You don't need a wallet full of legendaries to win games. This affordable Lorcana deck that won a 38 player event proves it. The plan is simple. Play cheap characters on curve. Keep the board wide. Use songs to clean up early game aggressions with Under the Sea. When it works, you'll feel like you stole a round. When it doesn't, you'll still trade up and stay in the game.

Direct answer in one line: Curve low, sing when it's time, and quest in waves while the Lady/Tramp core and Ursula - Deceiver squeeze value out of every turn.

Seadogs Isn't Real | Michael Chao

• Characters (53)
• 2 Little John - Camp Cook
• 3 Scrump
• 4 Bobby Zimuruski - Spray Cheese Kid
• 4 Daisy Duck - Donald's Date
• 4 Go Go Tomago - Darting Dynamo
• 4 Lady - Decisive Dog
• 4 Lady - Elegant Spaniel
• 4 Lady - Family Dog
• 4 Lady - Miss Park Avenue
• 4 Lilo - Escape Artist
• 4 Nala - Mischievous Cub
• 4 Tramp - Enterprising Dog
• 4 Tramp - Street-Smart Dog
• 4 Ursula - Deceiver

• Actions (4)
• 4 Improvise

• Songs (3)
• 3 Under the Sea

What This Deck Actually Does

Most budget lists fold to one big card. This one doesn't. You throw down two to three bodies by turn two, keep the board wide, and make your opponent play honest. Before they know it, you sing, clear the way, and quest for a chunk of lore. Next turn, you do it again.

• Amber gives you inkable bodies that quest for real progress.
• Emerald lets you trade clean and keep the cards moving.
• Songs turn small leads into swing turns.

You are not racing to a flashy finisher. You are running laps with twos and threes until you wrap up the story with 20 lore.

Mulligan Rules that Save Games

Keep hands that make two to three plays by turn two. A 1-drop plus a good 2 is fine. Ship any hand with no early character or more than two non-inkables. This deck rewards discipline. Bad hands are traps.

How to Sequence Without Punting Tempo

1. Bodies first. Put characters down before to help you sing.
2. Quest in waves. Lore adds up too slowly. Aim for 4 to 6 lore turns to present a much faster clock.
3. Stagger threats. Don't give them a perfect reset.
4. Ursula windows. She's punishing other greedy song-based decks. Plan your plays around critical song turns.

Roles in plain English

Your openers and glue:

• Bobby Zimuruski - Spray Cheese Kid, Daisy Duck - Donald's Date, Go Go Tomago - Darting Dynamo, Nala - Mischievous Cub. These hit early, and keep the board wide.
• Scrump smooths odd turns and helps you target problematic characters for better trades or the big board wipe.

The engine that never stops:

• The Lady and Tramp pair are the heart of the deck.

  • Lady - Decisive Dog is a great option if you end up with Tramp - Enterprising Dog and another 1-drop to push early and safe lore gains.
  • Lady - Miss Park Avenue and Lady - Elegant Spaniel help you rebuild and keep pressure steady.
  • Tramp - Street-Smart Dog turns a wide board into real damage.
  • Tramp - Enterprising Dog keeps the train rolling in longer games.

Utility that matters:

• Lilo - Escape Artist gives you play from parity or behind.
• Little John - Camp Cook is a tall body. Two copies is perfect.

The actions and songs that steal turns:

• Improvise is your buff with a cantrip.
• Under the Sea clears low-Strength boards by bottoming them. Fire it when you can quest for a chunk right after.

Matchups You Will Actually Play

Your locals likely has three buckets. Slow engines. Midrange piles. Low-curve aggro.

• Vs slow engines. Slightly behind on raw power. Get to 6-8 lore before they stabilize. Hold Under the Sea for the turn that matters.
• Vs midrange piles. Pretty even. They want trades. Let them. Keep developing and bank two safe quest turns to flip the race.
• Vs low-curve aggro. Mirrors are scrappy. Tramp - Street-Smart Dog is your closer. Protect quest windows. Don't chase every trade.

Track results for three events. If tall midrange dominates, keep Under the Sea at three and tweak your 3-drops. If the room is wide, lean harder into songs and keep your hand size healthy.

Budget Tuning and Simple Upgrades

If inventory is tight:

• Short a Lady - Family Dog by one and add an inkable 1 or 2-drop.
• If wide boards are not common, move to two Under the Sea and add another early body.

The shell stays the same. You trade on curve and keep singing.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Singing from behind. If your board is losing, a small value song play won't save you. Stabilize first.

• Flooding non-inkables. Aim for 8-10 total across the 60. Mulligan hands that miss that mark.
• Quest when it makes sense. Small, risky quests bleed games. Stack your safe turns instead.

Quick "People Also Ask" Answers

Is an affordable Lorcana deck actually competitive?

Yes. This list wins on fundamentals. If you mulligan well and plan your song turns, you can win locals and set champs qualifiers.

Why does Ursula matter in a budget shell?

Because Ursula - Deceiver saves you from some of the most impactful song being played right now.

What does Under the Sea do for this deck?

Under the Sea has Sing Together and puts opposing low-Strength characters on the bottom of their decks. That clears threats and opens a safe push to start closing the game.

A Simple Game Plan You Can Memorize

• Two-three bodies by turn two.
• Quest only when it is safe or when it flips the race.
• Use Improvise to trade and/or draw a card.
• Save Under the Sea for the turn it opens for safe questing afterwards.

That's it. Clean, repeatable, hard to punish.

Wrap it Up

If you like clean lines and solid wins, this is your deck. It teaches good habits. It punishes sloppy plays. It rewards patience. Good luck, and let me know how "Seadogs" goes for you!