Written by Citizens of Lorcana
When Lorcana was first announced I think I was the first on board the hype train. This game checks so many boxes for me:
- Disney IP
- Marvel IP
- Star Wars IP
- TCG game player
- Collector
And while I now know that things like Star Wars and Marvel and Pixar and Muppets and Disney live-action movies aren’t included in the initial roadmap of the game, I didn’t know this at the time.
Lorcana was announced less than a week before D23, and my imaginations of having Darth Vader face off against Iron Man were in overdrive.
Since that time there are things we have come to know for sure about this game, a lot of things we think we know about this game, and things we just don’t know anything about.
I’m pretty active in the Lorcana community (yes! It already exists, especially on Discord), and today I want to share six things we don’t know, but would like to know.
First: What are these inkwell icons used for????
There have been many theories suggested for their purpose.
Some have suggested that they serve as a type of mana to deploy characters and spells. Which is an idea but how do you get the icons on the board to begin with.
Others have suggested that perhaps they serve as a victory condition. Either you need so many icons on your side of the table or you need to collect opponents’ icons through banishing their cards.
Still others have suggested that they might serve as resources for a questing type system.
And I’ve also seen others suggest that it is similar to a don deck in the One Piece trading card game.
Out of all the things we don’t know, this is perhaps the number one thing we want to know.
Second: What exactly are the win conditions for this game?
Like seriously how does one win a game of Lorcana?
Ryan Miller the lead designer of this game has said that this game will be less confrontational than magic.
Does this mean opposing characters won’t attack each other (unlikely if you read the cards texts)?
Will this be like the other Ravensburger game Villainous, where each player has their own objective and only indirectly interacts with the opponent?
Or will this just be a friendly version of magic?
Third: What are the plans for international play/players?
I recently got into trading card games (TCGs) and have just begun to realize how neglected game companies can treat their international players.
Will product be available upon release? If so, which countries?
What does organize play look like internationally?
Ryan Miller had said that organized play is very important to the company (and vital for the longevity of a game). The TCG I’m currently playing has almost died internationally because there just hasn’t been any support.
Fourth: What kind of support will local gaming stores (LGS) be offered to sell this product?
Without a doubt Lorcana will be sold in the big box stores, but for a TCG to survive it needs robust support for local gaming stores.
As a side note. You might be wondering what the heck is an LGSanyway?
Think of it like your local restaurants. Yes you have your national chains, but every city has their local restaurants as well.
Local game stores is where you will go play the game competitively. It’s where you’ll go to buy the game and it’s boosters. It’s where you’ll go to make friends for life.
So what kind of support will they receive?
Exclusive products? Competition promos? Prize support?
If the game isn’t profitable for the store they’ll stop carrying the product (like my current game).
Fifth: When does this game release?
Yes yes yes we know fall of 2023, but that is a three-month period.
Are we looking at September or closer to November?
Honestly this is a selfish question because I just want to get my hands on this game as soon as I can.
Sixth: How well will you communicate with the community?
As I’ve been a gamer for most of my life, the amount of communication a company has with its players makes a huge difference.
I’ve played games (looking at you Niantic) where the developers have had little to no communication with their players.
Controversial decisions made that impact game play?
Crickets….
It’s soooo frustrating.
And I’ve also played games (looking at you Jasco) where the company has its own Discord with multiple employees active and engaging the community.
The goodwill built by engaging with the community makes things run a lot smoother, even if controversial decisions are made.
Conclusion
There you have it.
Six questions needing six answers.
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