Since the initial release of Lorcana in the USA, back in August 2023, I have wanted to get my hands on the cards. The cards were created by the puzzle masters at Ravensburger and slowly released over the next 12 months. Last year saw the cards release here, with local folks Modern Brands being the ones to bring them to Australia and they have been kind enough to provide a selection of the goods from Season 7, Archazia’s Island.

There is an actual story as to why there are cards and its quite unique for a card game. The world that the game is set in is an alternate world to ours and Illumineers would use magical ink to summon Glimmers. These summons look like characters from the Disney brand, which is why you can get some with very different looks to what you might recognise. In each land within this new world, or Inklands, there are themes that rule them, sort of how like different regions of our world have different themes to them. The stories that are told by this worlds Illumineers are stored in the Halls of Lorcana, until one day the Illumineers vanish and the Great Illuminary, leader of them, calls up our worlds players to step up and become Illumineers, creating new stories to keep the world going. Each new season includes more lore, which expands the story that has been unfolding since the first set released.

What that lore does is take away the damage and blood attacks found in some other card games and instead replaces them with ink, which when used can result in the creation of lore, that creates new stories. This is how you might get Mushu from Mulan opposite B.E.N from Treasure Planet. The latest season Archazia’s Island is a place where more pets are found, which is why the season includes characters from Lady and the Tramp, The Aristocats and even Bolt. There are more of course, the photo below is a selection of cards from the new season and you can see characters from Cinderalla, Duck Tails, Hercules, Moana and even Mulan are included.

As with all the past seasons, each of the boosters comes with a selection of cards, one of which is a foil card. These cards all have the same art as their non-foil versions, but just look that little bit cooler. The cards I got, which are below are fun, but having Devil’s Eye Diamond from The Rescuers be all shiny, feels right. I do have that same card in its non-foil form and it looks great, but just feels incomplete because its a diamond and they are known to be shiny.

From the ones below, I would have to list Mushu, Wendy Darling and Calhoun as my favourites because the art is fun, but they all have a special effect that looks better in the foil.

Now this is not a review of Lorcana as a whole, as I am a collector more than a player, I jumped in here because I love the artwork that is on each card. Art is something I adore and not because I am some sort of master artist, far from it, but good art just makes me happy. It is why at the top of every story on my site, you will not see logos on any art, because I want the art to shine. Plus as a Disney fan, I have a deep connection to almost every character that is included in each season, from the current seasons Chernabog or last seasons, Azurite Sea and The Rescue Rangers.

One of the aspects that I love about the Lorcana cards is that every single card contains the name of the artist who is responsible for them. There is a local artist, Matt Chapman who has drawn a number of cards as well and one of his is for Ludwig Von Drake, a personal favourite character of mine. Being able to be captivated by the art, then see the name of the artist is something I like. Now Lorcana is not the only TCG to do this, but it is nice that they are among the number that do. The art below for the Elsa card is a standout, but the rest are just as delightful, but seeing the name of the artist for Elsa’s card, did make me go back through some past seasons to see what else they might have drawn.

I would be remiss though if I did not mention a big change that comes with Archazia’s Island and that is Dual Ink cards. You can see a few of them in the photos above, Denahi in the bottom left is one such card. Ink is the way in which you create lore in the game and there are six ink types for players to use, Amber, Amethyst, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, and Steel. Normally when you play a card, you are playing that single ink type, for example if you lay down an Amber ink card, then you are getting more support for your hand.

These dual-ink cards can give you both Amber and Amethyst, giving you both support and ability buffs. For anyone who has ever played Magic: The Gathering, they play much the same as Multi-Color cards from there. The only restriction is that your deck must have ink of the same type to be allowed to use them, so if my deck had no Steel ink, then I would not be allowed to use that Denahi card, as that is a Ruby/Steel card. This is the latest change to the series since the Alternate Shift mechanic that came with Season 4, Ursula’s Return. As I said above though, I am not a player of the game, I have played a few matches, but I would rather collect the cards than play with them.

Each season of Lorcana has come with some amazing art and opening each booster pack means I get a chance to discover that artwork and enjoy it. There are seven seasons done now, but season 8 is on the way and Reign of Jafar could be something special, as some of the promo art from that looks amazing. If you are someone who is on the fence for Lorcana, I would suggest you check it out, as it has a number of familiar characters, but it is also the most approachable TCG I have seen in a long time. I am not one for Magic, Pokémon is a no from me and while I adore Star Wars, Unlimited just does nothing for me, but Lorcana, that is something that is truly illuminating.