Disney Lorcana is capping off its second year with Reign of Jafar. It’s a new set with extra products that play off of existing card types and archetypes. Instead of offering new mechanics for players to try, Reign of Jafar focuses on enhancing existing mechanics and deck types. The result is a set that won’t make any significant waves in current Lorcana play. But it should still help keep most popular decks viable as significant changes for the game approach.
With the first-ever Disney Lorcana World Championships quickly approaching, the new game is looking at some major shifts. Set rotation is coming, which will remove all cards released during the game’s first year from competitive play. However, the company is reprinting popular cards in upcoming sets. Reign of Jafar is the first set to have a small number of recycled cards. However, many of the design choices in Reign of Jafar provide either replacements or substitutes for some of the cards that will cycle out in a few months.
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Within the storyline of Lorcana, a Jafar glimmer has repaired the Hexwell Crown, an artifact of immense power. Jafar has used the crown to take over Archazia’s Island (the name of the previous set) and create his own mega-fortress on the island. It’s up to the Illumineers to steal back the Hexwell Crown and escape, thus robbing Jafar of his power.
To support the climactic storyline, Disney Lorcana has released a new and improved Illumineer’s Quest product. This offers players a co-op challenge in which players face off against Jafar’s illusions. Palace Heist is a boxed set containing two pre-made decks alongside a special Jafar deck. To win the Palace Heist, players have to steal the Hexwell Crown by eliminating various Location cards and successfully reach 20 Lore per player. Jafar wins if he reaches 40 Lore. However, this is with the caveat that he cannot lose if he has the Hexwell Crown in his possession.
Jafar’s deck operates automatically, with pressure put on players to eliminate his glimmer cards before they collect too much lore per turn. The race component of Lorcana remains intact in Palace Heist, but Jafar’s deck serves as a solely defensive hurdle. There are a few cards that deal damage in Jafar’s deck. And his rules dictate that he collect lore whenever possible. This means that players will need to balance eliminating his glimmers while also collecting lore and finding openings to claim the Hexwell Crown.
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Palace Heist is a fun product and much better balanced than the Deep Trouble Illumineer’s Quest released last year. With upgraded components (a play board instead of a flimsy paper foldout and cardboard damage and Lore counters instead of punched-out paper pieces) and a stronger deck to play against, players should enjoy the challenge of trying to beat Jafar over the course of several scenarios.
The standard difficulty quest is challenging enough that I actually lost it on my first attempt. I had more success during a solo playthrough. That’s largely thanks to me remembering that I can use Illumineer actions (which cost Lore to utilize) to further manipulate Jafar’s cards.
In addition to Palace Heist, the set also comes with two new Starter Decks. The Amber/Amethyst deck – A Harmonious Team – is built around the Madrigal family and singing. Meanwhile, the Ruby/Steel deck – Brave and Brazen – is built around Mulan and Stitch with a focus on Reckless attackers that can attack just about any target.
Of the two decks, A Harmonious Team is built towards my general Lorcana speed. There are multiple cards that solve Lorcana’s ever-present card draw problem, and the Amber cards do a generally decent job of helping characters get into play and stay in play. Honestly, this deck has much better construction than some other Lorcana decks. There are a few cards that can and should be swapped out with either additional Song cards or perhaps some Madrigal family cards from previous sets. But, A Harmonious Team does a fantastic job of teaching players about one of Lorcana’s most unique game mechanics – the act of singing.
Brave and Brazen, meanwhile, is built around a continuous barrage of pressure on opponents. The deck contains multiple cards that add the Rush or Reckless keywords to other characters. This allows them to challenge opponents even on the turn they’re first played. The problem with this strategy is two-fold. The deck doesn’t contain the card draw effects needed to replenish a player’s hand with new cards to throw at enemies.
There’s also a general lack of lore generators in the deck. This means that players will need to deviate from the deck’s playstyle when they want to collect crucial Lore for a victory. Still, Ruby/Steel decks are one of the more popular deck types out there right now. And this deck shows off its aggressiveness impressively.
As for the set as a whole, Reign of Jafar is decidedly less flashy than some previous sets. There’s no new mechanics or card types to fawn over. This is a card set for veteran Lorcana players. There are a smattering of cards that seem to fit into most existing deck types or try to raise up unheralded deck combinations to new heights. It’s hard to really tell which cards will make the most impact in competitive play. This is in part because the set’s design is to enhance. Plus, the cards’ relevance will shift greatly once set rotation kicks off later this summer. That will remove about half of the existing cards from use.
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Some of my personal favorites include Mushu – Your Worst Nightmare, which is found in the Brave and Brazen deck. It adds the Rush, Reckless, and Evasive keywords to any character card on the first turn that they’re played. Down in New Orleans is a fun Sapphire card that allows players to pull out a 6-ink card from the top three cards in their deck and play it for free.
Lady – Family Dog is another card that should help Amber-focused decks a lot. Players can play a second cheap-cost Amber card for free when it’s put into play. I’m also a big fan of Mickey Mouse – Giant Mouse. It is a 10-cost Steel card with amazing stats that deals a ton of damage if an opponent actually takes it down. I don’t know if it will see much play. But I’m certainly optimistic that someone won’t be able to resist the draw of a massive mouse.
Reign of Jafar is a solid end cap to Disney Lorcana’s second year. It’s not flashy or exciting. But it sets up the game solidly as it enters a pivotal third year and the game’s first-ever World Championships. My hope is that Reign of Jafar makes an immediate impact on Disney Lorcana. The game’s intrepid fanbase can find new ways to slot in these cards and make them extremely impactful on all kinds of fun decks.
Disney Lorcana’s Reign of Jafar set will be available for preorder on May 30, with general sale starting June 6.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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