When Disney Lorcana was first announced in 2022, it’s fair to say that it almost immediately caused quite a stir. When it launched in 2023, which ended up being one of the biggest and most exciting years ever for Trading Card Games (TCGs), its impact was immediately felt, with vast numbers of Disney fans chomping a the bit to get their hands on the newest TCG on the block.
For many years, Magic: The Gathering (the world’s first Collectable Card Game or CCG, which is functionally the same thing as a TCG), Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh had dominated the attention of players and collectors; though countless more TCGs and CCGs have come and gone over the last several decades, few have ever dented the dominance of those three games.
Magic: The Gathering celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2023, with a slew of hugely exciting releases, including the incredible Lord of the Rings sets. Even Pokemon revisited its origins with the massively popular Scarlet & Violet: 151 set, and Yu-Gi-Oh’s 25th anniversary brought the highly sought after Quarter Century Secret Rare cards to its own game.
With all of this happening in the TCG space, it would be easy to think that there’d be no room for an entirely new game; publisher Ravensburger’s Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game completely blew that assumption out of the water, however. With numerous sets already released and several more on the way, we take a look at what’s already here, as well as what’s next for Disney Lorcana!
Disney Lorcana Set Release Schedule
TCGs can have what feels like quite a relentless pace in terms of product releases, especially if you’re new to this type of game. However, it’s seen as a necessity, both to keep the game and its mechanics evolving, as well as to ensure that more competitive players must adapt their decks and strategies as the game moves forward.
Note that each release date given is the date that the set was or will be released into dedicated game stores. The pattern for the full retail release of each set has, so far, been for launch to be two weeks after availability in game stores.
Here are all of the details for sets released so far, as well as what we know of upcoming sets.
| Disney Lorcana Set | Release Date (Game Stores) |
| The First Chapter | August 18th 2023 |
| Rise of the Floodborn | November 17th 2023 |
| Into the Inklands | February 23rd 2024 |
| Ursula’s Return | May 17th 2024 |
| Shimmering Skies | August 9th 2024 |
| Azurite Sea | November 15th 2024 |
Disney Lorcana: The First Chapter (August 18th, 2023)
With such intense excitement around the release of Disney Lorcana’s debut set, The First Chapter, stock of the entire product range was extremely difficult to find for weeks, in some cases months, after its launch in August 2023.
It’s not difficult to see why; not only was Lorcana a brilliantly designed TCG with easy to understand, addictive gameplay, but the beautiful cards, drawing on decades of Disney history, lent themselves beautifully to collecting too.
The First Chapter’s product range was fairly straightforward and has set the template for subsequent sets.
Firstly, there were three Starter Decks, each showcasing a different combination of two of the game’s Inks (more information can be found in our Lorcana Ink types guide). In addition to a pre-constructed deck, these also each contain a booster pack of random cards and tokens to help track Lore and damage to your characters.
These decks were Amber and Amethyst (featuring Moana and Mickey Mouse), Emerald and Ruby (Cruella De Vil and Aladdin) and, lastly, Sapphire and Steel (Aurora and Simba).
A Gift Set and the Illumineer’s Trove provided more exclusive cards and booster packs, along with special tokens and other accessories.
Premium, official accessories such as sleeves, deck boxes and play mats were also made available to accompany the release of The First Chapter.
Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn (November 17th, 2023)
Despite a greater focus on Floodborn characters (check out our guide to the differences between Storyborn, Dreamborn and Floodborn in Disney Lorcana), the second set for Lorcana didn’t rock the boat or introduce anything too overwhelming.
In fact, the biggest change it brought, in comparison to the mechanics established in The First Chapter, was the introduction of a single keyword: Resist.
The product range on offer was largely the same too; however, instead of three decks covering all Ink colours, there were just two: the Amber and Sapphire deck (headed up by The Queen and Gaston) and the Amethyst and Steel deck (featuring Merlin and Tiana).
Instead of a specific Rise of the Floodborn Gift Set, however, this time there was a Disney 100 Gift Set, commemorating Disney’s centenary and featuring a selection of cards illustrated by Disney animators.
Disney Lorcana: Into the Inklands (February 23rd, 2024)
The first set of 2024, Into the Inklands felt like a much more interesting and unique set than Rise of the Floodborn.
It focused on expeditions and adventurers, bringing in characters from the likes of Duck Tales and Treasure Planet, as well as new Location cards that added an exciting new element to Lorcana.
Learn how to use Location cards in Disney Lorcana using our handy guide.
Intriguingly, it also featured characters from 101 Dalmatians and even allowed players to build a deck comprised of 101 Dalmatian cards too!
Mirroring the Rise of the Floodborn release, there’s only two Starter Decks for Into the Inklands: Amber and Emerald (Pongo and Peter Pan), plus Ruby and Sapphire (Moana and Scrooge McDuck).
An Illumineer’s Trove and an Into the Inklands-themed Gift Set were also available, in addition to the now standard playmats, deck boxes and card sleeves.
Disney Lorcana: Ursula’s Return (May 17th, 2024)
Despite the fact that Into the Inklands brought an entirely new card type to Lorcana with Locations, it seems that Ravensburger are definitely not going to be resting on their laurels when it comes to new features in upcoming sets.
One of the biggest new developments in Lorcana, perhaps in any TCG for many years, is the introduction of the Illumineer’s Quest set, which brings solo and co-op play to the game.
As we’ve covered in our how to play solo and co-op in Disney Lorcana guide, the Illumineer’s Quest set will allow players to take on the set’s sea witch character, Ursula, either solo or co-operatively with up to three other players. Entangled Characters, under the control of Ursula, make their debut with the Deep Trouble set, and these feature on a deck with a different, lighter coloured card back.
A new keyword ability, ‘Sing Together‘, also allows players to collaborate in order to use powerful Songs and take down the Sea Witch.
As with all other sets (The First Chapter aside), there are two Starter Decks in Ursula’s Return; the Amber and Amethyst deck featuring Encanto characters Mirabel Madrigal and Bruno Madrigal, then the Sapphire and Steel deck with Anna and Hercules.
You can check out the full list of cards from Ursula’s Return here. Beyond the Illumineer’s Quest set and Starter Decks, the usual range of sleeves, play mats, deck boxes were also released, along with a Gift Set and Illumineer’s Trove, each featuring exclusive cards and other accessories, as well as booster packs from the Ursula’s Return set.
Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies (August 9th, 2024)
The fifth Disney Lorcana set will be named Shimmering Skies, and will heavily feature characters from Wreck-It Ralph and Encanto.
The story continues after Ursula’s Return, with the outcome of players defeating the Sea Witch (using the Illumineer’s Quest set; if you don’t mind spoilers, check out our guide to what happens when you win, right here) setting the stage for a big party near the Great Illuminary.
Though it doesn’t seem as if ‘throwing a party’ is a major story, it does provide a bit of a reset to bring in new and curious players who may not have jumped into Lorcana just yet. With Ursula’s Return finishing Disney Lorcana’s first story arc, it’s refreshing that Shimmering Skies doesn’t introduce anything too earth-shattering. Rise of the Floodborn introduced a single new keyword (Resist), and Into the Inklands brought Locations into Disney Lorcana, but Shimmering Skies settles for making do with the current mechanics of the game, and as such provides a perfect jumping on point for new players, particularly as the first Disney Lorcana story concluded with the previous set.
Another sign that Shimmering Skies provides a great jumping on point for new players is an entirely new type of box set, named Disney Lorcana Gateway, that was released at the same time. This has introduced a tutorial-style experience, including a scripted game and basic deck building, for very new or much younger players, to help them learn and become involved in Disney Lorcana. The cards included in the set can then be used when moving onto the ‘proper’ game of Lorcana, with other Starters or booster packs.
Finally, Lorcana is crossing over, in a manner of speaking, with Ravensburger’s hugely popular Disney board game series, Villainous. Fans who purchase the Introduction to Evil set, which provides an easier way to play Disney Villainous for new players, will receive an exclusive Prince John promo card in the box.
You can see the promo card above; this will, apparently, only be included in the Introduction to Evil set. Note that, even though Introduction to Evil is already available to buy, you won’t receive the Prince John card unless it is specified on the front of the box with a Lorcana sticker, and these are limited, so if you want one of these cards, make sure to snap up that copy of Disney Villainous if you see it out in the wild!
Disney Lorcana: Azurite Sea (November 15th, 2024)
The sixth Disney Lorcana set is Azurite Sea, and launch is set for November 2024. Following the release pattern of other sets, it’s arriving on the 15th of November to game stores, and on the 25th of November in mainstream, national and online stores.
So, what’s new in Azurite Sea? Well, we’re seeing the debut of some very popular new characters, such as all of the main characters from Big Hero 6, along with Chip, Dale and the rest of the cast of 90s Disney show, Rescue Rangers. The Starter Decks will be a pair, as has been the case for all sets except The First Chapter, and these will be the Amber and Ruby deck, headed up by Jim Hawkins (from Treasure Planet) and Tigger (who needs no introduction, surely?), and the Emerald and Sapphire deck, featuring Go Go Tomago (one of the titular heroes from Big Hero 6) and Gadget Hackwrench (inventor mouse and pilot from Rescue Rangers).
No new keywords or other products have been revealed at this stage, beyond the standard lineup of booster packs, the aforementioned starter decks, Illumineer’s Trove and Gift Set. You can check out the cards from the set in our Azurite Sea card list, which also goes into a bit more detail on what can be expected in the set.
What’s Next For Disney Lorcana?
At this stage, we don’t know; Azurite Sea brings Disney Lorcana’s first full year to a close; having launched in 2023 to rave reviews and almost unprecedented demand from Disney fans, the game has now settled into a more familiar release pattern, with cards generally available to players without scalpers or wealthy collectors nabbing them off the shelves as soon as they appear.
We expect that the releases in 2025 will follow a similar pattern to what we’ve seen in 2024, and we’re very excited about the possibility of a new Illumineer’s Quest set to wrap up the game’s second story arc, which should likely occur in mid-2025.
Of course, all of this is currently just speculation, but all of these questions will be answered in time. You can count on us to be on hand to update this very article, as soon as new set or other product details are released!
