It’s fair to say that Disney’s Lorcana Trading Card Game has been a huge success, both commercially and critically.
The first two expansions, Rise of the Floodborn and Into the Inklands, successfully built on and widened the mechanics that the launch set, The First Chapter, introduced.
They did so in a way that was steady and not overwhelming; publisher Ravensburger have definitely taken the right approach here, given how many new Trading Card Game (TCG) players have been drawn to Lorcana, as the first game of its type they’ve ever played.
So the second set, Rise of the Floodborn, didn’t seek to reinvent the wheel, with perhaps the biggest addition being the damage reducing Resist keyword.
Into the Inklands, as the third set, brought the biggest change so far with the inclusion of Location cards, adding an entirely new dimension to Lorcana.
Now, with Disney Lorcana’s Ursula’s Return marking the fourth expansion set to be announced, players can expect the gameplay and mechanics to develop in even more exciting ways.
Let’s take a look at the Ursula’s Return card list, to check out which Disney Lorcana cards we’re hoping to bag next!
Ursula’s Return Card Gallery
What Notable Cards Are In Ursula’s Return?
In terms of characters, we can see from the gallery above that many new cards are from Disney’s animated movie, Encanto.
The Madrigal family in particular are well represented across both Amber and Amethyst colours: Felix, Julieta and Mirabel all appear in Amber, with Bruno, Dolores and Luisa in Amethyst, for example.
Ursula herself appears multiple times; though this isn’t the first time the Sea Witch has appeared in Lorcana, the Amethyst Ink coloured, Ursula, Sea Witch Queen card (numbered 58/204) is perhaps her strongest yet, which is fitting considering the set’s theme and story is based around her!
What’s Special About The Ursula, Sea Witch Queen Card?
As a Floodborn character, Ursula is transformed and more powerful than she’s been before (check out our guide to Storyborn, Dreamborn and Floodborn in Disney Lorcana for more details), with 4 Strength and 7 Toughness making her stats pretty formidable alone.
She has a cost of 7 Ink to get into play, but if you use Shift to play her on top of an Ursula already in action, you can reduce this to 5 Ink.
She has three Lore, so she’s great for Questing too; additionally, one of her abilities triggers when you do so, as Ursula allows you to exert a chosen character any time she Quests!
Finally, she also blocks other characters from exerting to sing songs, as a passive ability.
Though other cards that have been revealed so far are also pretty exciting, Triton’s Trident, Rapunzel, Mickey Mouse and Mulan, for example, the Ursula, Sea Witch Queen card is one we can’t wait to get our hands on.
What Else Is New In The Ursula’s Return Set For Disney Lorcana?
The biggest, most exciting new product that’s arrived as part of the Ursula’s Return isn’t new cards, keywords or characters, however; that honour instead goes to the Illumineer’s Quest box set, which brings a solo and/or co-operative campaign to Lorcana.
Fully self-contained, Illumineer’s Quest: Deep Trouble has two pre-constructed decks, so either two players can take on the Sea Witch herself, or one player can choose the deck they want to use against the evil Queen of the ocean.
One new keyword ability, which is intended for use with the co-op modes in Illumineer’s Quest, is Sing Together.
Songs are a type of event card in Lorcana, and the Sing Together keyword ability allows players to pool their resources in order to play a much more powerful Song collaboratively; an example of this can be seen with The Mob Song card in the image above.
With a Sing Together card for each Ink colour, ensuring that players can utilise this feature regardless of which decks they choose to use, this is an exciting new element for Lorcana and a further point of difference in comparison to other TCGs.
Though other Trading Card Games have featured solo modes before (in fact, we’ve checked out an early example right here on Card Gamer, with a deep dive into the Tomb Raider CCG), they’re still incredibly uncommon, and the fact that Lorcana is offering an entirely new way to play, so early on in its lifespan, bodes incredibly well for both its longevity and as a way to widen its audience.
Given that the Illumineer’s Quest set can be used as a standalone, board game-style experience or by utilising your existing Lorcana card collection is also a very smart choice.
It also shows that Lorcana isn’t just emulating games such as Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh or other TCGs; instead, it’s looking to innovate and bring even more players to the tabletop, which should be incredibly positive for the sector as a whole.
Here at Card Gamer, we’re very excited to see what else Ravensburger have up their magical sleeves when it comes to Disney Lorcana’s new sets; for now, however, why not check out the most valuable cards from Ursula’s Return?
