Disney’s Lorcana Trading Card Game
A new Trading Card Game from Disney and Ravensburger has us intrigued. A blend of booster pack collecting and deckbuilding meets a colorful cast of Disney characters in Lorcana, which aims to disrupt the likes of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh in a genre dominated by one major player. Developed and published by Ravensburger in collaboration with Disney, Lorcana combines the mechanics of a collectible card game with a colorful and exciting cast of Disney characters and the realm of Lorcana in which they reside.
Set in the realm of Lorcana, you take on the role of an Illumineer, an adventurer who discovers a magical contraption in the Great Illuminary building. Using the Inkcaster wand, your task is to protect Lorcana, search for the missing lore, and – most importantly – recreate characters, items, and worlds from the vast Disney universe.
The game’s story will be told through a combination of cards, social media, and other materials across the first year of the game. The first set, however, tells a standalone story starting with the players discovering the Inkcaster and venturing into the world outside their own.
One of the game’s mysteries is the Floodborn cards. Featuring radically different designs of your favorite Disney characters, these utilize the exclusive Shift mechanic. Currently, we know that cards in Lorcana fall into six colors, known as Ink, each with its own play style.
Currently available for pre-order, Lorcana launches in the United States on August 18, 2023, followed by an international release on September 1, 2023. There are several options available to you when purchasing the new TCG, including booster packs containing 12 cards, starter decks, the Illumineer’s Trove, and a Gift Set.
Lorcana Launch Lineup
Here is the full launch lineup for Lorcana:
Ravensburger plans to release four expansion sets each year. The second set, currently unnamed, is expected to continue the story from the First Chapter and introduce new mechanics. While the first set focuses on traditional Disney characters, characters from Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel may be included in future sets.
Lorcana Gameplay
So how does Lorcana play? Gameplay involves building 60-card decks and striving to accumulate 20 Lore the fastest through quests and exertion. Ink is spent to cast characters, items, and actions, generated by placing cards in the Inkwell each turn. Damage in Lorcana is semi-permanent, and characters can be banished if they accumulate enough damage.
Cards in Lorcana have unique abilities, and some mechanics, known as keywords, will appear on multiple cards. These are Action cards, one-off effects played during the Main Phase, and Songs, a subtype of Action cards played for free under certain conditions.
Lorcana Deck Builder
For more details on building a Lorcana deck, check out our Deck Builder 101 guide.
