Disney Lorcana review: Disney’s TCG blends fandom, strategy, and depth

Disney Lorcana, the brand new buying and selling card recreation from German-based Ravensburger, walks a high-quality line because it makes an attempt to draw skilled card and tabletop players, whereas additionally providing an accessible introduction for informal gamers, youthful followers, or Disney aficionados new to TCGs altogether.

Lorcana ceaselessly blends recognizable Disney themes with simple but strategic gameplay. Based mostly on a number of classes with a few of Lorcana’s preconstructed starter decks, the sport has clear potential for scaling engagement; there’s ample room to dive into meticulous, competition-fueled deck constructing, or keep a extra informal method centered on the easy pleasure of taking your favourite Disney characters on magical adventures.

In Lorcana, gamers assume the function of Illumineers with the facility to make use of magical ink to summon Glimmers, the sport’s variations of Disney characters and gadgets. Not like with Magic: The Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lorcana gamers aren’t racing to scale back an opponent’s life complete. Moderately, the thing of the sport is to gather 20 lore factors by sending characters on varied adventures.

One essential mechanic discourages gamers from merely siloing themselves off in their very own adventures, and prevents opponents passing like ships within the night time: Lorcana options its personal model of fight, during which gamers can use their characters to “problem” opposing Glimmers as a way to take away them from play and decelerate lore assortment.

Picture: Ravensburger/Disney

Different non-character playing cards can influence lore assortment or challenges, together with one-time-use motion playing cards or magical merchandise playing cards that may stay in play for a number of turns. Simply because the character playing cards depict Disney’s iconic heroes and villains, motion and merchandise playing cards will characteristic their very own acquainted imagery, such because the wildebeest stampede from The Lion King or Aladdin’s scimitar.

Likewise, the entire recreation is pushed by a useful resource system known as ink, which features so much like Magic: The Gathering’s system of mana. Gamers “exert” their ink playing cards, or flip them sideways, to pay the ink price of characters, actions, and gadgets. However in contrast to mana, ink doesn’t come from its personal distinctive card kind. As an alternative, gamers can place sure playing cards face-down on the board to function ink for different playing cards.

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In impact, Lorcana’s system is considerably paying homage to Flesh and Blood’s technique of “pitching” playing cards to pay prices, besides the ink sticks round for subsequent turns. This opens the door to new selections each flip, with fixed card analysis. Is a given card extra useful as ink, or no matter is printed on the entrance? Generally, utilizing the improper card for ink can create a ripple impact and outline the remainder of the sport. However this method additionally reduces the feel-bad stretches of getting playing cards caught in your hand since you haven’t drawn the sources to play them. In Lorcana, you’re principally by no means wanting potential ink.

One of the crucial fascinating qualities of Lorcana’s gameplay, particularly within the late-game phases when gamers have sufficient ink to play a number of playing cards per flip, is its free-for-all nature of sequencing recreation actions. In case you have ink to spend, gadgets to activate, or characters on the board, you may carry out authorized actions in principally any order.

This, once more, does the double obligation of enhancing each the sport’s accessibility and potential complexity. On one hand, gamers don’t must memorize completely different steps or phases that dictate when actions will be taken. If it’s your flip and also you wish to carry out a sure motion, chances are high, you are able to do it proper now.

Picture: Ravensburger/Disney

Alternatively, this flexibility ultimately rewards the extra disciplined gamers who think about the advantages of varied sequences to maximise the interaction between playing cards: synergies that may earn you extra lore, problem opposing creatures extra effectively, or just get extra actions out of a finite quantity of ink.

Half and parcel with the mechanics and methods of Lorcana is the sheer Disney-ness of all of it. There are myriad Easter eggs and nuanced card mechanics for Disney followers to select up on, however in lots of circumstances, the thematic inspiration for sure characters and film props leaps off the cardboard. Card results that influence the sport in strategic methods accomplish that whereas depicting unmistakable moments from the beloved movies.

Picture: Ravensburger/Disney

One touching instance will be seen on a card depicting Gramma Tala from Moana. Early within the movie, Tala dies, however her spirit takes the type of an ethereal manta ray who follows Moana on her journey throughout the Pacific Ocean. In Lorcana, Tala’s character card contains a distinctive capacity known as “I might be with you,” which turns her into an ink card when she would usually be banished from gameplay, retaining her in play as a useful resource for the participant’s different playing cards.

One other instance issues The Little Mermaid’s Ariel, after she’s traded her voice for legs. As an homage, the character card options a capability known as “Unvoiced,” which prevents her from singing songs. In Lorcana, songs are a subset of motion playing cards that may be performed by exerting characters as a substitute of ink, and provide a wide range of results, equivalent to card draw or bouncing characters again to their proprietor’s hand. Whereas virtually any character card can be utilized for songs, which frees up ink to make use of on different playing cards, Ariel’s cope with Ursula, and the ensuing penalties, results in a debuff, of kinds, that nonetheless feels acceptable for the supply materials.

For some gamers, the tie-in to Disney themes is perhaps this recreation’s predominant attraction — nevertheless it might likewise be the largest hurdle for individuals who don’t like or just don’t care in regards to the movies and characters. Although Lorcana’s gameplay presents loads of strategic depth for considerate and difficult gameplay, it bears sufficient similarities to different TCGs that some gamers could also be hard-pressed to select it over Magic, or different confirmed card video games that aren’t constructed on preexisting fandom.

Picture: Ravensburger/Disney

Finally, Lorcana should each grow to be a collector’s merchandise and persuade gamers of its aggressive potential if it’s going to coexist with different mainstays within the TCG area. Ravensburger has already confirmed that Lorcana will assist a system of organized play, although particular particulars stay unsure. For now, gamers can stay up for some sort of match system, based mostly out of native recreation shops, which can result in “league factors” towards prizes equivalent to particular playing cards, pins, and the like.

Finally, Lorcana in all probability isn’t a Magic killer — however perhaps it doesn’t must be. As an alternative, the fandom-oriented nature of this recreation’s artwork and themes would possibly truly place it to compete extra intently with the Pokémon Buying and selling Card Recreation. Whereas the latter advantages from its personal wealthy historical past within the TCG area, it too options characters that gamers acknowledge from cartoons, toys, and video games. In consequence, there is perhaps much less resistance amongst Pokémon followers to attempt one other card recreation that levies gamers’ relationship to an present IP. Maybe most significantly, Lorcana could be very simple to be taught and play proper out of the field.

Disney Lorcana will debut with its first set of 204 playing cards, often known as The First Chapter, on Aug. 18 at native recreation shops and Disney Parks, adopted by a wider launch on Sept. 1 at mass retailers.

The preliminary launch will embrace three completely different starter decks, every with 60 ready-to-play, curated playing cards plus a handful of tokens for monitoring lore and harm. Lorcana can even be obtainable via 12-card randomized booster packs, and different bundles equivalent to present units and the Illumineer’s Trove, which incorporates booster packs, deck containers, and extra equipment.

Disney Lorcana was reviewed utilizing a pre-release copy offered by Ravensburger. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media could earn commissions for merchandise bought through affiliate hyperlinks. Yow will discover further details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.