Rushing the Table with Samchanted
Would you leave an exerted Pinocchio in play when Sammie is on 20 lore, just so your best character can quest? That decision could cost you the game. Pinocchio quests for three. Pocahontas makes it four. Sammie can find the fifth lore in her hand.
Rushing the Table with Samchanted
Interview and deck analysis · AMBER · AMETHYST · EMERALD
From the kitchen table in Australia to a table of four
Would you leave an exerted Pinocchio in play when Sammie is on 20 lore, just so your best character can quest? That decision could cost you the game. Pinocchio quests for three. Pocahontas makes it four. Sammie can find the fifth lore in her hand.
Sammie from Australia calls her deck Lore Rush. At a table of four, she wants to get to 25 before any of her three opponents can settle into their game. We asked her how she does it, why Bambi is her favourite card and what it took to make it to her first game night.
CocoDex · For everyone who doesn’t know you yet, could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us how your journey with Disney Lorcana began?
Sammie · I’m Sammie from Australia! My Lorcana journey started when I heard it would FINALLY be coming here in 2024. I started as a collector and taught myself to play with my younger brother at the kitchen table. It took me a whole year to work up the courage to join the weekly games at my local store. Since then my whole life has changed, all because of Lorcana!
CocoDex · What was your first reaction when Coconut was announced? What made you want to try this multiplayer format?
Sammie · I loved the idea of a singleton format! Our local store was already making up ways to play at our weekly meetups between Set Championships and the next release. It was great to finally have an official way to play like that!
CocoDex · Which Coconut did you choose for your deck, and what excited you about that character or strategy?
Sammie · I chose Pocahontas because aggro comes naturally to me. I really liked the idea of racing my opponents to the finish!
Who’s going to deal with the little questers?
CocoDex · Every good deck needs a plan! What does yours look like? How does your deck work, from the opening turns through to your ideal path to 25 lore?
Sammie · My plan was simple. I wanted as many classic aggro staples from different sets as possible. Cheap cards that let me flood the board quickly. My opponents are so busy keeping my board under control that they hardly get to gain lore themselves. Then I just hope the draws are kind enough to keep me going!
Fifteen cards cost one ink and twenty cost two. On turn two Sammie can already put two characters beside her first. If Lilo – Making a Wish survived, she can quest for two while they dry. Someone now has to spend a challenge on a character that cost Sammie just one ink.
Challenge Fred – Mascot by Day and Sammie gains two lore. Challenge Cursed Merfolk – Ursula’s Handiwork and each opponent chooses and discards a card. The other two players have good reason to care which one you pick.
What Lady and Pocahontas can do with a one-drop
CocoDex · Which three cards or combinations really make your deck shine? Are there any surprising cards that other players might overlook?
Sammie · This deck lives by flooding the board. Pocahontas – Guiding the Tribe and Lady – Family Dog are great because playing them lets me put extra one-cost characters into play. Cursed Merfolk and Fred – Mascot by Day also work really well because they discourage my opponents from challenging my characters.
Lady – Family Dog can actually play a character costing up to two. For three ink Sammie can play Lady and bring in Pinocchio – Star Attraction for free. If he makes it around the table, his first quest is worth three lore. Pocahontas – Guiding the Tribe, the card Sammie mentions in the interview, plays a one-cost character for free when she enters play. She isn’t in the deck export pictured here.
The list includes Pocahontas & Meeko – Adventurous Friends. This evasive duo triggers when it quests. Sammie can quest with Lilo first, use the duo to return her to hand, then play a one-cost character for free. If she replays Lilo, Lilo is ready and safe from ordinary challenges while she dries again.
Three opponents change the maths
CocoDex · There’s more to Coconut than just playing your cards. It’s also about playing the whole table! How does your strategy change when you’re up against three opponents? Do politics, alliances, or threat management play an important role?
Sammie · My strategy really is just to get to 25 lore as fast as possible. I tried to pick cards that punish every opponent, including those who don’t challenge my characters. I think alliances and managing threats definitely come into it.
Sometimes the whole table benefits when one player gives up a quest to challenge. Timing gets tight when Sammie has a Pocahontas in play. If she uses Shift to play Pocahontas – Peacekeeper and none of her characters has challenged this turn, nobody can challenge until the start of her next turn. Three opponents must now look elsewhere for an answer.
What happens after the opening rush?
CocoDex · What have you learned from playing your deck? Were there any surprising changes, unexpected weaknesses, or particularly memorable moments?
Sammie · I had to make a few changes, especially to the balance between cheap and expensive characters. The cheap ones can be cleared easily. Too many expensive ones can clog my hand if I can’t build up enough ink to play them. My first version had cards that didn’t really help the plan. With each release I’ve tried to update it and find more efficient plays and combinations.
Nineteen of the sixty cards are uninkable. An opening hand with Lady and Pinocchio looks good, but where does the third ink come from? With a handful of cheap questers, the question changes. How many need to hit the board now and which one can wait in case the board is wiped?
Genie – Wish Fulfilled draws a card on play, and Evasive can buy him several quests. Sammie’s own sweepers do different jobs. Under the Sea sends opposing characters with two strength or less to the bottom of their owners’ decks. Raging Storm banishes every character, including hers.
The fifth lore is in her hand
CocoDex · If you could choose just one card from your deck as your ultimate game changer, which would it be and why?
Sammie · My three-ink Bambi – Little Prince! Playing him gains me a lore. As soon as an opponent plays a character, Bambi comes back to my hand. It’s a pretty efficient way to keep picking up extra lore!
Back to that opening question. Sammie is on 20 and Pinocchio is ready to quest. Once during her turn her Coconut Pocahontas can give a chosen character +1 lore until the start of her next turn. That character can’t challenge and must quest if able. Pinocchio’s quest now takes her from 20 to 24.
With three ink left, Bambi – Little Prince gains the 25th lore as soon as she plays him. With just one ink she can instead play Good Job! before the quest. The extra +1 lore stacks with the Coconut bonus and Pinocchio quests for five. Pocahontas – Finding the Way can also supply the second bonus on play.
The other players’ decision came a turn earlier. Challenging exerted Pinocchio takes away three printed lore and a prime target for the bonuses. Leave him up and you should count to five. If Sammie already has 24, even an empty board can’t stop a Bambi in her hand. And if you saw him return to her hand, you know exactly what she’s holding.
Sammie’s Lore Rush decklist
Sixty cards, including 45 characters, at an average cost of 2.73. The 82 printed lore symbols include locations. The sixty include four copies of the linked character, Pocahontas – Peacekeeper.
41
192.73
82
1.78 Average strength per character 
2.96 Average willpower per characterInk curve
Card breakdown
All 60 cards · by ink cost
Cost 1
Cost 2
Cost 3
Cost 4
Cost 5
Cost 7
Cost 8
A different Coconut for the next game night
CocoDex · Which Coconuts do you think belong in S-tier right now? And which Coconut deserves a lot more love from the community?
Sammie · S-tier for me would be Tinker Bell, Ariel and Dumbo! And Snow White deserves more love! I’ve played her a few times. Building a thematic deck around her is so much fun. I also love working towards a long-term plan and trying to pull it off.
CocoDex · Coconut is still in beta! What do you love most about this format, and what’s the most important improvement you’d like to see?
Sammie · I love building decks and trying new strategies. Playing as a group is so much fun. We’re already seeing the format change: Bend to My Will was just banned in Coconut. What I’d most like to see is the Coconut cards printed and available to players. That would add so much to the experience!
Across the table from Sammie, you may have just one window to challenge Pinocchio. On her side of the table, Bambi gives you a good reason to keep those last three ink ready.
Deck by
Samchanted
Decklist and interview answers by Sammie.
Interview and deck analysis by CocoDex.
Follow Sammie on Instagram · @samchantedxx ↗