Hello fellow Illumineers!
Welcome to the next instalment of my Meta Deck Review series!
As you know, every Lorcana deck is built from two inks, and with six inks currently available, we have 15 unique pairings—each offering its own strategy, strengths, and identity. Today, we’re shining a spotlight on one of the most underrated ink pairings in the meta: Ruby Amethyst.
Ruby tends to be overlooked because other combinations steal the spotlight, but this ink is far from weak. Ruby brings efficient challengers, impactful abilities, and a surprisingly strong board presence—especially with the support it has gained in newer sets. When paired with Amethyst’s powerful draw, exert manipulation, and tempo tools, the combination becomes a flexible and adaptive midrange strategy that can pressure, control, and outvalue opponents in equal measure.
This deck is a true dark horse in competitive play. While players often prepare for the usual suspects—Sapphire Steel, Amber Emerald, and other top-tier archetypes—Ruby Amethyst sneaks under the radar and catches opponents off guard. It paces well into Rush, has the tools to grind through midrange, and can even stand toe-to-toe with control decks in the late game. It’s naturally a midrange deck, but absolutely not one you should underestimate.
As always, this review is based on my own testing and observations. I’ll break down what I consider the core cards, good-to-have options, and flex slots for the archetype. If you’ve found success with different builds or tech choices, feel free to share them—our community grows stronger when we learn from each other!
Core Cards
These are the heart and engine of the deck. Without them, the deck simply does not function the way it’s meant to. These cards form the backbone of the deck. They enable the core strategy and are non-negotiable in competitive builds.
Your way to force exert an opposing character so challenges can begin. Has Evasive and Rush too, pretty essential for any Amethyst deck!
Yes a location is a core card! The library allows you to draw when a character here banishes. You should spend your spare inks to send someone here and keep your cards in hand growing after they are banished! In late games you will have a lot of spare inks, which this is a good resource to spend on.
More card draw effect and Evasive as well, with Lumiere, the 3 Strength is so much more efficient!
More Evasive units and also very power stats to take down a lot of characters. Don’t worry about Vanish, not much single target actions in meta these days.
Another great 1 drop, tough Willpower and with Lumiere can be very efficient is challenges. Also not easy to take out and can be a Vanish bait!
Don’t forget about Dumbo, because if you can’t challenge all the time, why not do some Evasive combo and boost your hand while doing so!
Demona can exert all opposing character, which is your time to start clearing the board! The card draw effect is great too so play her out when you have very little to no cards in hand to fully utilize the 6 drop!
The perfect card to play on turn 2 or early on. Simply gives the +1 Strength even on your opponent’s turn. Don’t quest with him unless you feel safe, very good effect to change the dynamic of characters’ interactions!
More damage transfer effect, Chesire allows you to just transfer damage as long as he is boosted! This will help you gain board control by letting your characters survive!
Amazing stats but more importantly has 2 lore, Diablo can force your opponent to deal with him else you will keep getting more lores. The stats is not easy to deal with as well!
Underrated card, Hercules has amazing Strength, and once exerted your heroes are protected from indirect damage as well. He himself cannot be damaged by non-challenge effects too so definitely very sturdy. The 2 lore is an icing on the cake.
The banish effect can take down a lot of characters! The second effect allows your characters to be so much stronger each time an opposing character is banished! Imagine a 1 drop Diablo able to banish a big Willpower character.
Support Cards
These cards enhance the deck’s performance but are not mandatory. These cards provide stability and push the deck’s power further. They’re flexible, and while not essential, they significantly improve overall performance.
A great 1 drop for early game to sneak in the lore, with Lumiere it can also challenge someone effectively and banish itself to gain a card draw!
Classic damage transfer card, simply start challenging and pass your damage to your opponent !
A great card to stop some rush decks or keep certain characters exerted so you can challenge them again next turn. The card draw is a bonus!
Sisu punish your opponent for having cards in hand, because she is going to be so high in Strength. The 2 lore also puts pressure early in the game.
Hades is a good option for your deck, allowing to banish someone or draw 2 cards, great to maintain tempo as well.
Potentially can gain Evasive and 3 lore, she can sneak in a few lores and also be good at challenging!
More Evasive Unit and the 2 lore will help to sneak in lore to close the game. Being a Hero also makes all the indirect damage protected by Hercules!
1 drop for 3 Strength and potentially 4 is crazy, why not right…
More draw effects for your characters, the Rush part can come in handy as well and cane dominate the board even faster!
Flex Slots / Tech Choices
These are interchangeable options that let you adjust the deck based on local meta trends or personal preference. They fill similar roles or offer tech answers depending on what you’re expecting to face.
If you ever feel depleted for cards in hand, she is a good option to do the draw effect, however since this is a Ruby deck, you do want your higher cost character to be efficient in challenges.
Decent stats for 2 drop and mainly for the 2 lore, with Lumiere all the opposing challenge becomes tricky because the challenger might be banished!
Since you are going to challenging often, then just use Shere Khan to gain some lore if you prefer.
Has draw mechanic and with Lumiere can be a good challenger early on.
A force exert wouldn’t hurt.
Potentially able to shift at 3 to cause some problems to your opposing after exerting their early game characters!
Conclusion
Ruby Amethyst may not be the most common deck you see at events, but that’s exactly what makes it so powerful. With strong tempo plays, excellent exert control, and the ability to adapt to nearly any stage of the game, this deck rewards smart sequencing and offers plenty of room for creative deckbuilding. It’s the perfect choice for Illumineers who want something competitive yet off-meta—something that surprises opponents while still having the strength to back it up.
If you’re looking for a deck that plays differently from the current top contenders while still performing at a high level, give Ruby Amethyst a try. You might just discover your new favourite midrange strategy—and remember, Lorcana is Fun!
Lorcana Is Fun 
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