Disney Lorcana: Into the Inklands Adds To “Spectacular” TGC Franchise

The Disney Lorcana game hit the shelves again in December and has been a big hit. The game gets a lot of its gameplay ideas from the classic Magic: The Gathering TCG.

However, it offers a fresh spin on the concept. With the massive money of Disney behind it, there is a good chance that it will be around for the long haul.

Indeed, the company has already announced the release of the 3^rd set. But what will Disney Lorcana: Into The Inklings look like? Read our full Into the Inklands review to find out.

What is Into The Inklands and Disney Lorcana?

The game has been VERY well received. Its latest triumph was winning 2023’s Best Ongoing Card Game at the Tabletop Awards. Obviously, by using beloved characters and having the advantage of the Disney name, the game received a good deal of attention. But that isn’t enough to keep hardened gamers interested. What is keeping them there is the successful gameplay.

Its success so far has been so significant that according to Dicebreaker, Disney Lorcana is:

“a breakthrough TCG deserving of its place alongside the Big Three. With gameplay smarts and that irresistible Disney magic, it’s less the biggest TCG of the year and more the biggest TCG in decades.” The big three in the TCG world are Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Pokémon TCG. It seems it is now the big four, which is good. It’s about time we had a bit of fresh blood in here.

Into the Inklands release date

You can expect Set 3 at your favorite game stores and select Disney parks on February 23, 2024. Then, the product will appear at your large retail stores and shopDisney on March 8, 2024.

So there is some time yet before this exciting release hits the shelves. Game stores are preferred because that is how many of these TCGs thrive at the playing tables at these stores. They are often the lifeblood of its existence.

The schedule of Into the Inklands in context

The announced release schedule for Disney Lorcana is one new drop per three months. This tried, and accurate TCG schedule has worked for Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon. The schedule is designed to keep gameplay fresh and avoid overwhelming players with new and expensive releases.

The game’s creators, Ravensburger, plan to keep players engaged in the long term. Ravensburger North America CEO and global head of games Filip Francke explained,

“This game is probably the largest potential that Ravensburger has ever gone after, and hence also probably the largest investment that we have ever done into any project and initiative. As you enter the TCG market, we know that you’re inviting the players for a many-year journey. We don’t take that lightly. This effort is a multiyear series [of releases]. It’s something that Disney has never really allowed any [collaborator] to do. So the trust that we built with Disney […] I think it allowed us to reach a point where we both strategically and commercially had the trust to say, ‘Yeah, let’s dare to do this together.”

What is different about the Into The Inklands release?

The most significant addition is the introduction of locations into the mix. Here is how Ravensburger describes that addition:

“For the first time since the game’s launch, players (called “Luminari”) can have their Glimmer characters visit locations from popular Disney stories, such as Motonui from Disney’s “Moana” or the Jolly Roger from Disney’s “Peter Pan.” Locations are a new type of card that opens up new strategies – some locations provide benefits as soon as characters visit them, others by simply being in play. These new location cards will be included among over 200 all-new cards in The Inklands set. The new set also introduces an additional narrative thread on the cards. The narrative is conveyed through quotes and descriptive text (flavor text) on the cards. This allows players to discover even more connections between the cards.”

This is a natural addition to the game. There are countless unforgettable locations in Disney movies and lands are an integral part of the closest equivalent to this game, Magic: The Gathering. But the best thing about this addition is the clear commitment that Ravensburger has to improving and updating the game. That is an essential element of all the successful TCGs.

The compelling Into the Inklands story

One thing we love about Disney Lorcana is the elaborate plots behind the games. In this regard, Ravensburger successfully learned how to integrate narrative into the game from Pokemon. It works marvelously well.

You can read the entire story here. It is the third entry in the story. As a reminder, the game’s concept is that the players have been summoned to help the realm of Lorcana defend itself. They enter the magical library of the Great Illuminary.

Each player takes on the role of illumineers, using ink to summon Disney characters charged with recovering lost lore. You know, just your bare boy meets girl story.

In the previous release, Rise of the Floodborn, Martin found a locked lore book and used an Inkcaster on it. That causes the whole room to flood with ink suddenly. It turns Cinderella into a Stouthearted Floodborn character. The ink soaks everything in the Halls of Lorcana and outside. Luckily, Martin saves Venturo in the nick of time.  

The ink starts to transform everything in its sight. The characters hit by the flood become Floodborn characters and take on an extreme new form. The gameplay mechanics will differ for these characters, and you can change existing characters into Floodborn ones.

It appears that this story is about how the Inklands were created. The flood of ink seems to change everything around it. From the characters to the land itself. Just look closely at the rocks and mountains in the artwork. It is clear that the areas that have come into contact with the ink have entirely changed in their appearance.

What we think of Into The Inklands story and aesthetic

The new story is exciting and seems more cohesive than its predecessor, Rise of the Floodborn. The pulpish Disney releases of the 1990s greatly influence the aesthetic. The awesome DuckTales and TailSpin Saturday morning-style cartoons will feature heavily in the new release.

You will also see Minnie Mouse, Funky Spelunker and Piglet, Pooh Pirate Captain, and other figures with an adventurous bent. All of this gives a cohesive sense to the narrative.

Meanwhile, the ink as an element that can change any character or land it comes into contact with is exciting. It allows new interpretations of older characters as well as new ones. We are most encouraged by that Ravensburger seems to be looking at each new release as a distinct chapter. That is far better than when every release appears more or less the same. That is how people lose interest.

Into the Inklands release formats

Like most TCGs, the products for Disney Lorcana are divided into Starter Decks and Booster Packs. If you want to build a strong deck, you will want to get a starter box and then delve into the boosters to increase your power and versatility.

The Lorcana Starter Decks are made more attractive by including a booster pack, which can give you that powerful card that starters often lack.

There are some annoying elements in the balance between starter decks and boosters in Disney Lorcana. Usually, any given starter deck will not provide you with enough cards to play every color. It can take about three starter decks to get what you need to start playing in any configuration at will. Meanwhile, the booster packs don’t help much in that direction either.

But the Disney Lorcana game also gives you other options. You can get a Gift Set or an Ilumineers Trove. It is hard to know where to start.

Into the Inklands Starter Deck

An Into the Inklands starter deck includes with all of the following:

• Come with all the cards you need to get started with playing
• Sufficient cards to start in either Amber/Emerald or Ruby/Sapphire.
• Contains two foil cards, a Rare and a Super Rare one
• Comes with a complete playable pre-built deck
• Has additional accessories for play, including a paper play mat and damage trackers
• Has one additional booster pack inside
• The previous starter decks cost $17 each
• Choose Emerald Robin Hood – Daydreamer and a Sapphire Scrooge McDuck – Richest Duck in the World.

Boosters

There are three varieties of boosters for this release. They feature Minnie Mouse, Jafar, or Piglet. These are strange choices, but we are here for it. In the previous editions, the boosters were not shrink-wrapped. But we live in a world with horrible people, so that led to a good amount of tampering. As a result, now they are sealed. So make sure not to get a box that isn’t, or someone may have taken the better packs.

Booster Pack – $5.99
Booster Box – $143.76

Ilumineers Trove

The details for the trove in this release have not been made public yet. However, we believe it will be similar to the previous two. Those included an art/collection book, a card storage box, two deck boxes, 8 booster packs, a collection of damage counters, and a lore token.

The trove will go for $50

Gift Set

We don’t usually have these for our other collecting pursuits. But this is Disney after all; they are nothing if not family-friendly. Therefore, the first release had a gift set. For some reason, they skipped it for the second release, Rise of the Floodborn. But it’s back again for Into the Inklands.

The cool box will include two regular foil cards and two oversize foil cards. They will feature:

• Stitch – Covert Agent
• Tinker Bell – Very Clever Fairy
• 4 booster packs
• 2 lore trackers

The gift set will go for $29.99

Accessories

Do you like to accessorize? The Disney Lorcana release has you fully covered. There are two new deck boxes and two new playmats for your consideration. You can also buy sets of 65 card sleeves.

One even features the great Scrooge McDuck! Your options are Emerald Robin Hood – Daydreamer and a Sapphire Scrooge McDuck – Richest Duck in the World.

Deck Box – $5.99

Sleeves – $9.99
Play Mats – $19.99

Into the Inklands checklist

The main set of Into the Inklands will consist of 204 cards. Each will be available in a standard and foil configuration. We know all of this for sure.

However, the number of puzzle cards to be included in the set hasn’t been confirmed yet. So far, each has had four puzzle cards at a rate of one per pack. That will likely repeat this time, but we can’t know. Similarly, we expect to see twelve secret Enchanted cards numbered above 204.

The Disney Lorcana: Into the Inklands design

Ravensburn hasn’t yet released the full artwork for the Into the Inklands release. However, the theme is a bit darker than it was in the two past releases. The cards look lighter if you look at them from the first set or Chapter 2: Rise of the Floodborn.

That is because the focus here is on ink, a dark substance, to begin with. Furthermore, here, it has a dark influence on everything it touches.  

There is a consensus in the hobby that the cards in this product have been stunning. Polygon magazine said that the cards look “spectacular.” There is no doubt about that. They lean into the somewhat darker and more magical of the Disney aesthetic, as seen in Fantasia and Alladin, rather than its lightest side. That makes sense for a game which is a war between wizards. Or illumineers, sorry.

Final thoughts on Disney Lorcana Into the Inklands

The Disney Lorcana game is a smashing success so far. It is hard to keep them on the shelves at gaming stores. There are plenty of competitions and tournaments everywhere. Furthermore, the game has won several prestigious awards. You have to hand it to Ravensburger; they have created a quality product.

The Into the Inklands set looks incredibly promising. While the Rise of the Floodborn was disappointing since it did not offer anything particularly new, that is not the feeling with Into the Inklands. The addition of locations and the 1990s adventure theme are refreshing and incredibly fun. They will only serve to increase the already considerable popularity of the game.