TOP 8 DECKS | Lorcana Tournament Report - GK ATX - 30 SEP

At the biggest ever Disney Lorcana tournament in Austin, we saw a variety of decks in the Top 8! I was really excited to talk highlight some of these deck lists and the people who played them. The variety really shows how well designed Lorcana is!
Lists:
Thomas Parker (Blue/Gray): dreamborn.ink/decks/vqu0Zr8vv...
Ivan Montalvo (Yellow/Gray): dreamborn.ink/decks/lkyYvXoNO...
Hal Brady (Yellow/Blue): dreamborn.ink/decks/SusxhIOwy...
Joshua Lindsey (Red/Purple): dreamborn.ink/decks/Q8Y8u4idO...
Liam Kozma (Green/Purple): dreamborn.ink/decks/hE51xeAp4...
Dan Ward III (Blue/Green): dreamborn.ink/decks/DFprvfdHg...
Robert Brake (Red/Yellow): dreamborn.ink/decks/dAQAzZXFz...
Aaron Rubin (Yellow/Gray): dreamborn.ink/decks/Ptu3UMr4X...
Socials:
Thomas Parker: / thomassparker
Bobby Brake: / bobbybrake8
Hal Brady: / halbrady
Check out Game Kastle Austin: / gamekastleaustin
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► Follow us on Twitter: / illumiteers
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Note: This video uses trademarks and/or copyrights associated with Disney Lorcana TCG, used under Ravensburger’s Community Code Policy (cdn.ravensburger.com/lorcana/.... We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. This video is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Disney or Ravensburger. For more information about Disney Lorcana TCG, visit www.disneylorcana.com/en-US/.

[@Deathseeker28]

Hello, this is James, Rykers dad. He is the kid that you gave the playmat to. He’s been showing off at playmat to all of his family and his so excited to play with it this week. Thanks again!!

[@Illumiteers]

Hey James! Thanks so much for letting us know!!! We're so glad he likes it. We think the art is incredible...but we're a bit biased! I hope we contributed in a small way to making his tournament experience a memorable one!

[@mtgmarco6442]

It was great to see the community come out in full force! Great video and amazing result!

[@Illumiteers]

Thanks for running an amazing tournament! ❤GK

[@ciromachado7867]

Man, what an amazing video! Your comments about the decks are the comments of someone who has a lot of knowledge about the game. And I really appreciate your passion. It keeps me motivated too! Keep up with the good work! I would love to see the games of this tournament!

[@LordsCana101]

It was an absolute pleasure being able to meet and play with such high caliber of players, shoutout to Dan and Aaron for allowing me to learn more about my deck and it's weaknesses. Looking forward to travel to Austin for future events! Great video, keep up the good work!

[@Whippet_Plays]

Love your insights!

[@_Bjornfot]

I'm the creator of Turquoise High Five and I'm glad to see it in top 4, huge props to Dan Ward! :D Also cool to see that he chose to bring Mickey, that card is a gamble but it can pay off.

[@christopherxgordon]

John Silver is most valuable against other aggressive decks, just like Jasper. The reason you generally want John Silver over Mother Gothal is because John Silver impacts the board as soon as he hits. This generally means that you're going to get at least two activations of his ability before he gets removed. He's also a decent sized body that can help you removed opposing late game threats such as opposing Kuzcos, whereas Mother Gothal cannot. That impact he makes on the board when he hits us extremely relevant because nothing feels worse than when you're playing an aggro mirror and you spend your turn 6 playing mother, then they simply bounce it with mother knows best, then you replay it, then they bounce it with genie. It feels insanely bad and will likely cause you to lose the game. Mother Gothal and John Silver are both good against the same type of decks, but John Silver just fits in with the tempo plan a little better. I could see an argument to run a 2/2 split of each though. But you are correct, that John Silver and Mother Gothal both frequently end up being inked because they aren't very useful to be holding early game against Aggro and they aren't very useful against control. Both cards struggle from that same situation unfortunately. The turns you want to see John Silver are more on turns 6-8 than anything.

[@Firstto20]

Congrats Liam! Even though the game is about to shake up in a big way, I love that there’s still so much variety. I played Green/Purple tonight at locals and Silver was a house! I totally understand where you’re coming from though. I’ve cut him before too, but really enjoy what him and Jasper do in the mirror. Great recap!

[@Illumiteers]

Thanks for watching! Had to give you that little Turquoise shout out in the middle there ;) Yeah, Silver is likely the right choice. I just can’t help but tinker! 😅

[@Firstto20]

@@Illumiteers haha not necessary but thank you so much for always being so cool. See you tomorrow! Hope you’re feeling better

[@ZefaGames]

Poison apples exert feature is decent enough in conjunction with cards like Maui or pocket watch aladdin

[@Illumiteers]

That’s fair. I did forget about the Aladdin shift.

[@joshualindsey60]

​@Illumiteers I added the apples for all the reasons @ZefGames brought up.

[@Illumiteers]

@@joshualindsey60 excellent, thanks Josh. Wonderful list, and awesome performance this weekend!

[@Illumiteers]

Thomas Parker (Blue/Gray): dreamborn.ink/decks/vqu0Zr8vvJhoowVIR8LZ Ivan Montalvo (Yellow/Gray): dreamborn.ink/decks/lkyYvXoNOQoBQeaPptbP Hal Brady (Yellow/Blue): dreamborn.ink/decks/SusxhIOwyQ9M9ub88IwS Joshua Lindsey (Red/Purple): dreamborn.ink/decks/Q8Y8u4idOWxEMZX2pELa Liam Kozma (Green/Purple): dreamborn.ink/decks/hE51xeAp4FAE4uoQE9W9 Dan Ward III (Blue/Green): dreamborn.ink/decks/DFprvfdHg1rOQulZEGo3 Robert Brake (Red/Yellow): dreamborn.ink/decks/dAQAzZXFz2NK8uYqhcAD Aaron Rubin (Yellow/Gray): dreamborn.ink/decks/Ptu3UMr4X8FfEySLmDEo

[@_Bjornfot]

Those links are broken

[@Turtlewax88]

Yeah, the links don't work unfortunatly.

[@Illumiteers]

@@Turtlewax88 fixing them now. Should all be working in about five minutes. Thanks for the heads up!

[@Illumiteers]

@@_Bjornfot fixed! Thanks for letting us know.

[@Raijinku]

I use apples in some of my lists mainly to break up stale game states and make Aladdin live. Also can prevent you from losing if they play a card and leave it readied instead of questing. Maui and Apple go together pretty well too.

[@Illumiteers]

Love the thoughts, Mark. I honestly hadn’t considered how much more potent it can make Aladdin.

[@Raijinku]

@@Illumiteers Imagine having an Aladdin out with shield of virtue/fan the flames and dropping 1-2 apples out of nowhere too.

[@Illumiteers]

@@Raijinku #GameOver

[@TronJay-zz7ou]

For the teal deck that u mention mickey not being basically a great ramp what r ur views on OJA or GRAMMA tala

[@gordonkane9608]

8 of us from Dallas (in 3 separate vehicles) - 3 in the Top 8. I also spoke with a couple people from San Antonio

[@Illumiteers]

You Dallas players travel well! Thanks for coming down. Everyone I met from Dallas was super awesome to chat with. Sounds like you all have an awesome Lorcana scene up there!

[@gordonkane9608]

@@Illumiteers - Yeah, back in the Kaijudo days, we'd have 2 to 3 vehicles travelling to events in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. Now that we are 7 to 10 years beyond those days - I'm not sure how many will be able to do that for Lorcana (as life, family, job, and other responsibilities have replaced gaming - but we'll see if we can get the 'band' back together).

[@holdenpop12]

I have never thought about bouncing Kuzco back to your own hand with Genie on turn six to “prepare” for the Be Prepared on turn seven 😂

[@Illumiteers]

Haha, I didn’t either until I did it in round two and, honestly, wasn’t sure if it was the right play. But it ended up working a charm. It basically means they have to have another Be Prepared on tap. Or they can kill it with a Maui, but odds are they’ve used him already. And in that case, at least you get the three lore! After the game, a spectator told me, “I was watching you and was like ‘what is he doing?’ Then I saw it play out and was like ‘oooooh.’ Nice play.”

[@villian_von_badguy_ii145]

@@Illumiteers 😭😭I dont have any of these care you are talking about

[@justiceking74]

I like playing the Aurora 2 drop into turn 3 5 drop so you can sing on turn 3 and Belle on turn 4 you can destroy the Agro matchup singing grab your swords on turn 3

[@Illumiteers]

Yeah, that’s painful - not going to lie. Definitely slows Emerald down. You like to get the discard off Flynn if he’s going to go out.

[@justiceking74]

@@Illumiteers yeah the amber emerald match is almost an auto win if I can get that hand off + having Belle have ward as soon as it comes out on turn 4 is a + in the ruby matchup so they can’t dragon fire

[@Meowmewgamer]

I am trying to run the Green/Purple deck but seem to lose more times than I'd like to. Do you have a Mulligan Guide for the deck versus specific matchups? My locals use a lot of Ruby/Amethyst decks and a lot of Amber/Amethyst rush decks.

[@Illumiteers]

Hmm. I don’t have anything developed, ready to copy and paste…that’s a good idea. For Ruby/Amethyst - three of my matchups were against that deck and I didn’t lost a game. I think the deck is well suited for the matchup. First, you have to build up a healthy amount of Lore in the early game. They will eventually be able to stall you out a bit in the mid game and, of course, you will be hit with a be prepared. At that point, you as fighting to push yourself over the edge - perhaps about 6 lore or less. For that reason, you need to go aggro early. Pascal into Flynn Rider is great. You also want to be able to sing Friends on Turn 4 if you can. You’ll be refilling the board often. Lastly, Kuzco is a must. It hurts to keep a non-inkable early, but Kuzco is what will likely win you the game. So, aggressively mulligan-ing for one of those isn’t a terrible idea. Jasper, Rafiki, aren’t much good for you. I also don’t like Pan on turn three - would rather have the card draw of Mal or the two lore Cat. It’s all about racing for the first 4-5 turns. Mulligan away Mother Knows Best as well. Uninkable and doesn’t help you much. Also send away Hatter, Genie, John Silver. Note: Late game, I love Mother Knows Best against Baby Aladdin. It does feel bad to have him steal your lore again, but if you can delay an Aladdin shift by a turn…that can win you the game. Many Ruby Amethyst decks are counting on Aladdin to save the game for them in the endgame. I’ll have to put together a better, more comprehensive guide in the near future. Does this help at all?

[@villian_von_badguy_ii145]

I looked at these list when GK Austin posted them .. And thought WOW some expensive decks

[@Illumiteers]

Sort of…Amethyst/Emerald and Sapphire/Emerald are VERY affordable!

[@villian_von_badguy_ii145]

@@Illumiteers Kuzko, John Silver, and Rupunzel are all catch a big price right now.. considering not everyone can find booster in the wild.. much less be able to pull 4

[@Illumiteers]

@@villian_von_badguy_ii145 you're not wrong about Kuzco. It's a bit ironic - I think that the price spike is partly due to people grabbing him up for budget decks...

[@villian_von_badguy_ii145]

@@Illumiteers I mean it is a good card... and if I was more of a serious player.. i would be willing to play it. Just cant justify it for casual play with the kids

[@Illumiteers]

@@villian_von_badguy_ii145 completely understandable. Honestly, Erin and I are casual players first and foremost. Game nights with the family > tournaments any day. Lorcana is one of the bast casual TCGs out there!

[@frickinpope]

I've been rocking mother Gothel in mine and she's been really useful. You are lucky to not match steel. In the 5 matches I played in tournament Saturday I matched 4 amber steel decks. The 1st place deck was also amethyst emerald like mine but he matched ruby amethyst all his matches. I just got the bad luck on match ups unfortunately 😅 I am curious though, no 1 drop maleficent?

[@Illumiteers]

I totally agree - Steel is a rough matchup. It’s beatable, but swords is rough. I will say that against Steel Song, you can mulligan aggressively for a Friends to dull the impact of You Have Forgotten Me. Those decks often lean on those cards to give them an edge. So, as for 1 drop Mal…not sure I love it on turn 1. Let me rephrase - it’s a fine turn one drop, but I do think Olaf and Pascal give you a better advantage. This deck is generally not racing the same way Turquoise is. You want a decent amount of early lore, but it’s pretty certain to stall a bit in the mid-game against control. Then, you really need a high lore character(s) like Kuzco or Hatter to push you over the edge. Usually Kuzco. But the alternative is evasive. You can use Pan, Pascals, and Tinkerbells to close the game against certain decks. For that reason, Pascal sometimes doesn’t feel like a bad late game draw. Of course, in those instances, baby Mal would net you two lore before removal, but, . But at the end of the day, she’s easy to remove after questions once. Pascal hopefully can stick around for a while because he’s sneaky. And Olaf takes two hits to remove from most early game drops…except hook, of course. And, with Megera, Olaf can remove an early threat while sticking around. He’s also isn’t removed by a single Grab Your Swords. You could play a bit more aggressively with a Baby Mal in place of either of those, but, this is my preferred build, at the moment. Sorry - that’s my rapid response! I’ll try for a more thought out response later!

[@rooster5man]

Are you telling me Bobby Brake is playing Lorcana? I remember him from Kaijudo lol

[@Illumiteers]

Yes. That’s exactly what I’m telling you! I had no idea we had a celebrity in the store when we started! 😅

[@rooster5man]

@@Illumiteers Talk about a blast from the past lol. I commented in disbelief before I saw the whole video 😂 Never thought I'd hear that name again. *Shudders in early 2010s*

[@JayboyBags]

What is the matchup against any "Steel" variant, the Grab Your Sword and Smash is really annoying, how do you play around it? Congratulations!

[@LordsCana101]

Ame/ruby tends to take over the game after turn 6/7 If you’re playing an aggro deck then always be mindful about the big board clears and play around that, (3dmg combo with tink and GYS) etc Everything else is 50/50

[@Illumiteers]

Yeah…they are a challenge. Kuzco is a champ in any control matchup. With Ward making him immune to Smash or targeted removal. Against steel, you have the benefit of not dealing with Maui removing him unexpectedly, at least. But he is vulnerable to a couple of Grab Your Swords. I aggressively mulligan for a Kuzco, if I can. Also, Card draw is your friend. Mal on turn three followed by Friends is very good. You’ll likely have to rebuild your board an some point, so having cards at your disposal is important. Cat sticks around through a Swords as well, but I would prioritize Mal if you are against Amber Steel. Lastly, against Sapphire/Steel, you could consider using Mother Knows Best on turn three if you’re on the play to avoid an Aurora shift on three to avoid an early swords. For me, Steel does change the early game a bit. Pascal is less desirable that Olaf on turn one. Flynn is still great turn two as getting the lore and a discard is just fine. Oftentimes, Steel will choose to let Flynn quest an extra turn or two to wait for Swords, which is fine. The Lore is good. Another fun note - if you are sensing a board wipe coming, don’t be afraid to bounce your own stuff to protect it. I have a bunch of other thoughts, but, this is my initial brain dump.

[@David-sh4qh]

If that's the same Bobby Brake that I'm thinking of then he was also big on the Yugioh scene =)

[@gordonkane9608]

And Kaijudo - and several other card games

[@Raijinku]

Bobby Brake was more known for Kaijudo, while his brother, Billy, was known for Yugioh.

[@David-sh4qh]

@@Raijinku ahhh thanks for clearing up my mistake haha, you're right!

[@__gavin__]

@@RaijinkuI made the same mistake at first confusing him for Billy Brake, but I didn't know they were brothers!

[@Airdaman1]

The reason John Silver is better is you give a card reckeless when it hits the table instead of waiting a turn and he has 5 to deal with larger threats.

[@Illumiteers]

So…yes, that’s true. However, I just never saw the payoff this weekend. Against control, he’s just not that great. If I’m ever in a position where I’m worried about a control deck finishing the game in one turn, the game is probably lost anyway. It’s true that you do lose a turn while waiting for MG to be dry, but it may be worth it. You also have a bit more utility with MG as I can use her to sing and still get her effect. And the extra point of willpower makes her more survivable. I can see upsides and downsides for both cards - there’s a reason I ran JS this weekend. I’m not saying that’s worse that MG at all…But, it wouldn’t be fair of me to mention that he underwhelmed me a bit this weekend and that I’m considering trying MG as a replacement. She’s also cheaper for anyone on a budget.

[@Airdaman1]

Such a tough choice. Do one now or the whole board in a turn. John gets you something before the be prepared as well.