Last week I was at Disney World for my family’s annual visit during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and I caught sight of a Lorcana display at Disney Springs. It was packed to bursting with…Into the Inklands. Like, hundreds of boosters, pegs full of starter sets, and all the accessories. Except, of course, the playmats. I kind of chuckled, remembering not only the madness of trying to get this game back during The First Chapter and also the titters over the D23 and D100 sets. But here was set three, overstocked to the gills, with nary a buyer in sight. Of course, somewhere in those sealed packs are undoubtedly several $100-$200 cards like foils of Ursula- Deceiver of All and Robin Hood – Champion of Sherwood. Of course, most of the plebes that come through the doors of the massive Disney Store there likely have no idea that there’s value in those packs.
It’s gotten me thinking about Lorcana’s aftermarket economy, here as we head into set six, and I had a couple of observations about where it is and what it might do in the future. The teal deer version? It seems to be not only thriving, but doing exceptionally well. The longer version? Read on!
The top cards of The First Chapter continues to hold value especially well. I’ve been surprised at how many cards have stayed at the same prices they were a year ago or gone even higher. The game’s initial set was just extremely solid as a base for the game, and there are absolute staples that those coming into the game later on need and want so cards like Grab Your Sword and Be Prepared are holding steady. Some card have actually absolutely tanked though as the initial excitement over certain cards like Mickey – Brave Little Tailor has tapered off and the cards have fallen out of the mainline meta. That of course, could change. I’m especially impressed that standard rares like Fishbone Quill and Lilo – Making a Wish have increased in value over time, doubling and even tripling in price.
Foils make a huge difference. Across the board, foils multiply the value of pretty much any card. Since every card has a foil version and every pack has a single foil slot that could be of any rarity, this makes foils a kind of 4th rarity beyond Legendary. Granted, your foil in a pack may be a jank common – but it could also be a $100 rare. The foils add a level of excitement to opening packs that can be extraordinary or extraordinarily deflating. Regardless, people want the foils, and the prices reflect this.
Enchanted values have leveled out to “almost” sane levels. I recall fondly standing by the drink cooler at our shop opening packs and wishing upon wishing to pull a $800 Enchanted Elsa – Spirit of Winter. It never happened. In fact, I still have yet to pull a single Enchanted. But for the most part, Enchanteds have largely come down from the extreme speculation prices we once saw. Granted, that Enchanted Elsa is still like a $700-$750 card because it is kind of the iconic card of the entire game but values for these exceptionally rare cards aren’t as insane as they were. I kind of feel like a couple of rounds of frankly kind of meh Enchanteds might have taken some of the wind out of the sails, but Shimmering Skies had some really awesome ones that rekindled the excitement
Bulk commons and uncommons are like in other TCGs- mostly worthless. We are at the point where you can pick up massive collections of bulk commons and uncommons for less than a penny a card. Shops are buying them by the inch rather than by the card. This is pretty standard practice, but it is a little bittersweet seeing cards that I paid $3-4 for back in the Lean Times regaled to bulk lot status. It’s unlikely many of these cards will ever become more valuable, but the availability of these kinds of lots bodes well for anyone developing cube or EDH style formats. I’ve thought about sorting our bulk cards into draft packs myself.
Singles remain the best way to buy Lorcana. Listen, I get the whole “endorphin rush” of opening booster packs and when you get a good pull it’s like hitting the jackpot. I’ve been opening booster packs for over 30 years, I feel you. But the reality is that at this point, with a card pool so large and with so many sets out there, singles are the only sane way to purchase Lorcana cards. I’m all for the one-off, Target run funsies packs – don’t get me wrong. But my days of buying display boxes are over. I’d much rather choose the singles I want for play and then fill in collections with cheap singles purchased either at our local shop or through online sellers. I feel like this is a realization that many TCG veterans eventually come around to, once the shock of buying a $50 card subsides you realize that you got more value from that $50 card than buying 10 boosters and not getting the card you want out of them and winding up with tons of cards that fit into observation 4 above- junk commons/uncommons. Or worse- the “bad” Legendary that every set seems to be saddled with (Sorry Gantu, you tried).
Promos are a mixed bag. Some are stupendously valuable like the original D23 set which I think will continue to increase in value over the years. Prize cards are out of this world due to their rarity and relative inaccessibility for many players and collectors. But League promos and so forth don’t seem to be spectacularly valuable. This is great news for those looking to collect, but those speculating them might be surprised to see that they aren’t appreciably more valuable than regular ol’ cards. I really thought my pile of promo Buckys were going to finance the Disney trip this year, but I’m left with a stack of $1 cards no one wants.
Overall, I think the Lorcana aftermarket economy is doing really well. The wildfire speculation has mostly subsided, the sportscard crowd seems to have lost interest, and overall availability and supply has kept prices in check with justifiable spikes for exceptionally rare or desirable cards. Long term, I think values will depend on how Ravensburger handles reprints – if The First Chapter cards are never reprinted or more likely replaced by similar cards, those strong values have nowhere to go but up. Subsequent sets were printed in larger numbers (witness those Into the Inklands boosters) so I’m less bullish on values there, although certain cards like Diablo will remain pricey barring a nerf, ban, or restriction.
Next time: Look at this stuff, isn´t it neat?
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