The Ink Table Podcast Episode 7: " The Duel Begins"

Duels on the Horizon

At last, our journey has come to an end…or is it just beginning. The Perilous Maze is finally behind us and the Azurite Sea has started to calm. A handful of familiar ships have docked in a bay off the coast of an isolated landmass. As you disembark your vessel, you notice tiny waves crashing into the shoreline beneath your feet; and when you look up, catch a glimpse at a pristine palace. A palace where a legendary duel will soon take place. Welcome to Archazia’s Island.

Welcome back and thanks for once again, or for the first time, joining us at The Ink Table. Coming straight out of launch weekend for Archazia’s Island, hosts Dylan Bailey and Preston McNair are excited to share their thoughts on some of the new Lorcana cards and recount listeners with tales of their launch event escapades. Some of the main topics being discussed carry the central theme of “duel”. The three main “duels” that will be covered include…

1. *Dual Ink

2. Duel of Foes

3. Duel of Friends

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Dual Ink

We start off with a play on words, with dual and duel being homophones. Arguably the biggest addition this set gave to the overall gameplay side of Lorcana, is dual ink cards. These cards see glimmers breaking the norm of single ink representation and allow cards to take on the characteristics of two different ink at the same time. In all fairness, the team has only participated in a couple of launch events so far. Without playing in a constructed format and being limited to what dual ink cards we could run, it is difficult for us to truly get a read on this new mechanic. Yet, these are still cards that have been on our minds for a long time, and we finally got to play with for the first time.

Back in December, Dylan created this custom dual ink card for the podcast’s Blindranking segment that sees Preston ranking cards in an order from 1 to 5 without seeing what card comes next. This particular card sees a dual ink combination of ruby/emerald and showcases glimmers from Disney’s Christmas short, Prep and Landing.

While this custom card was showed off in December 2024, the idea that we could one day see dual ink cards being added was a sentiment that the crew has openly shared since the first episode. It would not be until midway through January that Ravensburger would confirm dual ink being introduced and finally revealed a dual ink card. Below you can see a few of our favorite dual ink cards we played with over the weekend. What do you think; did we nail it?

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DUEL OF FOES

Only a few days before the release of Archazia’s Island, a wave of information and news flooded onto timelines in the form of product reveals for set 8, Reign of Jafar. This is the earliest that products have ever been revealed for a future set. So what gives; why overshadow your newest set?

Ravensburger and their marketing team visit many different roadshow events and cons. It seems most new product information we have been receiving has been coming from these events. Lorcana was first introduced to the public at Genon; and over the past year alone similar events have shown off not only Reign of Jafar but also showcased Fabled (a 9th set coming Q3 of 2025). Between the pressure put on the company by the constant need to always have something new to show at said events and the cries from Lorcana players, the news drop was almost unavoidable. For a deeper look into each product that was revealed in its entirety, including the new glimmers and a potential new mechanic, check out our linked article.

Lorcana’s story has been hinting at a climatic duel, and it seems the next two sets have been dubbed the battleground. The “duel” of foes will see Jafar, who has now put together both halves of the Hexwell Crown, face off against the Illumineers who are now being trained by Archazia herself. An interesting note is that we already know the outcome to the first part of this duel. It has been confirmed that this Jafar glimmer has/will take over Archazia’s Island. This information is part of the marketing description for Reign of Jafar and can also be seen in his enchanted card from this set.

The second half of this duel will culminate when Reign of Jafar releases at LGSs on May 30th, and everywhere else on June 6th. We will again be taking part in an Illumineer’s Quest; this time trying to take back the island and even the crown, in what will be known as Palace Heist.

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DUEL OF FRIENDS

The last of the “duels” we will be covering is the battle fought between our two hosts. Not only do the two duke it out in another round of Disney Trivia but share what it was like playing against each other during the sealed event…on the opening round. But before we dive into the outcome and what cards were named MVPs, Dylan and Preston wanted to spotlight a couple of their favorite cards from this set.

Preston being a Blurple player, was fascinated by the dual ink Anna, Ice Breaker and new direction that Amethyst/Saphire decks could go. The deck idea seems to lean on specific cards abilities that reward the player for exerting their opponents’ characters and finding ways to ensure they can’t ready.

Belle, Apprentice Inventor has been the talk of the town as of recent. The idea of a 3-drop character possibly being played on turn 1 both excites and scares players. It’s not just item decks that she will see play in either. We will surely see her next to any deck that uses things such as Pawsicle, Fortisphere, or Unconventional Tool. On the flip side, those facing off against Belle will be looking for cheap options with high strength or challenger that can take her out. This may be the single most impactful card the game has seen thus far.

Dylan, who the group has dubbed “the lorekeepr”, chose to spotlight two cards that have story driven implications hidden within their art. First on the tiny list is Treasure Guardian, Foreboding Sentry. One of the new mechanics introduced this set was the Illusion tag, and corresponding Vanish ability. This new tag currently seems underwhelming as we only have 2 Illusion characters (Iago & Rajah) and 2 other complimentary cards. Treasure Guardian is 1 of those synergy cards. But what makes this one so special? Within the art characters from Aladdin can be seen swirling around in the form of Illusionary Sand. Two of which are already Illusion characters. So could the other two be Illusions in the next set?

Merlin, Clever Clairvoyant has been an amazing card to cover over the past two episodes. It is expected for Preston to be excited by this card as it is another that would work great in his Blurple decks and is a shift target for the Floodborn Merlin he enjoys playing. Yet what excites Dylan the most about this card is the train that Merlin seems to be looking at. While a previous discussion centered around this train potentially being that of Big Thunder Mountain, with the help of a loyal subscriber, we think that we have now nailed down the train’s actual identity. It would appear to be the first train, the C. K. Holliday, that adorned the Disneyland Railroad. Maybe we will get a better look at it in Fabled.

The MVPs

These 4 were the ones that helped us the most during launch weekend. Preston was able to wipe the board with Bagheera, Guardian Jaguar’s built in Grab Your Swords. And in a format that it is easy to find yourself top decking, Jasmine, Inspired Researcher in combination with the plethora of Ally characters in this set, allowed Preston to maintain card draw. In a set that did not offer much in the form of removal, Dylan found King Candy, Royal Racer to be a royal surprise. But the most important of the MVPs was none other than Spaghetti Dinner. The “duel” between Dylan and Preston was slow and methodical with many trades. Then the plate of Italian noodles entered the fray. Once Dylan was able to passively gain 1 lore each turn from this item, he was able to run away with the game.

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