Publisher Ravensburger’s trading card game (or TCG) Disney Lorcana has been an absolute phenomenon since its release in 2023. he TCG scene has been dominated by the big three (Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh) for the last few decades, outlasting countless other games; though many games have lasted for several years against them, none have really cultivated the mass appeal of those three games, and none have lasted anywhere near as long. When Disney Lorcana was released, it did so to spectacular commercial (and even critical) reception, with unprecedented demand leading to both a lack of stock at retail internationally, as well as hugely inflated card prices on the secondary market.
Though part of this can be explained through the popularity of Disney among all age groups, kids and adults alike, the genuinely beautiful card art and straightforward, easy to grasp, cleverly designed game mechanics do, of course, all play their part in its success too.
Each Disney Lorcana set releases with a selection of Starter Decks, booster packs, and also extra types of bundles on occasion, such as the Illunineer’s Quest: Deep Trouble set, which innovatively allows for solo and co-operative play with any Disney Lorcana cards. Alongside each set release, there’s also packs that have extras, such as promo cards, premium tokens and Lore Trackers; these are the Illumineer’s Trove and Gift Set packs.
There’s not necessarily a ‘one size fits all’ selection of accessories, however, and the cardboard tokens, not to mention the paper play mats, included with Starter Decks, for example, are a bit flimsy and fiddly to use. So let’s take a look at how you can make your game look more visually clear and exciting, as well as streamlining the way that you track your victory and , with our favourite Disney Lorcana accessories!
1. Acrylic Lorcana Willpower Tokens
As mentioned above, one of the best ways to improve your Disney Lorcana game is simply through the use of custom, premium Willpower tokens. There’s a few different elements of Disney Lorcana that are tracked using tokens, and the most common is Willpower, as it’s how you keep an eye on what health your Glimmers (which is Disney Lorcana terminology for characters) have left, before they’re reduced to zero Willpower and sent to the discard pile. Though you can get slightly upgraded tokens in the Disney Lorcana Gift Sets, there’s something very special about the more robust and brilliantly designed, bespoke tokens that you can find from other sources.
Though non-official, the gorgeous Disney Lorcana accessories from Buy The Same Token are thoughtfully designed and carefully crafted to fit alongside official products, with the glittery tokens feeling right at home in your Lorcana games.
They’re also built to last, from nicely solid acrylic, so you won’t be scrabbling to replace them like the thin cardboard tokens, which soon show signs of wear and tear. You can see them next to the cardboard tokens that come with Starter Decks in the image above. One thing the image doesn’t show is that they’re double sided; they’re -1 and -2 or -3 and -4, meaning that you’ll cut down on card clutter and have a much clearer idea of the Willpower level of each card, in a way that’ll last you for years to come!
2. Acrylic Lore Tracker Tokens
Another vital element of Disney Lorcana is Lore; the main way to win the game is by earning 20 points of Lore, so it’s important to keep track of this at all times. Again, the tracker token included with Starter Decks is very flimsy; you can get slightly upgraded versions of Lore tracker tokens with the Disney Lorcana Gift Sets, but they’re still not quite as good a solution as custom made, acrylic Lore trackers.
Again, we’ve tested out the Lore Trackers on offer from Buy The Same Token, and they come in an array of colours, so you can choose which one is best for you. Want to match the colour of the Lore tracker to one of the Ink types you’re using in your deck? Or do you just want to use a Lore tracker token in your favourite colour? Either way, Buy The Same Token have you covered with their Lore trackers, which are made of chunky acrylic, and feature designs that fit well alongside your other Disney Lorcana game components.
They have a shimmery look, with translucent plastic and golden designs on their surface, with the overall design looking very much as if it’s simply a fancier, more robust version of the cardboard Lore tracker. You can see just how seamlessly the Lore tracker fits into your game, and its familiar iconography, in the image above.
It’s worth noting that we featured these, and custom tokens for several other games, in our feature on custom tokens potentially being the next accessory trend for TCGs. It’s well worth checking out, especially if other games besides Lorcana have caught your eye!
3. Acrylic Lore Tracker Dial
If you’re playing Disney Lorcana using a play mat which doesn’t have a 0-20 Lore track on it (and, bizarrely, even the official deluxe play mats don’t feature a Lore track), you’ll have no line of numbers to place a standard or acrylic Lore tracker token on in the first place. So the answer could well be a custom Lore tracker dial.
Using the dial couldn’t be easier, and it’s a product that feels truly next level in terms of its design and in-game utility. The window on the left of the dial, as you can see in the image above, shows your current Lore total; simply rotate the mirrored disc (which you can see showing the word ‘Upon’ in the above image) to get to the desired number.
It’s another well designed product from Buy The Same Token, and it shows the same level of care and attention to detail that you’ll find with all of their products; here, the desgn on the top of the dial shows each of the Ink colour symbols, as well as iconography matching what you’ll find on Lorcana cards and accessories, and the rotating dial doesn’t just show the number, but also displays a sentence that’s spelled out as you progress towards victory.
As the dial as a whole is made up of three parts, held together by strong magnets, it’s sturdy enough that it stays together during use, but can be dismantled easily so you can take a look at the dial and the wording, just as we’ve done in the picture above. From that, you can see that you begin the game at 0, and the Lore tracker (which is cleverly lined up at a slightly different position to the numbers, will begin at the open book symbol. As you gather Lore points, you’ll spell out ‘Once Upon A Time…They Lived Happily Ever After…’ and then when you reach 20 points, it’ll display ‘The End’.
It’s a lovely, thematic touch that reminds you that you’re playing through your own story in Lorcana, and it’s an accessory that we have in constant use during our Lorcana games, here at Card Gamer Towers!
4. Quiver Apollo Card Sleeves
If you’re new to card gaming, you may not appreciate just how important it is to ensure that your cards, whether they’re being played with, displayed or stored, stay protected. We’ve tried a very wide range of card sleeves during our many years of playing and writing about card games, and we have our favourites for different purposes, but for a general, all round sleeve that’s highly reliable and still pretty cost effective, we’d recommend the Apollo card sleeves by the TCG enthusiasts at Quiver.
As they’re clear, they’re ideal for use in tournaments or in casual play, but their robust and reliable design, not to mention the perfect fit for Lorcana cards, makes them the ideal choice of card sleeve for players or collectors.
If you’re buying boosters here and there, you’ll want to sleeve the rarest Lorcana cards (check out our guides to Lorcana pull rates and card rarities for more details), as well as any that you use in a deck, as the former will hold their value if they’re kept as pristine as possible, and the latter will need protection from repeated handling. Apollo sleeves are perfect in both cases!
5. Official Disney Lorcana Play Mats
Just as the need for sleeves becomes immediately apparent when you begin regularly playing TCGs, so too does the need for you to have a playing surface that’s specifically designed for cards to actually play on. Now, of course you do get paper play mats with Starter Decks for Disney Lorcana, but it soon becomes apparent that these aren’t the most effective way of having a surface to play your Lorcana games on, nor will you need the majority of the text they feature, after you have a few games under your belt.
Here at Card Gamer, we’re huge fans of using neoprene play mats for just about any card game we play, and even when we play board games now, we find ourselves using different sized play mats. Not only does this stop your cards and other components from sliding or bouncing around the table, but it also provides a soft, non-slip, protective surface for you to play on.
Of course, for Disney Lorcana, our preferred option is to use play mats that already feature our favourite Disney characters, with mats adorned with artwork from Lorcana itself. We’ve chosen two play mats to showcase above, with one showing Beast (from the Beast, Forbidding Recluse card) and the other featuring Winnie the Pooh (with art from the Winnie the Pooh, Hunny Wizard card); these are from the official DIsney Lorcana range of play mats, and there’s quite a few to choose from.
The eagle eyed among you may notice one glaring omission from these play mats that makes them less useful than a paper play mat: there’s no Lore track! Of course, there’s no marked play zones either, such as the discard pile or Inkwell, but those aren’t 100% necessary once you’re familiar with the basics of Lorcana.
However, a way of tracking Lore is essential, and we’d go back to our previous recommendation of the Buy The Same Token Lore Tracker Dial here; it’s absolutely perfect when paired with these gorgeously produced play mats.
6. Vault X Deck Boxes
Of course, if you’re travelling to play Lorcana with friends or other players at a local store or tournament, you will also need something to ensure that your cards, and as many of the accessories we’ve listed as possible, are safely stored away during transit.
That’s where deck boxes come in, and in particular, deck boxes which also have drawers in which you can store tokens and other accessories. Our choice as the best one for Disney Lorcana, given the size of the deck you’ll be using and the tokens and trackers you’ll need to carry, is the Vault X Exo Tec Game Box 100+. It features as the number one product on our list of the best trading card game deck boxes, and for good reason; it’s incredibly robust, well made and modular, with a drawer for your deck, as well as a drawer for your accessories. Keeping them separate ensures that your deck remains safely stored without the danger of being damaged by the hard edged acrylic tokens or other accessories that you may be using too.
In terms of that aforementioned modular nature, if you have multiple Exo-Tec 100+ deck boxes in a variety of colours, their design allows you to mix and match the different coloured boxes and lids as much as you want.
The Exo-Tec exterior is water resistant and the interior has a soft, microfiber lining; this really is an excellent choice for any TCG player, and it’s easy to see why it’s one of our favourite accessories to use with our Disney Lorcana cards!
