Over the past couple of weeks my TCG attention has been split more than usual between Disney Lorcana and Magic: The Gathering. And yes, as you might surmise it’s because of that blasted Universes Beyond Final Fantasy set. I had not planned on getting into it at all because it’s really friggin’ expensive – we’re looking at $8 play boosters, $100+ collector boosters – and also because it’s practically impossible to find. But my best Lorcana buddy Neuromorph started talking about it. And then I got lucky and found a single collector booster that had the expensive Lightning and some other $30-$40 cards in it. And then I got extremely lucky and found a big pile of mispriced play boosters at Target ($3.99 each, don’t hate me). Before I knew what was really going on I was out here hitting up local Targets and hoping to catch the Excell guy (that’s the distribution company that handles their collectible card aisle). It’s like when Disney Lorcana launched all over again.
But there’s a big difference of course. Every time I hit the card aisle, there’s tons of Disney Lorcana. If I were just getting into that game, there’d be no shortage of starters or boosters going back to Shimmering Skies and I even saw some Into the Inklands today when my son and I were making what we call our “Clown Rounds”. I even ran into a bunch of playmats and accessories just sitting on the shelf, which is something I have never seen since Lorcana came out. For Pete’s sake I could have bought 10 Reign of Jafar troves this morning, and I remember people practically fighting over these products. The Illumineer’s Quest boxed game is practically overstocked everywhere I look, and the thing about all this is that I never see the inventory seem to go down. And during the Clown Round today, the lineup of 20-30 year old men scrambling for cards at Best Buy were there for Pokemon, not Lorcana. The speculators have moved on from the game it seems- as well as the scalpers.
Now, don’t jump to conclusions here- this is not an article asking the question “is Disney Lorcana dying” or anything like that because I don’t think that’s the case and in fact I think the game is doing quite well, especially riding on the high of the recent crowning of a world champion, a much-needed set rotation coming up, a new play format, and a solid reprint/core set strategy about to land with the Fabled set. There’s a lot to be positive about in regard to Disney Lorcana, and I remain bullish on its future. Especially with the speculators and scalpers mostly out of the equation.
However, I find myself wondering if there’s much to be excited or thrilled about and if the game may need a jolt of something or other to get people fired up about Disney Lorcana again. At this point, the game is coming up on its third year and although I am absolutely stoked about The Goofy Movie and Gargoyles landing in the game and I’ve enjoyed the new mechanics that have been introduced I’m not sure there is anything going on with it where I’m like OMG I must buy two booster boxes. It’s much harder, for me at least, to get excited about Bolt and Brother Bear, and even the classic characters have started to feel a little repetitive and redundant.
It simply seems that Ravensburger could be doing more to make the game more exciting for those who aren’t already locked in. To the outside observer, it may seem like the game has settled into a kind of “distant third” versus MTG and Pokemon, seated in that tier with Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, One Piece, Flesh & Blood, and others that haven’t quite cracked into the top echelon.
New IP would certainly help but Ravensburger has already tapped into the B, C, and D tiers. I think Pixar is a grand slam, and I think it will likely bring new people into the game and do much to rejuvenate it. But I don’t know if it’s going to be a sensation like Magic’s Final Fantasy set. From day one Disney Lorcana players have wondered if there would be a Star Wars or Marvel set and my take on that remains “oh hell no”. That is absolutely not the right direction for the game, and in fact I think that it would greatly cheapen it and I can tell you with great confidence that I’d have nothing to do with either such set.
But what would very much like to see, as I’ve mentioned before, is more of a cohesive concept for each set. Sure, there’s the silly Illumineer story or whatever, but it would be so much more fun- and compelling- if each set had an overall theme. What if there was a Wild West thing, like what MTG did with Thunder Junction? All the characters in Western cosplay with fun mechanical twists. How about a spooky theme for Halloween, with Haunted Mansion chase cards? Some Magic players dislike the “hat sets” as some call them, But I think “hat sets” would be a perfect fit for Lorcana. There’s so much that could be done, but just isn’t. The idea of the Dreamborn and Floodborn was a great one, but the whole notion of seeing these characters “as we’ve never seen before” could be expanded into stronger themes that could freshen things up a bit. But maybe let’s cool it on the pirates?
Chief among the things that could be done is of course that old Mikey Mouse Club chestnut, an online app. God’s sake this game needs online play now more than ever. Back when Pixelborn shut down, it really felt like a lot of the momentum of Disney Lorcana was halted. And here we are some time later and the only peep we’ve heard is that the team that made Marvel Snap is working on one. Meanwhile, MTG: Arena and MTG Online keep on keepin’ on- and keeping players engaged with the game and playing 24/7/365. I’m playing dozens of Magic games a week while struggling to get 3-4 Lorcana games going in that same time. If I can marshall one at all.
I also still think an officially supported EDH/Commander style format is essential. Over in the MTG world, it’s almost the defacto way the game is played for many, especially at a casual level. And the thing is, Disney Lorcana is already a pretty good multiplayer game, it just needs some more specific card support and formal rules. And this would of course open the door to special precons with unique themes that would surely be big sellers on top of giving folks another reason to buy boosters and cruise the secondary market for singletons.
Heading into year 3 of this game, I’m reflecting on the late summer of 2023 when the game dropped and how electric it felt. That kind of momentum and energy is difficult to maintain, but Magic still manages to catch fire with sets like Final Fantasy. I think what it really comes down to is that Disney Lorcana’s handlers need to stretch a bit and make a focused effort to avoid the game becoming redundant- and I quite frankly do not think that its goofy lore and perfunctory storyline is enough to do that. No one is going to get excited about the Illumineers (I think their names are Wutang, Maizey, and DuPont?). But something like a full-on science fiction themed “hat set” or a high profile collab with another brand – how about Mickey x 40k – could generate some much needed heat and attention- especially with some nice Enchanted chase cards. But oh wait- that could summon the speculators and scalpers. A devil’s bargain to be sure!
With all that said, Disney Lorcana is as fun and compelling and colorful as ever as it turns 3. And, as it stands right now, it’s cheaper to get into than Magic and it’s still a more accessible game as a whole. It still feels like there’s space on the store pegs, on the home shelves, and in the design space for this excellent game even if it continues to play it safe.
Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. Want articles like this linked in your inbox every Monday morning? Sign up for our newsletter. And don’t forget that you can support us on Patreon for backer rewards like early video content, Administratum access, an ad-free experience on our website and more.
