The first cards for Disney Lorcana, the ambitious new trading card game from Ravensburger, arrived today at the D23 convention in Anaheim, California. They include seven characters from across Disney’s nearly 100-year history of pop culture dominance — as well as one card of Mickey Mouse himself exclusive to the convention.
We also now know official name for the first set of cards, due out in the fall of 2023: Disney Lorcana: The First Chapter. Designers tell Polygon that players will take on the role of illumineers, bringing to life glimmers of classic Disney characters to do battle on the table. Each of the seven debut cards include the name of the character, its cost to bring into play, and its statistics for both offense and defense. In addition, each card also includes a special power or mechanic, as well as a bit of italicized flavor text drawn from Disney lore. A mysterious icon on the bottom right of each card seems to indicate its relative power or value. Its usage will be made clear once the game’s rules are known.
Image: Ravensburger and Disney
Disney Lorcana is a bold move for Ravensburger, a 139-year-old game publisher whose first title, A Trip Around the World, was published in 1884. The company is perhaps best known for Disney Villainous, a family-friendly strategy board game developed by Prospero Hall (now part of Funko Games). It includes nearly 30 villains from all across the Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars universes.
Ravensburger North America CEO and global head of games Filip Francke spoke about the big-picture implications of the partnership with the House of the Mouse.
“This [game] is probably the largest potential that Ravensburger has ever gone after,” Francke says, “and hence also probably the largest investment that we have ever done into any type of project and initiative.”
“We know that as you enter the TCG market, that you’re inviting the players for a many-year journey,” Francke continued. “We don’t take that lightly. This effort is a multi-year series [of releases]. It’s something that Disney has never really allowed any [collaborator] to do. So the trust that we built with Disney […] I think allowed us to come to a point where we both strategically, commercially had the trust to say, ‘Yeah, let’s dare to do this together.’”
The first seven cards feature Cruella De Vil, Elsa, Captain Hook, Maleficent in dragon form, Robin Hood, and Stitch.
A collector’s card — available only to D23 members who attend this year’s convention — features Mickey Mouse himself, wearing the garb of the Brave Little Tailor, harkening back to the classic animated short that debuted in 1938.
The artists involved in the creation of the key art for these cards are representative of the heavyweight illustration talent Ravensburger is calling on to support the line. They include Simangaliso Sibaya, Nicholas Kole, Luis Huerta, John Loren, and Marcel Berg.
Developers tell Polygon that the characters and abilities in this special D23 Expo Collector’s Set will also appear in Disney Lorcana: The First Chapter. The D23 Expo Collector’s Set cards will feature a unique foil treatment. They will also be marked with the D23 Expo and 1st Edition symbols. The set will be for sale during the convention for $49.95. Only those present at the convention will be able to receive the Mickey Mouse card, which is not included in the D23 Expo Collector’s Set.