Shimmering Skies Ahead For Lorcana Fans

The first anniversary of Ravensburger’s new trading card game, Disney Lorcana , is almost upon us, and the celebration will kick off with the release of its fifth set, Shimmering Skies .

In fact, it also seems revelry is the theme of the story for this set, celebrating the Illumineers’ victory over the powerful Ursula glimmer that threatened to take over the realm in the last set . CGM has had an early hands-on with the new Starter Decks, and as we’ve seen, some friends from a new Disney IP are invited to the party—but what else can players expect from Shimmering Skies ?

Perhaps the biggest addition to Lorcana ’s aesthetic and source material is the inclusion of Wreck-It Ralph characters. Ralph, Vanellope, Fix-It Felix, and the inhabitants of Sugar Rush make their full debut as the next Disney franchise to be brought into this multiverse of intellectual properties.

“ Shimmering Skies continues Lorcana ’s trend of having highly playable offerings right out of the box.”

Zootopia appears to be getting more representation as well, with its songstress Gazelle featured in the story trailer, while Elsa draws more upon her Frozen 2 power set.

Among its 204 total cards, Shimmering Skies represents the Sugar Rush racers with a cycle of Ruby glimmers, while Snow White and the Seven Dwarves are all being printed in Steel as a set of Dreamborn Knights with some series synergy abilities. But what do the preconstructed Starter Decks offer players?

The first, the Amethyst and Ruby deck makes for an unlikely but highly efficient team-up: Ralph and Elsa. Wreck-It Ralph—Demolition Dude’s “Refreshing Break” ability grants 1 lore for each damage on him at the start of each turn, which offers opponents an interesting strategic conundrum. Meanwhile, Elsa—The Fifth Spirit—has a triple threat of Rush, Evasive, and a unique “Crystallize” ability that exerts an opposing character when she enters play.

Anna also appears in this Shimmering Skies Starter Deck with a similar effect, exerting all opposing characters when she enters play, while Olaf—Happy Passenger can skate out for less ink per exerted character. Many of the Sugar Rush racers play into the theme with either Evasive or Rush, making this deck a high-octane way to dart through a game.

(Personally this has a lot of potential to be one of my favorite decks, between the fun pace and the pairing of two well-beloved franchises in my household.)

Shimmering Skies ’ second Starter Deck is Emerald and Steel with a strong Lion King theme, featuring Scar—Vengeful Lion, a Storyborn leader that sends minions forth. While he’s in play, you can draw a card whenever one of your characters challenges a damaged character—while the Ward keyword prevents him from being challenged in turn.

Meanwhile, if Kronk—Head of Security, can banish another character in a challenge, you can play another character that costs 5 or less with his “Are You On The List?” ability. This is a perfect chance to sneak out Shenzi—Head Hyena, who synergizes with the deck’s many hyenas.

Normally I find premade decks from other TCGs like Magic: The Gathering or Pokemon Trading Card Game offer a decent idea for a deck, but undercut it by including too many weaker cards. It’s easy enough to substitute a few cards, of course, and this helps players make the deck their own. However, Shimmering Skies continues Lorcana ’s trend of having highly playable offerings right out of the box; I’d feel no hesitation handing a newer player either of these decks, while more experienced TCG players shouldn’t feel like the kid gloves are on.

That being said, as we stand at the precipice of another set’s release, I’m once again wondering what the future of this game looks like. I’d hoped to see something new shake up the game’s mechanics slightly, like the Locations added in Into the Inklands .

Right now Shimmering Skies offers another 200-ish cards, introducing a new corner of the Disney universe and reinterpreting other scattered legends in the process. The cards are still beautifully illustrated with new, original art, and the cards manage to evoke. Maybe this is just the MTG veteran in me struggling to reconcile the cognitive dissonance between the two entities and expecting more mechanical overload.

Either way, so deep is the Disney well that Ravensburger could keep up this cadence for some time, gradually adding different franchises to the mix without shaking up the mechanical paradigm and still not alienating the player base. Given that Lorcana , like Pokémon , is meant to be aimed at a younger or family-based demographic, perhaps it’s enough to slowly diversify the pools of characters and themes instead of sprinting through all the possibilities for game design.

Now that the first year is complete, it would be nice to see a bigger long-term image start to coalesce, giving some vague sense of what lies in store. (I’d also like to see the story told in a more meaningful way than the partially-animated story trailers we currently get, which merely pantomime a story. Both Lorcana and Disney Mirrorverse have been squandering the potential of their multiversal reimaginings of classic characters, but that’s a topic for another day.)

Like Ursula’s Return before it, Shimmering Skies will not have a Gift Set product available. Instead, Ravensburger is offering a new product geared toward teaching newcomers how to play. Disney Lorcana Gateway includes two decks, which players will gradually unlock additional cards for by completing challenges in the included guidebook.

Another premium item is also on the way. Available at the D23 Expo in Anaheim August 9-11, 2024 (and at select Disney retail locations), the Disney Lorcana D23 Collection features 6 special foil cards representing the game’s first year. These are specially branded Enchanted variants of cards that are otherwise already available, except for Oswald—The Lucky Rabbit, which is from an upcoming set. The box set is sure to be a hot commodity for collectors like last year’s D100 box set.

Shimmering Skies is on sale at hobby stores starting August 9, and at all other retailers starting August 23. Check the official Store Locator to find a friendly local game store near you, and our Lorcana Buyer’s Guide for all the details on products.