Disney Lorcana’s new starter decks need just a few more cards to achieve excellence

Disney Lorcana’s newest set, Ursula’s Return, drops Friday at local game stores and Disney parks before its mass market retail release on May 31. While fans that are already heavily invested in the trading card game will be reaching for those pricey booster boxes, new players and collectors will be more interested in the set’s two new starter decks that can get them up and playing right away. We’ve had them both on the table for a few weeks now, and each one is fairly competitive right out of the box. But they could easily benefit from some simple upgrades. These are your best bets.

Upgrades for Madrigal Magic, an Amber and Amethyst deck

Image: Ravensburger

Lorcana’s new Amber and Amethyst starter deck, titled Madrigal Magic, is the most in need of tinkering. The Madrigal family’s various abilities are highly synergistic, and having more of them on the table at any one time will give you an advantage — especially late in the game. Therefore, the most important addition to the deck is Alma Madrigal, Family Matriarch.

The un-inkable card costs a modest three ink to play, and it’s a lightweight in a fight with just one attack and three defense. The ability to grab two lore upon questing is certainly handy, but the card’s real value comes in its special ability. Called To The Table, it allows players to shuffle their deck — not their discard pile — for a Madrigal character card before placing it on top of the deck to be drawn next. Having a few of these in your deck could be just the thing to pull off some much-needed late-game combos.

Disney Lorcana: Ursula’s Return - Madrigal Magic

• $17

Prices taken at time of publishing.

• $17 at Amazon
• $17 at Best Buy

Upgrades for Stand Together, a Sapphire and Steel deck

Image: Ravensburger

Lorcana’s Sapphire and Steel deck for Ursula’s Return, titled Stand Together, is pretty pugnacious. To get the most out of it, you’ll need to be challenging your opponents on the regular, leaning on your Support abilities to maximize damage and your Resist abilities to take a punch. But the songs included in this deck — Seldom All They Seem, One Last Hope, and Dig A Little Deeper — add more flavor than flash. So why not fold in some damage-dealing songs instead?

And Then Along Came Zeus would be an excellent, and thematically appropriate, choice. It deals five damage when sung, but you’ll need at least a four-ink glimmer to sing it. Another good choice would be Let The Storm Rage On (sing cost three, two damage) or Strength of a Raging Fire, which deals damage equal to the number of characters you’ve got in play.

Disney Lorcana: Ursula’s Return - Stand Together

• $17

Prices taken at time of publishing.

• $17 at Amazon
• $17 at Best Buy

For more on Disney Lorcana, check out our exclusive first look at Illumineer’s Quest: Deep Trouble. The standalone game adds solo and cooperative play to Disney Lorcana, comes with two new starter decks, and has an exclusive secret pack-in card that can’t be found anywhere else.