It has been some time since Ravensburger’s last addition to the budding lore and gameplay of their popular Trading Card Game (TCG). However, with March just around the corner, Disney Lorcana has teased new elements in their upcoming drop, Archazia's Island.
Archazia's Island is slated for release on March 7th, 2025. This set has left some players excited as it is the first time the game has released a glimmer (a card representing an in-universe character or item) of Lady from the 1955 Disney animated film, The Lady and the Tramp.
Collectors have something to look forward to as well. The release of Archazia's Island also comes with the Lilo Gift Box. The Gift Box, alongside its usual components of a set of booster packs from various Lorcana releases, is joined by a card featuring promotional artwork of Lilo - Escape Artist.
What has got players ruminating the most is the advertising of the new dual ink cards. Players familiar with the game know that in the rules of deck building, a Lorcana deck may only contain cards from up to two ink colors chosen from an array of six different colors. With the introduction of Archazia's Island, we are given a glimpse of cards such as Belle - Mechanic Extraordinaire featuring both ink colors of Ruby and Sapphire.
So far there have been no official rule updates from Ravensburger. One of the leading theories with these new cards is that the cards themselves can be considered of either ink color; such as the aforementioned Belle card being a Ruby card or a Sapphire card for the purposes of deck building.
Another theory is that using a dual ink card locks the player into those specific ink combinations. This means that if we do want to use cards like Belle - Mechanic Extraordinaire or Lady - Miss Park Avenue, players would have to specifically make decks limited to a Ruby-Sapphire or Amber-Emerald combination respectively.
This is still speculation, but players are excited about where the game is going as these cards can open up new and creative ways for the game to be played once they get their hands on the pieces.
Players who enjoy experimentation were also given a glimpse of new gameplay mechanics being introduced in Archazia's Island. A new ally called Iago is a Giant Spectral Parrot who comes with the new keywords of ‘Illusion’ and ‘Vanish’.
The former by itself doesn’t mean much yet, but with the context given by Jafar - Newly Crowned that specifically targets allies with the ‘Illusion’ keyword, there may be a new style of play brewing beneath the waters.
With the latter, Vanish gives a sense of fragility at first glance as the character can easily be dispatched with any low-cost Action card that can specifically target characters on the board. However, keen-eyed players have taken note of Iago’s uncommonly high strength and willpower for a character of his cost, and are keeping a close eye to see how he will compare to others in his proverbial 'weight class'.
The time for the set’s release draws closer and closer. The 2025 Lorcana World Championship is on the horizon. Who knows if Archazia's Island will be the crux that determines the outcome?