Last August, tabletop company Ravensburger revealed Disney Lorcana, a new trading card game featuring beloved Disney heroes and villains. The first seven cards were revealed in September at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, where attendees could pick up an exclusive set of first-edition cards. At the convention, we met up with Ryan Miller, Lorcana’s brand manager and co-designer, who talked about the team's love for all things Disney, the philosophy behind designing easy-to-learn, hard-to-master card games, and his belief that an organized play program would be essential to building a community around Lorcana. Specifics about gameplay and products were sparse at the time, but he promised that more would be revealed in the spring.
Since then, there’s been a trickle of new Lorcana information coming in, mostly from Lorcana’s Twitter account. In October we found out that cards are categorized by color, similar to Magic: The Gathering, and that there will be six “inks”: Amber (yellow), Emerald (green), Sapphire (blue), Amethyst (purple), Ruby (red), and Steel (gray). In December we found out that decks are limited to two different inks, and we also saw our first Action card, Dragon Fire. In January, the product line for Lorcana’s base set, The First Chapter, was revealed by IGN. It includes starter decks, a Gift Set, an Illumineer’s Trove, and booster packs. Last month, Ravensburger gave TheGamer our first look at the story of Lorcana. You can read our interview with Samantha Mcferrin, Lorcana’s narrative lead, who talked about the nature of Storyborn, Dreamborn, and Floodborn Glimmers, our purpose as Illumineers, and the form Lorcana’s story will take.
A few days later, the second Lorcana expansion was confirmed for November 17th. Other than the occasional card reveal, things have been relatively quiet for Lorcana news over the last month as fans waited for the rules of the game to finally be revealed. This week, Ravensburger pulled back the curtain and unleashed a tidal wave of new information about gameplay, organized play, and more card reveals than we’ve ever seen before. The information came quickly from sources all around the internet, so if you struggled to keep up with everything that happened this week as much as we did, here’s a timeline of everything you need to know.
Mickey Mouse - Wayward Sorcerer Reveal — Monday Morning
This Dreamborn Mickey made an appearance in the original trailer for Lorcana, but it wasn’t until this week that we got to see the actual card. This was a full-circle moment for the game, and even though we didn’t realize it at the time, it was our first clue that Monday was going to be a huge day for Lorcana news.
Game Trade Magazine — Monday Morning
Game Trade Magazine is a monthly print magazine you can find at most local game stores. Issue 279 features Lorcana on the cover, as well as a four-page spread that broadly explains the rules of the game, some details on organized play, new accessories, and eight never-before-seen cards. The newly revealed cards in GTM include:
- Lefou - Bumbler
- Just In Time
- Yzma - Alchemist
- Mickey Mouse - Steamboat Pilot
- Scar - Fiery Usurper
- Belle - Inventive Engineer
- Hercules -True Hero
- Fire The Cannons!
We also saw card art for a few other yet-unrevealed cards in the new card sleeves, deck boxes, playmats, and card portfolios. This was our first exposure to the specifics of the rules and organized play, but it didn’t take long before we were given a much more comprehensive look at these things.
Quick Start Rule Reveal — Monday Afternoon
Just hours later, TheGamer was provided with the official Quick Start Rules - likely what players will find packaged in the starter decks and Illumineer’s Troves once the game launches. The Quick Start Rules give players everything they need to start building decks and playing games. It includes a breakdown of the anatomy of a card, turn order, and an example of how Challenges play out. The rules also reveal Songs, a subcategory of Action cards, and several new cards we haven’t seen yet, including:
- Dinglehopper
- One Jump Ahead
- Donald Duck - Boisterous Fowl
- Captain Hook - Captain Of The Jolly Roger
Cards mentioned but not shown in the rules include Beast’s Mirror and Elsa - Queen Regent. For the full scoop on the Quick Start Rules, check out this article.
Starter Deck Contents Revealed In Ravensburger Press Release — Wednesday Morning
A press release on Ravensburger’s website revealed the contents of the Starter Deck bundles, which included photos of the damage markers, the Lore tracker, and several cards whose text had not yet been revealed. Aladdin - Heroic Bandit, Moana - Of Motunui, and Simba - Returned King have not been fully revealed.
Polygon Interview With Ryan Miller — Thursday Morning
Now that the rules have been revealed, Polygon sat down with Ryan Miller to talk about the intention behind the game mechanics. In the interview, Miller explains how the team came up with the Ink generation system, how Songs are meant to add variance and whimsy to the game, and reiterates that community is essential to the success of Lorcana. That interview introduced three never-before-seen cards:
- Let It Go
- Kristoff - Official Ice Master
- Frying Pan
Comicbook Interview About Organized Play - Thursday Morning
Comicbook also got a chance to interview Ryan Miller about the organized play initiative. He calls it a “top-down initiative” designed to reward participation. Whether you win or lose at local events, you’ll collect points through each 12-week season. As you get more points you’ll earn various rewards, such as promotional cards and pins. The interview includes images of the tracking sheet game stores will use to record the points players earn, as well as the promo cards and pins players will be able to earn in the first season. Among the three promos shown, two of them are new cards:
- Mickey Mouse - Detective
- Heihei - * Snack (text is covered)
Official Lorcana Gameplay Videos - Thursday Morning
Over on Lorcana’s official website, a series of How To Play videos were added on Thursday. Each of the eight videos explains a different aspect of playing the game, and almost all of them include cards we have not yet seen. This is the biggest collection of new cards we’ve ever been shown at one time:
- Stitch - New Dog
- Mickey Mouse - True Friend
- Magic Broom - Bucket Brigade
- Develop Your Brain
- Hades - Lord of the Underworld
- Part Of Your World
- Coconut Basket
- Maleficent - Sinister Visitor
- Control Your Temper!
- Pascal - Rapunzels’ Companion
- Flounder - Voice of Reason
- Maleficent - Binding Her Time
- Minnie Mouse - Beloved Princess
- Beast’s Mirror
- Lantern
- Aurora - Regal Princess
- Maleficent - Sorceress
Credit to MushuReport.com for all gameplay video photos
Lorcana Accessory Images And Pricing Reveal - Friday Morning
Finally, we got some nice product shots and pricing detail for the accessories revealed in GTM Magazine on Monday. At launch, there will be sleeve options, each containing 65 matte-finish card sleeves. These feature Elsa - Spirit of Winter, Mickey Mouse - True Friend, and Captain Hook - Forceful Duelist and will cost $9.99. The Deck boxes feature the same three options, hold 80-sleeved cards, and will cost $5.99. Three playmat options will be available at launch featuring Maui from Just In Time, Maleficent - Biding Her Time, and CMickey Mouse - Steamboat Pilot. They will cost $19.99 each. Finally, the lorebooks are portfolio-style binders that can hold 64 standard cards and eight oversized cards. There will be two options, The Queen - Wicked and Vain or Stitch - Carefree Surfer, which both cost $19.99.
Just this week we learned the rules, found out how organized play works, and saw 35 new card reveals. As we wait for the game to launch this August, a few questions remain. We don’t know when pre-orders will be available, though many local stores are already taking reservations. We don’t yet know what the pricing will be on any of the accessories revealed by Game Trade Magazine. Perhaps most importantly, we still don’t know what kind of alternate art or chase cards Lorcana will have, if any.
Lingering questions aside, it’s an exciting time for Lorcana fans now that we understand the rules and can start theory-crafting our own decks. We may learn more at GAMA Expo, a game industry-focused trade show where Lorcana will be demoed, at the end of the month. Those attending GenCon August 3-6 will also have an opportunity to purchase cards and play the game early, ahead of the local game store launch on August 18.