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The D23 Expo was last weekend and Disney Lorcana exploded onto the scene! Going into the weekend the Lorcana Twitter account had three hundred followers, and now sits at over five thousand. Our Lorcana HQ Discord server went from 100 members to now 1000 members. I watched as the buzz started to spread about the game. The line to get the Collector’s Set was hours long and the internet was filled with desperate attempts to get the set.
It was a sight to see. Now that a community has gathered around the game, what’s next? What will Ravensburger do to nourish and grow the community? I don’t know, but I have some suggestions.
Release an Info Roadmap
Lorcana is set to release in the fall of 2023. That’s a long time to wait. We’ve heard from the floor of the D23 expo that they plan to “drip feed” us information about the game. This is a great idea, but we need to know when those information drops are coming. I recommend that Ravensburger set up an information showcase for Lorcana every 3 months (at least).
Setup Showcases
We know that they will release gameplay details closer to the Fall of 2023. This could be done in the final showcase. As for the other showcases, there’s a lot that we don’t know about the game. Here are some questions I’ve seen asked throughout social media:
Will Lorcana be sold at local game stores?
How will organized play work?
Will Lorcana be sold in my country?
What kind of products will exist for Lorcana (Booster Boxes, Starter Decks)?
How big is the first set?
What other artists are involved with the project?
What are the “factions” or “types” in the game.
What do the diamond icons represent?
What is the difference between Storyborn, Dreamborn, and Floodborn?
What differentiates this game from Magic?
These questions can be answered without revealing too much about the gameplay. Ravensburger could create these showcases and share bits of this information in each. For example, they could do a retailer showcase. This could be where they talk about the SKUs and distribution. This would answer some of those questions above. They could also do a world-building showcase, where they talk about the factions and show some more artwork.
These showcases are the kind of content drops that the community needs to stay engaged. It also helps content creators like me to plan our content. There’s an army of excited content creators ready to market Lorcana for free. Why not activate this group of people by giving them the information they need?
Rerelease The D23 Set
There’s a specter of dread that is floating around the community about the availability of the first set. The D23 Set has sent big signals out to investors and collectors. Now Ravensburger has the very difficult task of figuring out print runs for the first set. They also need to balance the product between the collector and the player’s market.
The D23 Collector’s Set was a collector’s product – it’s right there in the name. The trouble is that the game looks like a “collector’s” game at the moment. This can Think about the parents who wanted to get a set for their kiddos and they find out that it’s going to cost two grand. Or the player who was excited about the game but now feels priced out. Ravensburger needs to show these people that the game is also for them. How can they do that?
Remove the D23 mark from the Collector’s Set cards and the Mickey Promo. Then offer a non-foil set for 39.99 via the Lorcana website. Make this print-to-demand so that each person who wants one can. They could cut back on the packaging and put them into a booster pack. It has enough differences from the expo set to maintain the value and prestige of that set for collectors. And it does some heavy lifting in other areas. It helps Ravensburger get a view of what the actual demand for Lorcana is and can inform print run numbers and strategy. It also sends the important message that Disney Lorcana is for everyone.
That’s it for today. If you’re looking for a great place to talk about Disney Lorcana, join our Discord Community or Facebook group. I’ll see you next time.