Lore Engine: Strategy Guide

Amethyst/Ruby midrange grind. Every single character in this deck quests for 2 lore. No exceptions. Play one character per turn on cost (2 ink, then 3, then 4, then 5, then 6) with I'm Stuck! as turn 1 disruption, and your unanswered board generates 6 or more lore each turn once three characters are questing.

The sequencing rule. Cast I'm Stuck! on their best EXERTED character in turns 1 or 2 BEFORE you develop your own board. At 1 ink it costs you nothing and buys the development time your curve needs. Friend Owl - Cantankerous Neighbor turn 2, plus Jafar - Lamp Thief turn 3, plus I'm Stuck! locking their best threat: end of turn 3 you are at 4 lore on board with their best character still tapped.

Quest, don't challenge. Every character that challenges instead of questing costs you 2 lore that turn. The opponent has to challenge to slow you down; you do not. Only challenge when an opposing body would actively out-lore you if left alive.

Matchup role. You are the slower deck against aggressive opponents (your 4 to 5 willpower bodies outlast their small questers) and the faster deck against true control (go wide so their removal can't keep up).

Lore math. 3 characters questing = 6 lore each turn guaranteed. You reach 20 lore by turn 7 or 8 without a single combat trade.

Single-pattern keep. Curve over engines. Look for a 2-cost character plus a 3-cost character plus an inkable card.

Always keep:

• Friend Owl - Cantankerous Neighbor (your only 2-ink, 2-lore body)
• Jafar - Lamp Thief (3-ink, 2-lore central piece)
• I'm Stuck! when you already have an early-curve quester in hand. The action goes on turn 1 and buys your whole curve room to develop

Conditional keep on the draw: This Is My Family as a 2-ink song that gains a lore and draws a card (sung free by any 2+ cost character).

Ship hands:

• Only 5 or 6 cost characters with no early bodies. You need to be questing by turn 2, not turn 4. A hand of only 5-cost threats means 3 wasted turns of development.
• All-action hands. I'm Stuck! plus Poor Unfortunate Souls plus You Can Fly! with no characters means no questers means no lore.

Ideal turn 1 through 3 line. I'm Stuck! on their best exerted character turn 1, then Friend Owl - Cantankerous Neighbor quests for 2 turn 2, then Jafar - Lamp Thief quests for 2 turn 3. End of turn 3: 4 lore on board, opponent is one character behind, and at least one of their threats is locked tapped.

Interaction (play before you develop):

• I'm Stuck!: 1 ink Amethyst action. Chosen ALREADY-EXERTED character can't ready at the start of their next turn. Only targets characters already tapped (after questing or challenging). You can't preempt a key play; cast turn 1 on their most dangerous character AFTER they have quested. At 1 ink it's free, and the lockout buys the development time your curve needs.

Curve (play one per turn, quest the next turn):

• Friend Owl - Cantankerous Neighbor: 2 ink, 2 strength, 2 willpower, 2 lore, Ruby inkable. The deck's only 2-ink quester. Always play if in hand. Once his ink dries on turn 3, he establishes early lore pace and 2 willpower survives small challengers.
• Jafar - Lamp Thief: 3 ink, 2 strength, 2 willpower, 2 lore, Amethyst inkable. Turn 3 central piece. Play him on turn 3 (his ink is still wet that turn) and quest from turn 4 onward.
• Sisu - Emboldened Warrior: 3 ink, 1 strength, 4 willpower, 2 lore, Ruby inkable. SURGE OF POWER: gains +1 strength per card in your opponent's hand. Best into slow control matchups where they hoard cards. Worst against aggressive opponents (empty hands).
• Earth Giant - Living Mountain / Dolores Madrigal - Easy Listener / Jafar - Keeper of Secrets / Jafar - Newly Crowned / Mickey Mouse - Enthusiastic Dancer: 4 ink, 2 lore bodies. Earth Giant - Living Mountain's 4 strength, 5 willpower survives most challenges; quest him freely. UNEARTHED lets each opponent draw a card on his entry. Fine in most matchups, weak vs. combo decks. Dolores Madrigal - Easy Listener (3 strength, 3 willpower) draws a card on entry if an opponent has an exerted character. Time her play AFTER they quest. Jafar - Keeper of Secrets (0 strength, 5 willpower) gets +1 strength per card in YOUR hand via HIDDEN WONDERS: deploy on turns you have just drawn, not after spending your hand. Jafar - Newly Crowned is a flat 2 strength, 4 willpower, 2 lore Amethyst/Steel beater here (dual-ink card, plays under Amethyst in this build). His THIS IS NOT DONE YET ability only returns banished Illusions to your hand, and the deck runs zero Illusions, so the ability is blank baseline. Mickey Mouse - Enthusiastic Dancer is a 2 strength, 4 willpower, 2 lore body (his PERFECT PARTNERS ability needs a Minnie character in play, and the deck runs no Minnies, so the buff is dormant; he is a flat body only).
• Winnie the Pooh - Hunny Wizard / Card Soldiers - Full Deck: 5 ink, 5 strength, 5 willpower, 2 lore, inkable. By turn 5 with three bodies questing, you are at 6 lore each turn and closing fast.

Closers (deploy when your board is established):

• Mushu - Your Worst Nightmare: 6 ink, 4 strength, 6 willpower, 2 lore, Ruby/Steel dual-ink inkable (plays under Ruby here). Shift 4 is printed but unusable in this build: the deck runs no other Mushu character to Shift onto, so you always pay the full 6 ink. ALL FIRED UP: every other character you play this turn gains Rush, Reckless, AND Evasive until end of turn. Sequence Mushu FIRST on your combat turn, then play another body to challenge anything (including Evasive) the turn it lands. Reckless means they MUST challenge. Only sequence this way when you want combat (Reckless characters can't quest).
• Honest John - Shameless Schemer: 6 ink, 7 strength, 5 willpower, 2 lore, Ruby inkable. 7 strength challenges almost anything profitably. Quest when safe; challenge when they commit a body your smaller characters can't handle. Don't use him as your only removal. He is a closer, not a single-target answer.

Songs and additional engines:

• Poor Unfortunate Souls: 2 ink Amethyst song, inkable. Returns chosen character, item, or location of cost 2 or less to their player's hand. Use it to bounce an opposing 2-cost quester (removes their lore-per-turn for at least one turn), or to re-cast one of your own characters with a "when you play this character" trigger. Sung free by any 2+ cost character.
• This Is My Family: 2 ink Amethyst song. Gain 1 lore and draw a card. Sung free by any 2+ cost character. One free lore plus one free draw plus frees an ink for another body played the same turn. The core extra-lore engine.
• You Can Fly!: 2 ink Ruby song. Chosen character gains Evasive until your next turn (only Evasive characters can challenge them). Sing on a key 2-lore quester to dodge a turn of challenges.
• Maurice's Machine: 3 ink Ruby/Sapphire item, dual-ink (plays under Ruby here). Flex slot, often inked. Its BREAK DOWN ability returns an item of cost 2 or less from your discard when this item is banished, but the deck runs no items of cost 2 or less, so BREAK DOWN never fires baseline. Treat the 2 copies as inkable filler that comes alive if you tech in cheaper items (Mushu's Rocket, Pawpsicle, etc.) on the Infinity upgrade path.

vs. Amethyst/Sapphire Evasive (Unfavorable): Watch for: Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe, Hades - Looking for a Deal The deck you will run into most often. Their Evasive characters bypass your Mushu combat turn entirely (Reckless attackers can't trade with what won't block). Cast I'm Stuck! turns 1 or 2 to buy development time, then push toward your Mushu - Your Worst Nightmare plus Card Soldiers - Full Deck ALL FIRED UP turn before Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe stabilizes their lore engine. Past turn 7 their card advantage outpaces your lore.

vs. Amber/Emerald Aggro (Favorable): Watch for: Tramp - Street-Smart Dog, Grandmother Willow - Ancient Advisor Your 4 to 5 willpower bodies (Earth Giant - Living Mountain, Jafar - Keeper of Secrets) wall their 1 to 2 willpower flood. They can't profitably challenge into 5 willpower (their character dies, yours survives), so every failed attack is wasted development for them. Save Mushu - Your Worst Nightmare for after they have over-committed; ALL FIRED UP plus Card Soldiers - Full Deck clears 2 or 3 of their bodies in one swing.

vs. Amethyst/Steel Challengers (Even): Watch for: Beast - Snowfield Troublemaker, Strength of a Raging Fire Mirror-shape grind. Both decks play 2-lore bodies indefinitely. Strength of a Raging Fire deals damage equal to the number of characters they have in play; keep your 4-willpower threats alive through turn 4 so their early casts deal 2 or 3 damage rather than 5. Cast I'm Stuck! on their Beast - Snowfield Troublemaker after he swings so he can't combo with Raging Fire on their next turn.

vs. Amber/Steel Steelsong (Favorable): Watch for: He Hurled His Thunderbolt, Angel - Experiment 624 Songs are slower than your direct lore generation. Rhino - Power Hamster's Resist +2 doesn't matter when you are not attacking. He Hurled His Thunderbolt deals 4 damage to chosen character, clearing your 2-to-3 willpower bodies, but Earth Giant - Living Mountain (5 willpower) survives. Out-pace their song plan with raw 2-lore quester density.

vs. Ruby/Sapphire Control (Unfavorable): Watch for: Maui - Hero to All, A Pirate's Life Their Maui removes your closers via the Challenger swing; their Sapphire draw refills the answer pile faster than you deploy threats. Mushu - Your Worst Nightmare's combat turn is your one swing. Play him AND a 5-strength, 5-willpower body the same turn so single-target removal can't isolate the threat. Past turn 8 their grind wears you down.

vs. Mirror (Amethyst/Ruby Midrange) (Even): Watch for: Mushu - Your Worst Nightmare, Honest John - Shameless Schemer Whoever lands the Mushu turn with the better follow-up wins. Sequence so you have 2 or more bodies to play AFTER Mushu (ALL FIRED UP only buffs characters played the same turn). Honest John - Shameless Schemer at 7 strength challenges into their Mushu cleanly if you land him first.

Against Evasive-heavy opponents (decks running Ariel or anti-Villain Darkwing variants): swap 2 copies of Mickey Mouse - Enthusiastic Dancer for 2 copies of Sisu - Emboldened Warrior. The problem this solves: your 2-lore bodies can't profitably challenge Evasive characters, so they sit there questing for free. Sisu paired with You Can Fly! gives a temporary Evasive trade-in. (Note: Sisu has no native anti-Evasive interaction; don't rely on her SURGE OF POWER as evasion.)

Infinity-format upgrade swap (the Infinity format allows pre-Core sets and never rotates):

• 4 copies of Jafar - Lamp Thief for 4 copies of The Wardrobe - Belle's Confidant (Set 1). Different 3-ink body (3 strength, 4 willpower, 1 lore, more defensive). Trades 2 lore output for 4 willpower walling.
• 4 copies of Poor Unfortunate Souls for 4 copies of Friends on the Other Side (Set 1). 3-ink card-draw song. Different playstyle: the Core build is pure lore rush, the Infinity build is more card-advantage oriented.

Outlook. Core-legal through Set 13 rotation. Mushu - Your Worst Nightmare comes from Set 5 to 8 and is the card to watch as Core rotation approaches in July 2026. The Infinity format never rotates, so this list stays Infinity-legal forever even after a Core rotation: a Core-only player can rebuild around the rotation; an Infinity player keeps the deck as-is. Restock cap of 2 or 3 builds, no deeper, until the rotation timing resolves.