The Ink Table Podcast Episode 10: "The Next Chapter
Answers At Last
Across realities, there exist two groups of Illumineers. One group’s story, we have keenly watched unfold. From the time of their arrival, surviving a Flood, sailing the open Sea, and visiting far off Islands; we have eagerly awaited to see what happens next. The other group…is us. Together we have learned and grown as the world of Lorcana has; but as of recent, there have been more questions than answers. Until now…Welcome to The Next Chapter.
Welcome back and thank you for pulling up a seat at The Ink Table. The reveal season for Reign of Jafar has recently wrapped up and while we can’t for its release on May 30th, we can’t help but keep reflecting back on all of the news given during Ravensburger’s May 6th livestream. Come join this deep dive into what our team has called “The most important day for Lorcana since its initial release”.
A Date for Worlds
Finally, after what seems like an eternity of asking, dates for Lorcana’s first World Championship have been announced. The pinnacle of competitive play will take place June 28th and 29th at the Walt Disney World Resort. But hold onto your wallets Illumineers, because there is no reason to book a trip.
Shortly after an unfortunate leak, new Director of Communications, Greg Tito, went live on the Disney Lorcana Twitch to break the news that the highly anticipated event would be closed to the public. This was cited as a decision to give the participating players a VIP experience. Yet, this exclusivity goes against the original details in regard to a celebratory experience for the community, originally shared during a D23 panel. Majority of the community has felt that this is a monkey paw situation, but we are hopeful that Ravensburger plans to fulfill the vision they put in place during future events.
A Look Into Reign of Jafar
Lorcana’s 8th set, Reign of Jafar is mere days away from its May 30th LGS release, and its reveal cycle has just wrapped up. So check out all of the listed points below to get a look at what will be in this set’s trove, new IP coming to the game, what the Enchanteds look like, the promos you can earn, and cards being…reprinted.
Trove Contents
We previously discussed the Reign of Jafar Illumineer’s Trove in a previous article when the product was first revealed, but now is the first time we get to see its contents. Once again, the trove will MSRP at $49.99 and contain 8 booster packs of the newest set, a lore counter, a set of dice, and unique card dividers representing each ink type. The lore counter will showcase the namesake of this set, in the form of Jafar. The dice give the appearance of little blocks of sand ornamented with blazing crimson numbers matching the themes and colors found throughout all of set 8’s packaging. Below you can see the actual cards that appear on the ink dividers.
Arrival of the Forest Prince
Upon arriving on Archazia’s Island we were greeted by a boundless cast of cuddly critters. This is when we were first introduced to glimmers from both the Bolt and Aristocats. With such an emphasis on these pets and critters, our team couldn’t help but feel that there were a few more on the island waiting for us to meet. At one point, we even had a version of our blind ranking game dedicated to the critters that could have been on the island. Maybe that’s why it came to no surprise when Bambi was announced.
Dylan’s custom Thumper card created for The Ink Table Podcast’s Blind Ranking game.
An actual Thumper card being released in Reign of Jafar.
Some of the best Enchanted Yet?
Art Set Lead, Mike Vaillancourt, has done a wonderful job working with artists to design the coveted cards we will be trying to get our paws on this set. The lush and vibrant natural colors found on Archazia’s Island have suddenly been consumed by Jafar’s magical illusion. He has transformed the entire island into his own personal palace and playground. The enchanteds, like a few other cards in the set, continue to have the running theme of the illusionary sand. It was also described that the characters showcased in the art have embraced the illusionary magic and have visually altered appearances based on their own desires. While the previous set gave us enchanteds that some considered artistic masterpieces, this set’s enchanteds individually tell a story through the passion, heart, and attention to detail crafted into the art of each one. Below are just a few of our favorites.
Promo Need to Knows
You can receive this promo alongside the purchase/pre-order of a Reign of Jafar Booster Box.
When the new set releases, this promo will be awarded simply for participating in your LGSs launch event.
This promo will be a little harder to obtain as it will be rewarded to those participating in Ravensburger held events.
Weekly Play Promos will randomly be awarded at League Events
Promo that will be given to everybody who participates in a Reigh of Jafar Store Set Championship.
Promo that will be rewarded for those who place in the top 8 of a Reign of Jafar Store Set Championship.
Lore Cards Return
We are super excited by the return of Lore Cards. First introduced in Archazia’s Island, Ravensburger has found another way to present the story of Lorcana to the players. We assume there will once again be 20 cards to collect. 1 side will be images that when put together form two 9x9 puzzles. The other side will continue the story of our favorite Illumineers as they ready to take on Jafar. And according to the card in this marketing image, Archazia is…missing!?
Palace Heist
For the 2nd time since this game’s inception, we will be receiving an Illumineer’s Quest. This product is a co-op “board game” using Lorcana cards that sees us take on a big bad in the form of a Disney Villain. This itteration sees Illumineers teaming up to steal back the Hexwell Crown. The game will come with two single player decks, one being Amber/Steel and the other being Saphire/Amythest, along with a deck for Jafar to control. This will play different than the previous Ursula’s Challenge, and has improved in a couple of other ways. It now has a cardboard map rather than a paper sheet and comes with its own box for storage.
Reprints?
These cards may look slightly familiar, but they are “new” cards. Captain Hook - Forceful Duelist was first introduced all the way back in The First Chapter, and Dalmation Puppy-Tail Wagger was first spotted during Into the Inklands. Everything about these cards, except for their art, perfectly match the original versions. So, what gives; why are these cards being printed again? We will do are best to explain in the next section.
The Next Chapter
On May 6th Ravensburger and the Lorcana team held a broadcast on their Twitch titled “The Next Chapter”, and this may go down as the most important day in Lorcana history since its initial release. After a drought of updates, this event quenched our thirst for news. Not only did we get much of the Reign of Jafar information discussed above but also got a look at the roadmap for Lorcana’s future.
Set Rotation
When Lorcana’s 9th set, Fabled, is released Set Rotations come with it. Set Rotations are nothing new within the TCG market, but this is a new concept for our favorite card game. So how will it work? It is important to note that this will only affect Core Constructed, the format used during weekly league play, set championships, DLCs, Worlds, and many unsanctioned tournaments. But once the 9th set releases on September 5th, cards from sets 1-4 can no longer be used. This rotation is not a one-off event and will continue to take place over time. As shown in the image above, sets 5-8 will be banned from play alongside the release of the unnamed 13th set. According to Ravensburger, Set Rotation is occurring as an effort to keep the meta fresh. It is also a good way to balance “power creep” and introduce revamped versions of old abilities.
Reprints!
We previously discussed the two cards that will be reprinted in Reign of Jafar, but Fabled will have much more to give as it pertains to this topic. Fabled will be a larger set than any of the previously released, yet it is reported that half of it will consist of reprints. Not every reprinted card will gain alternative art like Captain Hook and Dalmation Puppy, but some will. These reprints are meant to allow players to more easily collect older popular cards and meta staples that may be difficult to find now. Reprints will also have a direct relationship with Set Rotations; if a card from a set that has been rotated out receives a Reprint, then any version of that card with the same name can be used in deck construction.
Stitch - Rock Star is one of the first good examples we have of this. It has been confirmed that this is one of the cards that will receive a reprint in Fabled. Originally it was released in The First Chapter. Although that first set will be rotated out, the reprint (which doesn’t contain new art) will allow the original version and the Into the Inklands Set Championship promo version to still be used. Also announced was Infinity Constructed. This new format will allow players to play with all of their cards, even the ones not in rotation. It will have its own ban list, and details about where this format will be implemented will come in the future.
New Rarities
To the resounding excitement to collectors, two new rarities will be added for us to collect. The first represented by the reprinted Elsa - Snow Queen is the new Epic rarity. This type will be rarer than Legendries, but will be found more often than Enchanteds. The second rarity, represented by the new Mickey Mouse - Brave Little Prince, is (pause for dramatic affect) Iconic. This will be the rarest type of card to collect being rarer than Enchanteds, and will likely be the most expensive cards we have seen in terms of value. It has been announced that there will be 2 to collect within Fabled, the Mickey shown above and an unseen Minnie Mouse who shares the cover of Fabled’s marketing images.
Still Celebrating Goofy
Our last podcast episode revolved around celebrating the 30th Anniversary of The Goofy Movie. Now it seems Ravensburger wants to join in with the announcement that The Goofy Movie will make its first Lorcana appearance during Fabled.
Whispers in the Well
The 10th set releasing in Q4 of 2025 has been announced and is titled Whispers in the Well. We now know that this set will include both The Black Cauldron (previously announced at D23) and…Gargoyles. You can even catch a glimpse at what appears to be one of the Gargoyles in the back-left of the image above. This image shows Venturo and possibly a Floodborn Detective Mickey in dark forest of some kind (maybe within the aforementioned “Well”) surrounded by glowing pages containing images of glimmers we have seen in the past. Mickey even seems to be casting a version of Ariel - On Human Legs, a card from the first set. A new glimmer type, known as Whispers, will be introduced during this 10th set. It will be interesting to watch the story unfold and see how these pages play a part with the new glimmer type.
Things getting dangerous
The last bit of news shared on May 6th, is that Darkwing Duck will be making his debut in a future set.
