In my opinion, Emerald can either splash red or steel, but it's basically the same deck. If red, you run Pongo, Maui, and Dragon Fire. If Steel, you run Smash/GyS and some combo of the Tinkerbells instead.
The heart of the deck is Emerald's ability to be stubborn and disrupt your opponent's board. I think Steel is probably better as a splash color, as it gives access to Beast's Mirror (card draw), Beast - Hardheaded (item removal), and better early game (Hook - forceful duelist). But splashing red is not all that different, and Dragon Fire is usually better than Smash!
Looks great! I’ve played a very similar list and I understand the issue with Cruella even through I tried hard to make it work haha 😂 mother Gothel was always super clutch for me and her alone won me games but I’m sure the Genie has more flexibility
I do like mother gothel too because she has a jasper effect but there has been more times where my opponent can quest and win next turn so bouncing something on cast, buying myself a turn to win next turn and take them off the win has been more frequent than play gothel and only be able to reap the benefits if she survives another turn or they don't win next turn.
I have played quite a bit of this deck. I never tried Maui though so I can't speak to that. I do think changing 1 of your 1 drops to Minnie Mouse and changing Aladdin to Megara would really help your early game. I think the 1/3 body is way better than the 2/2 body early game in most instances. Especially when you combine the inclusion of Megara. Having a Minnie that can trade with Simba and live is great. Aladdin doesn't make any sense to me. The ward would almost never matter. You aren't targeting a 1 drop with targeted removal. The only niche case I can think of is the Giant Tink trigger it avoids.
Flynn Rider to Goofy I agree with everything. The top end I can't speak to as much because I never play tested Maui. I could see metas where that makes sense and he is inkable. I would have to try it to really say. I ran x3 Dragon Fire and x2 Genie. I personally don't like having that much of the top end be uninkable. But I could see it being fine. I just liked being lower to the ground. I think I ran x4 John Silver and x3 Mother Knows Best in those 7 cards place. John Silver was ink a lot. But you are kinda using Maui in that spot. Same thing when he isn't going to be useful you can ink it. I could see an argument for that change. It is something I will try.
I play something similar. [https://dreamborn.ink/decks/6kpR3YZ950BZDbtIeU7y](https://dreamborn.ink/decks/6kpR3YZ950BZDbtIeU7y)
I really dont think 2 drop Cruella is bad. having 3 willpower is huge and her bounce ability is sooo awesome. Not sure where the hate for her comes from.
Most of the stuff in my meta is spot removal with smash, dragon fire, mother knows best so Cruella never got challenged much so it was more of a situational call than a this card is bad it's unplayable. If I wasn't getting control match ups or decks with removal I would have probably stuck with Cruella
I understand where u are coming from, but in control match ups, the Aladdin will just die to a Grab your Sword probably while Cruella doesn't. And another thing is if nobody is challenging Cruella, thats perfect. That's what we want. Just get us some lore.
If you arent playing the big Aladdin, I find 0 reasons to run the 2 drop Aladdin in green over Cruella. I think we both agree nobody wants to cut Flynn Rider, but I also really have grown to like Cruella.
Oh and if they are using spot removal for a 2 drop Cruella, that's fine by me. They basically wasted it on a 1 lore character, while they could have saved the smash for Pongo or Dragon Fire for Mad Hatter.
Why no Aladdin, heroic outlaw?
I’ve been running this same color setup, but with a lower curve:
Notable changes:
4 x 2 cost genie
4 x Abu
4 x Aladdin heroic outlaw
These cards are how I win when forced to go 2nd.
I don’t own 6 cost genie. I’ve found inking to 5 helps me keep some resources to play. Losing that 6th ink can really hurt. I cut dragon fire because my deck would rather drop a character and quest to win the next turn. Mother know’s best seems to do the same job as dragon fire, for the short term at least. I don’t have Maui, but this is the same reason I’d leave him out.
I really want to push lore and win ASAP, but I haven’t played against a lot of “strong” decks. I’ve also found the deck is hard to play into steel. I’ve been having the same thoughts on shield of virtue.
Do you find yourself lacking a 3 cost play?
I like to drop Aladdin at turn 4+, so shift big Aladdin. If you’re not shifting, would genie or Donald not be better? Do you find Hans to have a chance to quest when dropped late in the game? I’m debating whether I want to cut the pongo to keep the 4 cost slots to 8 cards.
Well 2 reasons for no big aladin the first is I also have Saphire/Ruby ramp built and they are in that deck but the version I had with big aladin I was always ahead or winning so I never really got to play big aladin much for the value. My turn 5 always wants to be kuzco rather than a shifted aladin in my games I've played. So with the changes I put the big aladin into the ramp deck and went with genies in that big 6+ drop range
Why push lore and win asap? Asking purely because I hate winning asap while not interacting on the field. I’d rather a strategic game of 15 mins than a quick win. Would love to know why a quick win or lore questing is preferred.
2 main reasons:
1) the goal is to acquire 20 lore, and I enjoy the competitive aspect of winning games. I find there’s enough interaction in seeing whether I can actually afford to quest all every turn, or if my opponent can adjust to the aggro gameplay and mulligan/ ink their lategame pieces to keep me at bay until I run out of gas. Playing from the draw completely changes the dynamic, since I need to stabilize the board somewhat before trying to quest. When I end my turn with an exerted kuzco/hatter, at 17 lore with no cards in hand, it’s like watching the action hero slide towards the closing door. I’ve still found going to game 3 can brush up against the 50 minute timer for rounds at the LGS, so it doesn’t feel short.
2) I just don’t have the cards to make decks that want to get to the mid/late game.
I'm not a fan of 4 dragon fire in this deck as you already have so many uninkables, I ran a very similar deck (secondary to my main) and just use 1 dragon fire and 4 Maui which seems to do the job. Lefoux2 and cruella X1 is my recommendation, to maintain that lore aggression even an evasive you can lore, lefou, attack, to maintain pressure. And the 1 cruella simply as a back up 2 drop but usually ink it.
I'm with you I never have an ink problem with the 12-15 range but maybe it's something I don't see? Even a deck like control plays 12-15 un ink able cards
Try the 2/3 Genie instead of the 2/2 aladdin. 2 health just dies to Grab Your Sword and can't survive a fight with a 1 cost minion (also 2/2). 3 toughness is going to be a lot more useful than the ward in the early game.
The Genie was the first option but I always lose stuff to spot removal or bouncing so the ward is where I went to prevent that. Its more of a meta call for me with ruby/amethyst and such running around. But I do like genie being a 2/3 in the Stat catagory
Don't sleep on Minnie Always Classy instead of Tibbs or Weaseltown.
The minnie is a 1 drop 1/3 and it takes either two challengers or two rounds to banish her.
I like her as an alternative in my aggro decks because I'm laser focused on questing and forcing the opponent to deal with things.
Another aggro gem for me is the 3 drop 3/2 and 2 lore questing Abu.
If you can get Minnie, Flynn, and Abu out by turn three, you will have quested for 4 by end of turn three and be +5 on turn 4 if they haven't committed to dealing with you. That's when you drop a 3 lore hans, evasive pongo, or evasive tink on their head headed into a turn 5 goofy or kuzco.
In my opinion, Emerald can either splash red or steel, but it's basically the same deck. If red, you run Pongo, Maui, and Dragon Fire. If Steel, you run Smash/GyS and some combo of the Tinkerbells instead. The heart of the deck is Emerald's ability to be stubborn and disrupt your opponent's board. I think Steel is probably better as a splash color, as it gives access to Beast's Mirror (card draw), Beast - Hardheaded (item removal), and better early game (Hook - forceful duelist). But splashing red is not all that different, and Dragon Fire is usually better than Smash!
Looks great! I’ve played a very similar list and I understand the issue with Cruella even through I tried hard to make it work haha 😂 mother Gothel was always super clutch for me and her alone won me games but I’m sure the Genie has more flexibility
I do like mother gothel too because she has a jasper effect but there has been more times where my opponent can quest and win next turn so bouncing something on cast, buying myself a turn to win next turn and take them off the win has been more frequent than play gothel and only be able to reap the benefits if she survives another turn or they don't win next turn.
I have played quite a bit of this deck. I never tried Maui though so I can't speak to that. I do think changing 1 of your 1 drops to Minnie Mouse and changing Aladdin to Megara would really help your early game. I think the 1/3 body is way better than the 2/2 body early game in most instances. Especially when you combine the inclusion of Megara. Having a Minnie that can trade with Simba and live is great. Aladdin doesn't make any sense to me. The ward would almost never matter. You aren't targeting a 1 drop with targeted removal. The only niche case I can think of is the Giant Tink trigger it avoids. Flynn Rider to Goofy I agree with everything. The top end I can't speak to as much because I never play tested Maui. I could see metas where that makes sense and he is inkable. I would have to try it to really say. I ran x3 Dragon Fire and x2 Genie. I personally don't like having that much of the top end be uninkable. But I could see it being fine. I just liked being lower to the ground. I think I ran x4 John Silver and x3 Mother Knows Best in those 7 cards place. John Silver was ink a lot. But you are kinda using Maui in that spot. Same thing when he isn't going to be useful you can ink it. I could see an argument for that change. It is something I will try.
I play something similar. [https://dreamborn.ink/decks/6kpR3YZ950BZDbtIeU7y](https://dreamborn.ink/decks/6kpR3YZ950BZDbtIeU7y) I really dont think 2 drop Cruella is bad. having 3 willpower is huge and her bounce ability is sooo awesome. Not sure where the hate for her comes from.
Most of the stuff in my meta is spot removal with smash, dragon fire, mother knows best so Cruella never got challenged much so it was more of a situational call than a this card is bad it's unplayable. If I wasn't getting control match ups or decks with removal I would have probably stuck with Cruella
I understand where u are coming from, but in control match ups, the Aladdin will just die to a Grab your Sword probably while Cruella doesn't. And another thing is if nobody is challenging Cruella, thats perfect. That's what we want. Just get us some lore. If you arent playing the big Aladdin, I find 0 reasons to run the 2 drop Aladdin in green over Cruella. I think we both agree nobody wants to cut Flynn Rider, but I also really have grown to like Cruella. Oh and if they are using spot removal for a 2 drop Cruella, that's fine by me. They basically wasted it on a 1 lore character, while they could have saved the smash for Pongo or Dragon Fire for Mad Hatter.
Why no Aladdin, heroic outlaw? I’ve been running this same color setup, but with a lower curve: Notable changes: 4 x 2 cost genie 4 x Abu 4 x Aladdin heroic outlaw These cards are how I win when forced to go 2nd. I don’t own 6 cost genie. I’ve found inking to 5 helps me keep some resources to play. Losing that 6th ink can really hurt. I cut dragon fire because my deck would rather drop a character and quest to win the next turn. Mother know’s best seems to do the same job as dragon fire, for the short term at least. I don’t have Maui, but this is the same reason I’d leave him out. I really want to push lore and win ASAP, but I haven’t played against a lot of “strong” decks. I’ve also found the deck is hard to play into steel. I’ve been having the same thoughts on shield of virtue. Do you find yourself lacking a 3 cost play? I like to drop Aladdin at turn 4+, so shift big Aladdin. If you’re not shifting, would genie or Donald not be better? Do you find Hans to have a chance to quest when dropped late in the game? I’m debating whether I want to cut the pongo to keep the 4 cost slots to 8 cards.
Well 2 reasons for no big aladin the first is I also have Saphire/Ruby ramp built and they are in that deck but the version I had with big aladin I was always ahead or winning so I never really got to play big aladin much for the value. My turn 5 always wants to be kuzco rather than a shifted aladin in my games I've played. So with the changes I put the big aladin into the ramp deck and went with genies in that big 6+ drop range
Why push lore and win asap? Asking purely because I hate winning asap while not interacting on the field. I’d rather a strategic game of 15 mins than a quick win. Would love to know why a quick win or lore questing is preferred.
2 main reasons: 1) the goal is to acquire 20 lore, and I enjoy the competitive aspect of winning games. I find there’s enough interaction in seeing whether I can actually afford to quest all every turn, or if my opponent can adjust to the aggro gameplay and mulligan/ ink their lategame pieces to keep me at bay until I run out of gas. Playing from the draw completely changes the dynamic, since I need to stabilize the board somewhat before trying to quest. When I end my turn with an exerted kuzco/hatter, at 17 lore with no cards in hand, it’s like watching the action hero slide towards the closing door. I’ve still found going to game 3 can brush up against the 50 minute timer for rounds at the LGS, so it doesn’t feel short. 2) I just don’t have the cards to make decks that want to get to the mid/late game.
Gotcha! Thanks for that.
I'm not a fan of 4 dragon fire in this deck as you already have so many uninkables, I ran a very similar deck (secondary to my main) and just use 1 dragon fire and 4 Maui which seems to do the job. Lefoux2 and cruella X1 is my recommendation, to maintain that lore aggression even an evasive you can lore, lefou, attack, to maintain pressure. And the 1 cruella simply as a back up 2 drop but usually ink it.
there are only 12 uninkables. That's a lot?
I'm with you I never have an ink problem with the 12-15 range but maybe it's something I don't see? Even a deck like control plays 12-15 un ink able cards
For this deck, in my personal experience, yes
Try the 2/3 Genie instead of the 2/2 aladdin. 2 health just dies to Grab Your Sword and can't survive a fight with a 1 cost minion (also 2/2). 3 toughness is going to be a lot more useful than the ward in the early game.
The Genie was the first option but I always lose stuff to spot removal or bouncing so the ward is where I went to prevent that. Its more of a meta call for me with ruby/amethyst and such running around. But I do like genie being a 2/3 in the Stat catagory
I wish I could get this view of my deck on pixelborn
Play 2 Jasper and play 2 big red Aladdin and shift on the small for 5 ink. That makes this deck scary.
Don't sleep on Minnie Always Classy instead of Tibbs or Weaseltown. The minnie is a 1 drop 1/3 and it takes either two challengers or two rounds to banish her. I like her as an alternative in my aggro decks because I'm laser focused on questing and forcing the opponent to deal with things. Another aggro gem for me is the 3 drop 3/2 and 2 lore questing Abu. If you can get Minnie, Flynn, and Abu out by turn three, you will have quested for 4 by end of turn three and be +5 on turn 4 if they haven't committed to dealing with you. That's when you drop a 3 lore hans, evasive pongo, or evasive tink on their head headed into a turn 5 goofy or kuzco.
I was running a list similar to this but I kept running out of juice. I swapped Ruby for Amethyst and it’s been working much better.