Disney Lorcana’s (original review here) first year weathered intense highs and lows. Huge hype around the trading card game of Disney movie magic turned its 2023 GenCon release into mayhem. Sky high demand created shortages in the first few months that had fans paying several times over retail just for a chance to try it out and soured some players’ opinions against it for good. But midway through the release schedule, Ravensburger evened the keel in time to foster a healthy community for the game. Now it’s thriving at local game shops and bringing in new players every day. You can walk into most major retailers and buy cards today, and the game has a whole line of products and accessories to support fan fervor.
But for those who waited for this leveling out before getting into it, what’s the best way to enter the game a year in? Lorcana’s answer to this is the Gateway box, a starter set that gives new players exactly what they need to jump in. Of all the products out there, is this the right one for you?
Gameplay Overview:
Disney Lorcana: Gateway has everything that new players need to get initiated into the trading card game, tucked together in one convenient box. There are two 30-card beginner decks with matching manuals that have brief tips and tricks, a game board with turn instructions printed directly onto it, cardboard damage counters, double-sided character standees, a rulebook, a guidebook, and four sealed “gate” packs to be opened up as you play.
Each person gets a beginner deck, presorted for the first game. The rulebook leads players through a simplified version of the card game, and after the first playthrough, the players are instructed to proceed to the guidebook. Through repeated game matches, there are four ‘gates’ to be unlocked by achieving certain goals, like playing specific card types or engaging in a challenge. Each gate gives the players new cards to add to their decks and introduces new rules that go alongside them. There are QR codes at each gate, as well as written descriptions, which lead you to brief videos from the Ravensburger YouTube channel explaining the introduced mechanics.
By the time the fourth gate is unlocked, the players will each have 66 card decks (Lorcana requires a 60-card minimum deck size, with no more than four copies of each card) with some tips on deck building going forward. They will have reviewed all of the important rules for starting out in the game, and have the tools they need to play a full match.
Game Experience:
Lorcana Gateway is very similar to the Pokemon Battle Academy products. Both provide a solid and portable introduction to the game, especially for young players. You’re not going to find rare treasures in these cards, but they’ll give you the foundation you need to decide if you want to get invested in the full game. This is really geared towards people who are starting at square one, with no card game knowledge. If you’re looking for a deck you can start playing at local game stores with, one of Lorcana’s Starter Deck products will serve you better in the long run.
The provided gateway decks, even with all of the gate cards added in, don’t have a whole lot of flavor. They’re not going to give you a clear identity of the play style of any of the ink colors in Lorcana, nor will they show you what color cards you may want to gear your own play toward. They are functional, though, and they’re balanced against one another well. In the seven matches, my partner and I played to get through the whole game, each pretty much came down to who had gone first, with neither deck consistently outperforming the other.
Until you’ve unlocked a few gates, the stripped-down gameplay feels slow and oversimplified if you already understand the basic game mechanics. What the decks do well is showcase the variety of characters and art in the series. The cards are pulled from across the first four set releases of the game, showing off some of the best characters and franchises in the series. Each deck has heroes and villains, classic characters, and newer additions.
The quality of the pieces here far outstripes the Lorcana Starter Sets. The tokens in the Gateway box are much more substantial than the flimsy paper pieces that we’ve seen in previous Lorcana products, and the game board does a good job of providing instructions without overwhelming the space. The deck tip pamphlets aren’t super useful, but the rulebook is detailed and much more helpfully designed for beginners than the rulebooks included in previous products. It’s thorough and answers questions well with solid examples of play throughout.
At retail prices, buying one Gateway box is a cheaper introduction to the game than buying two starter decks, and it comes with higher-quality components all around. The starter decks will better prepare you for long-term play and collection, but the Gateway box has everything you need to decide if Disney Lorcana is for you.
Final Thoughts:
If you have only the most casual interest in Lorcana, or you’re starting at the ground floor with trading card games with no prior knowledge, the Disney Lorcana Gateway will give you a solid introduction to the mechanics. You’ll know everything about the game by the time you get to the end, and have the equipment necessary to get your feet under you if you want to pursue play further at Locals.
If you’ve got kids who want to explore the game at home this product is perfectly balanced for them. Maybe you just want to play a little bit of the pretty Disney game you’ve been hearing about without having to commit to anything more time consuming, or the idea of fully buying into an expensive TCG habit isn’t ideal for you right now. There are a lot of different customers that this box will appeal to, and it does a good job of delivering a playable beginner product that isn’t too overwhelming. If you’re interested in the full game, or you know your way around card games already, the starter decks are designed to offer a more dynamic and interesting play experience, albeit with lower quality components.
Final Score: 3 Stars – If you’ve got young players or you’re a new player who wants to get excited about Lorcana, this is a well put together introduction. If you have any level of card game experience, consider picking up starter decks, instead.
Hits:
• Quality production with nice cardboard pieces
• Excellent and useful rulebook
• A super accessible beginner product for payers without much TCG experience
Misses:
• The included decks lack individuality or flavor
• Gameplay is very simple until you’ve unlocked additional cards
• The product isn’t going to contribute much for a card collector or deck builder
