Disney's Lorcana Card Game Takes On Magic The Gathering and Pokemon

Disney brings their popular characters to the card game scene with Lorcana. Photos courtesy of Ravensburger and Disney.

 

The cat is out of the bag. Disney is planning to release a new card game to compete with Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon. Game publisher Ravensburger, who partnered with Disney before on the popular Disney Villainous game, has partnered with them again to create Lorcana, a trading card game designed in the same vein as Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon. 

 

For decades, Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon TCG have sat at the top of the heap as far as trading card games go. But given Disney's track record of planting their flag in various arenas of entertainment, this announcement is hardly surprising (but is still exciting). Lorcana is billed as a family-friendly collectible trading card game and will be available for purchase in the second half of 2023.

 

Image: Ravensburger and Disney

The theme of the game mirrors Magic the Gathering, with players playing the role of powerful spell-casters called Illumineers who use their magical abilities to bring Disney characters to life. It appears that the game's hook is the Disney characters themselves. Unsurprisingly, the artwork for the preview cards is visually stunning. Lorcana's collectability will be on par with Pokemon and Magic as well, with foils and other must-have inserts being available.

Disney's Lorcana - Preview Cards

Images: Ravensburger and Disney

It appears that Disney is taking their foray into the trading card game scene seriously. According to the vice president of Disney product design, Lorcana will feature more original artwork than any other Disney product created. This is great news as this product could have easily been a cash grab, featuring familiar, recycled artwork.

Disney Lorcana, according to the company's press release, will be approachable for newcomers while still offering "well-thought-out" gameplay for TCG veterans. One look at the preview cards, and most seasoned TCG players can easily figure out what these cards do in gameplay. Elsa's Freeze ability, for example, appears to render a target opposing character temporarily useless, reminiscent of Magic the Gathering's Icy Manipulator (among many other cards). Maleficent's Dragon Fire ability mirrors Magic the Gathering's Nekrataal's come into play ability, banishing (destroying, I assume) an opposing character. These similarities mean that learning the game will most likely be a piece of cake for seasoned gamers. But the big question remains, are there enough interesting, new ideas to set Lorcana apart from Magic the Gathering, or is this just a reskin of this classic card game? Either way, I am a sucker for collecting Disney stuff, and I love collectible trading card games, so I am sure that I will pick up a few packs of Lorcana when it finally hits store shelves.

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