“His Crown, His Realm – Jafar has taken over Archazia’s Island, corrupting the beautiful haven into his menacing fortress. His reign may be the greatest threat that Lorcana has faced!“
Woah! Wait a minute, what happened?!
Jafar has his hands on the Hexwell Crown, and with it, has taken over the once-verdant magical island where Illumineers first met Archazia in person. Why the “in person” qualifier? The Lorcana game has a continuing story from the very first set. The owl-like Archazia (an original character in the usual assortment of Disney cameos) was hinted at in art from the Azurite Sea set, and the Hexwell Crown was worn by the first story arc’s main villain Ursula!
Lorcana is great because of its ongoing story from its start two years ago, but we’re here today to focus on the present. While there are story elements hidden inside Lorcana’s gorgeous art, we also can glean clues as to what to expect in the set as its prerelease date of May 30 draws nearer. The previous set introduced Dual-Ink cards as a new mechanic and that seems to be continued in this one – Set 8.
Evidence of this is in the two new Starter…er…Single Player Decks. The first is an Amber/Amethyst deck featuring Tiana from The Princess and the Frog and Bruno from Encanto respectively. The second showcases a Ruby-aligned Mulan from her self-titled movie and a Steel-wielding Stitch from Lilo & Stitch. Check out the pillars in the Bruno cover art that – support – this game mechanics theory!
Just in case you weren’t convinced yet, on the Booster Box art you can see a version of Minnie Mouse that appears in Jafar’s Reign. Like Balto from Set 7 before, Minnie seems to have aspects of both Amber and Steel ink. Do you think that Rapunzel from Tangled will be a Dual-Ink card too? Outside of Booster Packs you might also find her in this set’s Illumineer’s Trove. Each Trove has 8 Booster Packs, 6 themed Damage-Counter Dice, a Spin-Dial Lore Counter, and can be used as a storage box complete with card dividers!
You can expect that we’ll carry the other accessories – deck boxes, sleeves, and playmats – released alongside Jafar’s Reign. They have vibrant art and the more seasoned Disney aficionados may enjoy seeing the Rescue Rangers featured on a playmat! While these don’t necessarily play into the events around Jafar’s nefarious transformation of a magical island into a menacing fortress, we can still wistfully sigh, “Oh the memories…”
Now in the twilight of this article exploring Jafar’s Reign, let’s peek at what may be “saving the best for last.” As the fight against the previous big bad Ursala had with her Illumineer’s Quest known as Deep Trouble, you alone or with a friend can take on Jafar with Palace Heist! An Illumineer’s Quest is a different way of playing Lorcana which makes the experience a little bit more like a cooperative board/card game. You can bet there will be some excellent pieces of lore to be found in this box and quite possibly even hints as to what’s to come in Set 9, “Fabled” (rumored to have Black Cauldron characters).
Don’t forget that The POP! Shop hosts free weekly Lorcana League open play events every Thursday from 2:00-8:00. It’s a great way to theory craft about the story, meet others into games you also enjoy, and test your new decks. Of course, new players are always welcome to step up and become an Illumineer as well!
Be sure to POP! by an event sometime and let us know how we can help you enjoy your games and hobbies even more.
