Greetings, Illumineers! Today, we're going to go over Domingo Martinez Rodenas' winning deck from the Disney Lorcana EU Continentals and see what impact that may have for the NA Continentals, which is merely weeks away. There's a ton of information to take away from this one, so let's jump right in!

Competitive Ruby-Amethyst | Domingo Martinex Rodenas, 1st Place Disney Lorcana EU Continentals

• Characters (49)
• 1 Sisu - Empowered Sibling
• 2 Belle - Accomplished Mystic
• 2 Lady Tremaine - Imperious Queen
• 2 Madame Medusa - The Boss
• 3 Maui - Hero to All
• 3 Melin - Rabbit
• 4 Chernabog's Followers - Creatures of Evil
• 4 Elsa - The Fifth Spirit
• 4 Flynn Rider - Frenemy
• 4 Genie - Wish Fulfilled
• 4 Madam Mim - Fox
• 4 Madam Mim - Snake
• 4 Magic Broom - Illuminary Keeper
• 4 Merlin - Goat
• 4 Sisu - Emboldened Warrior

• Actions (11)
• 3 Be Prepared
• 4 Brawl
• 4 Friends on the Other Side

Early Game

Ruby-Amethyst tends to have one of the most variety when it comes to the early game. If one of their characters is left on the board and you have a hard time removing it, there's a good chance there's a Madam Mim - Snake or Madam Mim - Fox right around the corner. These above average characters make up for the minor drawback of having to bounce a character of yours back to hand. They'll help control the board against aggro and usually require a bit more work to get rid of. When dealing with control, a Flynn Rider - Frenemy and Sisu - Emboldened Warrior is extremely oppressive, forcing your opponent to put their plans on hold while dealing with either character.

Mid Game

This deck heads to the mid-game once they start playing 4-drop characters and onward. One of the best 4-drops added from Azurite Sea is Genie - Wish Fulfilled. There's very little downside to this character, being a 2 Strength, 4 Willpower, Evasive threat that can quest for 2 that can also draw a card once it's played. This reminds me of Minnie Mouse - Stylish Surfer except with a bit more staying power. Once a few of these have been established on the field, it can spell disaster for your opponent. If you've drawn well, chances are you're ready to start deploying both Elsa - The Fifth Spirit and either Lady Tremaine - Imperious Queen or Madame Medusa - The Boss on a curve which really puts you in a dominating position heading into the end game.

Late Game

Once you're at 7+ ink, you become in one of the most commanding positions, granted you have either Be Prepared or Sisu - Empowered Sibling available. These two reset buttons help establish the rest of your endgame, given you've kept your hand nice and full with a bunch of draw effects from Genie - Wish Fulfilled. Merlin - Rabbit, Magic Broom - Luminary Keeper, and Chernabog's Followers - Creatures of Evil. Genie - Wish Fulfilled with Evasive is very relevant right now since your opponent is most likely running out of threats to deal with him. By this time, you should be setting up the more traditional closing play of Merlin - Goat and bounce effects as well as continuing to quest with your Genie and friends to inch closer to victory. Ruby-Amethyst isn't typically known for huge lore swings, but consistent lore gains throughout the game.

Highlights in the Emerald-Amethyst Matchup

When rewatching the finals, I noticed how important it was for Michele Assirelli to go wide early on. This forces Domingo to deal with these threats early on instead of developing a more traditional curve. In Game 1, we see Domingo also going wide with 1-drops and it totally pays off since it gives them the ability to challenge into a few of Michele's 0 strength characters and allows some draw through sacrifice later on. It's important to note that when both players are playing Amethyst, there are 3 key characters that really define the direction of the game; Genie - Wish Fulfilled, Elsa - The Fifth Spirit, and Belle - Accomplished Mystic. Out of all 5 games, one of the most impactful plays is in how both Elsa and Genie are used to take out opposing Genies. Since there's damage left on both characters, this is where Belle shines. It requires a particular setup, and when it's pulled off, it's absolutely beautiful.

Another thing to note is Emerald-Amethyst's non-interactive lore gained through both The White Rose - Jewel of the Garden and Merlin - Goat. Because the deck can be extremely explosive in the early game, these constant lore gains become even more threatening as the game goes on. It's not uncommon to see both decks use bounce effects to use Merlin - Goat to close out the game.

Conclusion

Overall, the series was great and both players played extremely well. I'm sure it's very comforting for most to see Ruby-Amethyst win the event, and this could be telling to see what to expect in the upcoming NA Continentals. However, our meta share on this side of the pond is a bit different, and I'm excited to see how things will play out.

If you're looking for a solid, consistent deck to run into a field of unknowns, Ruby-Amethyst is without a doubt a strong pick for the event. Given that Domingo earned his entry from the afternoon LCQ and took it all the way to the finals, it's a true testament of the perfect blend of a great pilot and amazing deck.

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