Scout Ahead: Strategy Guide

Amethyst/Emerald lore rush. You are trying to reach 20 lore before the opponent's deck comes online, and you have five ways to gain lore that do not involve questing at all.

That redundancy is the point. A deck that only quests can be blocked or raced. This one keeps scoring through both, which is why it wins games it looks like it should lose.

The five non-quest lore sources, in the order you will use them:

• Scout Ahead: 1 ink, gain 2 lore whenever an opponent is ahead of you. Falling behind is temporary.
• Enigmatic Inkcaster: exert for 1 lore once you have played two cards that turn.
• Family Fishing Pole: banish it to return one of your exerted characters and gain 2 lore.
• Ring of Stones - Place of Legends: pays you at the start of your turn, and again when an exerted character moves there.
• Source of the Vine: taxes every opposing quest.

Three checkpoints:

• Turn 3. 6+ lore: on pace. Below 4 and the opener failed.
• Turn 5. 13+ lore: closing. Count to 20 from here.
• Turn 7. You have lost the game you did not close: every deck in Core is stronger than yours after turn seven.

The Kevin loop, and why Bruno is not a filler body

Kevin - Flightless Bird quests for 3 at two ink, and BACK TO THE NEST puts him on top of your deck whenever he quests. On its own that reads as a drawback: he leaves play every time he pays you.

Bruno Madrigal - Undetected Uncle turns it into a loop. His YOU JUST HAVE TO SEE IT exerts to name a card and reveal the top of your deck; on a hit you take the card and gain 3 lore. Every other deck naming a card is guessing. You are not, because Kevin put himself there.

So the cycle is: quest Kevin for 3, then on a later turn name Kevin with Bruno for a guaranteed 3 more, and take Kevin back to hand to replay for two ink and do it again. That is 6 lore per cycle off two cards, and the only randomness left is drawing the pieces.

Two honest costs. Bruno's ability is an exert, so he has to be dry, and using it means giving up his own quest, which nets you 2 lore over simply questing him. And any draw step in between takes Kevin off the top and into your hand, which cashes the loop early rather than breaking it.

Quest first, then move

Ring of Stones - Place of Legends has a printed move cost of 3, which a deck this cheap cannot pay. FOLLOW YOUR FATE is the way around it: your exerted characters move there for free, and PART THE VEIL gives 1 more lore the first time a character moves in each turn.

That fixes your turn order. Questing exerts the character, the exert makes the move free, and the move pays a second time. Two lore a turn at zero ink, purely as a by-product of attacking. Hold a character back and you lose the quest lore and the move lore together, because a ready character costs the full 3 to move.

Your first game, turn by turn

Turn 1. Ink a card, then play a one-drop. Cursed Merfolk - Ursula's Handiwork is the best one, and it also cannot be inked, so playing it costs you nothing you could have used. Will o' the Wisp - Forest Spirit is the alternative.

Turn 2. Ink, quest with your one-drop, then play Kevin - Flightless Bird. Three lore for two ink is the best rate in the format and he is the reason this deck can win from behind.

Turn 3. Ink to three. Quest with everything that has been in play since your turn began, Kevin included. He gains you 3 lore and then puts himself back on top of your deck, so you will draw him again next turn. Spend the three ink on another two-drop plus a one-drop rather than a single bigger card.

Turn 4. Ink to four. Dash Parr - Lava Runner is the play if you have him, because RECORD TIME lets him quest the turn he arrives, so he is 2 lore immediately instead of 2 lore next turn. Otherwise Bruno Madrigal - Undetected Uncle or a second wave of cheap bodies.

Turn 5. Ink to five. Ring of Stones - Place of Legends is worth the four ink now: it pays you 1 lore at the start of every one of your turns, and your exerted characters move there for free, which pays another 1 lore the first time each turn. Quest first, then move one exerted character in.

Turn 6 and 7. Quest with everything every turn, exert every Enigmatic Inkcaster on a turn you have played two cards, and hold Scout Ahead for the exact turn they pull ahead of you. You are counting to 20 and you should get there around here.

When the draw does not cooperate: you almost never want to slow down. The one exception is a board wipe you can see coming, and even then you keep one threat in hand rather than stopping.

How this deck loses

You keep characters back to defend: there is no blocking in Lorcana. A ready character cannot be challenged at all and an exerted one can, so holding back does protect them, and in this deck it costs you the game anyway. Ring of Stones - Place of Legends only moves exerted characters for free, Family Fishing Pole only returns an exerted character, and Pocahontas - Following the Wind only pays out on another exerted character. Holding two bodies back turns off three cards at once.

You quest Kevin and then try to use him: BACK TO THE NEST puts Kevin - Flightless Bird on top of your deck the moment he quests, so the turn he pays you is the turn he leaves the board. That means he is not there to be the character Pocahontas - Following the Wind copies, and Family Fishing Pole has nothing to return. Point both of those at a 2-lore body instead.

You expect the Fishing Pole to work immediately: Family Fishing Pole enters play exerted, so it does nothing on the turn you play it. Using it later also costs 1 ink on top of banishing it. Same with Junior Woodchuck Guidebook, which costs 1 ink as well as banishing itself.

You cast Scout Ahead as soon as you draw it: it gains you 2 lore only if an opponent has more lore than you. Cast while you are ahead, it does nothing at all. It is the one card in the deck you hold.

You start challenging: your characters have 1, 2 and 3 willpower and mostly 0 to 3 strength. You are not going to win a combat, and every character you lose is lore you stop making. The three you do not mind having challenged are Cursed Merfolk - Ursula's Handiwork, Joshua Sweet - Field Surgeon and Will o' the Wisp - Forest Spirit: the first two cost the opponent a card for it, and the third comes back to your hand.

Matchup role. You are the fastest deck at the table in almost every matchup. Play like it.

Two opening keeps.

• Option 1. Curve keep (default): a one-cost character plus a two-cost character with 2 or more lore. Cursed Merfolk - Ursula's Handiwork into Kevin - Flightless Bird is the dream, and Joshua Sweet - Field Surgeon or Christopher Robin - Joining the Fun are the same slot.
• Option 2. Engine keep: Madam Mim - Hummingbird plus Enigmatic Inkcaster plus any one-drop. Mim makes every card in your hand inkable, which means you never miss an ink drop and never have to choose between developing and ramping.

On the play vs. on the draw:

• On the play: curve keep, every time. Getting the first two lore on board decides whether Scout Ahead is a catch-up card or a dead one.
• On the draw: keep Christopher Robin - Joining the Fun if you have him. UNDERDOG makes him cost 1 less on your first turn when you are not the first player, which is the only card in the deck that rewards losing the roll. It applies on that first turn only.

Never keep: two or more copies of Source of the Vine or Ring of Stones - Place of Legends with no early plays, or an opener with no one-cost or two-cost character at all. Bruno Madrigal - Undetected Uncle at four ink is a mid-game card, not a keep on its own.

What to put in your inkwell

Eighteen of the sixty cards here have no inkwell symbol: all four Cursed Merfolk - Ursula's Handiwork, all four Pocahontas - Following the Wind, all four Dash Parr - Lava Runner, all four Enigmatic Inkcaster, and both Source of the Vine.

There is a card that erases that problem completely. Madam Mim - Hummingbird has JUST HOW I LIKE IT, which makes all cards in your hand count as having the inkwell symbol. While she is on the board, every card you hold is a legal ink. That is most of the reason a two-ink 1 strength, 1 willpower character is in a deck this aggressive, and it is why she is worth playing on turn two over a card that gains lore.

Ink in roughly this order:

• A spare copy of a two-ink item. Junior Woodchuck Guidebook and Family Fishing Pole are your best inks; you want one of each, not three.
• Scout Ahead past the second copy. It is a great card and you cannot use four of them in a game you win on turn six.
• Ring of Stones - Place of Legends past the first. Two four-ink cards in an opener is one too many.

Keep out of the inkwell: Madam Mim - Hummingbird, because she is what makes the rest of your hand inkable, and Kevin - Flightless Bird, who is the best lore per ink in the deck.

Ideal line. One-drop on turn 1. Two-drop plus a quest on turn 2. By turn 3 you are questing with three bodies and have an Enigmatic Inkcaster or a Family Fishing Pole adding lore outside combat. Scout Ahead is held for the exact turn the opponent pulls ahead, and it flips the race back.

The three cards that decide the game

Kevin - Flightless Bird is 3 lore for 2 ink, which is the best rate you will see. When he quests he goes back on top of your deck, so you draw him again and play him again. Two things follow from that: he is worth playing on turn two over almost anything, and he is gone from the board the moment he quests, which matters for the two cards that want an exerted character of yours.

Scout Ahead is why you can lose the early game and still win. One ink, gain 2 lore, as long as an opponent has more lore than you. Hold it until the moment they take the lead, and it turns their best turn into your best turn. Cast while you are ahead it does nothing.

Madam Mim - Hummingbird is the least exciting card here and the one that stops the deck stalling. Eighteen of your sixty cards cannot normally be inked; while she is in play, all of them can. She also has Evasive, so only characters with Evasive can challenge her, which is not many.

Openers. One ink, and every one of them is above rate:

• Cursed Merfolk - Ursula's Handiwork: 1 ink, 0 strength, 1 willpower, 2 lore. The best rate in the format. POOR SOULS makes each opponent discard a card whenever he is challenged, so removing him by combat costs them a card. He cannot be inked, so playing him costs you nothing.
• RC - Remote-Controlled Car: 1 ink, 3 strength, 2 willpower, 2 lore. LOW BATTERIES means he cannot quest or challenge unless you pay 1 ink, and the cost is paid each time. Two lore is still worth it, but plan the extra ink before you count the lore.
• Will o' the Wisp - Forest Spirit: 1 ink, 0 strength, 3 willpower, 1 lore. COME ON OUT returns him to your hand when he is banished in a challenge, so the opponent challenging him gains almost nothing. Note that it is banished in a challenge only, not banished by an action card.

Two-drops. The lore backbone:

• Kevin - Flightless Bird: 2 ink, 3 lore. He returns to the top of your deck when he quests, which is card advantage as well as lore, and which means he leaves the board.
• Christopher Robin - Joining the Fun: 2 ink, 1 strength, 3 willpower, 2 lore. UNDERDOG drops him to 1 ink on your first turn when you are on the draw.
• Joshua Sweet - Field Surgeon: 2 ink, 2 strength, 1 willpower, 2 lore. NO PATIENCE makes a chosen opponent discard a card whenever he is challenged.
• Pocahontas - Following the Wind: 2 ink, 3 strength, 2 willpower, 1 lore. WHAT IS MY PATH? gains lore equal to another chosen exerted character's lore when she quests, so she doubles your best exerted body. Quest her last, after the character you want to copy is already exerted.
• Madam Mim - Hummingbird: 2 ink, Evasive. JUST HOW I LIKE IT makes every card in your hand count as inkable. This is the card that stops the deck stumbling.

Four-drops. The only expensive cards, and both do more than their bodies suggest:

• Bruno Madrigal - Undetected Uncle: 4 ink, Evasive. Exert him to name a card and reveal the top of your deck; on a hit you take it and gain 3 lore. On a miss the card goes back on top rather than being shuffled away, which means you now know your next draw. Name that card next turn and the 3 lore is guaranteed.
• Dash Parr - Lava Runner: 4 ink, 2 lore. Rush, and RECORD TIME lets him quest the turn he lands. No waiting at all, which makes him the best topdeck in a close race.

Non-combat lore. Half your scoring does not touch the board:

• Scout Ahead: 1 ink action. Gain 2 lore if an opponent has more lore than you. Hold it for the turn they pull ahead, not the turn you draw it.
• Enigmatic Inkcaster: 2 ink item. Exert for 1 lore once you have played 2 cards this turn, which is most turns in a deck this cheap. It cannot be inked.
• Family Fishing Pole: 2 ink item. WATCH CLOSELY means it enters play exerted, so it cannot be used until your next turn. Then exert it, pay 1 ink and banish it to return a chosen exerted character of yours to hand and gain 2 lore. That also rescues a character about to be banished.
• Source of the Vine: 4 ink item. SIPHON gains you 1 lore whenever an opposing character quests unless their player pays 1 ink, which taxes them every single turn. It can also be exerted for 1 lore, but that costs 2 ink on top, so treat it as a tax card rather than a lore engine.
• Ring of Stones - Place of Legends: 4 ink location, 7 willpower, 1 lore. The lore arrives automatically at the start of each of your turns. On top of that, your exerted characters can move there for free, and the first character to move there each turn gains you another 1 lore.

Refuel:

• Junior Woodchuck Guidebook: 2 ink item. Exert it, pay 1 ink and banish it to draw 2. The deck empties its hand fast; this is how you keep going.

Reading an opponent you have never seen

You are almost always the faster deck, so the question is never "should I race" but "what is going to stop me". Watch their first three turns.

• Cheap characters, questing every turn. This is a real race and it is the one you can lose. Do not challenge, do not slow down, and hold Scout Ahead for the turn they go in front. Count your lore to 20 and take the shortest path.
• A slow start, then one large character. You have already won unless you get greedy. Their card is bigger than anything you have and it does not matter, because you never fight it. Quest past it.
• Items and very few characters. They are setting up a board wipe or a lore engine. Keep one or two threats in hand from about 12 lore onward so a sweeper does not put you back to nothing.
• They challenge your characters every turn. Good. Cursed Merfolk - Ursula's Handiwork and Joshua Sweet - Field Surgeon both make them discard a card for it, and Will o' the Wisp - Forest Spirit comes back to your hand. Keep offering those three and keep the rest of the board out of range.

vs. Amber/Emerald Toys and Elinor (Even): Watch for: Elinor - Renowned Diplomat, Rex - Protective Dinosaur A pure race, and the most common one you will face. They out-value you after turn six, so you must be at 13 or more lore by turn five. Elinor's end-of-turn ping is what kills your one-willpower bodies, so play around it by keeping Will o' the Wisp - Forest Spirit as the character you leave exposed.

vs. Amber/Amethyst Midrange (Unfavorable): Watch for: Demona - Scourge of the Wyvern Clan, Hades - Looking for a Deal The best-converting deck in the current tournament field. Their removal is cheap and their card quality beats yours in every long game. Your only line is speed: quest with everything, never hold a character back, and use Scout Ahead the moment they take a lead. If the game reaches turn eight you have lost.

vs. Amber/Emerald Book Control (Favorable): Watch for: Raging Storm, Malicious, Mean, and Scary They are trying to reach eight ink for a sweeper. You should have closed by then. The trap is overextending into Malicious, Mean, and Scary, which kills your whole one-willpower curve at once; keep one or two threats in hand once you are at 12 or more lore so a sweeper does not reset you to zero.

vs. Emerald/Steel (Even): Watch for: Angel - Experiment 624, Inscrutable Map They interact with items, which is bad news for a deck whose lore comes from four of them. Deploy Enigmatic Inkcaster and Source of the Vine one at a time. Their curve is slower than yours, so a clean opener usually wins before they stabilise.

vs. Amber/Ruby Boost (Favorable): Watch for: Mr. Incredible - Super Strong, Ohana Means Family They go tall and slow, which is the worst possible plan against a deck that ignores the board. Ninety-two players brought this to Set 13 qualifiers and none made a Top 8. Just race. Do not challenge into their bigger bodies at any point.

Know this before you change anything: fourteen of the sixteen cards here are already at Lorcana's maximum of four copies. The only flexible slots are the two Source of the Vine and the two Ring of Stones - Place of Legends, so tuning mostly means moving those four cards, and anything else means adding a card the box does not contain.

Against sweeper decks, cut both Source of the Vine and both Ring of Stones - Place of Legends for four one-cost characters. Four-ink permanents are too slow when the punish is a board wipe, and a lower curve rebuilds faster. Every one-drop already in the deck is at four copies, so these four slots have to come from outside the box.

Against decks with item removal, this is a play-pattern change rather than a deck change, because Junior Woodchuck Guidebook and Family Fishing Pole are both already at four copies. Both banish themselves for value, so removal aimed at them is always a turn late. Deploy Enigmatic Inkcaster one at a time instead of emptying your hand, and use the other two items the turn you draw them.

Against slower control, go up to the third and fourth Source of the Vine. The SIPHON tax is close to unanswerable for a deck that has to quest, and it wins long games you otherwise cannot.

If you keep missing ink drops: the list already runs the maximum four Madam Mim - Hummingbird, so the remaining lever is the curve. Cutting both Source of the Vine for two inkable two-drops takes two uninkable cards out of the deck and lowers the top of the curve at the same time.

Outlook. Built as "Burn 1.0", which described a plan the deck does not have. Nothing in it burns; it races. The engine lives across Sets 9 through 13 and survives the October rotation, and at roughly $25 of cards (at the time of writing) it is the cheapest competitive entry point in the format.