Disney Lorcana · Set 7 Starter Deck
Archazia's Island Amethyst & Steel: Upgrade Guide
Iago and Jafar lead a deck of Illusion characters with Vanish, built to exert the opposing board and cash in with Restoring the Crown.
At a glance
Amethyst & Steel · Illusions and big turns
How it plays out of the box
Illusion characters are cheap for their size but fragile: Vanish means an opponent who targets one with an action banishes it. Jafar returns them when they fall on an opponent's turn, so trading them away costs you little. The finish is Restoring the Crown: exert the opposing board, challenge several characters, and take 2 lore for each one you banish.
It can win out of nowhere, but it has several separate pieces to manage and the big turn needs the board in place first.
The cards on the box
Iago - Giant Spectral Parrot
Archazia's Island #49
A 4/6 with Evasive and Vanish.
Jafar - Newly Crowned
Archazia's Island #51
A dual-ink Amethyst and Steel character: your Illusions banished on an opponent's turn return to your hand.
Other cards to know
Restoring the Crown
Archazia's Island #83
Exerts every opposing character; gain 2 lore per character you banish in a challenge that turn.
Fa Zhou - War Hero
Archazia's Island #188
Gain 3 lore on the second challenge each turn.
Giant Cobra - Ghostly Serpent
Archazia's Island #57
Vanish. Discard a card when played to gain 2 lore.
The rating: power 3, difficulty 4
A real finishing turn, but a lot of pieces for a starter and fragile characters to protect.
Both numbers are TurnZero HQ's own editorial read, not an official Ravensburger rating. Power compares the deck out of the box against the other starter decks, not against a tuned tournament list. Difficulty is how much the deck asks of the person playing it.
What to cut first
Cut characters that aren't Illusions or challengers, then any card that doesn't help set up the Restoring the Crown turn.
A Lorcana deck needs at least 60 cards, no more than 4 copies of a card with the same full name, and at most two inks, so every card you add means one you take out. The deck building rules →
Upgrade direction 1: Villains that draw
Illusions haven't had Core-legal support since this set rotated, so a Core version of Amethyst and Steel turns to Villains that protect each other.
Maleficent & Diablo - Evil Incarnate
Attack of the Vine! #63
Draws a card whenever it exerts on your turn.
Diablo - Stone Servant
Wilds Unknown #196
Protects your Villains from challenges while exerted.
Cheshire Cat - Inexplicable
Whispers in the Well #60
Moves damage onto opposing characters.
Strength of a Raging Fire
Fabled #201
Removal that grows with your board.
Upgrade direction 2: Bigger challenge turns
If you play Infinity and want to keep the Illusions, add challengers that make the Restoring the Crown turn bigger.
Sven - Leaping Reindeer
Winterspell #60
Rush and Challenger +3, an extra challenge on the big turn.
Angela - Night Warrior
Winterspell #187
Challenger +2 and Resist +2 for a character.
Lilo - Best Explorer Ever
Fabled #174
Challenger +2 for your whole team the turn she's played.
Pluto - Steel Champion
Whispers in the Well #191
Gain 2 lore when another Steel character banishes in a challenge.
Core or Infinity
As of October 2026, this deck is not legal in Core Constructed as sold, because Core uses sets 9 (Fabled) onward. A card counts as Core-legal when any printing with its full name is, so the cards from this box that were reprinted in Fabled or later can still be played there. The whole deck is legal in Infinity Constructed, which allows every set, and at any kitchen table.
Every upgrade pick on this page is from set 9 or later, so all of them are Core-legal. Core Constructed vs. Infinity →
Buying the sealed deck? Search TCGplayer for the Amethyst & Steel deck → The link goes through our TCGplayer affiliate link; see our affiliate disclosure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Vanish do in Lorcana?
When an opponent chooses a character with Vanish for an action, that character is banished. It makes Illusions easy to remove with actions, which is why Jafar returning them matters.
Is Jafar - Newly Crowned a dual-ink card?
Yes. It's both Amethyst and Steel, so it fits only in an Amethyst and Steel deck.
Build the upgraded deck in TurnZero HQ.
Add the deck to the Deck Lab, make your swaps, and it checks the list against Core Constructed or Infinity as you go. Publish it to share the link. Free to start.
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