When you think about the Trading Card Games that have stood the test of time and are still relevant nowadays, many are monoliths that have been around since the 90s – such as the Pokémon: Trading Card Game, Yu-Gi-Oh! and arguably the longest-standing of them all, Magic the Gathering. Especially with the former of these, they’re boosted by the popularity of a broader franchise and have enjoyed a renaissance off the back of streamer attention and the incredibly high values of certain rare cards. While other games have come and gone, it was hard to imagine another game with broad appeal that could make a splash in the 2020s. However, a partnership between entertainment powerhouse Disney and newcomer to the TCG space Ravensburger attempts to do that with the Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game. Featuring characters, items and more from across the broad spectrum of Disney animated works, players fill their deck with various cards – using their abilities to accrue lore (points) against their opponent and be the first to reach the target amount.
The value of Disney Lorcana is likely to differ somewhat depending on whether you are seeking to be a collector of the cards, perhaps wanting to complete a full set or obtain a rare card valued at tens, hundreds or even thousands of dollars – or whether you want to play the game itself. Either or both approaches are possible with Disney Lorcana, with systems in place to cater to both types of players.
For the Collector: Amazing Card Designs
As of writing, Disney Lorcana has four card seasons or expansions available to purchase, each with approximately 200 cards available apiece, and are distributed across booster packs, starter packs and other collections. These seasons are titled: ‘The First Chapter’, ‘Rise of the Floodborn’, ‘Into the Inklands’ and ‘Ursula’s Return’ – each featuring different characters, settings and more.
Booster Packs contain 12 cards each, consisting of six common cards, three uncommon cards, two cards of varying rarity (Rare, Super Rare, or Legendary), and one foil card, with a foil version available for each card. Unfortunately, in my experience, most of my foil cards turned out to be common due to my bad luck. Additionally, each set includes rare alternate artwork cards that are highly sought after by collectors for their high market value and overall rarity – although I would never recommend getting into collecting for monetary value. Your luck may vary, as you might get lucky or, like me, end up with none at all. As with many TCG nowadays, the publishers are open with the rarity of each card, providing a card number in the set and rarity on each card.
The artwork on each card in the game is consistently high quality. Ravensburger has hired different artists to capture the essence of the worlds, characters, items, and songs represented on each card. Except for a few item cards, which are understandably limited by their static nature, every card is of a high standard. Regardless of their rarity, each card upholds this quality. Additionally, the designs reflect the “ink type” (element) of each card, often incorporating its colour into the design. The variety of characters featured on the cards is a nice touch. While popular characters like Elsa from Frozen, Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Aladdin, and others are included, attention is also given to characters and items from lesser-known works, such as the Croquet Mallet from Alice in Wonderland, Basil from The Great Mouse Detective, and Duke Weaselton from Zootopia. This diversity is appreciated, and I hope future sets will continue to explore not only mainstream characters but also delve deeper into Disney’s extensive catalogue.
For the TCG Player: An fun, suitably paced game once you can wrap your head around its concepts
As with virtually every TCG on the market, there is some degree of a learning curve with Disney Lorcana to enable you to complete your first game. One of the best approaches is to start playing with one of the Starter Decks available, which feature a pre-defined deck of cards tailored towards two of the six ‘ink’ types featured in the game, in addition to some of the items that are always beneficial to have: damage counters, a playmat, and a quick start but still fairly comprehensive rules guide. Additionally, the game’s official website also offers some newcomer guides which I found very helpful to start with, in addition to a digital copy of the Starter Decks’ Quickstart Guide which, if you are like me during my first session, is nifty to keep on a tablet next to you during play.
Play sees players form a deck of 60 cards, comprising characters, items, actions and special ‘song’ cards. Each card is also associated with one of six ink types, which serve as this game’s equivalent of elements: Amber, Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst, Ruby and Steel – with each slanting towards different usability. While the aforementioned sets are aligned more towards two ink types, all six can be used in play. At the beginning of the game, each player draws seven cards. The objective is to be the first to collect twenty lore points. On a player’s turn, they can take various actions, such as drawing a card, sacrificing a card to use as additional “ink,” playing action and item cards from their hand, using characters to gather lore, and challenging the opponent’s characters. Cards are played using ink as the game’s resource system, which can be tapped to carry out actions and gather lore as the game progresses – more ink means more cards can be used each turn, but must be balanced against the viability of surrendering certain cards for the entire game.
The game involves strategic gameplay focused on managing ink, using character abilities, and disrupting the opponent’s strategies. Players can use characters to gather lore points or challenge and defeat opposing characters to stop them from gaining lore. Each card has its unique attributes, including cost, strength, and abilities, which need to be carefully utilized to beat the opponent. The game moves forward as players take turns making tactical decisions to gain an advantage and reach the lore target.
The game is easy to approach, but like many trading card games, this can vary from person to person. During my playtest, we spent too much time trying to understand the quick start guide before turning to the video tutorials, which were much more helpful. Even though we still encountered some trial and error during our first play session, the mechanics are intuitive enough that once you understand the symbols and the state of play, you can dive in pretty easily. However, I, as someone who learned to play the Pokémon TCG through its associated game on the Gameboy Colour, wouldn’t mind a gamified version of this game to simulate its complexities further.
Overall: A Fun, Strategic TCG Worth Playing, Not Just Collecting
Overall, Disney Lorcana stands out as a promising addition to the Trading Card Game landscape and is backed by a company that is seemingly willing to push out an assortment of card seasons to ensure that play quickly becomes more and more diverse – with at least two more sets planned for 2024. It effectively blends the nostalgia and belovedness of Disney franchises (although to date, no Pixar franchises) with engaging and quick gameplay mechanics. Its appeal spans collectors and players alike, offering beautifully designed cards that capture the ‘Disney Magic’ through the artistic styles of many talented artists, and a strategic game system that rewards thoughtful and strategic play. Although newcomers may find it challenging to grasp all the intricacies, the effort is well worth it. For the collector, if you are after a complete collection then you can look forward to the amazing art, with every card receiving a foil variant, however, with the incredibly low drop rate of the alternate artwork cards, getting one can be quite the challenge of luck.
Starter decks and booster packs were both provided by the Australian Disney Lorcana PR Team at Power Up PR, on behalf of Ravensburger and Disney, to facilitate this review.
This review is based on cards included in the first two sets of Disney Lorcana: The First Chapter and Rise of the Floodborn. A third set which introduces location cards, Into the Inklands is now available, with a fourth set Ursula’s Return planned for release on 13 July 2024. Come August 2024, Australia and New Zealand will be aligned with the rest of the world, and be receiving the fifth set – Shimmering Skies
