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Road to Indianapolis: What's meta?
I've considered myself on the cusp of casual and competitive Disney Lorcana for a while now. It's true that I was once on a team with some of the most familiar names in the Lorcana scene, but even then it mostly felt like I was an imposter in their midst. I'd dabbled in MTG commander & draft, played plenty of Hearthstone and Marvel Snap, but Lorcana was the first TCG I'd truly been bitten by the bug of competition.
The peak of my achievements was in that first DLC season, Top 32 of 2000+ players in DLC Atlanta. It's been hard to hold myself to that standard since then. I've attended Chicago, Milwaukee, and Richmond DLCs. I have not had a notable record in any of those.
Will Indianapolis change that? I don't have high hopes if I'm being completely honest. We're in a meta that feels pretty open in that there are at least 6 ink pairings and infinite small little permutations of those decks that could be considered the right pick for the room. Let's run through some of them with notable performances.
The Big 3
Amber Steel
I've been an 
fan since set 1, and in most formats I've been able to find some version of it that I at least felt comfortable on. I played it in Atlanta and Milwaukee, and it felt comfortable. Despite the deck's success in this post-Wilds Unknown infinity format, I'm finding there are way too many post-alter hands that feel near unplayable. Changing numbers to increase 1 & 2 drops helps to make the alter feel better, at the cost of later game dead draws. With a lot of the lore pressure in these current infinity lists being in the 4-5 drop cost range, we lose games to 
more frequently, as we can't take the flood-and-quest approach that the low lists did in recent core metas.
One of the most notable recent finishes was by Alex Kuik in Dortmund, who won the Saturday DLC and met 
evasives in the Grand Finals.
1Aurora - Holding Court
4x1Cinderella - Ballroom Sensation
2x2The Troubadour - Musical Narrator
4x2Ursula - Vanessa
4x3Ariel - Spectacular Singer
4x3Pete - Games Referee
4x4Ariel - Ethereal Voice
4x4Rapunzel - Gifted with Healing
4x5Beast - Tragic Hero
3x5Namaari - Single-Minded Rival
1x6Ariel - Sonic Warrior
2x7Cinderella - Stouthearted
2The Bare Necessities
4x
3Akood et Emuti
4x3Let the Storm Rage On
4x3Strength of a Raging Fire
4x4And Then Along Came Zeus
1x7Beyond the Horizon
4x4x2x4x4x4x4x4x4x3x1x2x3x4x4x4x4x1xThere's not too much different about this list than others we've seen in recent Infinity top cuts, but this list does focus on making its higher end cards also be princesses , which increases the value of Aurora - Holding Court. Cheating ink costs is extremely valuable, as seen by the 4x inclusion of Akood et Emuti in most every songs deck since it came out in Winterspell.
I've done a ton of reps on similar lists, and in true fashion, when the deck hits, it hits, but when it misses, it feels near unplayable. Nothing feels worse than altering an unplayable hand into another unplayable hand. This happens far too frequently for my comfort in current lists. Especially when the current Elinor - Renowned Diplomat
decks feel super consistent off the alter. If you miss tempo against a dogs list, it can be near impossible to climb back from unfortunately. If your first play is Pete - Games Referee, and you challenge a lady into an x/4, the Rapunzel - Gifted with Healing trap is back breaking.
All that said, the deck is still a solid contender for the Indianapolis meta, I'm just a tad nervous overall about non-games off of the alter when we're running so few 2 drops. If you can Aurora - Holding Court into Ariel - Spectacular Singer, then that can function as a pseudo 2-drop, but you really leave your Aurora vulnerable.
really looks to create an unfair advantage via singing removal songs And Then Along Came Zeus, Let the Storm Rage On, Strength of a Raging Fire, going wider than opponents at the same time, and sustaining hand size with Ariel - Ethereal Voice
and Beast - Tragic Hero. The top end is really up to preference, some folks preferring shift lines of Ariel - Sonic Warrior
and Cinderella - Stouthearted, while others want to rely on things like Stitch - Carefree Snowboarder
or Namaari - Single-Minded Rival.
Amber Emerald
dogs has been a strong deck in Lorcana's recent core, and I really feel like the power level has become overwhelming at times with the introduction of Grandmother Willow - Ancient Advisor
. I don't think I need to talk about this deck too much, as most folks are familiar with the play patterns, but I will give some flowers to the Slab Sharks team who really broke the deck with the addition of Elinor - Renowned Diplomat. This is tech that they could have potentially kept close to the chest and taken either Dortmund or Indianapolis by surprise, but Shadawx won the ETB CCQ with it, and it took over the meta. I'd expect some variation of their 60 to be at most top tables throughout Indianapolis.
1Aurora - Holding Court4x1Bobby Zimuruski - Spray Cheese Kid
4x1Lady - Decisive Dog
4x1Nala - Mischievous Cub
1x2Go Go Tomago - Darting Dynamo
4x2Grandmother Willow - Ancient Advisor4x2Lilo - Escape Artist
1x2Mowgli - Man Cub
3x2Mulan - Resourceful Recruit
4x2Tramp - Enterprising Dog
4x2Ursula - Deceiver
4x3Nani - Stage Manager
2x4Dale - Ready for His Shot
4x4Elinor - Renowned Diplomat1x4Mickey Mouse - Expedition Leader
4x4Rapunzel - Gifted with Healing4x7Tramp - Street-Smart Dog
3Snow Fort
8Under the Sea
4x4x4x4x1x4x4x1x3x4x4x4x2x4x1x4x4x2x2xRuby Sapphire
is an interesting ink pair as it has two separate archetypes that are both control types, but vary drastically in build.
There are the items lists like those by Joshua Satterfield who top 8'ed the ETB CCQ.
2Liquidator - Iced Over
4x2Oswald - The Lucky Rabbit
4x3Belle - Apprentice Inventor
4x3Sisu - Daring Visitor
4x4Scrooge McDuck - Resourceful Miser
1x6Tamatoa - Happy as a Clam
4x8Sisu - Empowered Sibling
3x8Tamatoa - So Shiny!
1Pawpsicle
4x1Vitalisphere
1x2Basil's Magnifying Glass
3x2Hidden Trap
4x2Inkrunner
4x2Sapphire Coil
4x3Fishbone Quill
1x3Great Stone Dragon
4x3Maurice's Workshop
1x7Lucky Dime
3Brawl
4x4x4x4x4x1x4x3x4x4x1x3x4x4x4x1x4x1x2xAnd then there are the "Shark" builds Like this one by Justin Crum aka jakxshadows who Top 16'ed Friday in Dortmund.
2Liquidator - Iced Over4x2Tipo - Growing Son
4x4Gramma Tala - Keeper of Ancient Stories
3x5Maui - Hero to All
4x6Maui - Half-Shark
4x6Tamatoa - Happy as a Clam2x8Sisu - Empowered Sibling2x9Maleficent - Monstrous Dragon
4x9Olaf - Snowman of Action
1Pawpsicle1x5Merlin's Carpetbag
1x7Lucky Dime1Develop Your Brain
1x2Hide Away
4x2Sail the Azurite Sea
4x2Vision of the Future
2x3Firefly Swarm
4How Far I'll Go
2x6A Pirate’s Life
4x7Be Prepared
3x4x4x3x4x4x2x2x4x4x1x1x4x1x4x4x2x3x2x4xWhile some cards are seen in both lists like Liquidator - Iced Over and Sisu - Empowered Sibling
, the main play lines are quite different.
The items list, unsurprisingly, aims to create an overwhelming advantage via a draw engine of Maurice's Workshop and other items, accelerated by free items off of Oswald - The Lucky Rabbit. Board clear is done through a combination of free Scrooge McDuck - Resourceful Miser + Vitalisphere, or subtracting strength with Sapphire Coil and Sisu - Daring Visitor or Sisu - Empowered Sibling. Once they have enough items on board, they can either win in 1 turn with a Tamatoa - So Shiny! plus Lucky Dime activation, or two turns with the Tamatoa questing as well.
The actions list looks to take advantage of the traditional ramp core package in and control the board with a big Be Prepared to reset, then dropping large, hard to deal with characters like Maui - Half-Shark to threaten them from questing, and Olaf - Snowman of Action to reduce their lore total before they can close. Some versions of this list still run a single Lucky Dime for extra reach with Sisu - Empowered Sibling, but others remove it for more control pieces. Once they have a firm hold on the board and a Half-Shark sticks, they play a ton of actions to gain lore and build a strong hand to either keep control or close out depending on board state.
Be on the lookout
While I fully expect the largest portions of the meta to be those 3 ink pairs and archetypes, be on the lookout for the following.
Emerald Amethyst
A darling of the European Meta, came out in force in Dortmund, taking home the whole thing in the Grand Finals. While the strength of this deck is hard to deny, for whatever reason players in North America tend to favor Diablo decks. Classic shift Diablo - Devoted Herald
lines are strengthened in Infinity compared to when he was core legal due to having a total of 12 shift targets in the deck at 1/2 cost, Diablo - Maleficent's Spy
, Diablo - Obedient Raven
, Diablo - Spiteful Raven
, compared to 's 8. Add to that the strength of Peter Pan - Shadow Finder
to give your evasives rush and Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe
to exert your Diablo - Spiteful Raven or Diablo - Devoted Herald, etc. and gain 1 lore and draw 1 card, the deck plays in the air, and can be hard to interact with. So Be It!
was a notable include to help deal with a lot of the items in the meta like Snow Fort or many of the items in like Maurice's Workshop, while not being discardable to Ursula - Deceiver like the song we see in , Has Set My Heaaaaaaart . . .
.
1Diablo - Maleficent's Spy4x1Diablo - Obedient Raven4x2Diablo - Spiteful Raven4x2Ursula - Deceiver4x3Diablo - Devoted Herald2x3Madam Mim - Fox
2x3Merlin - Crab
2x3Peter Pan - Shadow Finder4x4Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe3x4Genie - Wish Fulfilled
2x5Cri-Kee - Lucky Cricket
4x5Elsa - The Fifth Spirit
3Snow Fort2So Be It!4x3Pull the Lever!
4x3Wrong Lever!
3Friends on the Other Side
3x5We Don’t Talk About Bruno
2x8Under the Sea4x4x4x4x4x2x2x2x4x3x2x4x2x2x4x4x4x3x2xEmerald Steel
, everyone's favorite deck to hate due to the feeling of hopelessness when their Diablo - Devoted Herald shift into Let the Storm Rage On on your 1 drop combo hits, combined with the difficulty of removing him on curve and cards like Prince John - Greediest of All
, Ursula - Deceiver, and Sudden Chill
giving them card advantage while ripping your hand away. I'd say the core of this deck is pretty much figured out, with enough slots for tech'ing 1-2 ofs that give players enough agency to build how they like. Dump your hand into the inkwell or board to prevent getting discarded, or control their early game before they get Prince John - Greediest of All and The Muses - Proclaimers of Heroes
online, and you can quite often get there before they do.
1Diablo - Maleficent's Spy4x2Diablo - Stone Servant
4x2Ursula - Deceiver2x3Benja - Guardian of the Dragon Gem
4x3Diablo - Devoted Herald4x3Pete - Games Referee4x3Prince John - Greediest of All4x3Ursula - Deceiver of All
4x4The Muses - Proclaimers of Heroes4x5Beast - Tragic Hero2x5Lucifer - Cunning Cat
2Keep the Ancient Ways
4x2Sudden Chill4x3Let the Storm Rage On4x3Strength of a Raging Fire4x5We Don’t Talk About Bruno4x4x4x2x4x4x4x4x4x4x2x4x4x4x4x4xAmethyst Sapphire
, affectionately known as the portmanteau of Blue and Purple - Blurple.
This deck has grown in popularity for a few sets now in core, due to the powerful cards printed into including Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe, and Demona - Scourge of the Wyvern Clan
. Building up a strong board of characters, and exerting things on their terms still stays a core facet of Blurple in infinity, utilizing Isis Vanderchill - Ice Queen of St. Canard
, Elsa - The Fifth Spirit, and Demona - Scourge of the Wyvern Clan. They get there a little faster than other decks with the ramp package in Sail the Azurite Sea and Tipo - Growing Son, and get to top it off with a removal-on-a-body Hades - Infernal Schemer
. This deck draws a ton of cards due to Pawpsicle, Junior Woodchuck Guidebook
, and recurring them with Tamatoa - Happy as a Clam
. You have to be careful to not over-ink your characters just to draw.
While some folks think this deck isn't on the same power level as the rest of the meta, it still is a solid deck, evidenced by the top 8 performance of Jacob Frank in Dortmund.
1Royal Guard - Octopus Soldier
4x2Tipo - Growing Son4x3Belle - Apprentice Inventor4x4Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe2x4Isis Vanderchill - Ice Queen of St. Canard4x4Merryweather - Feisty Fairy
3x4Sven - Leaping Reindeer
2x4Wasabi - Methodical Engineer
3x5Belle - Accomplished Mystic
4x5Elsa - The Fifth Spirit4x6Demona - Scourge of the Wyvern Clan4x6Tamatoa - Happy as a Clam3x7Hades - Infernal Schemer
1Pawpsicle3x2Junior Woodchuck Guidebook2Sail the Azurite Sea3Friends on the Other Side4x4x4x4x2x4x3x2x3x4x4x4x3x4x3x4x4xEmerald Ruby
I don't have a specific list to share here, and there's some different brews of this deck going around, but most of them are relying on discarding their opponent to 0 cards using Prince John - Greediest of All, Sudden Chill, etc, using Gaetan Moliere - Clever Burrower
to send 2 cards to your own discard, and playing The Return of Hercules
to cheat out The Leviathan - Guardian of Atlantis
to clear your opponent's board while leaving them nothing to play themselves.
An important ruling to know about here is that when The Return of Hercules is played, the player who played the card reveals their intent first and plays a character, the opposing player then may choose to or not play a character. All on-play abilities from the played characters enter the bag, then the active turn player resolves their bag actions and any new ones triggered by those actions, then the opposing player resolves in the same way. Because both characters are on the board when this happens, you can run into scenarios where the The Return of Hercules player plays The Leviathan - Guardian of Atlantis, the opposing player plays Maleficent - Monstrous Dragon, and then they both end up banishing each other through effect resolution.
So what are you playing?
To be honest, I'm still not 100% sure as of Tuesday before the event. I'm not certain has the consistency I want for the event, but it's also the deck I'm most comfortable on. is probably the best deck in format, but I don't particularly enjoy it, and there are many players going to be there with 100s of more reps on it than I. is strong, but I have serious doubts about my ability to play it as many rounds in a day as we need to at a DLC.
Conclusion
I know this was super long, and I appreciate you sticking around. Pre-DLC panic is in full force and I wrote this article in lieu of more prep and deck-choice spiraling. Now to go and deal with this carpal tunnel pain...