The premier set, "The First Chapter", was released to board game stores on August 18, 2023 and major retailers on September 1, 2023.[7][8]
Development and release
In June 2023, shortly before the game's release, Ravensburger and game co-designer Ryan Miller were sued by the latter's former employer, Upper Deck Company. The suit alleged that Disney Lorcana used game design elements from an unreleased trading card game, originally named Shell Beach and then renamed Rush of Ikorr, which Miller worked on while at Upper Deck.[9][10][11][12] Ravensburger had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.[13]
At an early release event at Gen Con tabletop game convention, customers waited in hours-long lines to purchase starter decks and booster packs.[14] Cards with particularly high rarity quickly resold for hundreds of dollars prior to the game's initial release,[15] while the promotional cards from the 2022 D23 Expo resold for prices between $1,000 and $3,000.[16]
Lorcana has featured characters from an eclectic range of Disney films and shows, and as of January 2025 each set has introduced characters from one or more new franchises. The designers have revealed plans to eventually include Pixar characters.[17]
Story
Disney Lorcana is set in an alternate world, where there are people called "Illumineers". Illumineers are able to use magical ink to summon "Glimmers", which are beings that resemble Disney characters. The world has regions called "Inklands". At its center is the "Great Illuminary". Its purpose is to be a repository to keep track of every story ever told. These stories are archived in the "Halls of Lorcana".
One day, the Ilumineers disappear and the Great Illuminary calls upon players to be Illumineers themselves. There is a book of stories, a "lorebook", and a tool called an "inkcaster" that allows Illumineers to take the magical ink to create glimmers from the lorebook.[18]
Three types of glimmers exist:
Storyborn – identical to characters featured in the original Disney films.
Dreamborn – reimagined Disney characters.
Floodborn – characters born from a cataclysmic event yet to be disclosed.
Players are tasked to summon glimmers and retrieve "lore". Lore are fragments of a larger story that are kept in the Great Illuminary. But it is still unknown as to who or what the lore is being kept safe from.[19]
Gameplay
With decks made up of at least 60 cards,[20] players produce "ink", a resource that allows cards representing characters, items, and song lyrics from Disney media to be summoned.[21] Turns follow a sequence of generating ink, playing cards, using actions from cards, and challenging opponents' character cards. While interacting with each other's cards, players attempt to accrue twenty points (known in game as "lore") before their opponent.[14][22]
Ink Types
Players summon Disney characters using different types of "ink". There are six ink types in the game:[23]
Amber – feature characters and spells that focus on defense and recovery.
Amethyst – focuses on spells and abilities that can change the course of the game.
Emerald – includes characters and abilities that focus on strategic plays.
Ruby – cards focus on attacks and offensive strategies.
Sapphire – provides card draw and resource management abilities.
Steel – focused on defenses and resilient characters.
Card Types
There are four basic types of cards that you can play:[24]
Character - a person or creature from a Disney property. Characters can quest to gain lore or challenge other characters, but not on the turn they are first played. Each character has a Strength value (how much damage they do in challenges), a Willpower value (how much damage they can take before being discarded), and a Lore value (how many points they give you when they quest).
Item - an object from a Disney property. Items can be used immediately, and have passive or activated abilities.
Action - an event or activity from a Disney property. Actions do not enter play, they are discarded after you fulfill their ability.
Location - a place from a Disney property. Locations accrue lore passively at the start of every turn, and characters can enter them, usually for some benefit. All locations have a Willpower value (as they can always be challenged), a Lore value, and a Move cost (how much ink must be spent to put one of your characters there).
There are also subtypes for these main types called "classifications", and various abilities refer to types and classifications.
Rarities
Cards come in different rarities that are located at the bottom center of the card.[25] The rarities listed in increasing rarity are:
Common (gray circle)
Uncommon (white book)
Rare (bronze triangle)
Super Rare (silver diamond)
Legendary (gold pentagon)
Enchanted (rainbow hexagon)
Shift mechanics
Shift is the ability to upgrade character cards in play with a different character card with the same name. This is accomplished by paying an alternate cost, usually in ink, for less than it would cost to play the card normally, but starting with the Ursula's Return expansion, the shift mechanic gained other ways of being activated beyond paying an ink cost. For example, players can discard a song card in order to play shift on top of another character.[26]
Dual-ink cards
To be released in the Archazia's Island expansion, cards may be released having two types of ink compared with cards released up until this expansion having only one ink type. The first dual-ink card will be Bell, Mechanic Extraordinaire, which will be part Sapphire and Ruby ink types.[27] Dual-ink type cards do not appear to have any additional abilities attached to them, but some speculate that these cards may accommodate limitations within different ink types.[28] Moreover, dual-ink cards don't appear to be more powerful nor be more difficult to play.[29]
The first expansion, "Rise of the Floodborn," was released on November 17, 2023.[36] This 204-card expansion added characters from Pinocchio, The Jungle Book, The Great Mouse Detective, and other properties, and introduced a "Resist" game mechanic.[37] The second expansion, "Into the Inklands," was officially announced on December 6, 2023.[38] This expansion, also 204 cards, introduces characters from DuckTales, TaleSpin, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Treasure Planet; it also introduces a brand new card type, "Locations." Locations are well-known spots from Disney movies and television shows,[39] and add a new mechanic and more strategy options into gameplay.[40] "Into the Inklands" debuted in hobby stores on February 23, 2024, and was released on March 8, 2024.[38] The third expansion, "Ursula's Return" was officially announced in February 2024 and introduces characters from Encanto. "Ursula's Return"[41] was made available to mass markets on May 31, 2024. "Shimmering Skies" included characters from Wreck-It Ralph.[42]
Competitive Play
Disney Lorcana Challenge
Starting May 2024, the Disney Lorcana Challenge is an event circuit of tournaments and competitions for players of the game.[43]
On December 6–8 2024, the European Championship 2024 was held at the Disneyland Paris Resort. In the final, Domingo Martinez Rodenas was able to beat Michele Assirelli 3-2 to win the championship.[54][55]
The North American Championship 2025 took place at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California on January 10–12 2025.[56] Edmond Chiu won the championship by beating Scott Markeson in the final.[57]
Reception
Lorcana has been received well, having a score of 7.3 on BoardGameGeek,[58] a Recommended from Polygon,[59] and winning Best Ongoing Card Game at the 2023 Tabletop Awards.[60]
Ravensburger North America’s CEO Stephane Madi claims hearing a "number of players who have told us that Disney Lorcana TCG has given them a chance to share their love of the hobby with their families, or how it’s brought a number of new faces to organized play events" and they "believe (and have heard from our partners and players) that Disney Lorcana TCG has grown the size of the TCG pie, as opposed to taking a piece of it".[61]
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