Let It Go: Strategy Guide

Inspired by Inkborn Heroes' "Amethyst/Sapphire Blurple" on Dreamborn.

Every character is from Frozen. Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, Sven, and Hans. The deck plays as a patient control list of tall willpower characters that survive almost any attack, quest every turn for steady lore, and close with Elsa - Spirit of Winter for 3 lore plus a board lockdown on her entry.

The card opponents always underestimate. Hans - Noble Scoundrel at 3 ink looks like a small 3-strength, 2-willpower threat. But he quests for 2 lore AND his ROYAL SCHEMES ability gains 1 extra lore on entry whenever you have a Princess or Queen character in play. Every Anna and every Elsa in this deck is a Queen, so that trigger is almost always live. Drop Hans on turn 3 with any Anna or Elsa already on board, and you get 1 lore on entry plus 2 lore from his quest the same turn. Three lore from a single play. Protect him like you'd protect Elsa.

Quest first. Challenge only when forced. Your characters absorb hits better than they deal them. Let opponents attack into your willpower walls and tire themselves out. Only challenge when a specific blocker is in the way of a lore push you cannot work around. Before swinging, look for Magical Maneuvers to bounce a damaged character back to your hand, or Freeze to lock their best blocker for a turn.

You are never the fast deck. Against aggressive opponents: stack durable bodies and let them tire themselves out. Against other slow decks: outlast them with raw willpower and the extra-lore boost from Anna - True-Hearted. Their early questers may outpace yours for the first few turns, but their plan runs out of gas before yours does.

Lore math. 14 characters in this deck quest for 2 or 3 lore each. A realistic turn 5 board has 4 questers, 2 or 3 of them at 2 lore each, for 6 to 8 lore that turn. Target 20 lore total by turn 7 or 8.

Always Infinity-legal. This deck is built and sold as an Infinity-format deck. The Infinity format never rotates, so this list stays playable forever in casual Infinity events, kitchen-table games, and Discord matches. You never need to swap a card for legality reasons.

Strongest opener. Any Olaf 1-cost (Olaf - Friendly Snowman, Olaf - Trusting Companion, or Olaf - Recapping the Story), plus Anna - Braving the Storm, plus Sail the Azurite Sea if going second.

Always keep Hans. Hans - Noble Scoundrel in any opening hand. With any Anna or Elsa down by turn 3, he gives 1 lore on entry from ROYAL SCHEMES (the Princess/Queen trigger) plus 2 lore from questing the same turn. That's a 3-lore swing from a single play. He is the most-underestimated card in the deck and the one you most want to see.

Always keep Elsa - Trusted Sister with any Anna in hand. Once an Anna character is in play, Elsa - Trusted Sister's WHAT DO WE DO NOW? ability adds 1 extra lore every time she quests. Her quest then produces a total of 2 lore (her base 1 lore plus the ability bonus), doubling the value of a 2-cost play. Without an Anna in play, she is a fine 2-strength, 3-willpower, 1-lore vanilla quester, but the upgrade with Anna matters.

Conditional keeps:

• Elsa - Snow Queen as a turn 3 play if Hans is not in hand. She has a built-in FREEZE action stapled on (exert her instead of questing to exert an opposing character) which is effectively a free Freeze on a 3-cost body.
• Sven - Keen-Eyed Reindeer versus aggressive opponents. She enters with Rush (can challenge the turn played) and FORMIDABLE GLARE (chosen character gets -3 strength this turn only), letting her trade combat on entry. Sven is a dual-ink Amethyst-Sapphire card, so she fills either ink slot in the 2-ink rule.

Ship hands:

• No characters under 3 ink cost. You need cheap early bodies to absorb challenges while Hans accumulates lore from behind them.
• Elsa - Spirit of Winter alone with no early curve. She's an 8-cost closer (or Shift 6 onto any Elsa), and without lower-cost characters to play first, she lands too late to matter.

Ideal turn 1 through 3 line. Any Olaf 1-cost quests on turn 1. On turn 2, play Anna - Braving the Storm, and also play Sail the Azurite Sea if you're going second (Sail lets you put an extra card into your inkwell that turn, canceling the going-second ink disadvantage). Anna is a 1-strength, 4-willpower wall that quests for 1 lore early; her I WAS BORN READY ability bumps her to 2 lore only once another Hero is on the board. The Olaf 1-costs are Allies (not Heroes), so don't count on the bonus until turn 4 or later when Elsa or another Anna lands. On turn 3, play Hans - Noble Scoundrel, ideally with an Anna or Elsa already on board for the ROYAL SCHEMES lore on entry. End of turn 4 you're at 5 or 6 lore with a board they have to deal with.

Early board (play one per turn, quest the next turn):

• Olaf - Friendly Snowman: 1 ink, 1 strength, 3 willpower, 1 lore. Amethyst inkable Ally. The best Olaf 1-cost (highest willpower). Play turn 1, quest from turn 2. Most opposing 1-costs can't profitably challenge his 3 willpower. Don't challenge with him: he produces more lore questing than attacking.
• Olaf - Trusting Companion: 1 ink, 1 strength, 2 willpower, 1 lore. Sapphire inkable Ally. Has Support (when he quests, you may add his 1 strength to another character's strength for the turn). Useful for setting up a combat swing on his quest turn.
• Olaf - Recapping the Story: 1 ink, 2 strength, 1 willpower, 1 lore. Sapphire inkable Ally. Has ENDLESS TALE on entry: chosen opposing character gets -1 strength this turn. Usually a turn 1 play, occasionally a mid-game -1 strength trick to enable a combat trade.
• Anna - Braving the Storm: 2 ink, 1 strength, 4 willpower, 1 lore. Sapphire inkable Hero/Queen. Best 2-cost versus aggressive opponents. I WAS BORN READY: gains +1 lore while another Hero character is in play. The Heroes here are the Elsa and Anna cards (Olaf and Kristoff are Allies, Hans is a Villain), so she is a 1-lore wall early and becomes a 2-lore quester once an Elsa or another Anna is also down. 4 willpower means almost nothing early can kill her in a single challenge.
• Elsa - Trusted Sister: 2 ink, 2 strength, 3 willpower, 1 lore. Amethyst inkable Hero/Queen. WHAT DO WE DO NOW? gains 1 extra lore on quest whenever any Anna character is in play. That turns her into a 2-lore turn-2 play whenever you also have an Anna down. Keep her in opening hands with Anna.
• Sail the Azurite Sea: 2 ink Sapphire action. This turn, you may ink an additional card from your hand. Then draw a card. Mandatory turn 2 going second. Cancels the going-second ink disadvantage entirely and lets you play a 4-cost on turn 3 instead of turn 4.

Core threats (quest every turn):

• Hans - Noble Scoundrel: 3 ink, 3 strength, 2 willpower, 2 lore. Sapphire inkable Villain/Prince. ROYAL SCHEMES on entry: if a Princess or Queen character is in play, gain 1 lore. Every Anna and Elsa in this deck is a Queen, so the trigger is almost always live. Turn 3 Hans with any Anna or Elsa down: 1 lore on entry plus 2 lore from his quest = 3 lore from a single play. Note: Hans does NOT count for Anna - Braving the Storm's Hero bonus (he is a Villain, not a Hero), but his own lore output is enormous.
• Elsa - Snow Queen: 3 ink, 2 strength, 3 willpower, 1 lore. Amethyst inkable Hero/Queen. Has a built-in FREEZE action: exert her (instead of questing) to exert an opposing character. Functionally a stapled Freeze action on a 3-cost body. Switch between quest mode and freeze mode based on what their board needs.
• Anna - Eager Acolyte: 3 ink, 1 strength, 3 willpower, 1 lore. Amethyst uninkable Hero/Queen. GROWING POWERS on entry: each opponent chooses and exerts one of their ready characters. Disrupts their plan by forcing them to spend a ready character.
• Olaf - Carrot Enthusiast: 3 ink, 1 strength, 4 willpower, 2 lore. Sapphire inkable Floodborn Ally. CARROTS ALL AROUND: whenever he quests, every other character of yours gets +1 strength this turn. Helpful for setting up combat trades on the turn he quests. He also has Shift: discard an item card (no items in this deck baseline, so the Shift is dormant unless you tech items in).
• Anna - True-Hearted: 4 ink, 2 strength, 4 willpower, 2 lore. Sapphire inkable Hero/Queen/Knight. The deck's central piece. LET ME HELP YOU: whenever she quests, your other Hero characters get +1 lore for the rest of the turn. So if Anna quests first, then another Anna or Elsa quests afterward that turn, the follow-up character quests for an extra lore. With her and 2 or 3 other Heroes questing in sequence, a 6-lore turn becomes a 9-lore turn. 4 willpower survives most combat. Quest her freely.
• Anna - Ice Breaker: 4 ink, 2 strength, 3 willpower, 2 lore. Dual-ink Amethyst-Sapphire inkable Hero/Queen/Sorcerer. Has Support (pump a teammate's strength on her quest) AND WINTER AMBUSH on entry (chosen opposing character can't ready at start of their next turn). A 2-lore body with a free lockdown on entry.
• Anna - Heir to Arendelle: 4 ink, 2 strength, 4 willpower, 2 lore. Amethyst inkable Hero/Queen. LOVING HEART on entry: if you have an Elsa character in play, chosen opposing character doesn't ready at the start of their next turn. Stacks with Anna - Ice Breaker's lockdown for back-to-back tempo disruption across two turns of Anna plays.
• Elsa - Gloves Off: 4 ink, 3 strength, 4 willpower, 1 lore. Amethyst inkable Hero/Queen/Sorcerer. Challenger +3 (gains +3 strength while challenging). She swings for 6 strength when she challenges. Use her to kill 4-costs on your turn, then quest behind 4 willpower the next turn.
• Kristoff - Icy Explorer: 4 ink, 4 strength, 4 willpower, 1 lore. Amethyst uninkable Dreamborn Ally. HIDDEN DEPTHS on entry: if Anna is in play, you may put a card from any player's discard pile on the bottom of their deck. STROKE OF LUCK: once during your turn, whenever a card leaves your discard, draw a card. The deck has limited self-mill baseline, so STROKE OF LUCK fires occasionally but is free upside.

Defense and disruption:

• Sven - Keen-Eyed Reindeer: 5 ink, 2 strength, 6 willpower, 1 lore. Dual-ink Amethyst-Sapphire inkable Ally. Rush (can challenge the turn played) plus FORMIDABLE GLARE on entry (chosen character gets -3 strength this turn only). Lands turn 5 to immediately remove a dangerous opposing threat: target a 3-strength attacker, drop her to 0 strength, challenge with Sven for the kill while the opposing character deals 0 damage back. 6 willpower then walls off the next several turns.
• Freeze: 2 ink Amethyst action. Exerts ONE chosen opposing character. Single-target, not a board sweep. Lock a key threat for a turn, or stop an attacker mid-combat by exerting them before they swing.
• Magical Maneuvers: 2 ink Amethyst action. Return chosen character of YOURS to your hand AND exert a chosen character. The return is mandatory: you must return one of your own characters first. The typical play is to bounce a damaged Elsa back to hand (clearing her damage), then exert any opposing character (typically their best quester). Their best threat is tapped while your damaged Elsa is now full health in your hand, ready to redeploy.

Mid-to-late closers:

• Elsa - Ice Maker: 7 ink (or Shift 4 onto any Elsa), 5 strength, 5 willpower, 2 lore. Dual-ink Amethyst-Sapphire uninkable Hero/Queen/Sorcerer. WINTER WALL: whenever she quests, you may exert a chosen character. If you do AND you have an Anna in play, that chosen character can't ready at the start of their next turn. So every quest with Anna in play exerts AND locks an opposing character. Massive board control on a 5-strength body.
• Elsa - Spirit of Winter: 8 ink (or Shift 6 onto any Elsa), 4 strength, 6 willpower, 3 lore. Amethyst uninkable Hero/Queen/Sorcerer. DEEP FREEZE on entry: exert up to 2 chosen characters, and they can't ready at the start of their next turn. Lands as a 3-lore closer AND locks down 2 of their questers for a full turn. The strongest closer in the deck.

Action engines:

• I'm Stuck!: 1 ink Amethyst action. Chosen ALREADY-EXERTED character can't ready at the start of their next turn. Cast after they have spent their turn questing to keep their best character locked for two turns total.
• Hypnotic Strength: 2 ink Amethyst action. Draw a card and chosen character gains Challenger +2 this turn. Stacks with Elsa - Gloves Off's native Challenger +3: a 3-strength Gloves Off challenges for 8 strength (3 base + 3 native Challenger + 2 from Hypnotic Strength), killing almost anything.
• Water Has Memory: 1 ink Sapphire action. Look at the top 4 cards of chosen player's deck. Put one card on top and the rest on the bottom in any order. Cast on yourself to line up your next draw. Cast on opponent to bury their best draw 4 cards deep and force them into worse top-decks for several turns.

vs. Amethyst/Sapphire Evasive (Even): Watch for: Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe, Hades - Looking for a Deal Same color identity, opposing game plan. They speed into Evasive top-end while you wall and outlast. Their Evasive bypasses your Anna - True-Hearted and Hans - Noble Scoundrel in challenges, but their bodies are 2 or 3 willpower and don't survive Elsa - Spirit of Winter DEEP FREEZE follow-up. Use Magical Maneuvers to bounce a damaged Elsa back to hand and replay her fresh, keeping your wall intact through their lore-push turns.

vs. Amber/Emerald Aggro (Unfavorable): Watch for: Tramp - Street-Smart Dog, Under the Sea Under the Sea is the hard counter: it puts every opposing character with 2 strength or less on the bottom of their deck. Most of this deck has 1 or 2 strength, so the song wipes huge swaths of your board. Your survivors with 3+ strength are Hans - Noble Scoundrel, Elsa - Gloves Off, Kristoff - Icy Explorer, Elsa - Ice Maker, and Elsa - Spirit of Winter. Mulligan hard for Anna - Braving the Storm plus Sven - Keen-Eyed Reindeer to slow their early flood. Use Magical Maneuvers to bounce a damaged Anna or Elsa as your reset, then replay them fresh. Every replay buys you a turn against their lore push.

vs. Ruby/Steel Challengers (Favorable): Watch for: Beast - Snowfield Troublemaker, Strength of a Raging Fire Your high-willpower shell beats their Challenger trades. Strength of a Raging Fire deals damage equal to their characters in play, but they only run a few copies. Make them spend their copies on Anna - True-Hearted before Elsa - Spirit of Winter lands. After turn 6, their removal options thin out and your closers stick.

vs. Amber/Steel Steelsong (Even): Watch for: He Hurled His Thunderbolt, Angel - Experiment 624 He Hurled His Thunderbolt deals 4 damage to chosen character (any 4+ cost character sings it for free). Most of this deck has 4 or fewer willpower and dies to one Thunderbolt. Your durable survivors are Sven - Keen-Eyed Reindeer (6 willpower), Elsa - Ice Maker (5 willpower), and Elsa - Spirit of Winter (6 willpower). They usually run 2 to 4 Thunderbolt copies total, so absorb the early ones on Anna and Hans and close with your 5+ willpower late game. Angel - Experiment 624 punishes empty hands with Resist +2 and burns characters with a discard-for-2-damage ability. Use Freeze to lock her the turn she becomes a problem.

vs. Ruby/Sapphire Control (Even): Watch for: Maui - Hero to All, A Pirate's Life Control mirror. Your 6 willpower threats survive Maui - Hero to All Challenger swings better than their bodies survive yours. Magical Maneuvers bouncing a damaged Elsa is the engine that drains their removal. Every replay forces another answer they don't have.

When found at bulk prices: Let It Go (Sapphire song, 5 ink cost). Any character of cost 5 or more sings it for free. The song puts chosen character into their player's inkwell facedown and exerted: a soft removal that converts their threat into an extra inkwell card for them. Fits the Frozen theme and adds a removal option. Buy if found at $1 or less per copy and swap 2 copies of Water Has Memory plus 2 copies of I'm Stuck! for 4 copies of Let It Go.

Tier 1 ink ramp upgrade ($5 to $8): add 1 more Sail the Azurite Sea (going to 4 copies total) and 2 copies of Fishbone Quill (Sapphire item, 3 ink cost, tap to put a card from hand into your inkwell). Both are reliable ways to stay one ink ahead of your opponent. Makes the deck play smoother.

Tier 2 draw engine ($3 to $6): add 2 copies of Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe (Amethyst 4 cost, Evasive). His MAKING HISTORY ability gives all your other Evasive characters a tap-for-draw-and-1-lore activated ability. The deck has no Evasive characters baseline, so the synergy only fires if you also tech in Evasive bodies. Dumbo on his own (tap and pay 1 ink to draw a card and gain 1 lore) is still solid.

Tier 3 competitive Blurple shell ($15 to $30): Basil - Great Mouse Detective (Sapphire 6-cost Shift 5 finisher, 3 lore), Rafiki - Mysterious Sage (Amethyst 3-cost Rush quester), Junior Woodchuck Guidebook (Amethyst 2-cost item that taps and banishes itself to draw 2), and Hades - Looking for a Deal (Amethyst 5-cost draw-2-or-bury-their-card on entry) form the standard competitive Amethyst/Sapphire control list. Keep Elsa - Spirit of Winter, Anna - True-Hearted, and Hans - Noble Scoundrel as the Frozen core and supplement with these meta consistency pieces if you want to take the deck to events.

Outlook. This deck is built and sold as Infinity-format and stays Infinity-legal forever. The Infinity format never rotates, so this list never needs swaps for legality reasons. Buy once and play forever. If you want to take it to Core tournaments, note that this list relies heavily on Set 1 through Set 4 cards (Olaf - Friendly Snowman, Elsa - Snow Queen, Elsa - Gloves Off, Hans - Noble Scoundrel, Anna - True-Hearted, and others) that have rotated out of Core. A Core-legal version is a substantial rebuild and outside this guide's scope.