[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":291},["Reactive",2],{"post-/blog/building-your-first-budget-deck":3},{"_path":4,"_dir":5,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":8,"description":9,"date":10,"tags":11,"author":15,"body":16,"_type":285,"_id":286,"_source":287,"_file":288,"_stem":289,"_extension":290},"/blog/building-your-first-budget-deck","blog",false,"","Building Your First Budget Lorcana Deck","You don't need enchanted cards to win. A practical guide to building a strong, cheap Disney Lorcana deck and the deckbuilding ratios that matter.","2026-06-18",[12,13,14],"deckbuilding","budget","beginner","FloodBorn",{"type":17,"children":18,"toc":277},"root",[19,27,33,40,53,88,100,106,111,144,165,171,183,216,222,235,253,266,272],{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":22,"children":24},"element","h1",{"id":23},"building-your-first-budget-lorcana-deck",[25],{"type":26,"value":8},"text",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":29,"children":30},"p",{},[31],{"type":26,"value":32},"One of the best things about Lorcana is that a well-built common-and-uncommon\ndeck can absolutely hang with expensive ones. Here's how to build something\ncompetitive without chasing enchanted chase cards.",{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":35,"children":37},"h2",{"id":36},"start-with-a-plan-not-a-pile",[38],{"type":26,"value":39},"Start with a plan, not a pile",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":41,"children":42},{},[43,45,51],{"type":26,"value":44},"Before buying anything, pick a ",{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":47,"children":48},"strong",{},[49],{"type":26,"value":50},"game plan",{"type":26,"value":52},":",{"type":20,"tag":54,"props":55,"children":56},"ul",{},[57,68,78],{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":59,"children":60},"li",{},[61,66],{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":62,"children":63},{},[64],{"type":26,"value":65},"Aggro",{"type":26,"value":67}," — cheap characters with high lore, race to 20 before your opponent\nsets up. Ruby and Amber love this.",{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":69,"children":70},{},[71,76],{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":72,"children":73},{},[74],{"type":26,"value":75},"Midrange",{"type":26,"value":77}," — efficient characters that trade well and out-value the opponent.\nMost two-ink pairs can do this.",{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":79,"children":80},{},[81,86],{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":82,"children":83},{},[84],{"type":26,"value":85},"Control",{"type":26,"value":87}," — removal, card draw, and a few big finishers. Steel and Sapphire\nshine here.",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":89,"children":90},{},[91,93,98],{"type":26,"value":92},"Budget decks are usually ",{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":94,"children":95},{},[96],{"type":26,"value":97},"aggro or midrange",{"type":26,"value":99},", because they win before the\nexpensive cards in other decks matter.",{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":101,"children":103},{"id":102},"the-deckbuilding-ratios-that-matter",[104],{"type":26,"value":105},"The deckbuilding ratios that matter",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":107,"children":108},{},[109],{"type":26,"value":110},"A 60-card deck roughly wants:",{"type":20,"tag":54,"props":112,"children":113},{},[114,124,134],{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":115,"children":116},{},[117,122],{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":118,"children":119},{},[120],{"type":26,"value":121},"~24–32 characters.",{"type":26,"value":123}," Characters quest and challenge — they're your engine.",{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":125,"children":126},{},[127,132],{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":128,"children":129},{},[130],{"type":26,"value":131},"A smooth ink curve.",{"type":26,"value":133}," Plenty of 1–3 cost cards so you always have a play.\nDon't overload on 6+ drops.",{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":135,"children":136},{},[137,142],{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":138,"children":139},{},[140],{"type":26,"value":141},"At least ~22–24 inkable cards.",{"type":26,"value":143}," Every card you put in your inkwell is a card\nyou can't play, so you need enough inkable cards to reliably ink every turn.\nWatch the swirl symbol when you're building.",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":145,"children":146},{},[147,149,156,158,163],{"type":26,"value":148},"Not sure how many copies of a card you'll actually see? Plug your numbers into the\n",{"type":20,"tag":150,"props":151,"children":153},"a",{"href":152},"/tools/draw-calculator",[154],{"type":26,"value":155},"draw odds calculator",{"type":26,"value":157},". For example, with ",{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":159,"children":160},{},[161],{"type":26,"value":162},"4 copies in a\n60-card deck you'll have drawn at least one about 40% of the time by turn 1",{"type":26,"value":164},", and\nthe odds climb every turn.",{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":166,"children":168},{"id":167},"two-inks-picked-on-purpose",[169],{"type":26,"value":170},"Two inks, picked on purpose",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":172,"children":173},{},[174,176,181],{"type":26,"value":175},"Choose your second ink to ",{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":177,"children":178},{},[179],{"type":26,"value":180},"cover a weakness",{"type":26,"value":182},". If your main ink is aggressive but\nhas no removal, splash an ink that does. Common pairings to start with:",{"type":20,"tag":54,"props":184,"children":185},{},[186,196,206],{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":187,"children":188},{},[189,194],{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":190,"children":191},{},[192],{"type":26,"value":193},"Amber / Steel",{"type":26,"value":195}," — go-wide aggression backed by removal.",{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":197,"children":198},{},[199,204],{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":200,"children":201},{},[202],{"type":26,"value":203},"Ruby / Amethyst",{"type":26,"value":205}," — fast characters plus card draw to refuel.",{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":207,"children":208},{},[209,214],{"type":20,"tag":46,"props":210,"children":211},{},[212],{"type":26,"value":213},"Sapphire / Steel",{"type":26,"value":215}," — ramp into big, hard-to-kill threats.",{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":217,"children":219},{"id":218},"test-before-you-buy",[220],{"type":26,"value":221},"Test before you buy",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":223,"children":224},{},[225,227,233],{"type":26,"value":226},"You don't need the physical cards to know if a list works. Paste your deck into\nthe ",{"type":20,"tag":150,"props":228,"children":230},{"href":229},"/tools/goldfish",[231],{"type":26,"value":232},"goldfish simulator",{"type":26,"value":234},", draw a dozen opening hands, and ask:",{"type":20,"tag":54,"props":236,"children":237},{},[238,243,248],{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":239,"children":240},{},[241],{"type":26,"value":242},"Do I have a turn-1 and turn-2 play almost every time?",{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":244,"children":245},{},[246],{"type":26,"value":247},"Am I flooded with expensive cards I can't cast?",{"type":20,"tag":58,"props":249,"children":250},{},[251],{"type":26,"value":252},"Can I ink every turn without throwing away my best cards?",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":254,"children":255},{},[256,258,264],{"type":26,"value":257},"Tweak, re-draw, repeat. When the hands feel good, ",{"type":20,"tag":259,"props":260,"children":261},"em",{},[262],{"type":26,"value":263},"then",{"type":26,"value":265}," buy the singles — pick up\nthe commons and uncommons first and save the splashy cards for last.",{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":267,"children":269},{"id":268},"upgrade-over-time",[270],{"type":26,"value":271},"Upgrade over time",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":273,"children":274},{},[275],{"type":26,"value":276},"Budget decks are a foundation. As you play, swap one or two cards at a time for\nupgrades, keep your ratios intact, and you'll have a deck that grows with you — no\nenchanted cards required.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":278,"depth":278,"links":279},2,[280,281,282,283,284],{"id":36,"depth":278,"text":39},{"id":102,"depth":278,"text":105},{"id":167,"depth":278,"text":170},{"id":218,"depth":278,"text":221},{"id":268,"depth":278,"text":271},"markdown","content:blog:building-your-first-budget-deck.md","content","blog/building-your-first-budget-deck.md","blog/building-your-first-budget-deck","md",1782391356562]