Recap: Disney Lorcana Challenge Melbourne

On February 21 – 22, over 400 Illumineers from Australia, New Zealand, and beyond gathered in Melbourne for the Disney Lorcana Challenge, ready to put their gameplay skills to the ultimate test. With the recent release of Winterspell, 204 new cards had just entered the format, and anticipation hung in the air like the first snowfall. Everyone was eager to discover which frosty goodies from the game’s latest set would leave the deepest mark on the metagame.

 

With glittering prize cards on the line, the stakes were high and the competition was fierce. JDZ Quest provided live streaming coverage on both Saturday and Sunday, allowing fans around the world to follow every pivotal decision and dramatic topdeck. In addition, photos and videos on the event page captured all the unforgettable moments that brought the community together.

 

In the end, after nine intense rounds of Core Constructed play and a thrilling Top 32 single-elimination showdown, Dillon LeDuc emerged victorious with a finely tuned Amber/Emerald deck. His triumph earned him not only the title, but also a coveted invitation to the 2026 Disney Lorcana World Championship. Congratulations!

 

Dillon LeDuc Triumphed with Amber/Emerald Dogs

 

Amber/Emerald

4 Bobby Zimuruski – Spray Cheese Kid

4 Daisy Duck – Donald's Date

4 Webby Vanderquack – Mystery Enthusiast

4 Lady – Decisive Dog

2 Lady – Elegant Spaniel

4 Go Go Tomago – Darting Dynamo

4 Grandmother Willow – Ancient Advisor

4 Lilo – Escape Artist

3 Mowgli – Man Cub

3 Ursula – Deceiver

4 Tramp – Enterprising Dog

4 Nani – Stage Manager

4 Lady – Miss Park Avenue

4 Tramp – Street-Smart Dog

2 Under the Sea

3 Della's Moon Lullaby

3 Emerald Chromicon

 

This Amber/Emerald deck (widely known as “Dogs”) has been a pillar of the Core Constructed metagame ever since the introduction of cards from Disney’s Lady and the Tramp. It had already been overperforming at earlier Disney Lorcana Challenge events this season, and the primary game plan remains ruthless: Flood the board with cheap 1-cost glimmers to enable an early Tramp – Street-Smart Dog.

 

Once unleashed, Tramp then filters unnecessary cards, discards Lilo – Escape Artist for value, and finds a heavy-hitting finisher like Lady – Miss Park Avenue to close out the game in style. Alternatively, Tramp can sing Under the Sea on the following turn, while Della’s Moon Lullaby shrinks an opposing character’s strength to orchestrate a sweeping board clear.

 

"Nothing compares to the complexity of Dogs,” Dillon LeDuc said during his winner’s interview on the livestream. Having playing the deck for a long time, he described it as his bread and butter, making it an obvious and comfortable choice for DLC Melbourne. What he particularly enjoyed was the constant decision-making and hand smoothing enabled by Bobby Zimuruski – Spray Cheese Kid and Tramp – Street-Smart Dog: “You're making choices all the time."

 

Two new inclusions from Winterspell elevated the deck to an entirely new tier. Grandmother Willow – Ancient Advisor is an excellent two-drop that can effectively reduce the ink cost of Tramp – Street-Smart Dog by two. An opening hand featuring two one-drops and Grandmother Willow can unleash Tramp – Street-Smart Dog as early as turn three!

 

Meanwhile, Nani – Stage Manager provides a suitable challenger for problematic characters like Calhoun – Marine Sergeant, while also supplying valuable card advantage to keep the engine humming. In this list, Nani finds a cheap character in the top four cards over 99% of the time, a level of consistency that makes every dog nod approvingly.

 

The addition of the uninkable two-cost Grandmother Willow did introduce a delicate deck building puzzle. “You have to cut down uninkables,” LeDuc explained. His final build used 19 of them. And with the two-drop slot already packed, there was no room for Mulan – Resourceful Recruit. Yet this careful trimming ultimately produced a clean, elegant, highly optimized build.

 

Thiago Santana made the Top 16 with a nearly identical list, while Josh Wong advanced to the Top 8 with a different spin: fewer aggressive questers, four copies of Under the Sea alongside a suite of strength-reduction effects, and Donald Duck – Perfect Gentleman to assemble that devastating combination. Yet regardless of the exact configuration, the ink pairing delivered a remarkable performance: Amber/Emerald started out as just 14% of the Day 1 field but ballooned to 34% of the Day 2 decks—an amazing conversion rate that speaks volumes about the archetype’s strength.

 

Emerald Chromicon plays a pivotal role in the winning build, and LeDuc leveraged it masterfully. "It's literally a broken card,” he said with a grin. “There's so many things you can do with it. You saw me bouncing my own guys, bouncing their guys—so much options!"

 

Indeed, Emerald Chromicon generates immediate tempo advantage in the short term, often forcing opponents to fall behind when they interact with your board. Before Winterspell, some decks could attempt to race Dogs by questing aggressively. But with the newly added Grandmother Willow – Ancient Advisor accelerating your board, the Dogs player now more easily gets ahead in that race. Nani – Stage Manager also pairs beautifully with Emerald Chromicon, as bouncing your own Nani can restart the card-advantage engine and keep the momentum rolling.

 

Following his victory, LeDuc anticipated the metagame to adjust. “Everyone is going to run item hate,” he predicted. Answers like Wasabi – Methodical Engineer, Benja – Guardian of the Dragon Gem, or Pluto – Steel Champion may indeed see increased play. Decks built around Under the Sea could also rise, as the Song can sweep a Dogs player’s entire board while sidestepping Emerald Chromicon triggers. Nevertheless, in Melbourne, ChromiDogs was perfectly positioned, and LeDuc claimed a well-deserved victory. Like the titular character in Wreck-it-Ralph, his favorite Disney movie, he wrecked the competition.

That said, the trip was already a success before LeDuc even sat down for the finals. Hailing from Southern California, he shared accommodations in Melbourne with a group of friends from New Zealand and the United States, and every one of them made the Top 32. “That was actually insane,” LeDuc said.

 

The shared camaraderie, the joy of exploring the world, and the opportunity to connect with friends old and new are at the heart of a Disney Lorcana Challenge. Even for the champion, it wasn’t just about the tournament or the trophy. After his victory, LeDuc was looking forward to extra days in Melbourne and more unforgettable dinners together: “The main point was to visit friends too. I got to do that in a really cool way!”

Amethyst/Sapphire Was the Most-Played deck

 

While LeDuc’s victory with ChromiDogs was the story of the tournament, DLC Melbourne also helped define the broader shape of the emerging Winterspell Core Constructed metagame. The most-played deck, by a wide margin, was Amethyst/Sapphire at 28% of the starting field, and it carried Jonathan Lam all the way to the finals, earning him his third Golden Mickey.

 

Amethyst/Sapphire

4 Basil – Practiced Detective

4 Royal Guard – Octopus Soldier

4 Sail the Azurite Sea

4 Tipo – Growing Son

4 Cheshire Cat – Inexplicable

4 Dumbo – Ninth Wonder of the Universe

4 Genie – Wish Fulfilled

3 Iago – Giant Spectral Parrot

4 Elsa – The Fifth Spirit

4 Hades – Looking for a Deal

4 Demona – Scourge of the Wyvern Clan

4 Hades – Infernal Schemer

1 Hypnotic Strength

4 Into the Unknown

4 Junior Woodchuck Guidebook

4 Let It Go

 

Amethyst/Sapphire (also known as “Blurple”) has long been another pillar of the Core Constructed metagame. The deck’s game plan revolves around accelerating ink on turn two with Sail the Azurite Sea or Tipo – Growing Son, letting you play a powerful four-cost character as early as turn three.

 

Blurple had already claimed three DLC titles this season in the hands of formidable champions: Lukas Marcellin in Bologna, Jacob Frank in Singapore, and Ruizhe Guo in Hong Kong. By the time Melbourne arrived, the archetype’s pedigree was well established as a powerful all-rounder.

 

Even so, Winterspell granted the deck a significant upgrade in the form of Let It Go. This reprint added four more removal songs to remove opposing characters while generating enormous tempo swings. Hades – Looking for a Deal can now more easily draw into a Song and serves as an ideal singer for Let It Go.

 

Other high–placing Blurple players, including Benjamin Teo (Top 4) and World Champion Dinh Khang Pham (Top 16) ran nearly identical lists, though they opted for a pair of Tigger – Bouncing All the Way to slow opponents down and steal back tempo. Jonathan Lam, however, kept his list more streamlined and focused on the mirror match, riding it all the way to the finals before ultimately falling to Dillon LeDuc.

 

In each of the three games LeDuc won during the best-of-five finals, Emerald Chromicon proved decisive. By repeatedly bouncing Lam’s characters, LeDuc maintained a steady board advantage. The one game that Lam managed to win was one where Emerald Chromicon never appeared.

 

"If I had Wasabi – Methodical Engineer, maybe I would have had a chance,” Lam reflected afterward, acknowledging his decision not to include item banishment effects. “But I was expecting a lot of Blurple, so I wanted to tech for the mirror a lot. That ended up doing good for me in Swiss and all the way through Top Cut.”

 

Dinh Khang Pham, last year’s DLC Melbourne champion, returned to Australia in hopes of defending his title, though his run ended in the Top 16 this time. “I really love playing Disney Lorcana; love playing competitively,” he said enthusiastically. “This season I try to go to every single DLC I can attend." Even in defeat, his passion for the game was unmistakable. Yet after watching the finals unfold, the Blurple afficionado had a clear piece of advice to share: “I think everybody should play Wasabi – Methodical Engineer now. One Wasabi would have solved everything instantly.”

 

A Diversity of Strategies Made Deep Runs

 

While Amber/Emerald and Amethyst/Sapphire dominated the top tables, Melbourne was far from a two-deck affair. A vibrant array of strategies carved their own paths through the Swiss rounds and into Top Cut, showcasing the diversity in the early Winterspell Core Constructed metagame. Let’s take a closer look at some of the other successful archetypes that Illumineers should keep on their radar.

 

Amethyst/Steel Midrange

2 Calhoun – Marine Sergeant

4 Captain Hook – Forceful Duelist

4 Cheshire Cat – Inexplicable

3 Demona – Scourge of the Wyvern Clan

3 Doc – Bold Knight

4 Dumbo – Ninth Wonder of the Universe

4 Elsa – The Fifth Spirit

3 Genie – Magical Researcher

3 Genie – Satisfied Dragon

4 Genie – Wish Fulfilled

4 Giant Cobra – Ghostly Serpent

4 Hades – Looking for a Deal

2 Madam Mim – Tiny Adversary

3 Olaf – Helping Hand

4 Palace Guard – Spectral Sentry

4 Strength of a Raging Fire

2 Sven – Leaping Reindeer

3 Violet Sabrewing – Senior Junior Woodchuck

 

Amethyst/Steel Midrange trailed just behind Amber/Emerald and Amethyst/Sapphire in overall popularity, and Ryan McGee took a traditional build all the way to the Top 4. His version maximized Dumbo – Ninth Wonder of the Universe along a squadron of Evasive characters. From Winterspell, McGee incorporated the new Genie – Magical Researcher for extra questing power and Sven – Leaping Reindeer as a powerful Evasive challenger.

 

Other builds with different card choices also made deep runs. For example, Neil Sayson’s Top 8 list abandoned Dumbo and the Evasive package, opting instead for new additions like Christopher Robin – Joining the Fun, Gigi – Best in Snow, and Angel – Experiment 624. With so many enticing Winterspell cards vying for slots, the ideal version remains up for debate and personal preference. Still, Strength of a Raging Fire and Genie – Wish Fulfilled remain a powerful pairing.

 

Amethyst/Steel Locations

4 Amethyst Chromicon

4 Calhoun – Marine Sergeant

4 Captain Hook – Forceful Duelist

4 Castle Wyvern – Above the Clouds

4 Doc – Bold Knight

2 Elsa's Ice Palace – Place of Solitude

4 Fairy Ship – Royal Vessel

4 Fire the Cannons!

4 Giant Cobra – Ghostly Serpent

2 Honeymaren – Northuldra Guide

4 John Silver – Greedy Treasure Seeker

1 Lilo – Bundled Up

4 Mulan – Disguised Soldier

4 Nala – Undaunted Lioness

4 Seven Dwarfs' Mine – Secure Fortress

4 The White Rose – Jewel of the Garden

4 Zootopia – Police Headquarters

 

The classic midrange shell is not the only way to build Amethyst/Steel. Carlo Andreacchio brought a spicy Location-centric list that took everyone by surprise, resulting in an impressive Top 8 finish. Powered by 18 Locations, the deck easily transforms John Silver – Greedy Treasure Seeker into a formidable quester, putting an enormous amount of pressure on the opponent.

 

Opponents will surely begin to challenge your questers and Locations quickly. But with so many threats in play, choosing the right one to challenge becomes a puzzle in itself, and meanwhile your lore total quietly climbs. Eventually, Amethyst Chromicon digs toward Giant Cobra – Ghostly Serpent or The White Rose – Jewel of the Garden, pushing you across the finish line. It’s an elegant list, remarkably built largely from Commons and Uncommons, and its Top 8 performance firmly places it on the competitive map.

 

Amber/Steel

4 Aurora – Holding Court

4 Daisy Duck – Donald's Date

4 Doc – Bold Knight

4 Fire the Cannons!

4 Grandmother Willow – Ancient Advisor

4 Lady – Family Dog

4 Lilo – Bundled Up

4 Lilo – Escape Artist

4 Mowgli – Man Cub

4 Mulan – Disguised Soldier

4 Nani – Stage Manager

4 Rhino – One-Sixteenth Wolf

4 Rhino – Power Hamster

4 Strength of a Raging Fire

4 Tiana – Restaurant Owner

 

Although Amber/Steel posted an underwhelming conversion rate, Damon Baker took a finely tuned list to a Top 16 finish. The deck still boasts some of the most explosive openings in the format. Aurora – Holding Court into a turn-two Tiana – Restaurant Owner is a dream sequence on the play, while Rhino – One-Sixteenth Wolf into Rhino – Power Hamster enables immediate challenges, which is particularly suitable when you’re on the draw.

 

Like Amber/Emerald, the list adopted Grandmother Willow – Ancient Advisor and Nani – Stage Manager from Winterspell, both synergizing beautifully with Doc – Bold Knight. Grandmother Willow lets you empty your hand more rapidly, while Nani digs four cards deep to find Doc. The final  new upgrade was Lilo – Bundled Up, reinforcing the deck’s ability to quest for lore quickly and decisively.

 

Emerald/Sapphire

4 Basil – Undercover Detective

4 Cinderella – Dream Come True

4 Clarabelle – Clumsy Guest

4 Clarabelle – Light on Her Hooves

4 Donald Duck – Perfect Gentleman

2 Ink Geyser

4 John Silver – Alien Pirate

4 Malicious, Mean, and Scary

4 Prince Phillip – Royal Explorer

4 Prince Phillip – Vanquisher of Foes

4 Sail the Azurite Sea

4 Strike a Good Match

4 Tipo – Growing Son

2 Under the Sea

4 Vision of the Future

4 You're Welcome

 

North American Champion Edmond Chiu reached first place after the Swiss with Emerald/Sapphire. As before, the deck relies on Clarabelle – Light on Her Hooves as its primary draw engine, which is particularly potent when You’re Welcome generously refills your opponent’s hand. Meanwhile, the powerful combination of Malicious, Mean, and Scary plus Prince Philip – Vanquisher of Foes can methodically banish every opposing character.

 

Chiu’s only Winterspell addition was Strike A Good Match, a subtle but clever refinement. Replacing Develop Your Brain, it allows you to discard polarizing uninkables when drawn in the wrong matchup. Ink Geyser can decisively lock up the game against Blurple once you’re ahead on board, while Under the Sea is a potent weapon against Dogs. But Ink Geyser is nearly useless against Dogs, and Under the Sea is underwhelming versus Blurple. Strike A Good Match smooths out those awkward draws. It’s good deck building, and Emerald/Sapphire remains a strong contender.

 

Ruby/Amethyst

3 Beast – Snowfield Troublemaker

3 Beast's Castle – Winter Gardens

4 Cheshire Cat – Inexplicable

4 Demona – Scourge of the Wyvern Clan

4 Diablo – Obedient Raven

4 Diablo – Watchful Raven

2 Dumbo – Ninth Wonder of the Universe

4 Elsa – The Fifth Spirit

4 Genie – Wish Fulfilled

2 Hercules – Mighty Leader

2 Iago – Giant Spectral Parrot

4 Lumiere – Fiery Friend

4 Palace Guard – Spectral Sentry

2 Peter Pan – High Flyer

3 Sisu – Emboldened Warrior

4 The Headless Horseman – Terror of Sleepy Hollow

2 They Never Come Back

3 Tinker Bell – Fancy Footwork

2 Vanellope Von Schweetz – Spunky Speedster

 

The final highlight was piloted to a Top 8 finish by Anthony Dunn. Ruby/Amethyst operates as a proactive curve-out deck, aiming to spend all available ink on the highest-cost character each turn. On turn five, The Headless Horseman – Terror of Sleepy Hollow is well-positioned to banish Tramp – Street-Smart Dog against Dogs or Genie – Wish Fulfilled against Blurple.

 

From Winterspell, Dunn incorporated the flavorful combination of Beast – Snowfield Troublemaker and Beast's Castle – Winter Gardens. Together, they yield a Rush character that takes no damage from his challenges and even rewards you with lore. Inn the late game, Beast’s Castle can also provide a huge lore burst when Demona – Scourge of the Wyvern sets up multiple challenges in a single turn. These synergies feel straight out of an enchanted fairly tale, and the deck performed well for Dunn over the weekend.

 

See You at the Next DLC!

 

DLC Melbourne was a blast, kicking off the Core Constructed Winterspell metagame. With the finals being a showdown between Blurple and Dogs, you can expect both decks to remain fixtures at the top tables of competitive play. Yet seasoned Illumineers will surely try to attack both strategies. That’s easier said than done, as Blurple and Dogs attack from entirely different angles, and the more you tune your deck to defeat one, the worse you risk becoming to the other. But whoever manages to strike the right balance could reap the rewards. And the ballroom remains wide open for innovation.

 

The journey continues in the months ahead. More Winterspell Core Constructed Disney Lorcana Challenges await in Ghent (March 7–8), Taipei (March 14–15), and São Paulo (April 25–26). On a more local stage, Challenge Championship Qualifiers and the Winterspell Set Championships in April will also offer Illumineers with prime opportunities to test their skills. It will be exciting to see how the Core Constructed metagame evolves as players adapt, experiment, and perhaps uncover the next breakout strategy.