Disney Lorcana, perhaps the biggest upstart in trading card games, observes its second anniversary this month with its ninth set, called Fabled. This expansion ushers in a new era for the game… by reprinting old cards.
Competitive or organized play for Lorcana, like practically every major TCG, has officially begun the process of set rotation. The game’s standard format, or the pool of cards that are eligible/allowed to be used in organized play, has turned so that only cards from the game’s second year—from set #5, Shimmering Skies—onward are permitted. This process helps keep the game accessible to new players, and keeps the list of cards available from growing so large that the game overall becomes unbalanced.
However this also means that established players suddenly have to scramble to update their decks to remain “legal” for the format. To that end, Ravensburger has reprinted many classic cards from the game’s first four sets to keep decks viable, and essentially present a “core” environment. As such, Fabled is about 2/3 reprints… which is necessary, but a little higher than some might like to see.
Regardless, there are still quite a few brand new cards to chase in the new set, and others with updated artwork in the game’s highest rarities. Here are the five new (or newly reillustrated) cards that we’re wishing upon a star to pull from Fabled packs.
5) Belle—Accomplished Mystic (New Enchanted)
Our first pick is actually an old card with a new coat of paint. Belle—Accomplished Mystic is a standout from set 4, Ursula’s Return, reprinted in Fabled but also highlighted with a new Enchanted variant. This Floodborn take on the familiar character shows the inventive potential of Disney Lorcana at its best, turning the bookish princess into a proper magician in her own right. The new artwork adds to the mystique and leans into the unique foil details used on Enchanted cards.
The card itself is versatile in use, too. Belle has plenty of Shift-worthy options and ties into several common types (Hero, Princess, and Sorcerer). Her Enhanced Healing ability is a reliable aid as well, moving damage from an ally to an opponent’s creature. Of the many reprints in Fabled, this is one we’re glad to see again.
4) Beast—Gracious Prince
Speaking of the Princess character type, and by no mere coincidence, the new Beast glimmer should prove a potent ally. Beast—Gracious Prince buffs your Princess characters with +1 Strength and +1 Willpower, which comes in handy given how many Princess cards are featured in Amethyst. His own stats make him a steady anchor to secure the rest of your position on the board in the process.
(And his own Enchanted variant makes a nice match for Belle’s, to boot.)
3) Circle of Life
It’s almost unfair that it took this long for one of the most iconic earworms in Disney history to arrive as one of Disney Lorcana‘s Song cards, but Fabled finally made it happen.
Circle of Life taps into the Sing Together mechanic, so its 8-ink cost can be circumvented, especially with help from a willing teammate. Even if a beloved or crucial character from your deck meets its end and gets sent to your discard pile, this utility card can bring it back for “free” (or at least at the cost of exerting a couple characters to summon it back). Practically any deck using Amethyst could benefit from it.
Lorcana can do a fantastic job of translating iconic moments into flavourful cards, and revitalize the source material with beautiful new artwork. Circle of Life is the latest in this tradition, and with the growing strength of The Lion King-related cards, we’d be happy to see this iconic Song in a pack of Fabled.
2) Mickey Mouse—Brave Little Prince & Minnie Mouse—Sweetheart Princess (Iconics)
Fabled introduces two new rarities to Disney Lorcana: Epic, which are frameless, extended art variants, rarer than Legendary but more common than Enchanted; and Iconic, the new pinnacle of rarity in Disney Lorcana. There are only two Iconic cards in a set, and this time around, Disney’s core couple introduces the concept.
Mickey Mouse—Brave Little Prince benefits greatly from using the Shift mechanic, buffing his Strength, Willpower, and Lore by 3 each. Meanwhile Minnie—Sweetheart Princess offers Support to Mickey characters, adding her Strength to his when he goes Questing (and can banish strong opposition on the other side of the board). They make an even more potent pair than usual in these iterations.
However, these incredibly rare variants will be hard to come by, as Enchanteds were already rare enough to pull. Opening even one of the two Iconics should feel like winning the lottery—which you may need to do to if you want to buy them individually as singles.
1) Powerline—World’s Greatest Rock Star
One of the biggest features of Fabled is that it introduces the world of A Goofy Movie into Disney Lorcana. This animated classic was a childhood hallmark of the game’s main adult demographic and just celebrated its 30th anniversary—and now Powerline’s Floodborn iteration, World’s Greatest Rock Star, can be the cornerstone of a potent Song-based deck.
Powerline has the ability Singer, at a power of 9, making him one of the best characters to have on the field if your deck is at all focused on using Songs. He can singlehandedly perform the likes of Circle Of Life, or l2l from his own movie, all on his own; this means you can essentially exert him to play a character from the discard pile, or to draw 2 cards and gain 2 lore.
Not only is he a powerhouse for fueling Songs, however, he also helps keep the beat going with his ability Mash-Up; when he’s exerted to sing a song, you can check the first 4 cards of your deck and put a Song from among them into your deck. At this point there are only 2 or 3 cards in all of Disney Lorcana that this couldn’t potentially tutor into your hand. It’s a card that’s sure to steal the show in Fabled and beyond, given the broad utility of Songs overall.
