First impressions of “Disney Locana: Whispers in the Well” TCG's new entry deck

Disney Lorcana wraps up the year with another set of games, Whispers in the Well, which will be available for early release in local game stores on November 7th, followed by a wider release on November 14th. The new set will be the tenth game released in a little over two years since the popular Disney card game first launched. In addition to the full set version, Lorcana will once again be releasing accompanying starter decks: the Sapphire/Steel deck featuring characters from Robin Hood and Zootopia, and the Amber/Emerald deck featuring characters from The Lion King and Hercules. Each set will reveal a new mechanic, but we're also getting some surprises from Disney's deep library, like the Goofy Movie from the last expansion. This time, I was ecstatic to see the gargoyles from the 90s animated TV series make an appearance. With new characters being introduced to the card game, as well as new mechanics, these new starter decks can give you a good glimpse into the future of the new meta.

Out of the box, both starter decks have a good mix of cards that dictate the playstyle of each deck, but after playing some games against both decks, one deck seems to have better synergy than the other. The Sapphire/Steel deck is by far the most consistent of the two, which could also just be a product of the deck color. That being said, the detective classification of the cards in this deck has really put in the work. In addition to Sapphire's ability to quickly add ink or mana, or filter your deck, having Detective cards in your deck brings some similar benefits. For example, there is a Judy Hopps card that allows the player to look at the top three cards of the deck and reveal a detective character, which they then put into their hand. This is great for a card game that usually lets you draw just one card at the start of your turn. If Jodie Hopps can stay on the field, that's huge value. Another detective card is Basil, who gives himself resistance when another detective is played. Resistance is a common stat in the Steel color, so it would be interesting to see the Detective synergy come into play here as well. Overall, the toughness of the cards in this Detective deck along with ramping and filtering make this deck stand out among the two decks. If players want a budget deck for their next set, a Sapphire/Steel deck might be a good base with just a few tweaks.

On the other hand, we have the Amber/Emerald deck, which seems to be most focused on the new boost mechanic. Boost is a new setup mechanic that allows players to place a card from the top of their deck underneath their character, giving them a powerful passive ability. Whether it's providing a character with permanent health and attack buffs, or abilities that trigger when performing certain actions, the effects seem to be pretty powerful. For example, when a new Simbaka is enhanced, the player reveals the top card of the deck. If it's a character, the player can play this card for free no matter what the cost, so it's a big gamble. Cards like Blessing Pipes can supplement the enhanced abilities of these cards by triggering their abilities again. Most of the cards in the deck can be enhanced or benefited by face-down cards. As a basic starter deck it's a bit lacking compared to Sapphire/Steel decks, but I could see a version of this deck being character heavy so the new Simba never misses his boost ability trigger. It has some interesting ideas, but feels slow to play.

In addition to new mechanics, the introduction of gargoyles to Lorcana is an exciting sight. I personally haven't thought about them, well… since the 90s, it feels like. The Sapphire/Steel deck features a Gargoyle-related card in the form of David Xanatos, the villain from the animated series. When he is played, the player can discard a card, causing 2 points of damage to the chosen character. Looking at other cards in the Gargoyle set, such as Demona and Goliath, they seem to be focused on hand manipulation. For example, Goliath forces two players to discard cards from their hands until only two cards remain. If there are less than two players, the player can draw up to two players. He also has a secondary ability that he cannot prepare if the owner has three or more cards, but this shouldn't be a problem since he is initially passive. Manual control is an interesting layer to any card game meta because it forces players to make tough decisions. It also serves as another form of removal, potentially circumventing any protections like Ward's. The gargoyle character and the added hand manipulation effects are both refreshing in this new set.

Both starter decks accomplish what I set out to do when I first played them: introduce a simple entry point into the game while emphasizing the set's new acceleration mechanics. The synergy of the new Zootopia cards with the Detective trait is a nice touch. It wasn't relevant before, but now Detective decks seem to be more viable in the upcoming set and new meta. Of course, it will be interesting to see how the new Gargoyle cards perform. For more information about Disney Lorcana, check out our Interview with a game designer About how the card game was born.