Disney Lorcana gave a glimpse into its mechanics earlier this week, and card spoilers have been gradually speeding up ahead of the game’s release. We’ve now been given an insight into what each of the game’s ink colours are all about: Lorcana’s very own version of the MTG colour pie.
Lorcana’s got some clear differences, but also several similarities to premier TCG Magic: The Gathering, and we’ve previously looked at the Amber and Steel inks, comparing their colour identity with Magic’s. Now it’s time to look at the other four ink types: Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Amethyst.
According to Ravensburger, Daring Ruby glimmers often leap without looking. This colour has some of the simplest cards we’ve seen so far, with most of the characters just having Evasive, meaning they can’t be challenged by non-Evasive characters. It also seems to be an ink type that’s great at banishing – though two of the banishing Ruby cards we’ve seen both relate to the same character, Maleficent, we’ve also seen Mulan, who gets a benefit for banishing.
Then there’s Brilliant Sapphire glimmers, who “like to use the best tool for the job”. This seems to suggest a focus on items (the equivalent of MTG artifacts) and one card, Maurice, World Famous Inventor supports that suggestion, drawing cards for items and making them less costly.
Aurora, Scar, and Robin Hood have very different effects however. Scar lowers the strength of another character temporarily, Robin Hood draws a card and can make a character Evasive, and Aurora gives things Ward, meaning they can’t be targeted except to challenge. Notably, every single one of these cards, from pseudo-hexproof to card draw, fits Magic: The Gathering’s Blue colour identity extremely well – it’s likely no accident that Sapphire was chosen for this colour.
Apparently, Emerald glimmers are among the most flexible and can adapt to overcome nearly any situation. This seems to be the sneaky ink type, with several crafty villains appearing in the colour. As for the actual mechanics, we’ve got recursion in Lady Tremaine, and two effects that trigger when your own characters are banished in Cheshire Cat and Cruella. Both flavourfully and mechanically, this ink type seems a lot like Black. Death and graveyard synergies abound… Though they hopefully won’t be called that, given that Disney is trying to avoid violence.
According to Ravensburger, Amethyst glimmers rely on enchantments to keep their options open. But it’s not clear exactly what enchantments are – they’re not a card type? A particular strategy? This ink type certainly has its options open, as right now it’s the one with the least clear strategy or theme from the cards we’ve seen.
There’s two items among the spoilers, so perhaps items are a theme? Mickey Mouse works with ‘Broom characters’ which sounds like a self-contained engine, and Elsa can Exert opposing characters. From what we’ve seen, it looks like Amethyst may play a slower, controlling strategy, but right now it’s still anybody’s guess.
For more details on Disney’s upcoming TCG, check out our Disney Lorcana release date guide.