With Shimmering Skies ushering in year two of Lorcana and with a couple of my big asks for the game (Pixar and Pocahontas) stalled out until 2026, my thoughts about the game are turning to what I’d like to see happen in the coming months. Lorcana is a big success despite some missteps and oversights so my cheap sets assessment of what the game needs to grow may not amount to much, but as a casual player and collector there are a few ideas I’d like to share pro bono to the Ravensburger crew. Some are things that I’ve kind of wished for from the beginning, but now with the game enjoying an established foothold it’s time to gaze into the body of water and sing the “I want” song.
Wizards of the Coast
Official support for more gameplay formats. This is, in my opinion, an absolute must. As someone that quickly realized that the competitive constructive formats with their sometimes paralyzing meta are not for me, I would very much like to see Ravensburger offer up alternatives and support said alternatives with organized play options. I’ve always said that there are many cards deemed “unplayable” by the meta watchers that would be gangbusters in draft formats, and I’d love to see some official draft rules. Many shops and playgroups are already doing this unofficially, so Ravensbuger needs to make it “real”. I also want to see a solid Commander/EDH style format. Commander is hugely popular in Magic: The Gathering and there are many players who only play Commander. Lorcana has already proven to be a good multiplayer game, and Commander options could bust the game out of its head to head focus. I’d buy Lorcana Commander-style decks in a heartbeat, and I could easily see it becoming my preferred format.
Walt Disney World
More support for younger players and families. Lorcana is a terrific game for younger players and families, and I’ve been concerned that the game has become too focused on the competitive play aspect. Which, of course, does not tend to attract younger players and families and in fact can do quite a lot to repel those demographics. This game should be marketed and promoted to kids with products and events such as age limited leagues and casual tournaments. One of the more disheartening things I’ve witnessed at our league is watching enthusiastic kids (including my own) show up to play and get completely steamrolled- and some middle-aged players are not particularly kind toward kids for some reason. So let’s get this great game out in front of kids and give them a safe space to play against opponents their age.
Ravensburger
Less redundancy/repetition. Shimmering Skies is a fun set, no doubt, and I appreciate the introduction of cards featuring Wreck-it-Ralph and Brother Bear for sure. But I can’t say that I’m particularly excited about characters that are into the double digits in terms of how many times they appear in the game. Granted, many have different card effects, are in different ink colors, are Dreamborn/Storyborn, and so forth but my excitement to see Robin Hood in the game has become somewhat muted by…well, all the Robin Hood. Sure, there are a finite number of characters and repetition is inevitable, but given how creative and fun some of the variations have been I think the design team and artists could go even further.
Ravensburger
Stronger, more cohesive set theming. This sort of ties into demand number three, in that I’d like to see sets take on a stronger sense of identity, much like how Magic’s sets have very distinct flavors and concepts. They almost got there with Shimmering Skies and its celebratory theme, what with a commemorative Sugar Rush race, an Alan A Dale concert, and Mickey and the gang having a food fight while whipping up desserts. I love all that. But it stills feels like more could be done for each set to be a complete story visually and mechanically. I really like the Pete, Wrestling Champ card and its companion Pete, Games Referee. And now I want a full set of wrestling-themed cards. Imagine Maleficent, Aladdin, Beast, Hades and Cinderella all done up like WWE superstars. It’d be great. I kind of wonder the Dreamborn/Storyborn concept may hamstring this kind of wild idea. I also think that if they would smaller, more concise sets rather than the standard 204 card avalanche every three months, this kind of thing would much more viable.
A digital platform. And of course, this dead horse. Look, it’s time for Ravensburger to step up and at least announce a digital platform is in the works. The problem for 2024 and 2025 is that undoubtedly any kind of video game solution is going to need public beta testing and possibly even early access status, which means that realistically a fully formed product may not be ready for release until late 2025 or into 2026. That’s a long time for folks like me that depended on Pixelborn for regular online play to wait. There are some iffy/unofficial alternatives out there but nothing accessible, reliable and comprehensive. At this point I just really want to see Ravensburger come out with a press release laying out their plans for digital implementation- it could be what the game needs to cement its status as the third big name in TCGs.
Next time- The best of Shimmering Skies!
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