At Yeah Nah Gaming, we have been covering Lorcana since the initial release in Aotearoa and Australia. One of the most exciting times is a new set release, and Archazia’s Island looks incredibly exciting. I got the chance to check out the new Single-Player decks, and it has me even more amped for the new set.
What’s new, and what are the decks?
Lorcana hasn’t had many new mechanics in a while, but they are shaking stuff up now. This has come via dual ink cards. That means that a card that has ruby and sapphire in it, can only be used in a Ruby Sapphire deck. It’s a cool idea and the way the colour section of the card being split looks cool as hell.
As usual, there are two Single-Player (ex-starter) decks on offer. The first is a Ruby Sapphire Deck headed around Beauty and the Beast, and the second is an Amethyst Steel deck with the face being the villains from Aladdin.
The decks came in their usual boxes with half a play mat, which helps you set up the board for the first time, a guide, and a couple of damage tokens. For long-time players, these extra bits probably won’t be beneficial since it’s designed to get you started. The boxes will also come with a booster, but not in the version I got sent for this preview.
I am noting that because the bonus booster does make the decks good value.
The Ruby Sapphire Deck
The Ruby Sapphire deck opens up with a foil legendary Belle character, which is a Ruby Sapphire Dual Ink. She wants you to be playing items as she is cheaper to shift into play based on items in your discard pile. Then when she quests, you can take cards from your discard and put them back into the bottom of your deck, gaining you lore.
Behind her is a foil rare beast who is also a dual ink and can banish 2 items to deal 5 damage to a chosen character. So ways to get the items into the discard, ways to get said items back into your deck, and ways to deal damage and gain lore. These two characters are fun. Both of them have a dope steampunk aesthetic, which is awesome as well. There is a healthy spattering of characters and items from different franchises in the rest of the deck.
The Amethyst Steel Deck
This deck has as a foil legendary Jafar on the front, which is in the new dual ink style in it. Jafar features a mechanic where if one of your illusion characters is banished during your opponent’s turn, it will return to your hand. The other foil is a Sapphire Iago rare, which is evasive, and he’s a strong 4/6 4 ink drop. The downside is a new mechanic called vanish which is attached to those illusion characters. If your opponent targets him with any item, he will be banished. See how that works with Jafar? Synergy!
There is also a smattering of other rares from a new Madam Mim to some Raya and the Last Dragon cards. Then throughout the deck we have some Moana and other characters. It’s an aggressive deck that drops characters with high power to challenge your opponents, with cards that reward you with lore by winning challenges.
How does this bode for Archazia’s Island?
The decks are well-balanced after having played in several matches. The new cards and new mechanics are fun, and the powerful dual ink cards add some interesting flavour to the game.
It’s early days and I won’t know until I have more product in hand, but I am certainly excited about what this set may offer.
