Summary
Disney Lorcana, despite being so young, has taken the TCG scene by storm. Something about the universal appeal of Disney characters melded with simple rules that nonetheless allow for great depth and complexity of play, has resulted in a perfect combo that’s attracted players to locals all over the world.
We’re now five sets deep into Lorcana’s run, and each has brought some fab new cards to the (literal) table. They may not all be meta-defining, but some of the mechanics they’ve introduced have shaken up the way competitive Illumineers build their decks. Let’s rank ‘em all, from The First Chapter all the way to Archazia’s Island!
Updated on July 30, 2025 by Bobby Mills: Archazia’s Island is upon us, and thus Lorcana continues its table-bound domination and four-quadrant appeal. The dual-ink concept it brings to the table will surely shake up tournaments, and while the set doesn’t really redefine the metagame in any major way, it still deserves a spot in our ranking. Enjoy, Illumineers!
The criteria for our ranking of the sets are pretty basic: we’re considering how good the cards therein are from both a competitive standpoint (i.e. does the set add much in the way of new staples?) and a purely aesthetic one. Are they fun even on the kitchen table? Do they look gorgeous? These are all factors.
Notable features
No new gameplay mechanics, focuses on building out existing decks.
Introduces first ‘active disruption’ cards in the form of Pete and his abilities.
Shimmering Skies is a relatively newly-minted addition to the Lorcana pantheon, and so it’s difficult to gauge how well it’ll integrate into players’ decks in the long term. At the very least, the designers are at the top of their game here, with a slick, candy-colored art style for all the newcomers from Wreck-It Ralph. Unlike previous sets, there aren’t many immediate standout cards, and there’s a generally ‘ho-hum’ attitude towards this one in fan circles.
That’s not to say Shimmering Skies has nothing to offer, though. Daisy – Donald’s Date is a fairly common pull that costs only one ink to play, forces all opponents to draw prematurely, and can quest for two lore. For decks that favor aggro play, that’s borderline criminal; and when paired off with some constant Amber staples like Set 1’s Lilo – Making A Wish, it makes for a formidable early-game hand.
Elsewhere, there’s Pete – Games Referee, who paralyzes your opponents' ability to use any actions whatsoever, and some good multi-purpose cards like Anna – Diplomatic Queen, who offers a choice of three handy buffs. Slotted into the right synergy decks, they’re nifty tools to have at your disposal.
Introduces new Enchanted chase variants.
Greater focus on Locations as a strategic element with more opportunities for Lore.
In the looks department, Azurite Sea is on the high end of Lorcana’s set lineup. The artists have truly settled into their groove (six sets in, you’d hope so!) and there’s a fab unifying swashbuckling aesthetic going on. The likes of Tinker Bell, Tiana, and Stitch have all got dressed up for a voyage on the open water — er, blue ink — and this time, the Enchanted cards have an attractive treasure map texture. Collectors arescreamingout in desire.
Likewise, Azurite Sea sees the full-frontal debut of some franchises fans had long clamored for. Big Hero 6’s team, conspicuously absent from prior sets, makes a splash of an entrance;as do Chip n' Dale and their Rescue Ranger buddies. Even Jim Hawkins of Treasure Planet is getting in on some action for the first time since 2002.
Gameplay-wise, however, Azurite Sea is as tough to pin down as Set 5. It’ll take a few championships before it becomes clear how it’ll stack up. There’s nothing in it to really shake up the meta, but it does offer up a few good picks.
Maui – Half Shark lets you get a lore engine going with his loop of recovering Action cards and then playing them for profit. Then there’s Calhoun – Marine Sergeant, who has a kamikaze ability that gains her 2 lore when she takes another character down. Raya and Baymax’s cards are no slouches, either.
More Like Rise Of The Steelsongs
Introduces the ‘Resist’ attribute, which enables a character to tank damage.
First set to permit the viability of song-based decks.
Set 2, Rise of the Floodborn, made it plain that the meta wasn’t going to stay static for very long. On the contrary – this set introduced a number of cards that fundamentally altered the way Lorcana is played competitively, and some would argue the fun factor took a hit in the process.
Aside from being the set that brought us The Squirrel Who Shall Not Be Named, the major change to come out of Rise of the Floodborn was the viability of Steelsong decks. These are filled to the brim with effect-granting songs, as well as an army of characters that can quickly Shift onto the board and sing them for free (Cinderella’s a typical culprit). A canny Steelsong player can be singing by turn 3, wiping their opponents' slate clean while racking up lore at an obscene pace via Sleepy’s Flute.
And,oh man, you have never known true fear until you’ve stared down a player with a full complement of Merlin and Madam Mim’s animal forms. Now fixtures of Sapphire and Amethyst decks, the combos you can pull off with the right moves are dizzying: Goat Merlin on the board for one lore. BOING, Fox Mim on the board to send Merlin back to hand for another point of lore, and to Rush any opposing cards. BOING, Snake Mim on the board to send Fox Mim back to hand for safety, ready to slaughter again another day. Et cetera, ad nauseam.
Aside from all this, you’ve got the likes of Beast – Tragic Hero (affectionately referred to as ‘Emo Beast’), a one-man… er, one-beastdraw engine who can keep you topping up your hand for as long as he sits idle. Plus,Giant Tinkcan quite comfortably KO two characters or more in a single turn.
Offers a separate game mode for cooperative play.
Introduces alternate ways to Shift a character into play atop another card.
Introduces the ability for Singers to combine their powers to sing a higher-cost song.
Ursula’s Return is a unique set for several reasons. For one, it’s the first to namecheck a specific character, that being the tentacled sea-witch herself, who’s been freed from imprisonment and is wreaking her usual havoc upon Lorcana. To that end, Set 4 featured a separate side-game you could purchase, ‘Illumineer’s Quest: Deep Trouble,’ which put a neat cooperative spin on the standard Lorcana gameplay as you and a chum worked together to take down an automated Ursula deck. The novelty alone earns Set 4 a higher spot than some of its peers.
Ursula’s Return also broke the mold by centering one of its starter decks entirely around a single universe: Encanto. Every member of the Family Madrigal is here, and they all look positively stunning (Mirabel is rocking an adorable hair bun, for instance) while bringing their quirky gifts into the fold. Poor, ostracized Uncle Bruno allows you to take a guess as to who’s atop your deck currently, and if you’re right, you gain three lore. Load your deck up with unlimited quantities of Dalmatian puppies to really cash in.
Alright, we’ll address the rodent in the room: many players blame Ursula’s Return for the powercreep that Bucky wrought upon Lorcana, since his discard effect activates every time you play a Floodborn type… which Set 4 just happens to be teeming with.
Complaints were so frequent that the little bugger became the subject of the game’s first emergency errata. Squeak-squeak-oops.
Then there’s Abuela Alma, who enables you to go digging through your deck for a Madrigal character, which further cements the predictability of the deck – key in a tournament setting. Beyond Encanto, Set 4 brought additional Location cards that have proven to be firm favorites, like the Hidden Cove, which is tough to whittle down and provides constant attack and defense buffs for all its visitors.
Introduces Locations, a new card type that gains lore passively.
Introduces the ability to move characters between Locations at will, granting various effects.
Into the Inklands casually upended the established Lorcana format by introducing a whole new card type: Locations. Now, if the ink price is right, you may move your warriors to a variety of recognizable spots from the Disney stable, like Skull Rock or Treasure Planet’s RLS Legacy. Locations might prevent characters from being challenged, bolster their stats, and way more besides.
Even discounting the Locations mechanic, Set 3 hasan embarrassment of riches– appropriate given that it heralds Scrooge McDuck’s debut. His Lucky Dime is a usable item, and it’s quickly found a home among many decks for its lore-boosting capacity. Paired with characters that have lore-centric abilities, to begin with, like Magica De Spell – Midas Touch or Ariel – Treasure Collector, you’ll be at 20 in no time.
Elsewhere, Robin Hood – Champion of Sherwood is an absolutely broken inclusion for Steel. Not only can he Shift into play for a meager three ink, but he’s worth two loreandgains a further two when he defeats someone in a challenge. Topped off with his meaty six health, it’s no wonder his resale price is sizable.
Double Trouble
Introduces special ‘dual ink’ cards that can belong to more than one ink class.
Introduces the ‘Vanish’ mechanic that allows a character to be banished just by selecting it.
Archazia’s Island follows up on the nautical theming of Azurite Sea, depicting the culture of… well, an island lorded over by Archazia the ancient owl. Its primary gimmick is ‘dual ink’ cards, which add an exciting dimension to the gameplay. Using one of these legally requires that your deck conform tobothits ink types, which some may consider to be a restriction; but at the same time, if your synergy is sound, you can put together some solid decks within the limitations, and then reap the rewards of these powerful new Glimmers.
This instantly switches up your strategy and keeps opponents on their toes: will you have all single ink Glimmers, or will there be a strong dual inker in there? Aside from this, there’s alsothe new ‘Vanish’ attribute, a sort of Achilles' heel mechanic intended to balance out some of the more powerful characters (typically ‘Illusion’ types). If an opponent chooses that card for any purpose, it’s discarded straight away. Watch your glass cannons!
Archazia also gets top marks for the art. By God, these little bits of cardboard are beautiful. Characters like Mirabel, Mulan, Iago, and even Bolt (remember him?) come out looking better than ever. The colours pop, the chase variants shine… what’s not to love?
Be Prepared For A Whole New World
Starter set that kicks off the game and its worldbuilding; its pre-built decks and cards continue to be sought after as crucial toolsets for newcomers.
Introduces all Ink types and base mechanics.
There’s just no contest: even six sets down the line, The First Chapter remains the strongest batch of cards the game has yet seen. Almost any top-ranking deck you’d care to name features a few staples from this set, and it’s telling that booster boxes for it are akin to gold dust in their scarcity. Packed to the gills with foundational cards, its staying power cannot be ignored.
First up is Amber, with such mainstays as Ariel – Spectacular Singer and Stitch – Rock Star, both of whom continue to see play in 2024.
The infamous Lilo-Simba combo began with Set 1. One-ink Lilo can quest for two lore unimpeded as early as the second turn with the young cub Bodyguarding her.
The pattern continues into Ruby, with cards like Dragon Fire and Be Prepared still unbeaten in terms of pure removal power. Be Prepared is especially nasty, forcing all opponents to nuke their boards. Steel gets some quality songs, too, like A Whole New World and Grab Your Sword, which are two total must-haves for tournaments.
Rapunzel – Gifted With Healing, Dr. Facilier’s passive character revival, and Beast’s various alternate forms round out a stellar inaugural lineup for Lorcana, and one that shows no signs of dropping out of relevance anytime soon. Then again, ifa Z-list character like Mr. Flaversham can become meta-defining, who even knows anymore?
