Lorcanito Pre-Season Report Archazia's Island Meta

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the first Lorcanito's Meta Analysis Article!

First, let me introduce myself: My name is Antonio Carlos Faillace, but you can call me just Antonio. I'm an avid Lorcana player from Brazil, and I've been involved with TCGs - playing, judging, casting - since I was 9 years old! Currently, I write weekly Lorcana articles on CardsRealm.com, and also had the honor of being invited to write for Lorcanito and present a monthly meta analysis to you.

Now that you know me, let's get on to business, right?

As you know, Lorcana's 7th set, Archazia's Island, was officially released on March 7th, and thus was implemented on Lorcanito to be valid on the same day.

DISCLAIMER: As usual, it's important to remember that Lorcanito is an independent entity and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to The Walt Disney Company, Disney Enterprises, Inc., or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates. All information shared here relates only to Lorcanito Meta and does not represent the broader meta of the game. We respect Disney's rights and make every effort to ensure that our use of any trademarks does not imply any endorsement or sponsorship by Disney.

Until this release, the competitive meta had been somewhat varied, with several archetypes finding success at high-level tournaments all around the world.

However, Archazia's Island brought a lot of innovations to the meta, and its impact has been felt immediately, with lots of brews and new archetypes rising in both popularity and win percentage.

Let's see some numbers to understand how exactly the meta was affected by the new set!

(Also, thanks a lot to @eduardomoroni for all the data collected! This article wouldn't be possible without him! Make sure to follow him on X for more.)

Number of Games

In the 21-day period of our analysis, Lorcanito had around 350.000 games played. That amounts to a little over 16.000 games per day, All matches were best of one during this period. This provides a very solid database for our analysis, even if it only takes into account what was played in Lorcanito (so no IRL tournaments or results from other platforms were considered).

Lorcana has 6 different inks, which are combined in pairs when you build a deck. This means there are fifteen possible ink pairs in the game.

Of course, within a pair we can also have different archetypes, so same-color pair doesn't necessarily mean same-deck. We'll touch on that when we talk about specific decks ahead.

Here are the win rates for each ink pair, from March 7th to march 28th, on Lorcanito, from highest to lowest (mirror matches were disconsidered):

Of the 15 different combinations, seven of them had an above-50% winrate, which indicates that, on a competitive level, one should look at these ink-pairs both as a reference for which deck/archetype to choose, and also to form a gauntlet for testing purposes.

Sort by:

Number of matches

Winrate

Alphabetical

Show Details

OVERALL

65%

63%

53%

52%

57%

54%

70%

72%

62%

57%

62%

72%

63%

64%

68%

52%

37%

53%

39%

42%

51%

56%

68%

59%

50%

53%

61%

56%

57%

62%

55%

47%

47%

56%

55%

48%

72%

61%

47%

44%

54%

68%

49%

57%

72%

57%

48%

61%

44%

53%

56%

62%

70%

55%

54%

54%

73%

72%

61%

71%

54%

43%

58%

45%

47%

58%

64%

71%

53%

49%

49%

71%

64%

63%

68%

51%

46%

49%

52%

44%

42%

48%

66%

55%

45%

51%

66%

58%

55%

67%

41%

30%

44%

28%

38%

36%

52%

61%

35%

37%

38%

53%

54%

49%

61%

35%

28%

32%

39%

30%

29%

34%

39%

40%

29%

42%

46%

39%

46%

51%

48%

38%

41%

53%

45%

47%

45%

65%

60%

34%

52%

66%

43%

56%

69%

54%

43%

50%

56%

46%

51%

55%

63%

71%

66%

58%

62%

61%

58%

66%

48%

38%

47%

46%

46%

51%

49%

62%

58%

48%

42%

65%

54%

56%

67%

35%

28%

39%

32%

27%

29%

34%

47%

54%

34%

38%

35%

42%

44%

68%

44%

37%

44%

51%

28%

36%

42%

46%

61%

57%

39%

46%

58%

50%

58%

43%

36%

43%

43%

39%

37%

45%

51%

54%

44%

42%

44%

56%

50%

70%

34%

32%

38%

28%

29%

32%

33%

39%

49%

31%

34%

33%

32%

42%

30%

The first thing to note is that every ink color is represented among the above-50% winrate pairs. This means that if a player has a personal preference for any color, they should have at least one archetype that can be considered competitive within that color.

Also of note, both fast decks (or "aggro decks"), midrange decks, and slow decks (or "control decks") have representation among the high-winrate pairs. So, if a player tends towards a specific type of gameplay, they should also find a competitive deck among it.

This representation should also indicate a healthy metagame, but as we can see from the data, there is an ink pair that really outperforms the other ones: Sapphire/Steel, with 65% winrate. This combination really feels like an outlier on the data, and we'll see if the pair will continue to overperform when we have the April data for analysis.

Sapphire/Steel (65% WR)

As we just mentioned, this is the combination that really stood out for the first weeks of the Archazia's Island metagame. Not only it has gained a lot of good cards from Set 7, it also has a "surprise factor", since the color pair wasn't really part of the metagame before.

It should also be noted that there are two distinct archetypes within this colors: the "Items deck" and the "Aggro deck". They share some cards - mostly, Belle, Apprentice Inventor + Pawpsicle/Fortisphere + Let The Storm Rage On/Strength of a Raging Fire. However, the gameplay is very different, which can be seem as a positive - the ink pair has a deep enough card pool to offer both a fast, "aggro" plan and a slow, attrition-based, "control" plan.

Even though the "macrodata" seems to show that the pair is well above the rest, once we start to refine the numbers it can be seen that both Amber/Steel and Ruby/Sapphire make Sapphire/Steel really work for that win - specially depending on who goes first, with Amber/Steel actually having a positive winrate% when on the play against Sapphire/Steel.

Amber/Steel (57% WR)

"Steelsong" is an archetype that's been around since Lorcana's 1st set, and it's good to see that the strategy persists even six more sets have come by.

There's been a lot of experimentation and tinkering, since there have been quite a few new cards from Archazia's Island that improved the archetype - like The Troubadour - Musical Narrator and Aurora - Waking Beauty. We've also seen a "Bolt"-themed variant, using cards like Bolt - Headstrong Dog, Penny - Bolt's Person and Bolt - Superdog alongside the "song package" to combine early game control with strong Lore gain.

In response to the Sapphire/Steel flood of decks, we've also seen some tech cards appear: I Find 'Em, I Flatten 'Em, When Will My Life Begin? and even Smash have shown up in some lists to combat early Belle - Apprentice Inventor from the items deck. Benja - Guardian of the Dragon Gem has also surged in popularity, combining a 2-Lore body with item destruction. Of course, these innovations were mostly from the last days, so they didn't quite have the chance to influence all the data for this period.

Ruby/Sapphire (55% WR)

This is another archetype that's been around since the early Lorcana sets, and it remains one of the best "pure control" decks in the game.

Ruby supplies the board control, with cards like Brawl and Be Prepared, and also some big finishers like Maleficent - Monstrous Dragon and Sisu - Empowered Sibling. It can also provide "Lore control", with A Pirate's Life, and a mixture of board control and card advantage in Maui - Half Shark.

Sapphire provides the ink acceleration (or "ramp"), with Tipo - Growing Son, Sail the Azurite Sea and How Far I'll Go, along with card selection and card advantage from Vision of the Future, Gramma Tala - Keeper of Ancient Stories, and Hiram Flaversham - Toymaker - this last one, of course, accompanied by a small items package, which can also be extended in order to also include Tamatoa - Happy as a Clam and Tamatoa - So Shiny! on the list.

In short, the deck foregoes early game quick lore gain, going instead for ramp and removal, speeding up the big finishers and card advantage engines. A somewhat "classic" control deck, if you're familiar with other TCGs.

Amethyst/Emerald (54% WR) and Emerald/Steel (54% WR)

I'm pairing these two together since they both use mostly the same Emerald base, with lots of discard and Diablo - Devoted Herald alongside Prince John - Greediest of All as card advantage engines.

Steel was, until set 7, the main color pair for Emerald in discard strategies, and even today it's still the most popular, with around 15.000 more games played than Amethyst. However, Amethyst/Emerald has a slightly better winrate, specially on the play - no doubt a reflection of the consistency in having more Shift options for Diablo - Devoted Herald and more card draw available.

Steel's main contribution to the archetype is basically removal, with And Then Along Came Zeus, Let The Storm Rage On, and Strength of a Raging Fire cleaning up the early threats while discarding takes care of big ink cards that get stuck in the opponent's hands. This greater number of actions has synergies with Diablo - Devoted Herald's Shift, being useful even against decks that don't play a lot of early drops.

Amethyst, on the other hand, provides more characters and proactive board control, instead of reactive - which also helps in closing out games once you're ahead. Genie - Wish Fulfilled, Elsa - The Fifth Spirit, and Diablo - Spiteful Raven form a powerful evasive trio, and Madam Mim - Fox can return cards like Merlin - Crab or Ursula - Deceiver to give you even more value.

Amethyst/Steel (52% WR)

This is an aggro archetype that's been growing in popularity, specially since it boasts a good matchup against Ruby/Sapphire.

This time, Steel's main contribution isn't on removal per se, but on proactive characters like Calhoun - Marine Sergeant and Captain Hook - Forceful Duelist. They control the board in the early turns, while you empty your hand with other low ink characters like Chernabog's Followers - Creatures of Evil, Diablo - Obedient Raven, and Magic Broom - Illuminary Keeper. They should gain you a few lore points and them can be replaced with stronger characters once the game progresses: Mr. Smee - Bumbling Mate, Benja - Guardian of the Dragon Gem, and Doc - Bold Knight.

The deck has a lot of immediate lore gain so the opponent is always pressured to answer your board. It's able to close out games thanks to cards like Giant Cobra - Ghostly Serpent, Honeymaren - Northuldra Guide, The White Rose - Jewel of the Garden, and actions like This Is My Family or Gathering Knowledge And Wisdom

Amber/Emerald (51% WR)

The last deck with a positive winrate - and a personal favorite of mine - is the "hyperaggro Lemon/Lime", that since Set 7 has incorporated a "Lady and the Tramp" theme, thanks to some powerful new cards.

The starting strategy is to fill the board with characters that can get you at least two lore before they're dealt with. However, the predominance of Steel decks and good early removal has made the deck move away from characters like Lilo - Making a Wish and instead prefer tougher ones, like Nala - Mischievous Cub and Daisy Duck - Donald's Date.

Once the board is setup, it can unleash Tramp - Street-Smart Dog to cycle through the deck for either card draw in Rapunzel - Gifted With Healing, disruption with Ursula - Deceiver, or just a big character in Chernabog - Evildoer. Thanks to the discards from Tramp - Street-Smart Dog, the Chernabog - Evildoer can enter play a lot earlier than expected.

The current Lorcana metagame is a little warped by the strong presence of Sapphire/Steel, but being a new deck it is somewhat expected that it would take the previous metagame unprepared.

All three top color pairs, uncoincidentally, combine strong early removal (mostly in Steel or Ruby) with strong card advantage (mostly an "item package", in Sapphire, or "song package", in Amber/Steel). This allows these archetypes to be ahead in tempo since the starting turns, doing good trades and preventing their opponents from building a board. The early game dominance paired with good card advantage engines means they can transition well from start to finish, and it limits how opponents can adequately respond.

It should also be noted how much of a difference it makes to play first. The winrate% difference from being on the play ranges from 4 to 8% among the top meta decks, which confirms our previous point: early game dominance and initiative is fundamental to win more in Lorcana.

We'll continue to analyze the data throughout April, and have an updated report for you all by the beginning of May!

Until then, hope you have good games and lots of fun! Also, we'd appreciate if you leave your feedback about the report - suggestions, criticism, how we can improve, etc.

Thanks for your attention! Cheers!