Disney Lorcana opens its second year with Shimmering Skies, a set that builds on existing deck archetypes and strengths rather than new mechanics. Available at game stores now, it provides several much-needed cards that boost the viability of several decks other than the dominant Ruby/Amethyst control deck.
It’s doubtful that Shimmering Skies will reset the metagame, but it gives players more options on how to improve popular decks and sets Disney Lorcana up for a rewarding sophomore year.
Slow down
From a story perspective, Shimmering Skies introduces a new mystery and a new potential "big bad" that should drive the next year’s worth of stories. After the defeat of a massive Ink-powered Ursula Shimmer, the characters of Disney Lorcana celebrate with a game and dancing-filled festival. However, the party is interrupted when a portion of the Great Illuminary collapses to the ground and sets off a search for the cause of the damage. Two new villains are also introduced, with Magica de Spell from the DuckTales franchise claiming hold of Triton’s Trident and Jafar seeking out a new artifact called the Hexwell Crown.
Shimmering Skies breaks the tradition set during the first year of Disney Lorcana of adding new mechanics to the game. Honestly, this is probably a healthy move for the game as it actually gives designers the chance to build on existing mechanics instead of trying to build hype for a shiny new toy – Lorcana is arguably one of the best card games already, so let it cook.
The set adds options to many existing deck styles, ranging from Prince Naveen – Ukulele Player slotting into Steelsong decks (an Amber/Steel deck archetype that uses Singer cards to pressure opponents with powerful cards), to Elsa – The Fifth Spirit building on the already powerful Ruby/Amethyst control deck, to Madam Mim – Elephant adding to the popular bounce decks.
...and enjoy the ride
The set is also notable as it contains one of the first purely disruptive cards in Disney Lorcana’s metagame, the action-stopping Pete – Game Referee. This low-cost card blocks opponents from playing any Action card on their turn, which disrupts any deck that relies on Songs or Actions. This is the one card that is going to see a lot of use in every Steel deck list, simply because it’s too powerful and too cheap not to use.
Unfortunately, the biggest weakness to Shimmering Skies is that it doesn’t add any viable new deck builds to the game. The set adds to existing archetypes, but I haven’t seen a lot of buzz about truly new deck types. I’m sure something unexpected will emerge in the next few months, but Lorcana’s relatively fast-paced release schedule usually means that some players are already looking past Shimmering Skies to see what the next set (which feels like a tribute to the most underrated Disney movie) will bring to the game.
We never have to wait long until the next set of Disney Lorcana cards, and this time we're heading to the maze-like Azurite Sea (which is a welcome excuse for pirate and Treasure Planet vibes). It'll launch worldwide on November 25.
In terms of collectability, Shimmering Skies’ Enchanted cards are a vast improvement over the previous set. Ursula’s Return introduced the concept of a cohesive theme that used dark and brooding color schemes and common art features. Shimmering Skies continues the trend of a unifying aesthetic, but with a more vibrant and colorful scheme. Personally, I hated the style of Ursula’s Return’s Enchanteds, but this set brings some hope that a common art style won’t take away some of the magic from pulling one of these ultra-rare cards.
Shimmering Skies is a sign of a strong and healthy Disney Lorcana and establishes that the game’s designers don’t need to constantly introduce new mechanics with every set. While the game continues to have some shortcomings (too many deck types are held back by a lack of draw abilities), Shimmering Skies provides options for just about every dominant deck type in the game and could help support some new deck types in the future. Shimmering Skies is exactly the kind of set that Disney Lorcana needs as it enters its second year.
It's a busy few months for card games; I think MTG Foundations is how I'll get my kid into Magic: The Gathering, and Stellar Crown sets up the next era of the Pokemon TCG beautifully.
