Lorcana has been going strong for years now, and I have been loving it. Now after the first set rotation and after the first reprint-heavy set, we have our new main set, Whispers in the Well. The question is, does this set bring anything new to the table? Yes, it does!
What are the Whispers in the Well?
In short… I don’t know. It’s become one of my greatest frustrations with this game. At the start we had video trailers and short stories on the website if you wanted to learn more about the Lumineers and their quest. It wasn’t deep, but it was cool, as it helped you connect with the game.
Now the only way to engage with the story is to read bits on the cards, and there are some story snippets with cards at the back of the packs. This one has an interesting discussion between detectives, which is cool, but I want to know more about how it fits in.
Lorcana has made this interesting world by smashing together characters we love and introducing new ones. I wish there were ways to follow the story easily, as it helps connect with the game.
So what’s new in Whispers in the Well?
There is so much cool new stuff here. We have detectives, we have whispers, we have all sorts.
The biggest new mechanic is Boost. The whisper card types have this mechanic where you play the card for its normal cost. Then you can play an additional cost to take the top card from your deck and pop it under the card. Sometimes this has a static ability, like increasing the character’s power or Lore; other ones you can play more often. One of my favourite cards in sealed was Simba King in the Making. Every time you boost with him, you reveal the top card of your library; if it’s a creature, you play it for free, else the card goes to the bottom of your library. This was awesome, as if he hit big characters regularly; I ran away with the game. If he hit a one-ink character or an item or action, then I burned turns.
Alert is a new mechanic which allows the character to challenge characters that are evasive. This is a big deal, as the only way to challenge evasiveness used to be with an evasive character. Fans of other games may liken this to a reach, and it’s a fantastic addition to the game.
There are other fun cards, like champions who boost cards of a certain colour, like giving all Amber characters +2 defense. This is super fun, especially with the recent introduction of dual-ink cards, which could potentially have two bonuses if you have two champions in play.
There are some cool cards here, and I am interested to see how they impact constructed formats!
Does Whispers in the Wind have style?
It doesn’t just have style; it’s dripping in it! There are the usual rarities and epics with full arts, and these all look awesome as always. The new whisper cards have a cool border that looks like an old scroll. These cards can be any of the rarities, and they look super awesome. Even better, the foil whisper cards have a halo foil style on them which looks insanely cool. I saw an uncommon Whisper card in foil that looked even better than some of the Epic cards.
As always, there are absolutely stunning, incredibly rare, enchanted cards. I saw one at my local store, and they look absolutely gorgeous.
The Single Player decks
As always there are two single-player decks to pick up. For Whispers in the Well, the options are a Sapphire and Steel deck, which is based around detectives and is headed by the Zootopia crew. The other option is an Amber and Emerald deck which runs with the Whisper cards led by that cool Simba I talked about earlier.
I have played with both decks, and both are fun. There is usually one way stronger than the other, but both of these are a similar power. These decks are a great way to learn the game or to have fun jamming at home. They aren’t competitive, but they are fun.
Each deck comes with a booster pack, a paper playmat, some cardboard tokens, and a how-to-play-the-deck guide. As always, these are fantastic values, and I rate them.
How else can you buy Whispers in the Well?
Alongside the starter decks, you can of course buy single boosters or booster boxes. The other normal release is the Illumineer’s Trove. I didn’t get one of these for the set yet, but these are usually one of my favourite ways to get packs. These come with eight booster packs, some dice for tracking damage, a lore tracking wheel, a box to store your cards in, and some card dividers.
I always rate the Troves highly, but having not handled one yet, I can’t say for sure, but they are likely still good value.
With most sets there is a release of sleeves, deck boxes, and playmats. For Whispers in the Well they have opted to release playmats, which I am gutted about, as I loved the art sleeves. The playmats come in two art options. One is a Fabled design Minnie Mouse, and the other is a super cool Jasmine design. Both look fantastic, and as always, are of a nice high quality.
Should you get Whispers in the Wind?
Disney Lorcana keeps going from strength to strength. The new mechanics, the new art, the new cards – it’s all so much fun. This is a banger of a set, but please, Ravensburger, give us a way to consume the story easily.
