With so many stories about sailing and pirates over a century of animation, it was really only a matter of time before Disney’s hot new TCG, Lorcana, had a heavy focus on those things—and that day is almost here with the new set, Azurite Sea.
We’ve gone hands-on with the new starter decks ahead of the set’s release in mid-November, and it seems Ravensburger is still travelling with full sails.
This time around the Imagineers have taken to the high seas, following an ancient map in search of more powerful relics. Along the way they’ll be aided by Glimmers of treasure-seeking and sea-faring Glimmers from Disney lore: familiar faces from Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers, Treasure Planet, and Moana are featured, while the crew of Big Hero 6 also make their Lorcana debut.
You’ll find all of these sources represented in Azurite Sea‘s starter decks: an Amber and Ruby deck led by Jim Hawkins and Tigger, and an Emerald and Sapphire deck fronted by Go Go Tamago and Gadget Hackwrench.
With each new set, Disney Lorcana is proving that there are still tricks up its sleeves.
The latter, true to the personalities of its colours, features a heavy focus on Inventor Glimmers, so the rest of Go Go’s friends from Big Hero 6 are included in the deck alongside her. (And Goofy gets an Inventor iteration as well, because reasons.) Much of the deck is focused on supporting these Inventors, with a smaller emphasis on a new Glimmer type, “Robot,” which Baymax pioneers.
The other cards outside of these trends are helpful for accelerating your hand and getting these face cards into play faster. Once you have the likes of Go Go Tomago—Darting Dynamo and Aunt Cass—Biggest Fan on the field, the lore counters will come rapidly, while Gadget Hackwrench—Brilliant Bosun and Baymax—Personal Healthcare Companion can team up nicely to get him onto the field for cheap.
It’s a fun, synergistic deck, but hopefully Azurite Sea has some more Robot cards to help flesh it out. Some of the non-related cards have a filler vibe, where I might want a couple more copies of the Megabot item and even Goofy—Expert Shipwright, an Inventor with Ward who can impart it on another Character when he quests.
There’s a similar synergy in Azurite Sea‘s Amber and Ruby starter deck. Strangely, Tigger—In The Crow’s Nest that shines; despite the fact he’s not typically a pirate character, this bouncy buccaneer can buff itself when you play an action, gaining +1 Strength and +1 Lore for the rest of the turn. Winnie The Pooh—Hunny Pirate helps get pirates out a little cheaper, and the Pooh Pirate Ship item can return fallen comrades from the discard pile.
There’s also a common mechanical thread that makes location cards important. The Floodborn Moana—Kakamora Leader not only imagines what Moana would look like if she led the coconut demons from her movie, she musters other creatures to her location and gains lore in the process. Fix-It Felix Jr.—Niceland Steward buffs locations, and the song The Islands I Pulled From The Sea help you tutor more into your hand.
Since I don’t have much personal affinity for most of this deck’s motley crew as characters—it’s mostly comprised of Winnie the Pooh characters and the kids from Peter Pan, two properties that helped tune me out of the Kingdom Hearts games once upon a time—I was somewhat ready to forget about it. But once again, Disney Lorcana has made me sit up and take another look at one of its concepts.
(Plus, Jasmine—Rebellious Princess might prove to be one of Azurite Sea‘s nastier common cards, docking a lore from each opponent whenever she quests. It’s off the theme, but still has that pirate spirit in the end.)
Looking at Azurite Sea from a distance, I realize I’m still waiting for the game to do something bigger and flashier mechanically, as I mused before Shimmering Skies‘ launch. Yet, with each new set, Disney Lorcana is proving that there are still tricks up its sleeves, and that it can do plenty with the mechanical space it already has. Once again it’s gotten me to reconsider the potential for some characters I’m personally apathetic toward, and we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg so far.
That being said, I’m already losing track of the distinction between some of the types of Glimmers. Storyborn cards are supposed to be the familiar, storybook versions of the characters; Dreamborn cards were described as versions with embellished or heightened abilities, like a more fully-realized glimpse of their potential; and Floodborn cards were meant to be unlikely takes on the familiar, changed by the flood of magical ink.
The swashbuckling Winnie the Pooh characters are Storyborn, apparently in homage to a 1989 episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh where the crew pretends to be pirates and (what else) terrorize Rabbit. That’s a nice nod for Disney superfans, but it’s also far from the standard storybook version of the characters, and it muddies the water for people who don’t know about the episode, as I didn’t before questioning the cards’ terminology.
Moana—Kakamora Leader fits the Floodborn bill, becoming the leader of the chaotic band of creatures that plagued her in her original story. However Goofy—Expert Shipwright strikes me more as a Floodborn card, since inventing isn’t exactly seem the character’s forte. Lorcana already did something similar with Gaston—Intellectual Powerhouse back in Rise of the Floodborn, and an intelligent Gaston being Floodborn clicked. Gadget’s new iteration, meanwhile, doesn’t seem like a Floodborn. Some of the Azurite Sea cards we’ve seen so far show me that the game might be struggling to get its big ideas across in this department, but we’ll see what’s offered in the full set and beyond.
Outside of these starter decks, Azurite Sea is another 204-card set (plus Enchanted variants), with booster packs available individually or in the Illumineer’s Trove bundle. The set also marks the return of the Gift Set product—fitting with the holidays around the corner. Once again Stitch is taking center stage in the gift set, featured on a special foil promo card (Stitch—Alien Buccaneer) and a 252-card, 9-pocket binder. In addition to Ravensburger’s own line of accessories, there are now official Ultra Pro options, like an elegant deck box with a fold-out lore counter.
Disney Lorcana‘s Azurite Sea set will be available at local game stores on November 15, with a wide retail launch two weeks later on November 29. Check the game’s official Store Locator to find an independent game store near you,
