Disney Lorcana TCG may be limited to Disney’s characters and themes for its card designs while other TCGs can make up entirely new characters at will, but that doesn’t mean the game will necessarily run short of card ideas any time soon. With a vast array of cards already released in its first year, one might wonder how this budding Disney TCG plans to keep up its momentum in the years to come as collectors grow hungry for new approaches to deckbuilding.
Game Rant sat down with Disney Lorcana co-creator Steve Warner to discuss the team’s approach to this TCG dilemma, and he offered some encouraging insights that show the game is well-prepared for a fruitful future in the card designing department. In particular, Warner spoke about how the Dreamborn and Floodborn keywords open up endless opportunities for variation, and how the game’s developing narrative inspires new card sets, themes, and even entirely new ways to play the game.
Related
Interview: Disney Lorcana Co-Designer Ryan Miller Talks Early Days and Making a True Disney Game
Game Rant chats with Disney Lorcana Co-Designer Ryan Miller about the development journey behind creating an authentic and immersive Disney game.
Disney Lorcana’s Dreamborn and Floodborn Cards Offer Endless Inspiration
Disney Lorcana separates characters into three larger keyword categories: Storyborn, which are unaltered characters as they appeared in the films; Dreamborn, minor variations of summoned characters like Minnie Mouse as a stage performer; and Floodborn, characters significantly altered by the summoning process such as Hades as the king of Olympus. Warner says that the Dreamborn and Floodborn concepts allow for a virtually unlimited supply of Disney Lorcana cards, as each character can be reimagined with numerous Dreamborn and Floodborn variants.
Dreamborn
gives us infinite possibilities. Even just within the Disney franchises themselves, each of the characters has so many times and moments in their movies, shorts, series, and things where they show different emotions, do things differently, or learn and get better at something.
As new Dreamborn and Floodborn cards are added to Disney Lorcana‘s repertoire, so too do Lorcana‘s deckbuilding opportunities evolve. For example, one Floodborn Mulan card may be played at a reduced cost if any other Mulan card is in play, making a Mulan-centric deck ever more attractive as additional variants become available. Dreamborn and Floodborn variants also pave the way for entirely new mechanics based on these variants’ themes, such as a Dreamborn Mulan that can add its attack value to other cards whenever it quests. In other words, a player can have four or five unique Mulans that have entirely different capabilities.
Disney Lorcana’s Narrative Paves The Way For Future Card Sets
Another bottomless well of inspiration is Disney Lorcana‘s ongoing narrative. This unfolding storyline has seen the emergence of the Floodborn, later the defeat of Ursula through the multiplayer PVE Illumineer’s Quest, and recently the Shimmering Skies card set that celebrates Ursula’s defeat and features an uplifting collection of merrymaking cards. Warner says this narrative gives the team a sense of direction, and the story beats provide opportunities for new themes to explore through card sets.
Ryan and I talk about this a lot, too. If we’re given no limitations, it’s very challenging to build because there are so many possibilities. It’s like having 2000 cards in front of you—how do you build a deck, right? You have to start somewhere and slowly pick.
But it’s more challenging if you have, say, just two colors in front of you; it makes it a lot easier to start deciding on what you want to do. The narrative definitely helps us with that. It helps us pick the characters and gives us an idea of the mechanics to really work towards a goal. Knowing what the future is going to hold and getting to prepare for that—maybe planting a couple hidden Easter eggs—is always exciting.
Miller likens the narrative to Disney Lorcana‘s ink colors and how they guide the deckbuilding process: similar to how players are limited to two colors in their deck, the Lorcana team is guided by the limitations set by the current narrative beat. These guardrails help Disney Lorcana produce a thematically consistent set of cards, while leaving room for Easter eggs hinting at what’s to come. It’s easy to see how Lorcana’s next chapter could introduce another Floodborn analogue paving the way for even more card designing possibilities.
Disney Lorcana
As an Illumineer, you’ll wield six magical inks to summon glimmers of Disney characters. Glimmers can appear as familiar friends or in fantastically reimagined forms. Recruit glimmers to your team as you travel through the realm of Lorcana.
The Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn trading card game will be available at Hobby Stores and Disney Parks on November 17th and on Mass retailers and shopDisney on December 1.