcana's First Chapter. I cover my predictions for the meta and how powerful each card is. Hopefully, this video will still be useful right up to the release of the next set.
Deck lists: lorcania.com/profile/YouCanCa...
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:10 Decklists
1:38 Amber set review
24:41 Amethyst set review
33:25 Emerald set review
46:28 Ruby set review
55:29 Sapphire set review
1:06:51 Steel set review
1:18:52 Outro

[@maesterjono]

Amazing analysis - best competitive Lorcana channel I have encountered so far. I appreciate you just skimming over the 1 star cards as unplayable instead of umming and ahhing and trying to justify their existence.

[@PavelKolev]

Thank you for making this. As someone who didn't play as many games as I wanted to, this video really helped me catch up

[@DurzoHighwind]

Those are great insights.I watched it from start to finish. You earned a new sub

[@PeterMller1980]

That's some amazing pulls. Thanks for sharing 🙂

[@jameswrhymer]

Watched this twice now, and I have to say it’s an incredibly comprehensive analysis. Best review of the set I’ve seen so far. The rating system makes perfect sense and it’s difficult to argue not grabbing a playset of anything you gave a 3-5. 2’s are pickups if you’re interested in the decks they belong in, and 1’s are general skips. It saddens me that so many fan-favorite characters just aren’t good, but that’s the game! You easily earned a subscription from me, and I’m looking forward to future videos 😄

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Thanks so much for your lovely comment, I try to make my content as detailed and accurate as possible, and I'm really pleased you've found it useful. This review is entirely aimed at winning and competitive play, so at least a lot of the cards can be played more casually. Sometimes card games don't even end up with this many competitive decks, so I'm just grateful we have different archetypes with varying difficulties to choose from.

[@kitchentablegames4375]

@@xyoucancallmeal would love to see a written version of your list so I don't have to write it down, like just name of card and rating number.

[@davidfillis912]

Thanks very much for this vid, very informative and useful

[@VelvetMamba]

Really really really great video. I appreciate the time and effort that must have gone into this. It'll be interesting to see how much of your prediction come true!

[@Turtlewax88]

Good stuff, new subscriber!

[@1992disney]

OMG! I knew that Treasure Planet would be a part of this at launch! I’m so happy to see the underrated masterpiece getting more and more love, attention, and representation in licensed Disney content like this! I can’t wait! 😍

[@milesgreb3537]

I watched the whole thing and I did enjoy it so don't get me wrong, but I do think you are over confidence in thinking the VERY VERY small amoung of people pre-playing represent an actual meta

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Thanks for your kind words. This review is more of a prediction of the meta, rather than a reflection of it currently. I've tried to create something that will be useful until the next set in November.

[@milesgreb3537]

@xyoucancallmeal and it is interesting. Again I am only being critical cause I wanna break down what I am hearing and try and understand it better. I did enjoy hearing all these reviews. I don't know your back ground, but in my 26 years of ccg experience it's normally pretty hard to get the grasp on a meta in a new game.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

@@milesgreb3537 I welcome constructive criticism! Thanks for contributing. It is very difficult to predict an entire meta week 1, and I'm sure I'll be wrong on some things. But I'd like to think this is still a useful resource for people.

[@milesgreb3537]

@@xyoucancallmeal well in retrospect what do you thunk

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I'll be making a re-review soon to explain in more detail; but, in summary: - I massively underestimated Amethyst/Ruby Control - That deck made other decks that would otherwise be really strong, weaker (e.g. Sapphire/Steel Ramp and Ruby/Sapphire Control) - Emerald Midrange is fantastic, but paired with Ruby instead of Steel - Amber/Emerald (and to a lesser degree, Amber/Sapphire) aggro is still powerful I actually think I ended up being mostly correct, which seems weird to say since I was so harsh on Amethyst, but people are really overrating it IMO. It works very well with Ruby, but other Amethyst lists are sub-par versions of other things.

[@Pestario]

Hey AI, amazing review I watched it with 2 friends and learned a lot about the game, but my OCD cannot handle that you didn't star 2 cards, which are: One Jump Ahead (you said it was pretty good, so I guess maybe 3 stars?) and Simba - Future King (you said its okay in certain situations, so I guess a 2 star?). I hope you will revisit the set after it has been released and maybe do another one of these video's, they are really helpful for new players as well. Keep it up, I subscribed. Cheers!

[@xyoucancallmeal]

That's very nice of you to say, thank you. I think 2 and 3 stars, respectively, were my ratings at the time. I absolutely will revisit the set, hopefully soon, as my thoughts have evolved on many of the cards.

[@MangleyTCG]

I get most of your analysis. Coming from other games and playing on the more competitive side I get what you mean. I just feel like it's a bit too early for certain of your conclusions, but the video is super nicely built and it's nice to have your input on the first set cardpool.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Thanks for your kind words. It was very early to make those predictions and my views have already shifted on many cards. I created it with the intention of giving people a jumping off point for competitive play.

[@MangleyTCG]

@@xyoucancallmeal will you do another video revisiting it all? Otherwise any cards in particular? From my box and the app i notice that ohana stitch is back to 2 lore and not 1

[@WhatSmada]

awesome thank you

[@BinxyBrown]

I agree with a lot of your takes, im not convinced yet that amethyst is as bad as you expect it to be, i think that people sing things from another side too early and its generally better to do when you hand is closer to empty to try and redevelop after a board wipe. But i think the majority of your ratings seem spot on and hearing the ratings one after another like this kind of shows how few actual viable strategies there are right now.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I completely agree with your thoughts on Friends, people definitely do sing it too soon. I actually think Amethyst can do a lot of things well, I just don't think it does anything better than other colours. A card that embodies this is Lefou: he's a 1-star card, whereas Flynn is a 4-star, and they're very close in power level. But because Lefou is strictly worse, he won't see top-level competitive play IMO. Amethyst is the colour equivalent. Building an Amethyst-X deck that destroys aggro is very possible, and another that beats control etc. The issue I have is that I feel an Amethyst deck built to beat a single strategy loses too much against other things. I'm expecting both ladder and tournaments to have enough variety that targeting one strategy won't be viable.

[@garak001]

Great video. Heading into a sealed tournament this week (6 packs, 40 cards, no deckbuilding limits). What are the commons and uncommons you would auto-include in that format?

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I haven't worked on draft or sealed very much, but Pongo, Emerald Tinker Bell and Friends on the Other Side seem strong.

[@jameswrhymer]

Still watching, great analysis so far! But 13:12 Surfer Stitch is confirmed to have 2 lore by Lorcana team, just a graphic mistake in the app. How would you rate it with that information? 😊

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Thanks a lot! I'm glad to hear he's back to his two lore status. There still isn't a deck that can house him; but, at two lore, he would possibly make it into a Rockstar Stitch deck and probably be a 2-star card.

[@evanstrong4064]

thanks for the review, what tool are you using to browse all the cards?

[@xyoucancallmeal]

The Official Lorcana App

[@brianfox8362]

Some hilarious rankings here to be honest.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Bear in mind that the rating system is not based on the power level of the card in a vacuum, but rather how it fits into my expectations of the metagame.

[@videovandal5144]

Curious after a few more weeks since this video launched do you still think amethyst is the worst ink? Because I am both playing a Ruby/Amethyst control list with great results and I’m playing against it a ton!! It feels very strong.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I definitely underestimated Amethyst/Ruby Control, it's a powerful deck. In terms of the weakest colour, it's hard to say. Thankfully, they all have merit; but, Amethyst is still fairly one-dimensional. I feel outside of Ruby control, it is weaker than other options.

[@Bronzedrag0n_Gaming]

Great review. Now if I could find a shop that actually has allocated product for pre-order. Five shops around me, none are getting allocated the First Chapter.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I'm sorry to hear that. There's always Tabletop Simulator and Pixelborn in the meantime.

[@oneof13forestpeople97]

Appreciate the content! I was thinking Amethyst/Rubby (control removal) could do well

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I think it's decent, but just worse than Ruby-Sapphire Control.

[@rand0mGT]

Could you please make another video about the cards themselves…the rarities , 204, promo, d23, cold foils, non-cold foils what even is that? I’m seeing all these about the cards and I’m completely new to it. Would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[@malintent4816]

I have to agree amber/emerald aggro is a really tough match up. Kuzco is good…but Zeus takes care of him EZ. My fav 5 drop..big boy Maui :)

[@oneof13forestpeople97]

And with amber you can get those 5 drops on turn 3! So broken

[@forcedyad]

I know it's unlikely, but do you have a list of your star ratings for each card? I'd love to have this in a list or a table to reference.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I'm sorry I don't, but bear in mind these are predictions of where I expected the top-tier competitive meta to be. I've changed my mind on a few cards already, but generally, I think it's pretty accurate. I Tweet more up-to-date thoughts on current powerful decks, including lists, which may be useful to you.

[@forcedyad]

@@xyoucancallmeal Thank you for your reply! And that does make sense. Unfortunately, I don't have twitter but I will definitely be subscribing and turning on alerts for your channel. Quality content! 🍻

[@jacewilliams7135]

A fair amount of online tournaments have been going on and Amethyst tends to flood the top spots. Usually Amber Amethyst or Amethyst Ruby.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Yeah, this video was a set of predictions from two weeks ago, and I definitely underestimated Amethyst/Ruby. It's a powerful control deck but still susceptible to aggro and evasive midrange. I don't rate Amber/Amethyst very highly, though. Of course, I could be wrong.

[@jacewilliams7135]

I think you just underestimated Amethyst in general.@@xyoucancallmeal

[@TeamVajify]

How are you screen capturing your phone?

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Samsung have a screen recorder functionality that works fine for this sort of thing.

[@dresdun]

ariel is mvp in my steel deck grabbing a whole new world and swords and then being able to use her to cast them turn after

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I wish she wasn't in Amber. Ramp is so powerful that giving that up for a later game deck is such a huge cost.

[@ME-rt8pw]

It seems like theres is just two viable ways to play? Sad that 90% of the cards arent good but i see many of these 1 stars shooting up to 5 in future play sets. I dont play this game and have been trepedacious on buying into it. Ty for this analysis it really helped.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

It's important to remember that this is just a prediction, and I'm sure some of the 1-star are better than it seemed at first. Also, just because a card doesn't have a home at the absolute top of competitive play, doesn't mean it isn't worth using. Most competitive card games use a tiny fraction of the cards in a set, it can't really be otherwise.

[@Sanvarin]

Can you recommend some deck lists?

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I'll get a meta snapshot out ASAP which will have updated deck lists.

[@caitlyndekok2141]

i though you can qeust with a card that shifts on top of a other as long as the ink is dried out

[@xyoucancallmeal]

You can :)

[@flipsiescoobydoo6083]

Hey I have a question about your List or this type of rating in general They developers of the game said that they designed it for multiplayer/with multiplayer in mind and tested it like that in groups of 6 All the content creators on the other hand focus on 1v1 gameplay which compleatly changes the view on a lot of cards I dont want to say you didnt do a god job with with the List but I would really like to understand why you would focus on 1v1 instead of multiplayer

[@xyoucancallmeal]

The primary reason is that I'm making the assumption that tournaments and competitive play will be 1v1 (multiplayer tournaments are much less likely). Another reason is that the easiest way to test decks and ideas at the moment is Pixelborn, which doesn't currently support multiplayer. I wouldn't want to put out content that isn't thoroughly tested to avoid giving inaccurate information. Finally, I've played card games for most of my life, much of that competitively, and have always preferred 1v1 for competitive play. Group games are more of a social event, usually being gimmicky and less skill dependant. Not to mention lacking the satisfaction of having a direct battle of wits against another person.

[@flipsiescoobydoo6083]

@@xyoucancallmeal Thank you for the intel :)

[@NayaM0]

The decklists link in the description does not link to your deck lists, it links to MY decklists

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Thanks for pointing that out, I'll be sure to fix that.

[@Blueberrysoup55]

Where do i play online?

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Using a fan-made client called Pixelborn.

[@skurai]

We meed a new format with 30 lore to win

[@LastPancake]

Geez man, cant wait to play with all 10 good cards 😅 things lile the 1 drop Simba that help you filter are decent enough 1 drop bodies to play, helps you get rid of duplicate uninkable cards or helps you get towards key pieces whilst draw power is low and search is non existant

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Simba is a fascinating card, I could do a whole video on him. He seems really good on paper; only losing one point of strength for an added bonus. The issue with him is that one drops are useful very specifically to be played on turn 1 to either gain a lore lead or fight for board. This is because they lose a card from hand later in the game which most decks can't afford to lose. In Simba's case, yes he gives a bit of card selection which is okay, but doesn't function on turn 1 due to his tradeable stats and can't be played later due to his low value. It may seem like a bleak outlook but that's pretty standard for competitive card games. The fact that there are at least five competitive decks across several archetypes is actually quite positive in my view, I think the devs did a great job with balance. Also, all I'm saying about 1-star cards is that they won't be likely to show up at top-level competition, which is quite a high standard when compared to more standard reviews.

[@pluviaaeternum]

how do you know a deck is a "meta deck" before the game releases?

[@xyoucancallmeal]

The game has 'released' on an online Simulator and using proxies. This video doesn't describe the current meta, it's a prediction of what I believe the top level competitive meta will look like.

[@FlyNavy906]

When you talk about how Emerald anti-questing cards are bad I feel like that just ignores how you get to play 2 colors.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

The reasoning behind that is that Emerald has some of the best aggressive and tempo tools in the game. It also has mediocre (relative to other colours) anti-aggro tools. So I can't see a reason to build a deck that uses the Emerald anti-aggro cards, precisely because I can include another colour. This is somewhat generalised, there could theoretically be a world in which an Emerald-X deck has so many other things going for it that weaker anti-aggro tools are fine. But any list I built and tested that included those cards was just weaker than an alternative colour combination.

[@oneof13forestpeople97]

I know a group of playtesters who say “songs” in set one will be busted

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Playing cards for 'free' is really powerful. We're just limited by the power level of chapter 1 songs at the moment. They'll only get better though.

[@joelstephenson]

How is there a meta for something thats not out yet

[@memyselftheone]

meta slaves being meta slaves. Honestly; meta mentality in general is ruining gaming overal. Whatever happened to 'just having some fun'?

[@joelstephenson]

@@memyselftheone I just want to play with my kids. Yeah it's a little crazy to have a meta before there is a game

[@xyoucancallmeal]

This is a prediction of where I expect the competitive meta to end up. There are people playing the game a lot already though.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

My content is focused entirely on competitive play, because that's what I find fun. There's nothing wrong with playing the game in a different way of course.

[@joelstephenson]

@@xyoucancallmeal that's fair. Still seems crazy to me. But I'm ultra casual with MTG and this is a game for my kids so it takes casual to a whole new level

[@skurai]

Finally , someone who knows what they talking about with lorcana

[@Big_Dai]

This TCG seems TOO narrow.. and basically Magic (Lore being Life). It's going to NEED more sets to be fun, and who knows if it will live that long. Probably not.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I find thoroughly enjoyable already. The First Chapter is a fantastically designed set in my opinion.

[@blerpsnurp]

I'm really holding on to hope that 8 drop Elsa might actually see some play eventually, most likely in chapter 2 I think There's so much potential there, but amethyst is dragging her down so hard pls god let her go 😭

[@Tintenklecks_Disney_Lorcana]

they should erata hades, he is destroying fun in play just cause he is so straight forward good

[@xyoucancallmeal]

He's certainly a powerful card, but being uninkable as a 7-drop is a real cost that needs to be balanced with a strong effect.

[@Tintenklecks_Disney_Lorcana]

@@xyoucancallmeal i hope the next set will be in favor for ruby and amber :D. I appreciate your content congrats to top 3 in Pixelborn

[@christopherrauber305]

I feel like this isn’t going to age well. Card game was just released and Amethyst is one of the best for card draw which is desperately needed in this game… way too many “1” star cards.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

After extensive playtesting, I have definitely changed my views on many of the cards. I was too harsh on Amethyst, but it's still only very powerful when paired with Ruby. All other combinations seem weaker than the alternatives currently.

[@The_Illumi_Nation]

"Amethyst is the weakest of the colours", this aged well 🤣

[@The_Illumi_Nation]

Would love you to see you reviewing your review now we're seeing a meta in tournaments appear.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I failed to anticipate Amethyst/Ruby. So Amethyst is the second weakest colour now.

[@The_Illumi_Nation]

@xyoucancallmeal Amethyst is dominating the tournament scene atm. I played in a 45 person tournament at the weekend and every person in the top 8 aside from myself had Amethyst in their deck. The PPG event had 6 of the top 8 playing Amethyst. Obviously, we all have opinions, but it's easily the number one colour at the moment.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

The paper tournament scene is currently full of new players. Because there isn't a significant prize pool, only local players can attend. People are mistakingly taking the results of these events to mean the decks played are strong, this is not the case. The players who have played using online clients such as TTS or Pixelborn have a much deeper understanding of the game in my opinion. Amethyst has one very strong deck paired with Ruby, and people are only just starting to play the counters to that online, never-mind in the paper scene. And while Amethyst can be paired with anything to have a serviceable deck, this is true of all colours. Amethyst/Steel, Amethyst/Amber, Amethyst/Emerald and especially Amethyst/Sapphire are all weaker than similar archetypes in other colours in my opinion. And, even if I'm right, this will not reflect in the 'meta' that we see for quite some time.

[@milesgreb3537]

Giving a card a lower grade for its color is a opinion I really disagree with

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Rating cards based on my predictions of the meta, rather than in a vacuum, is a choice I made because I find it to be more useful and interesting.

[@milesgreb3537]

@@xyoucancallmeal like if red is bad in a meta, would you give lightning bolt less then a 5?

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I would. This review is specifically based on my expectations of the competitive meta between now and Chapter 2. After that, some of low-rated more powerful cards may become a lot more viable.

[@milesgreb3537]

@xyoucancallmeal I see I guess I just agree with those principles as useful analysis then. You are basically just doing a raw data crunch. X card shows up y times so it is z value.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

In a sense; I've spent a lot of time deck building and testing based on my experience with Lorcana and other card games to determine what the strongest deck may be and am providing a rating based on that. This is as opposed to rating the cards in a vacuum, which does not reflect the conditions of actual competitive gameplay.

[@drorios8864]

1st chapter seems underwhelming. All factions are missing many components for their mechanics to work. Just seems incomplete to me

[@xyoucancallmeal]

It's fantastically designed, in my opinion. There seem to be several decks across multiple archetypes that will remain competitively viable throughout Chpt 1. That's more than can be said for many card games I've played. There are some things I wish were made a little stronger, but overall I'm really impressed with the design.

[@sl-lin0bi529]

Disney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@DragonmasterSK]

Cinderella beat down it is😂

[@thedeadmoneyallstars]

I really tried to make it through the video but the sniffing was too much. Pause the recording and blow your nose dude. Between that and the discounting entire colours as 1s because you personally can't make them work has me dipping out early. Nice production and presentation style though.

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Thanks for the feedback :)

[@skurai]

I really wanted lorcana to be good but the game feels like garbage real quick. It often feels too lobsided, too simple of a race. Cards are so broken that I can’t see how they expand for much longer without problems. You know they don’t know what they doing when half of the set is garbage and half of the set are staples forever… I hate how you just topdeck and quest to finish games.. signs of a poor design imo.. The game needs some antilore or something to make it fun

[@xyoucancallmeal]

I would strongly disagree with that. The more I play the game, the more I realise what incredible depth these relatively simple mechanics have. Tournaments will be absolutely fascinating in Lorcana in my opinion, it's just a question of whether we get them or not.

[@saiyan_samurai9841]

Zeus "unplayable thruout Lorcana" *1st set of the game hasn't even fully released yet* 🤣☠️🤡

[@xyoucancallmeal]

We've been able to play Lorcana through online clients for several months now. And now that all of the cards have been revealed, this is identical to playing in paper.

[@skurai]

I don’t like how half the set is complete trash right pff the bat. Gives bad vibes in terms of developers play testing…

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Just bear in mind that this is a prediction based on the extreme competitive side of things. All card games that have ever existed have had a similar swathe of competitively unplayable cards.

[@Purpleeest]

Literally the worst takes ive seen. Each colour has like 2 cards that you say arent really bad. Idk how you build a deck when you say every card is bad and is 1 star lol

[@xyoucancallmeal]

Bear in mind that the review is a prediction video of what I expected to be top-tier decks in the future; it's very speculative. As expected, my opinions on several cards have evolved as I've played more games. This review is specifically for the best decks, not just playable ones. All cards games end up with a small number of top-tier cards that make it into competitive decks.