Disney Lorcana's official tournaments kick off this spring ahead of 2025 World Championship
US and European championships will award invites to the global competition, while in-store set championships promise exclusive promo cards.
Prepare your inkwells, Lorcana players, as the Disney-owned trading card game has announced the first details for a hefty lineup of organised play events and the launch of official tournaments in the US and Europe, both of which will feed into a world championship next year.
A press release from publisher Ravensburger explained that the popular TCG’s inaugural competitive circuit will begin in May 2024 for US and European players (we assume this includes the UK but have asked for clarification). The Disney Lorcana Challenge will cover regional qualifiers all the way up to a pair of championships for each geographical market.
Players will begin climbing the competitive ladder at regional events held at local game stores and other sanctioned locations. Challenge Events will give players a chance to clinch qualifications for the North American or European Championship by participation in these competitive brawls, but the top four winners from each event will earn an automatic invite to the next stage of battle - the national championship
Both the North American Championship and European Championship will take place in Q4 2024, according to Ravensburger, and will host the best card slingers as the exhaust, banish and challenge their way to the top of the pile. That upper echelon will be invited to test their mettle on the World Championship 2025 stage, a competition that will take place next year at a location and date that has yet to be determined.
Ravensburger and Disney plan to share more information about Lorcana’s first ever competitive season in March, including a full schedule of events, how to register at the regional level, how to qualify for each stage and what combatants can expect from prize cards and other awards. Regardless, this is a major point of maturity for a TCG that’s less than a year old and began its life courting collectors of Disneyana more than enfranchised competitive players.
For those Illumineers who enjoy deckbuilding and strategy with a smidge less grind, Ravensburger is also planning Set Championships that will take place within LGS organised play beginning in April. These events are smaller-scale competitions built around each Lorcana set and offer unique rewards for those who trump the local card slingers.
The Into the Inklands Championship will award a unique Enchanted Stitch – Rock Star Promo card (pictured above) as a grand prize, while the top two players will take home a playmat featuring the promotional card’s artwork. Only organised play-approved stores will be able to host these set-specific championships, and Ravensburger will offer new prize support for each successive release. Retailers can learn how to host set championships in late February.
Speaking of new sets, Ravensburger detailed the release dates for the next three Lorcana sets to follow the upcoming Into the Inklands. This schedule will take us through the rest of 2024 and satisfy the publisher’s promise to release four expansions every year - an audacious claim that reflects a reported decade of behind-the-scenes planning by the TCG’s design team.