Magic: The Gathering is a trading card game (TCG) that feels the most similar to Disney Lorcana, but it features two players as rival wizards summoning creatures and casting spells to defeat each other in battle. Lorcana is much more family-friendly, where no one gets hurt. The word “Lorcana” is a combination of “lore” and “arcana”, suggesting that it is a simpler game than Magic.
Disney Lorcana is a venture into the trading card game industry, drawing inspiration from games like Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon TCG. The word “Lorcana” is a combination of “lore” and “arcana”, suggesting that it is a simpler game than Magic. The first cards for Lorcana are spectacular, with Mickey, Elsa, Cruella De Vil, and others uniting for the launch of an attack.
Unlike Magic: The Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lorcana players are not racing to reduce an opponent’s life total. Instead, the objective of the game is to collect 20 lore. Lorcana draws on the rich traditions of the TCG genre, which were established some 30 years ago by games like Magic: The Gathering and the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
One of the first ways Lorcana sets itself apart from Magic is the way you use resources. In Magic, players balance their deck building with lands, the cards used to cast their spells, as the main resource. In Lorcana, players win by Lore or running out of cards.
While Lorcana may not be as deep as Magic: The Gathering, it has a built-in fan base and is likely aiming for “easy to learn, easy to master”. Magic: The Gathering’s next set was inspired by fairy tales, and it is unclear whether Wizards scheduled it to disrupt the launch of Disney Lorcana.
📹 Does Disney’s New TCG Lorcana Mean Doom For Magic: The Gathering? No
#MagicTheGathering #MTG #commander ▻This episode is brought to you thanks to our wonderful Patreon community. Join to …
Is Lorcana balanced?
The “Amber and Amethyst” deck, exhibiting a slight reduction in strength but an accompanying increase in ease of play, represents the most balanced of the starter decks with which I have had experience.
Is Lorcana the same as MTG?
Magic is a more complex multiplayer game than Lorcana, which offers a wide range of features and challenges. In Lorcana, players can win by lore or running out of cards, while Magic offers various cards and triggers to win the game. The way players win is similar to Track vs. Boxing, with the goal being to achieve goals faster than the opponent. In Magic, the goal is to pummel the opponent until they can no longer function well enough to stand up on their own.
Moving from Magic to Lorcana is akin to Track vs. Boxing, with the goal being to beat the opponent until they can no longer function well enough to stand up on their own. While Magic is a better multiplayer game in its current state, it has more fun and challenging drafting sets than Lorcana. However, there are also bad sets available in Magic, which is not present in Lorcana.
In conclusion, Magic is a more complex and challenging game than Lorcana, but it offers a more enjoyable and challenging drafting experience.
What is Lorcana similar to?
Lorcana is a Disney-branded collectible card game, similar in execution to Magic or Pokemon. It is manufactured and distributed by Ravensburger, makers of the Horrified series of board games. The game is optimized for playing with just two players and is Disney-themed, making it familiar to players with the various characters. Both Lorcana and Sorcerer’s Arena, released by The Op Games, feature Stitch, although Sorcerer’s Arena requires an expansion called Turning the Tide to obtain him.
The marketing blitz and furor surrounding its release may have missed the marketing blitz and the furor surrounding its release. The joy that can be taken from games, even if played less frequently, is a common experience for those who love games and enjoy the joy that comes from playing them.
What game is Magic: The Gathering similar to?
Legends of Runeterra is a free-to-play digital card game that employs a card-slinging duel style comparable to those seen in Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone.
Is Lorcana easier than Magic?
Lorcana is a simple game with solid gameplay and core mechanics that offer opportunities for future card designs. Players can make decisions on mulligans, inking, challenging, and sequencing. Their first tournament results suggest a good grasp of the game. To achieve success, players should focus on assembling an “ink curve” by putting cards from their starting hand on the bottom of their library and redrawing them. The Ultimate Guard shop offers the best sleeves for Lorcana cards. Overall, Lorcana is easy to learn but hard to master, offering opportunities for future card designs.
Will Lorcana be worth money?
Lorcana cards, particularly special promotional and rare variants, are highly valuable and rare. They feature popular characters like Tinker Bell, Mickey Mouse, Stitch, Belle, Cinderella, and Elsa, and are highly sought after by collectors. The D23 promo cards, such as Elsa, Snow Queen, Mickey Mouse, Brave Little Tailor, Captain Hook, and Maleficent, are the most valuable in the game and have significant investment potential. Disney’s Lorcana, a trading card game based on beloved Disney films and shows, caters to both trading card enthusiasts and Disney lovers.
The most valuable cards are rare variants, special promotional cards, and exclusive releases available only to a select few. These cards have catapulted in value, catering to both trading card enthusiasts and Disney lovers.
What was banned in MTG?
The following cards have been banned: Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom. The Silver Border Project and other new initiatives are scheduled to be implemented on September 23, 2024.
Is Lorcana easy to play?
The engine-building card game is a relatively brief and simple game with enjoyable mechanics that become apparent upon initial familiarization.
Is Lorcana easy to get into?
Disney’s Lorcana is an accessible game that caters to a broad range of players, making it straightforward to learn and play. However, it also incorporates strategic elements that are more complex and engaging for more experienced players.
Are Lorcana cards worth buying?
Lorcana cards, particularly special promotional and rare variants, are highly valuable and rare. Collectors highly value alternate art versions of popular Disney characters like Tinker Bell, Mickey Mouse, Stitch, Belle, Cinderella, and Elsa. The D23 promo cards, such as Elsa, Snow Queen, Mickey Mouse, Brave Little Tailor, Captain Hook, and Maleficent, are the most valuable and have significant investment potential.
Disney’s Lorcana, a trading card game based on beloved Disney films and shows, caters to both trading card enthusiasts and Disney lovers. The most valuable cards are rare variants, special promotional cards, and exclusive releases available only to a select few.
📹 MTG Player Tries Disney Lorcana. Here are my thoughts…
Disney Lorcana is a brand new trading card game that is gaining some popularity in the MTG community. I decided to give it a try, …
As someone who’s dabbled in MTG over the years but has always felt sort of like they got into the hobby too late, Lorcana looks to be the answer to that issue; being here at the game’s inception is far more appealing than sinking a bunch of money and research into an existing and established property. Plus, when it comes to just opening packs, it’s going to be a treat to actually recognise and be surprised by cards depicting characters and artefacts that I enjoy. I’ll certainly be someone who plays Lorcana as well as collecting it, but it’ll also be far easier to open a pack and go “Oh hell yeah, I got Tarzan!” instead of “Oh that artwork is kind of cool, no idea if it’s a good card though, let me go home and Google it.” Ultimately, I’m the kind of person (especially with a girlfriend who only has a passing interest in tabletop and card games but adores Disney) for whom Lorcana seems the best of both worlds.
I know it might sound strange but one reason to look forward to Lorcana to me would be convincing a somewhat estranged family member to get into TCGs. She’s a huge Disney fan, but always hated on MTG even though my siblings and I love to play. She wouldn’t even hear us out about why we liked the game, but with this Disney branding, I know she’s going to be interested. My hope is that we can mend some family ties and explore this new game together, and maybe someday, she would even let us explain what MTG is really all about.
While Lorcana is not going to replace Magic, Pokemon or Yugioh, it is a stable game. I disagree with prof, Lorcna will be a player first – collector second game. I lave many MtG decks, but have started selling off my magic cards. I already have and playing 4 Lorcana decks at my LGS. The biggest threat to Lorcana would be losing their Disney license, which would be – game over. What I like about Lorcana is its freshness in deck design, strategies, and am hoping for a competitive format. I am not a collector and only partially care about the fun Disney art on the cards. I am after coming up with new deck strategies and seeing it work in games. I do know Lorcana is selling like hot cakes and that alone will give it some drive. I agree, many TCG’s have come and gone over the years. Riot’s online digital tcg, Legends of Runeterra, just bit the dust and while Pokemon is going good, their new online tcg platform is just trash. Lorcana, Flesh and Blood and the slew of new tcg’s hitting the market will not topple Magic, Hasbro is capable of doing that in one fell swoop.
Flesh And Blood player here! I also play MTG casually from time to time, either physical or digital. I’m very interested in Lorcana. I really like Disney, and I have kids that are just in the right age when this comes out next year to maybe care about it. I don’t see them being into Pokémon a lot, but Lorcana might be something they’ll be interested in playing, so that’s a main reason for me to check it out. I hope for it to be a fun casual game, I don’t see myself getting really compettive in it. Could be fun just for collecting, too.
One year later and things look completely different. I tried out Lorcana with Magic friends and also my wife and all of them loved it. The gameplay, the cards, the prizes, there is only one booster you can pull everything from common to even enchanted, it’s getting reprints a lot so you can afford singles easily and play really strong decks or just buy „older” sets, because it’s made to be played and having fun, not emptying your wallet, the Illumeneers Quest playing Coop with my wife or alone to test decks is such a bomb, I am totally in love with this game. Magic started killing itself a couple years ago easily, I have a huge list why I would suggest someone picking up Lorcana over Magic.
A year later, lorcana has had several massive tournaments, feat casual and sweaty players alike, mtg pro tour guys, FaB pros, etc at every single one, unrivaled prize support, the list goes on. Fnm is all but dead. No game will match magic sales bc look at the amount of product. But one thing we can look at is LGS turnout. Lorcana is stomping mtg in that aspect and i live in an area with 15-20+ game stores. It’s the same for all of them
It’s gonna be the Collecting aspect for me. Unless the game is extremely well balanced, people are gonna find the best cards in a week, then the prices for those cards will skyrocket (like that one cloak thing from Flesh and Blood that was basically their Black Lotus, except legal in their Standard, so budget decks weren’t as competitive)
At least in my area, this has not aged well. At this point in my local LGS each week there is about 40 people playing Lorcana every week, 20 FaB, 20 Yo-gi-Oh, 20 One Piece every two weeks and exactly no more regular Magic players. To be fair, the sentence “Lorcana cannot unseat Magic” is true as Magic has just completely given up on LGS and enticing new players. So there is nothing to unseat. Magic has just left LGS apart from small FNM in bigger cities.
1 Year after this article: I’m IN. I wanted to start finally playing a TCG but I feel like MTG is just too overly saturated and difficult to just play and go, for a new player. Lorcana on the other hand is like Hearth Stone but easier to follow. And I loved Hearth Stone, but didn’t like that they didn’t have a paper version of the game. Either way, I’m interested in Lorcana for the ease of play and that it is Disney. Also, Ravensburger has been doing an AMAZING job on the art ( a la Villainous) but they do need to work on better foil design…
I am excited for Lorcana because Villainous is a good introductory version of Commander for playing with friends and family who don’t want to learn things like, “Untap, upkeep, draw.” I’m hopeful that Lorcana will be similarly simplified and with those helpful reminder cards, while also being deep and meaningful in its gameplay.
I get the exact same vibe from Lorcana – Disney saw the explosion of collector markets in the TCG space and decided it wanted in. That’s almost certainly what pushed Booster Fun/Secret Lair in the WOTC halls – and I’d even go so far as to theorize they got word this game was coming that helped push Universes Beyond out to us before it was fully cooked (see: Walking Dead)
MTG player/pin collector/CM here, I’m hoping this game is something I can play with my co workers/friends who are not into mtg. When I was working at D23 the foil versions of these initial cards sold out so fast. I could only get my hands on the promo mickey card. It looks like a fun lighthearted game, and I’m excited for my mouse overload to throw his hat into the ring.
Never underestimate one thing: Disney is almost unbeatable at cross-polination and marketing. They used to have a TCG for years in Florida called sorcerers of the magic kingdom that was a PVE card game experience and some people would spend their days with binders in the parks looking for trades… …but then a special ticketed event would give you a unique card, or you’d get a free pack per day, or when you beat a difficulty mode, etc. Lorecana on its own will not dethrone MTG, but the day Disney decides to set up « get your starter deck » station in the parks or at Disney Springs and then tie exclusive cards / arts to various Disney activities (Captain Mickey when you board the cruise ship, for example) it has the potential to become a very real player. People in Disney Parks already have the shared passion required to communicate, sit down and geek out over cards the way they’ve been going it over pins for 20 years now. Not saying it will be a success, but Disney has proven in the past their ability to manufacture such successes when they decide to.
I’m a big fan Prof, but I feel like parts of this article are in slightly bad faith. The only people who are referring to Lorcana as a ‘Magic Killer’ are content creators/articles such as yourself, whilst I feel Ravensburger will probably be happy with taking a share of the market and are probably more focused on the Pokemon crowd than the Magic one. I do agree that the downfall of Lorcana will come from it’s collectability drying up availability before it’s actual target audience even sees it on the shelf… I can only hope that this is preempted and we see supplies flood Targets/Walmarts early on. Whilst Ravensburger have announced a ‘robust Organised Play program’, I won’t hold my breath and instead just hope that this game actually gets into the hands of the families and kids that it’s aimed at.
Randomly perusal this article a year later I don’t think it’s correct. I played Pokemon and Magic and have sold and moved everything over to Lorcana. Lorcana has imo the best deck building out there. You can pickup any cards and make a deck. My kids and wife who didn’t play Pokemon or Magic before now play Lorcana. We play this daily now and we all love it. The best thing also is you can play with 3+ easilily I think Lorcana will have its own spot and don’t think it will kill Pokemon or Magic
Yeah nothing has defeated world of warcraft… But professor, have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV? With an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 for free with no restrictions on playtime?
10:00 completely agree here. I kinda got disconnected with mtg recently because for me it doesn´t feel like MTG anymore. I also mistook those Lorcana cards as a new Secret Lair or something. Now, i am only an on and off mtg player because there is just too much. Too much lore, too many sets, too many planes and every time i stop playing for a few months, it´s getting harder and harder to get back in on the fun. I´m actually looking forward to Lorcana as i really like the design and it´s a fresh start to TCG, yet there is already a rich lore which i grew up with as a kid.
As a Magic player for nearly 5 months now, I JUST started getting into Lorcana. My LGS has a weekly Lorcana night and this summer my sister (a fellow Disney adult) and I are planning on attending those nights to learn how to play the game properly. For now, we have just played some very casual games with each other and gotten excited over our pulls from the booster packs.
My son recently got into MTG by attending a local library program. He was immediately in love with it and he got me hooked too. I’m excited about the Disney Lorcana game because it may also get my wife and daughter into a card game. It would be amazing if my whole family could get into it and maybe even transition into MTG afterward.
Just like a famouse World of Warcraft King once said: No King rules forever. I do think there will be a day where MTG gets dethroned as the biggest card game in the market, but it’s not today or even remotely close. That said, Wotc should be careful not to grow complacent. I do think Disneys attempt at a card game is strong just because it has universal appeal for the most part. The trick is how they handle organized play. That has me really concerned. I think recently weve seen a bunch of good card games come into the market and I think Lorecana will just become another one of those games that are played at times, but nothing to challenge the big 3.
This is the first i hear about Lorcana. I must say the cards displayed makes me curious and makes me wanna collect them. As you say I probably won’t be playing with ’em but the fact that they seem to be fun to play with and have the oldschool Disney art tickles my inner collector. I think you’re right though – they are probably gonna be more of a collectable than to see much play. Time will tell.
I’m excited for Lorcana as a game to play with my daughter who is about to turn 6. I want to get her into MTG eventually, but I think some of the themes are too scary for her right now. I think she would be on board for a Disney characters game. She liked the look of the Elsa and “Tappy Toe Claws” cards when I showed them to her. She is also slightly interested in Pokemon, so I could pick that up again. I just wish I still had my old cards for it.
The thing about Lorcana is it fills a niche to play with people that aren’t into MTG. You can teach someone to play in 10-15 mins and have a blast. It’s an easy TCG to learn but a really hard game to master. I don’t think it could ever replace MTG which is a far superior TCG but Lorcana is also brand new. The only thing I dislike about Lorcana is it’s a Disney product, but if it gets friends and family to play a TCG around the dining room table I’m sold.
I collect Disney pins and I am a MTG player. I am not so certain that there isn’t an overlap. There are definitely going to be cards that I will want to collect, yes, but I’m also really excited by the previews for the game mechanics. There also looks to be lots of room for variations and release blocks. I can see blocks based around the Disney Parks, Disney SEA, live action movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise, TV shows like Rescue Rangers and Duck Tales… the bench is deep. As long as the mechanics are solid and they add more along the way, I would love to play this.
For anyone coming to this article recently, Lorcana just had their first regionals in Atlanta and Lille, both had 2000 players playing. Ravensburger also gave out serialized cards for the winners. Regionals for Chicago and Texas are also sold out. There have been some growing pains for sure, but whatever FUD you hear about “printing into the ground,” “not collectible,” “not a real game,” etc., try it out for yourselves. The game is catered towards players and collectors, regardless of your background. All Disney fans are welcome. If you care about the secondary market, it’s actually one of the healthiest I’ve seen in any TCG in a long time.
I tap my Millennium Falcon to put Han Solo into play. Han Solo’s keyword ability “transport” is activated allowing me to search my library for 2 protagonists and put them into play. I choose Ariel and Mulan. Now I transform Ariel to her human form which triggers Mulan’s keyword ability “avalanche” to destroy your entire field. This gives me 1 “Snow-covered Villain Token”. Now I pay this token as a cost to play the instant “Infinity Snap” which allows me to rewrite reality and turn any villain I control to another of my choosing. I choose the Legendary Thanos. Once Thanos is in play I gain 6 infinity stones, I then use all 6 to deal 4 damage per stone to you for 24 damage in total. You lose.
Im getting some singles of Lorcana for neat art for characters I love. Kingdom Hearts is one of my favorite games, and I grew up on Disney, So this is another collectors item for me. I have a feeling that this will be for some kids, and MILLENIALS who love disney. My niece and my best friend’s daughter love disney and the latter wants to learn magic, this may be an alternative.
Professor, you bring up a great point about how modern MTG cards can look drastically different from eachother now. That’s somthing I respect about Yu-Gi-Oh is it doesn’t matter if you’re looking at a card from the first western released YGO set to their most recent set the aesthetic and card design is identical and instantly recognizable.
I’d love to see a retrospective from the Prof on this article a few months from now. Lorcana’s only 6 weeks out, but despite supply issues, they seem to be meeting, if not exceeding, MTG numbers in terms of OP. Stores that get 20 people for MTG are getting 50-60 for Lorcana, and that’s for league play. There’s also already been multiple 1K events as well.
As a long time subscriber I can’t help but hear the distain for Disney in your voice. I do believe your right on a several points. No this won’t affect MTG, F&B, or even Yugi (which you didn’t mention in the whole article). I feel their target consumer is the pokemon style player. Like you said Lorcana’s consumers will be most likely 75% collector and 25% player. The game will be much like Pokémon where the game is simple but you can find depth if you look hard enough. I’ve always loved Disney and their IPs now with star wars and marvel they have a huge selection to dig into. I also enjoy Ravensburger board games. They have some fun titles like Jaws and one based on classic movie monsters. I don’t think the player who want deep mechanics and a seriously competitive play will switch from MTG to Lorcana. Lor won’t scratch that itch, but a family that has younger children and has gaming teens ot parents will get into this as a way to bring hobbies and families together. That’s my hope for this game.
The on-ramp for this game isn’t as extensive as learning MTG. It’s something people can get in on at the ground level which is exciting. Simplified rules due to the game’s infancy makes introducing it to friends, spouses, and family easier and they’re more likely to play. This is a HUGE reason behind why prior MtG players like myself are excited for the game. Everyone knows what Disney is which makes seeing those characters appealing to new audiences. I do not see this game “fizzling” unless they adopt the extract-every-dollar strategy Wotc has taken. Lorcana is fun and involves a decent-enough depth of strategy without the bloat of MtG.
Very interested in the game, going to for sure purchase enough of the cards to play at least above “casual” for me what draws me is the IP and the art direction, the cards visually look appealing and very streamlined as well as having fantastic art on them in general. Its the same reason why I’ve been really enjoying Showcase arts. I’m unsure if I’ll play in any major competitive events but at least my LGS has said they will host events for Lorcana if there is enough interest. Lately we’ve been picking up a lot of “smaller” TCG like Cardfight and Force of Will and while each has its own niche its been very interesting to experience other worlds and other games.
Just want to say first that I love your articles ❤ Been playing MTG for a long time and the first thing I noticed while deck building with Lorcana is that it was half the price of my MTG deck. Given the fact also the games are similar I won’t be giving up MTG altogether but I will be giving it a break for a while
So one year later Lorcana seems to be doing pretty well as game. I’m sure the collectibility has helped it, but it looks like players are enjoying it for the game more. It still hasn’t come close to being the MTG-killer some prophesied, but it has carved out a niche for itself. I like that. I want WOTC to be on their toes and constantly thinking “How can we make MTG the best game it can be?”, and more competition helps with that. And hey, a new good game means more chances to have fun and meet new people.
I found Lorcana easier to learn. I was able to pick it up and play it right away at my local game store. I tried to do that with MTG and wasn’t able to do that. Heck even the Lorcana players were more friendly than the times I’ve asked MTG players to teach me or play with me. The MTG players mostly acted annoyed that I was bothering them with my noob questions. MTG is a big world to step into if you don’t have prior experience with it and given how many different types of games there are to play …it’s really alot to grasp. However, my son (age 9) has been a creeper and is picking it up by just perusal…which he can get away with because he’s cute and little. He heard the adults talk about a Jurassic set coming out in the future and it motivated him to try to pick it up. His interest was lukewarm before he heard that. My son and I are coming to this from the Pokemon TCG, which is SO different than MTG. I will say, in defence of our LGS that my son learned to read only because he made friends there who embraced him and brought him into the TCG/boardgame world. It makes me feel good as mom thinking that no matter where he ends up; I know he can find a community of people he will have something in common with. I hope MTG players find that again…especially because I know locally alot of MTG players are vets or active duty and they depended on MTG for entertainment out in the dessert on long deployments.
I just want Disney art on cards like I did as a kid with Garbage Pale Kids, etc. If Disney sells portfolio books w/ pages, etc, I might just buy them with my kids and try to complete sets, etc. I want to be an activity I can do with my kids that are too young for Magic. If they alter the cards with crayons, oogly eyes, etc, so be it. This Lorcana set is another vehicle to spend family time together. While Magic will be a vehicle for the adults to have their fun after the kiddos sleep. (minus the control player ruining the fun)
Having recently gotten into PTCG again BECAUSE of the nostalgia of collecting when I was little, I’m hoping Lorcana has just enough nostalgia for those of us who grew up with Mickey, Pooh, Mulan, Alladin, etc to get the game started and just enough nostalgia to give the kids who grew up with Elsa, Moanna, Olaf, etc to keep the game going. IF Disney will invest in this long term, I can see it steadily growing over the next 2 decades. Also, Disney has an unending supply of ways to keep creating characters/universes that Lorcana can use. Every time they release a new movie or show, Lorcana can eventually use it as nostalgia fuel. I genuinely hope it succeeds both for myself and my (hopefully) future children
What interests me about Lorcana is how much simpler it is compared to most other TCG’s. I’m also interested in some of my favorite animated shows and movies to become playable cards. I’d love to see the 90’s Disney Afternoon to become a set. There’s only about 200 cards out right now. If they can give me cards from The Owl House, DuckTales, Amphibia, or even older shows like Pepper Ann, Gargoyles and Bonkers, then I’ll totally buy into it.
Honestly casual play matters more for attracting a community, focusing on casual fun first and competitive later is a good way to do it. Think about it, more people want an easy game to pick up, understand, and play. They do not want something very complicated, a whole new game to learn, and a competitive meta they need to keep up with just to have fun. Starting with a casual scene focus naturally builds towards a competitive scene. But it’s hard to do the other way around
I’m interested in Lorcana because this is the first TCG I’ve heard about before its launching and all the talk behind it! Most TCGs in the past (Force of Will, Flesh and Blood, Battleforge, etc.) I’ve only heard people bring it up in conversation a couple times and it dropped out of conversation. This time I can actually invest in this potential game a little as well
#1 reason why I like MTG in the first place is based on how many ways you can play the game Formats though require a set investment in cost of tap/shock/fetch/quick lands to make any viable deck vs using slow lands while Lorcana’s Inkwell looks promising as a substitute where you only focus on the meat and potatoes of the deck This may sound like a VERY minor tradeoff but small changes like that go far for games where you dont have to worry about separate cards for resources only Just how you addressed before that Pokemon was like a diet/lite version of MTG when it first came out; Lorcana has a pretty good shot at sticking the landing I have high hopes for this TCG
I would low-key LOVE a article of you explaining how to play Weiss XD. I have watched many articles on here but I don’t think any of them can hold a candle to your explanation technique. Part of what super intrigued me about it compared to others is how differently it plays to MTG vs a game like Force of Will.
Hi professor, I am a 52 yo card games player I have played: MTG, Vanguard, Blue moon, L5R, Netrunner, Flesh and blood and many others, I will not play Lorcana and as my favorite streamer I strongly recommend that you check the game Vanquishers. I have been playing since the KS campaign, and the more I play the more I like this game, fast, easy and fun!
You are only considering past player of magic moving to Lorcana, in that scenario Magic will always win since it has not only the investment for people but also a very reach universe of mechanics. The problem is for new generations, magic is really hard for someone new, commander is a fix for that in a sense but still I feel new generations can be incline to something that is getting started and will learn mechanics along Lorcana’s development.
I don’t know the rules to Lorcana yet but it appears the cards can be played by discarding others in your hand, similar to Marvel Champions and I love that mechanic. I’ve never been into the Disney universe but boy, the quality of the art and the overall style looks fantastic. I will be hunting this down asap. I agree, I don’t think it’s a Magic killer, but this will appeal to my daughters and that’s a huge perk too.
Im not going to stop playing mtg or collecting pokemon for this game, but i am boned excited to collect and hopefully play lorcana. I have a young daughter and this seems like it might be an amazing opportunity to get her intrested in TCG life. Plus with how nostalgic Disney IP’s is…. I have high hopes
Force of Will (card game) was a contender for a minute. My biggest issue with that game was you could not win if you were not playing wind. Wind could produce more mana than anyone and could draw almost as well as water. The best Rulers//J-Rulers were in Wind. Force of Will is very similar to MTG-Commander, but played with 1v1 and instead of have 1 Library, you have 2 decks to manage: one contains your mana and the other contains your creatures, artifacts, sorceries, and instants (in Force of Will: there are respectively called: resonators, regalia, and chants). Also mana comes in 6 types in Force of Will–Dark, Light, Water, Fire, Wind, Void, and Moon. At any rate it is barely indistinguishable from Magic in terms if play which in one issue. The other issue is poor game balance.
i am excited in lorcana both as a collector and a player because it has a lot of strategies out of the gate with combo, control, and aggro. the characters you can have in the card game is vast. you can play commander with how the game is played which is good and most of the rules are similar to both magic and digimon that i would say most card game players will be able to play it pretty quickly.
I am genuinely excited about Lorcana for many reasons. Firstly, I am a Disney fan and have been for most of my life so I am excited to collect the cards and see all the cool art. Secondly, I am an avid player of Villainous (for much the same reason as stated before) so I’m excited to see how the game plays. And thirdly, I’ve always been interested in the competitive scene of MTG, however due to how late I came into the game, I’ve never felt knowledgeable enough to actually take part so I feel like jumping in on the ground floor of Lorcana, as it were, I’d be able to take part in that competitive scene should one show up
Rewatching this article after 6 months since the release of Lorcana and with product availability (finally) I think that the “collector vs player” argument isn’t what we actually see. Thanks to the very active and very competitive online community around Lorcana (and the free Pixelborn client) Lorcana has become quite competitive, with several 1ks and other tournaments, and TCG stores hosting League (casual play but with prizes) the community I see is driven by the gameplay. I think now that the product is more widely available it’s bringing even a larger audience to the game and people are actually interested in the game. I think the main reason why Lorcana will NEVER kill MtG is the audience not the collectibility. In any case, fantastic article analysis and keep the content this incredible! Thanks for your vids
My thoughts are, if a competitive scene does emerge here (and it certainly could if Disney pushes for it, they definitely have the money to push for it) it will be years down the line. The way these things normally come about is they seed younger generations and as those generations grow up they tend to stick with the game they know and love. If Disney is able to appeal to certain younger audiences more due to their recognizability and also give incentive to competitive play as those generations get older then I think it could compete with magic. All that said that scenario is years, maybe even decades down the line. If any company could do it though, it’s Disney.
I think the major draw is the theming and mechanics which may be nicer/easier for a younger player to pick up. The use of inkwell to power out all cards vs individual flavors of mana is probably easier to pick up. The Disney characters and art will be easily identifiable by my niece and nephew. If they were older, I’d probably just introduce them to Magic
I had never heard of Lorcana before, but now I am looking to collect and hopefully play! Honestly I love all sorts of TCGs, and am one of the old timers who used to play On The Edge. (Found it by accident when we went to buy Magic cards, but that’s just a detail.) I don’t think anything will ever get me to stop playing MTG forever (though I have taken breaks) except the price. Now that there are ways to play online, I no longer have to stop playing just because no one else in my family or friends group is. There is only one thing I think could have a chance of seriously competing with MTG for my budget in the CCG sphere. If they ever figured out an effective and fun way to make the game Culdcept into a physical CCG. I’ve been playing Culdcept for decades now, but so far it has only been in article game formats. At least here in the US. If someone like WOTC ever got the rights and made a physical version that worked and made sense? I might take another long break from MTG just to try to get everyone to play that with me instead. I did wind up as one of those who just owns Pokemon cards and similar, but that was mostly because I could never find people to play with. Now that apps are getting better and better, I will hopefully get to play more and more CCGs. I hope everyone who enjoys the genre will have that chance too! 😀
new viewer here. I found this website because I was looking for boxes and sleeves because I finally found a card game I like (after trying magic + others) and that was lorcana. so after perusal your great and objective card box and card sleeve articles, I was really surprised by the not-at-all-unbiased tone here compared to those. Lorcana has actually released since this article was made, will you guys be making a “How to play” article or at all revisiting this topic?
I’m interested in what Lorcana would bring to the TCG universe. Mainly because I love cards ever since YuGiOh and I have been collecting my favorite cards ever since. Now that MTG took over my life I have dedicated my life to it to the point that winning the World’s Championship would be like me making it in Hollywood I wanna collect cards for fun now and since I grew up on Disney I and Marvel I wanna collect all of my favorite characters in the Disney Universe.
My goals are primarily, collectibility. It’s Disney, at worst, its over printed, sealed product will still hold steady long term and product will sell. That’s not a worry to me. I will also hold special play days in store for people to learn the game together and possibly offer a draft style event for game introduction.
I have played tons of TCGs in my years of the hobby. Magic, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Vanguard, Buddyfight, Digimon, Flesh & Blood, Pixel Tactics, Shadowverse, UFS, and so on. Usually, when a new card game is announced, there will be people in any group that will mention it, and talk about how it’ll effect the game we’re all playing. The fact that not a single person is talking about this TCG, in any of the groups at any of my local card shops, is telling about how this new Disney one is going already. A weak announcement that’ll most likely good out without anybody noticing it.
I completely agree with what you’ve said but man did they score a jackpot! A collectible card game combined with Disney adults is a match made in heaven. My sister works in Disney World and the day they released in the parks they sold out before noon. Personally I know it won’t overtake Magic The gathering and I could see it dying or at least not going competitive but they definitely made their money for it. People will buy just about anything related to Disney for any price. Very smart idea from the people in charge!
I really like Lorcana it is a lot of fun. It’s definitely bringing in a lot of people who never really played TCG’s before. A lot of the people that are getting into it that are new to TCG’s are also looking at the ones that are more established and been around longer like magic. I do feel like Lorcana won’t last forever but I’m enjoying it while it’s here and it’s sparked my love for TCG’s all over again. I actually found out about flesh and blood cause of lorcana and I’m interested in trying it out. Also in an interview the creators they said it’s more of a stepping stone for new players to get into TCG rather than competing with Magic. Lorcana is a basic barebones game and honestly theirs something fun and relaxing about that. A lot of the LGS’s around here are finding a lot of people that are playing Lorcana in the competitive organized play every week are the same people playing in the MTG league. They play Lorcana for fun and MTG to try hard and scratch that competitive itch.
I am interested in Lorcana because it has a massive IP which I think will bring a lot of people into the hobby. The fact that there may only be collectors is awesome too because it will make the game even bigger. The gameplay does look good so far with mana screwed or flooded not really being a thing and having some elements of keyforge is great . It’s a more simple game but it’s a great starting point for people who don’t want to learn a ton to get back into a heavy tcg or start new . I feel like a lot depends on the cards and playstyles that come out. A lot of people just play magic casually, seems pretty easy to get those people to switch or end up playing both. The biggest issue I see is there being way too much demand on launch and players not getting there hands on cards. That would kill the game out the gate.
I have considered getting involved in a TCG for the social aspects. My hesitation has been due to a couple reasons. 1. Long term players, long established cultural norms to game that I would have no basis for knowledge and trying to play with people that have decks of cards that have been built over the course of many years. 2. Many other TCS’s seem to all be overly complicated with to many intricate details to follow and remember. 3. Not to mention that many seem to have large parts that at least come across as dark and evil in nature. At least as to what has come out so far, I do not believe that Lorcana will fall into any of these limitations. For this reason I believe Lorcana will be the perfect avenue for me to get involved in a TCG at its begging. I came across your website through a search for high quality sleeves for my huge Uno Game collection and CAH type games. I follow because I find you interesting and informative.
I’m looking forward to getting hold of some Lorcana to play with my daughter. She’s intrigued by my Magic collection but doesn’t really like the art or the lore, but she loves Disney and is excited by the idea of playing a Disney card game that’s like Daddy’s cards. Am I going to stop playing MTG? No, but I’m looking forward to sharing my love of games with my daughter through Lorcana.
I played FORCE OF WILL when it came out and it had me for a while, but then I went back to yu-gi-oh for a while. The moment I saw this I INSTANTLY it gave me the same “OH COOL” feeling FoW did and I knew I wanted to build a Mickey, Donald, and Goofy 3 Musketeers deck and a Maleficent Deck if possible
Hello, I just started playing magic about 2 months ago and the article of your deck boxes came out on my youtube feed a couple of days ago. Your articles have helped me so much in learning how to play, build decks, and what to buy. I really want to support and get one of these boxes but the funding period has ended is there any possible way I can order one now.
I don’t even see it as trying to compete with Magic other than just by being in the same tabletop market. There’s so much that goes into being appealing to the gamer market outside of good rules and strong IP. It’s 100% going after the Pokémon, youth, Disney fan, and mainstream audience demos. As well as hobby gamers who happen to fall into any of those categories. It may be a great game for all we know, but it’s obviously not trying to appeal to CG gamers directly, though by its nature it’ll automatically overlap with that and the collector/investor/scalper demographics. If it really took off it could possibly shrink MTGs marketshare, but a lot would need to happen to get it there, and it would likely be indirect. And I’m not sure I really see them chasing that audience directly in the same way something like Flesh and Blood has.
Dropped MtG for FaB months ago and can never imagine going back. It’s just drawn me in in a way that MtG never did, to the point where I’m actually going to the local armories weekly rather than occasionally playing with my friends. Lorecana is gonna need more than a deck with Goofy and Baby Yoda to pull me away
As far as me personally. I just wish it wasn’t a TCG. I’d love to have something like this to play with non-gamers. But the nature of it being a TCG asks for more mental and financial investment than I want to give. I know the format serves Disney well financially, but I wish they were following the ECG/LCG format. That way I could just buy everything related to me and my SOs favorite properties and call it a day. And get anything appealing as it’s released without caring about what I may not have.
This really reminds me of Keyforge and my soon-husband loved it and it was the only TCG he touched. So yeah, like a lot of people I’m hoping this is a good step-stone TCG. Overall it seems that Ravensburger ist more interested in making the card game played than collected, they do bring out special versions and stuff but the overall rarity of cards seem not as insane as with certain Magic cards and so far there won’t be any special promo cards you won’t find in boosters as a regular version without the stemp of the convention.
Love your content. Agree that nothing can topple MTG at this point. But I hope this article doesn’t age well because I’ve played Lorcana now and I find the game a fun, refreshing take at a card game. I think the potential for competitive play will increase over time with the additional sets and mechanics. Would love to hear an update article after Lorcana launches and you get some games in.
One interesting point. I played MTG extensively in the 2000s. However, when I tried to pick it up again more recently I felt lost and my spouse had no interest in it. Today I mostly play competitive online CCGs like LoR. However, with Lorcana, the chance to start at the beginning with IP my wife loves has us both giddy to play. So while I agree on the collectible part, I think this game will draw a lot of millennials that grew up with these characters to play.
I am interested in Lorcana for the same reason I’m interested in MOST TCGs: I just have an inherent interest on TCG gameplay design. I will buy some amount of this product, check out its systems, see how it plays, how the UI feels, etc, AND THEN… it’s most likely gonna be put on a bus to the TCG farm where it will live out the rest of its days with Shadowrun, Buffy, Dark Age, Card Wars, Drago Borne, etc. I love TCGs, I love experiencing new designs and seeing what systems get made but, as the Prof has as much as said, none of these things will ever un-seat the king. There is ONE THING that will always keep Magic head and shoulders above the rest, no matter what, and that is its unreal “back catalog” of cards. The game can just support SO many different formats, and styles of play, it’s kindof absurd. I’ve been playing for about two thirds of my life, and somehow there are STILL cards that pop up where I’m like, “wait wtf is that?!” It’s genuinely nuts. No game can ever hope to complete with the sheer scale of this game, because it just has the years, ya know? I never get bored building commander decks because there’s so much stuff out there to use, and things to build around that I never really paid attention to, and just… it never ends. It is what I would confidently call a “forever game”.
I never heard of lorcana before this article but I am a little excited by the concept. Disney seems to be going serious, creative name, clear emulation/ inspiration from MTG, and some good art to boot. I mostly want to see how the game is going to play and how many ips they are pulling in the first couple of sets. I admit, it has a steep hill to climb, your view on the collectors market spot on and most big companies will abandon products if they don’t see pay off immediately. With that said if Disney can pull off a disruption in the market, maybe get the coveted kid/ family side of the market interested, MTG would have to adapt. Competition is good and I wish for success for all card games.
Mtg’s gonna have to step up their customer friendliness instead of forcing things to continuously reduce in quality. You used to get a fat pack loaded with full art lands, now their price is artificially inflated by putting them in the rare slot. Not to mention the reserve list, literally a list of cards that say “we’re too chicken shit to ban these but reprinting them would ‘cost too much'”. Theyre not supposed to be benefiting from the secondary card market, theyve come out and said they do not do that, but its pretty clear theyre playing fat hands in the market.
I am excited for Lorcana for a few reasons. The biggest being targeted at a larger audience means that the casual scene should be larger. I don’t know anyone who plays Pokémon, Yugioh or Magic casually. Any kids learning quit when they realize their favorite cards suck. So with a game that’s targeting a wider audience, there seems to be more opportunity meta decks won’t be the only decks played. Ravensburg has even said they want players to play their Disney Princess decks or Decks made from characters from their favorite movies. You can run Amethyst and Amber and have 2/3rds of your deck be Little Mermaid and then round it off with water themed cards from Moana and Stitch.
You raise an interesting question in regards to the recognizability of these newer showcase and SL cards. Personally, I love having a diverse-yet-cohesive array of cards in my Very Special and Unique EDH decks, and chase versions of cards keep the regular versions affordable (but then there are many highly playable cards that only have a normal version and maybe an extended art like The Meathook Massacre or Timeless Lotus, which results in them being scarcer than imagined in this world of Set and Collector boosters with dedicated showcase and fun slots). But is it necessary for all MtG cards to be instantly “recognizable”? I think there are clues like mana symbols and proximity to other MtG cards that indicate, say, JP alt art Demonic Tutor is a part of this 30yo game. I think the very plugged in players know what’s coming out and will recognize a style even if they didn’t memorize every card with a certain treatment, and the really wacky off the wall cards are something for less entrenched players to see on a (promoted?) post or in a shop display case and get them excited about Magic again.
I think TCGs in a way supplement each other — not sure how common it is for the typical Magic player these days but most people I know who play other games, especially ones that aren’t in the big 3, usually play multiple games. One thing I am feeling optimistic about with Lorcana is that the game designers are vehemently against mechanically-unique cards as promos. Even the D23 promos are explicitly alternate artwork versions of cards that will be available in the first main set.
Little late to the discussion party, but I’ll start by saying that despite having my love for trading card games begin with Magic the Gathering, I’ve grown tired and bored of Magic the Gathering. For years and years, I’ve been going back and forth between MtG and Pokémon. I typically play against myself since my work schedule conflicts with me ever visiting a lgs for Pokémon night or FNM. For Lorcana, I was excited to see something new come out. Waited for prices to go down, and when the time was right, finally took the plunge. I now have four decks that I deck test over and over again. But after about a month and a half, it’s gotten stale. I have a love/hate relationship with the game loop of inking a card, playing a card and just going on quests. It got to the point where I’m forcing myself to always challenge when possible just to keep things interesting. Also, the mechanics are so simple, I can just turn off my brain and basically play solitaire lol. I’m now in the process of making my first two Digimon decks after perusal many ganeplay articles and being amazed at so many things going on at once. Drawing a card after you digivolve? Sold. The choice of either attacking a Digimon or going for security spices things up. And there’s some pretty cool combos to be had. My current favorite is this Sukamon/Etemon deck that turns your opponents Digimon into poop, I mean, a white colored Digimon with 3K power with the name Sukamon. That little interaction really messes up any opponents deck combos just enough for you to swing in with a flood of cheap costing Chuumon and Sukamon.
I’m a pretty big fan of Disney stuff, so I’ll def check it out. I mostly play games with my family/a few friends anyhow, so if it’s a hit, it’s likely to stick around. I just hope other people like it too (if it’s any good), so that it doesn’t die like some of the other card games we’ve enjoyed have.
I was very exited to hear about lorcana. I watched a cpuple of articles about it already and I am realy interested into trying to play the game but maybe not so much collect it. Its like with pokemon but I was only into collecting it and I only learned it so that I can play 3 of the top three card games out there. Magic: the gathering, Pokemon and Yugioh! Mtg being my personal favorite. I like that the gameplay of lorcana is magic the gathering meets Hearthstone with its own style of combat similar to hearthstone with similar mechamics to magic. I love the special mulligan in lorcana that works just like hearthstone and the mana/system that asks you to sacrafice a card to use as a resource which I like as per other youtubers who play mtg, there is no mana screw in lorcana which is refreshing as this gives you to build your decks a bit more freely amd also allows for full 60 cards filled with pure creatures/characters and spells/actions You dont need the space for individual lands which means you can include more card draw or removal and tutoring sort of spells. So combo decks are now easier to make. But on the other hand you can mulligan more than once in magic where in lorcana you can alter your hand only once so getting a specific card may be harder then in magic but keeping 7 cards instead of going down to 6 has its benefits. And in my opinion even worh alt art mtg cards and secret layer I dont see how you could mistake lorcana for mtg cards. I mean the mana costs are way differnet the art styles art quite different by base and importand part is that lorcana has a global mana/ink cost there no colors of mana in the cost there are only ink types which are only for flavour and some mechanic purposes like the restriction to use 2 ink types at most, you can go mono but not 3 or more color
MTG has an overwhelming library of cards, mechanics, card designs, and etc which creates an entry barrier and makes the game feel muddled with all the tiers of play. Lorcana is an extremely well designed game that is super fun (So far at least). The inkable vs uninkable mechanics are great for flexibility in game and make deck building more enjoyable with strategizing; plus the mulligan rule feels really fun and works extremely well with the inkable vs uninkable cards. I have been fizzling in and out of mtg, and lorcana is now my go to game. Lorcana does have the collectible side to it as well, and it can even be a family fun night game. Lorcana just checks a lot of boxes.
ive been playing MTG pretty much all my life. very heavily invested in modern for the past 6ish years… I got to play Lorcana a couple of weeks ago and i think ill start migrating to that game entirely. I dont think lorcana will kill MTG, no one is… but it sure is fun and a fresh breath of air… some MTG pros like frank karsten, and guillerme wafotapa been having fun playing lorcana as well!
There are a lot of things that appeal to me about Lorcana. Firstly I just love Disney and the characters these cards present. I also love the artwork on the cards. I think it looks great. It’s also cool that it looks like there’ll be a story about how all these characters ended up in the same universe. Also by the looks of it, this will be somewhat more accessible and easier to understand than MTG is, which is good for me as I can find Magic a bit much at times. There are definitely things I’m worried about. Firstly like basically all TCGs, it’s likely gonna be expensive which isn’t ideal for me, especially at this time. Secondly I’m worried that it will be Disney characters only for the first few waves, and then they’ll just bring in Star Wars and Marvel characters like they always do. I know it’s unlikely, but I’d prefer if they just stick purely to mainline Disney for the characters
Definitely think it will be like pokemon more collecting than playing. I am interested mostly for the Star Wars and Marcel cards that would/should come out. But no, as a MtG player since 2000, it won’t unseat it as other have mentioned, they will unseat themselves if prices keep continuing to rise exponentially.
Disney has a shit ton going for it. It might not kill magic, but it might take enough market share to be a problem. 1) Loved IP’s that people literally build their life around. Can you imagine every disney adult you know obsessively buying this game? Every Marvel fan. Every Star Wars fan. 2) Ip’s that are none nerd friendly. I love fantasy, but it isn’t for everyone. 3) With the two things I have listed above it is more friendly to women, kids, and family. If you can play a magic like game with your family at any time, but can only play magic with your buddies or a game store, which are you going to crack out more often? 4) No baggage. 30 years of cards, knowledge, stereotypes, and culture are all baggage that keep people away from magic. 5) Resources – Imagine a Lorcana tourney at D23 with a 3 million dollar prize pool. Imagine all the products that they can bundle a free pack of cards with. Can you imagine a super rare Lorcana card coming with a $300 Iron Man action figure? And that 6) It is being helmed by former MTG staff. I think anyone underestimating Lorcana is going to be eating some of their words.
There is a very good point. I personally don’t like futuristic cards being mixed with the normal MTG World. I like Warhammer, but somehow my logic would say “someone with a gun has more advantage than a goblin with an axe…” Partnership is important and makes great products, but I don’t like to see in The Lord of the Rings an Orc with a Tank… Or an Elve with an Bow fighting someone with a Lightsaber. It is still fantasy but we need some kind of structure… It is going all over the places, partnership with gamesworkshop, fortnite, streetfighter etc. etc. etc. If MTG goes through many other universes, we can’t seperate them from disney. Thank you for your article, I’m glad to see you well and happy. Stay safe <3
My brother plays commander and has been teaching me how to play, but Lorcana was easier to jump into with my knowledge of the lore. It’s a great doorway to more complex games like Magic. I can play Lorcana with my work friends over lunch easy peasy and with my kid – and Magic with my brother. I think it’s a great addition to the card game universe. I think if there is more of a summary or catchup for Magic, it might be a little more accessible for new players. But I tell you what, Prof and Command Zone how to play articles are clutch. Bro and I got a couple rounds in and I wasn’t demolished, nor did I require handholding. tl;dr: games are good for all.
I’m looking forward to Lorcana. I’ve haven’t been really involved in a TCG since World of Warcraft and before that, Versus, Warhammer 40k tcg and Warcry. Never been a big fan of MTG, especially considering their mana mechanics which is why I’m liking what I’m seeing from Lorcana. It doesn’t seem to play like MTG or Pokémon. I like that it’s a race to the goal instead of last one standing. While I don’t think it will ever unseat MTG(that’s on them) I am looking forward to seeing the staying power Lorcana could have. 🙂
I quit ‘Magic The Gathering’ with ‘Throne of Eldraine’ as from that point on it became impossible to collect every card and buy all the product with the sheer amount of sets and things coming out at an increasing pace AND the abandonment of my favorite format, modern. Furthermore the current cashgrab where MtG is abandoning its own lore for popular IP’s AND making those products WOKE with e.g. black Aragorn and the likes, has confirmed to me that I was right in leaving the game. Together with COVID and my LGS owner retiring and thus my friends no longer playing … I’ve spend the past years on other hobbies but … recently got into Pokemon without going competitive. And I picked up the 3 Lorcana starters + pre-ordered the up and coming two ones as well. It seems a fun quick to learn game to play with a friend. I would have loved to buy a boosterbox … or two and use them as cube material … but I guess that will have to wait for when the reprints happen and the scalpers can F* off.
It’s Disney, it’ll be as successful as the amount of marketing money they decide to put into the marketing of the game (I.e. Disney+ Ads, commercial spots) and whether Ravensburger can keep the meta game healthy/diverse/interesting. I can see this game having HUGE player bases near the Disney parks like Anaheim/Los Angeles & Orlando/FL. Only negative I see is with prize support as again, it’s Disney, and marketed for 8yr olds+ … giving away scholarships, playmats, deck boxes etc to resell on the open market will only take you so far at first until the 21+ crowd want real $$$ for tournaments, see Yu-gi-oh.