MyDisney Lorcanacareer did not get off to the best of starts. I’vehad the TCG in my sights ever since it was revealed, thanks to both being an unashamedDisney Adultand wanting to playPokemoncards but being wary of jumping on a moving train. With each new reveal, from the cards themselves to the inks and colours and card types, I’ve been drawn in deeper. So when I was finally able to sit down for my first games, I thought I knew what I was doing.
This was confounded by the fact I was playing with two other editors at TheGamer, one of whom told me they’re ‘really just collecting them' and asked to be reminded of the rules several times, and the other who was playing with spare cards we had cobbled together from our first round of boosters, who asked ‘who is this?’ for Aurora, Gaston, and Anna, before sitting back in his chair, puzzled, and wondering aloud ‘so, what does Mickey Mouse actually do?’.
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You might have called it mean, playing my first game against such weaklings. Easy pickings en route to my ultimate victory. Maybe even pubstomping. I’m surprised they didn’t challenge me to battle by telling me they like shorts, because they’re comfy and easy to wear. I went down 20-3 to The Collector, and a slightly better 20-4 to The Mickey Mouse Kid.
There were a few issues with how we played. The Collector and I both had starter decks on order, but since we were playing with the cards we bought atGamescom, we were playing a sealed game and relying solely on the RNG of a handful of boosters. These weren’t decks I’d ever use again, but they were a good way of learning the ropes and understanding how best to build a deck in the future, even if that meant getting beat at a Disney game by someone who told me they had seen just one Disney movie - Mulan - in their lives.
When I got back home, I had the three starter decks and an Illumineer’s Trove waiting for me, and with that I was able to make four solid decks: an Amethyst and Ruby deck built around shifting, challenging, and chipping away lore; an Amber and Sapphire deck built around utilising items, songs, and actions to boost each character through healing or extra abilities; an Amethyst and Emerald deck built around drawing and questing; and a mono-Steel deck built around big beefy boys. I have enough decent cards to make a fifth, based on Sapphire and Ruby, but I can’t make a thematic connection with it just yet.
With these decks, I’ve been able to play against my wife - me using Amethyst and Ruby with Elsa and Rapunzel leading the charge, her using Amber and Sapphire backed up by Belle, Aurora, Jasmine, and Ariel. There’s room for Anna, Moana, and Mulan in mine, while the sole Cinderella card and another Moana slots into hers. These decks are, inescapably, Princess decks. They make a good pair too - I won 20-13 in the end, but it was very close for much of the battle,a late Elsa shift and freezewhile Rapunzel knocked lore off my opponent saw the gap for victory widen at the last moment.
Before the game launched, all I wanted to do was build the perfect Princess deck.I suggested four during our site’s Lorcana Week. But looking back over them, the balance was all off. The first deck was, just as I currently play, an Amethyst and Ruby deck built around Elsa and Rapunzel. However, it’s overloaded with expensive cards and lacks synergy. In my original deck, I have two Tinker Bell, Peter Pan’s Ally cards, but no Peter Pan, even though the whole benefit of this card is that it works with Peter Pan. I also have four Elsa, Spirit of Winter cards, even though they’re incredibly rare and currently retail for around $35 each. I have one, and I’m lucky to have that.
I still love the idea of building Princess decks, and a lot of cards from my original line-ups will make their way into my various hands. But in my real Elsa deck, I’m smart enough to know that Pongo, Tigger, and the Magic Broom all have a place in the hand too. A Princess Deck is possible in Disney Lorcana, but even Princesses need a helping hand.
Next:Look, I Just Want To Talk About Disney Lorcana’s Big Tinker Bell
