The gang’s all here — let’s explore the key facts regarding the Mouse’s upcoming trading card game, including where to get your hands on its inaugural sets.
Looking to score its own answer to games like Magic: The Gathering, Disney is entering the trading card game arena late this year with the Lorcana. Disney’s Lorcana TCG features characters from beloved franchises including reimagined versions of your favorite characters.
Players of this game — known in-universe as “Illumineers” — will wield “magic ink” that summons “glimmers” to gather “lore”. The first player (Illumineer!) to gather 20 lore wins the game.
Read that statement once, and then read it again. You can check out more on how to play here.
Disney’s Lorcana will be produced by Ravensburger, a German game and toy company that was founded all the way back in 1883. Ravensburger’s award-winning games include Labyrinth, Snail’s Pace Race, and Funny Bunny. In addition to making tabletop games, Ravensburger also manufactures 3D puzzles and GraviTrax marble-based construction toys.
Where to buy the first Disney Lorcana cards
Disney Lorcana will be available to purchase similar to other games in either booster packs or starter decks. The starter decks include 60 cards, including two that are foil of the characters on the packaging, 11 game tokens, and a booster pack. Booster packs include 12 randomized cards consisting of six common, three uncommon, two rare/super rare/legendary, and one foil card of any rarity level.
In addition to those options, collectors and hobbyists alike can purchase the “Illumineer’s Trove,” a package consisting of one storage box, two deck boxes, eight booster packs, 15 game tokens, and a player’s guide.
Disney Lorcana: The First Chapter is scheduled to release in September of 2023. You can expect to be able to purchase its products at local game and hobby shops and online retailers. As of this writing, there’s no word as to whether Lorcana cards will be sold at big box stores like Target or Wal-Mart, but stay tuned.
Could Disney Lorcana ever overtake Pokémon and other TCGs?
That’s the topic that’s being discussed currently within the hobby. Pokémon has been one of, if not the most popular TCG since its inception, mainly due to keeping the game fresh with new sets and a healthy organized tournament play that includes local, regional, national, and world championships. With the help of Ravensburger, if Disney is able to create an engaging game that’s able to appeal to all ages, it surely has the reach, budget, and brand power to propel Lorcana to becoming one of the most-played TCGs within a year.
Disney has no issue with popularity, full stop, but we’ve seen card games based on popular franchises come and go in the past; Marvel, DC, and plenty of others have all tried. With that said, none of them can boast the iconic, instantly recognizable status of Disney.
Previously, two overseas manufacturers, Kakawow and Weiss Schwarz, released their own respective card sets commemorating 100 years of Disney. The Kakawow set originally retailed for $199 for a hobby box; now, those boxes can be sold for anywhere between $500-600. Weiss Schwarz boxes started at $70 pre-order but have now more than doubled on eBay.
If those two collectons were any indication, Disney’s Lorcana has the potential to evolve into another staple in the TCG market quicker than we’ve come to expect.
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