Frank Karsten Brews Seven Wilds Unknown Decks Led by Pixar's Toys and Incredibles

Disney Lorcana Challenge champion Frank Karsten has built seven new Core Constructed decklists showcasing the Wilds Unknown set, which adds 204 cards and debuts Pixar glimmers from Toy Story, The Incredibles, and Brave. The brews range from a Woody-led Toy tribal deck to a Sid Phillips banish combo and an Emerald/Sapphire Support engine capable of a 20-lore turn.

The arrival of Wilds Unknown — the latest set for the Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game — has touched off a wave of deck-building experimentation, and few brewers are better positioned to chart the way than Frank Karsten. The champion of the inaugural Disney Lorcana Challenge in Lille and a longtime trading-card-game theorist, Karsten has assembled seven fresh Core Constructed decklists that show off what the set's 204 new cards can do, headlined by the long-awaited debut of Pixar glimmers from Toy Story, The Incredibles, and Brave.

Karsten describes the project as a flurry of inspiration sketched on the journey home from the Disney Lorcana Challenge in São Paulo. Each list is built around the set's new ideas and synergies and follows his published 10 key deck-building principles, though none have yet been tested in a sanctioned tournament. The result is a snapshot of where Wilds Unknown could push the metagame — equal parts competitive blueprint and local-league inspiration. The breakdown below walks through all seven builds.

Amber/Emerald Toys: Woody Leads the Toy Box

The first list leans all the way into the toy chest from Andy's room, with Woody at the center. The dream curve runs Woody – Waiting for a Friend on turn one, Bullseye – Loyal Horse on turn two, and Woody – Jungle Guide on turn three, where questing draws a card and plays a character costing two or less for free while handing the rest of the Toys a willpower boost. Karsten notes that Woody – Jungle Guide is easy to challenge, so the deck keeps Rex – Protective Dinosaur on hand as a bodyguard and uses Bullseye to sing This Growing Pressure to redirect incoming challenges, with Alien – True Believer punishing whatever character is forced to quest.

Jessie – Lively Cowgirl supplies the engine's card draw, with her Yodel–Ay–Hee–Hoo! ability triggering off cheap plays as well as cost reductions from Hamm – Piggy Bank or Grandmother Willow – Ancient Advisor. With 43 Toys in the 60-card list, the beloved song You've Got a Friend In Me functions as a near-guaranteed draw-two; Karsten pegs the odds of revealing at least one Toy in the top four cards at 99.6 percent and two Toys at 94.3 percent, and recommends a 35-Toy floor before running the card elsewhere.

He flags the build as an ideal on-ramp for newcomers upgrading their 2-Player Starter Set, since nearly every card is rotation-proof — only Grandmother Willow – Ancient Advisor and Under the Sea come from outside Wilds Unknown. The Under the Sea package pairs with Mickey Mouse – Expedition Leader to quest ahead, shrink the opposing board, and then sweep it, though purists can swap in Andy's Room and more Toys to stay fully on theme.

Emerald/Ruby Sid: A Destructive Toy-Banishing Combo

The second build flips the friendship theme on its head. Sid Phillips – Toy Surgeon rewards the player with two lore every time a Toy is banished during their turn, fueling a chaotic but effective strategy. Karsten highlights a pre-rotation combo finish: with Sid and Queen of Hearts – Unpredictable Bully in play plus two copies of Alien – True Believer, a turn-seven loop of playing an Alien, damaging it, banishing it for two lore, and returning another Alien can be repeated for each available ink — up to a staggering 14 lore in a single turn at seven ink.

The deck digs toward its pieces with Buzz Lightyear – On the Way and cheap actions such as Strike A Good Match, whose draw-and-discard effects also let players pitch the first Alien for later value. Babyhead – Leader of Sid's Toys keeps cards flowing whenever a friendly character is banished, while a suite of Ruby Toys capitalizes on the discard pile — Bouncing Ducky – Sid's Toy frequently costs just two ink, and Buzz Lightyear – On the Way cleans up characters already softened by Queen of Hearts.

Amethyst/Steel Dwarfs: Right Behind You Powers an Early Swing

A new Seven Dwarfs direction comes courtesy of Right Behind You. If a player lands Mulan – Disguised Soldier or Pocahontas – Following the Wind alongside a one- or two-cost Dwarf in the opening hand, the conditions for Right Behind You come online by turn three — an alignment Karsten estimates happens roughly once every three games. When it fires, Bashful – Riding the Rails or Grumpy – Soreheaded Miner hits the board for free, creating a major early-game swing while the opponent is still developing.

When Right Behind You doesn't show up, Snow White – Merry as the Morning offers a graceful turn-three alternative: safe from challenges, she can return Doc – Bold Knight to hand for a steady stream of cards into the midgame. Karsten frames the list as an exciting new lane for the established Amethyst/Steel color pair.

Ruby/Steel Supers: The Incredibles Charge In

Glimmers from The Incredibles make their debut in Wilds Unknown, and this deck is built to let the Parr family shine. Mr. Incredible – Super Strong delivers raw Strength among a roster of fellow Supers, and reaching 10 Strength is attainable enough that Maximus – Team Champion can reward the player with five lore at the end of the turn. Mrs. Incredible – Determined Rescuer is the build's other payoff, shifting in as early as turn five to grant the team Resist 1, lining up favorable challenges, and crucially questing for three lore to convert board control into points.

Karsten is candid that pushing the Super count comes at a cost: keeping the synergy intact means running vanilla characters such as Taurus Bulba – Steerminator and even Super Villains like Negaduck – Evil Doppelganger, compromises that may raise a competitive eyebrow. Still, for players who want a cohesive, action-packed tribute to Metroville's finest, the list delivers.

Iconic Payoffs: Merida's Arrows and Dale's Big Shot

Merida – Formidable Archer is one of the set's stunning Iconic cards, but her signature action, Three Arrows, underwhelms when cast on turn three. Karsten's plan is to discard Three Arrows early — via Lyle Tiberius Rourke – Adventurer for Hire or Angel – Experiment 624 — then play Merida on turn five to reclaim it, setting up a turn-six volley dealing 3 and 4 damage with her ability active. The Emerald/Steel build packs additional direct-damage actions (Tug-o-War can sweep a board when amplified) and leans on the resulting non-Song density to power Donald Duck – Lively Pirate and Mr. Smee – Efficient Captain.

The Amber/Amethyst Dale deck, meanwhile, showcases new Amethyst questers Will o' the Wisp – Forest Spirit and Dash Parr – Lava Runner, but its breakout is Dale – Ready for His Shot. With Dale in play, early questers like Daisy Duck – Donald's Date and Tiana – Restaurant Owner effectively become 4/4s, and Elsa – The Fifth Spirit challenges as a 5/5, turning the whole lineup into punishing brawlers. The deck's main weakness is Under the Sea, which can wash the board in one motion — a swing Mowgli – Man Cub is meant to help prevent.

Emerald/Sapphire Support: From Zero to 20 Lore

The seventh brew is the set's most explosive payoff engine. Ranger Plane complements Alice – Growing Girl to give the deck eight cards that grant Support to the whole team, and Gadget Hackwrench – Resourceful Mechanic can deploy Ranger Plane for free. Once everyone has Support, Gadget enhances lore values for big quests while the team boosts Alice's Strength past 10, making her eligible for three more lore pips from Ranger Plane.

Mulan – Resourceful Recruit climbs to six Strength with Support or Zipper – Big Helper, turning each quest into a six-lore swing that scales even higher with Ranger Plane and Gadget. With You Came Back enabling a second quest from a glimmer questing for 10-plus, Karsten says the deck can patiently assemble its parts before launching a single character from 0 to 20 lore in one breathtaking turn.

What This Means for Competitive Lorcana

Karsten is clear that established archetypes aren't going anywhere — he expects to see Steelsong fold in Woody – Jungle Guide, Dogs adopt Dale – Ready for His Shot, Blurple add Fauna – Good–Natured Fairy, and traditional Amethyst/Steel pick up Will o' the Wisp – Forest Spirit as the metagame absorbs the new set. But the seven brews above point to the genuinely new space Wilds Unknown opens up, from Toy tribal and Sid's banish combo to The Incredibles' Super package and the Support deck's 20-lore turns. With Attack of the Vine! set to rotate the four oldest sets out in July, several of these lists are also built to stay legal — making them a low-risk starting point for players looking to experiment ahead of the next competitive season.