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Disney fans have been waiting the entire Christmas period with bated breath for Ravensburger’s new Magic the Gathering-style trading card game, Disney Lorcana, to enter release year in 2023. Now, that patience has been handsomely rewarded: after being drip-fed single cards for months, a huge reveal of the product line dropped yesterday for what Ravensburger are calling The First Chapter.
The nature of the line’s sales model worried many fans, including myself, as Lorcana is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated games of the year and preorders for popular products have been anything but pretty over the last few years, consistently failing to meet demand.
But it looks like we needn’t have fretted, as Lorcana’s first release in August this year is set to include different options to cater to every type of fan.
Over 200 cards will be available in this first wave across a variety of products. Of course, there’s standard 12-card booster packs, guaranteeing both a foil card and two cards of Rare or higher value (it’s worth noting the quantity is smack bang in the middle of its TCG contemporaries, with Magic packs containing 15 cards and Pokemon’s containing 10).
The next step up is the three available Starter decks, containing pre-built and ready to play 60-card decks, with each focusing on two of Lorcana’s six ‘inks’, similar to Magic’s five Mana colours. These seem the best bang for your buck as they’ll also include a booster pack.
Finally, the heavy hitters are the Illumineers Trove, the ultimate introduction to Lorcana, and the Gift Box. The Trove will include 8 booster packs (for a total of 96 cards), two deck boxes, a player’s guide and a variety of tokens, the details of which haven’t been revealed but which likely track status effects and health points of some sort. The Gift Box, focusing on Hades and Mulan, takes another leaf out of Pokemon’s book with two oversized foil cards, and will also include four booster packs and various tokens.
While physical products weren’t revealed, it’s also been announced that playmats, deck boxes, card sleeves and more will be available. While actual card and mechanic details are still thin, with these reveals comes more of the artwork tailor-produced for Lorcana and not drawn from any existing assets, including an armour-clad Aurora and a barely-recognisable Aladdin in a princely cloak and chestplate. After some initial scepticism from fans, it’s looking like Ravensburger really are pulling out all the stops to ensure that, come Autumn, Lorcana enjoys a magical launch.