Disney Lorcana Rise of the Floodborn is the second set for the Disney collectible card game (CCG) which launches with 2 brand new starter sets. In this review, we'll have a look at both in detail, talk about who they're for, and see if they're worth buying.
If you want to know all about Lorcana, start with our Beginners Guide, then check out our The First Chapter Booster Box Opening, and our exclusive reveal of a card from the new set, Rise of the Floodborn.
What Is Disney Lorcana?
Disney Lorcana is a CCG that features characters from Walt Disney Pictures' film history. 2 players each build a deck of 60 or more cards, and then play against each other, drawing and playing cards until one player wins by reaching 20 lore.
Lorcana has 6 different Ink colors, and the cards in your deck can come from 1 or 2 of these Inks. The Inks are Amber, Amethyst, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire and Steel.
Within the Inks, there are 3 types of cards:
- Characters, who can go on quests to earn you lore, which is how you win the game, but they can also be used to battle other characters to try and slow your opponent's lore gaining down
- Items, which can give you special actions and abilities
- Actions, that are the only cards that don't stay in play, and they activate one-time effects and are then discarded
What Are The Contents Of The Lorcana Rise Of The Floodborn Starter Decks?
All Lorcana Starter Decks, from both The First Chapter and Rise of the Floodborn, contain a pre-made 60-card deck, that's the same as every starter deck of that type. The Starter Decks also contain a Lorcana Booster Pack of 12 random cards, along with counters, a playmat, and a printed copy of the rules.
Rise of the Floodborn has 2 different Starter Decks, Amber and Sapphire, and Amethyst and Steel and we look at both in detail below.
What Cards Are in The Lorcana Rise Of The Floodborn Amber and Sapphire Deck?
The Rise of the Floodborn Amber and Sapphire Deck contains:
- 1x The Queen Commanding Presence (Foil)
- 1x Gaston Intellectual Powerhouse (Foil)
- 2x Bashful Hopeless Romantic
- 1x Cristopher Robin
- 2x Doc Leader of the Seven Dwarfs
- 2x Dopey Always Playful
- 3x Gaston Baritone Bully
- 1x Grand Duke Advisor to the King
- 3x Grumpy Bad-Tempered
- 2x Happy Good-Natured
- 2x Lefou Bumbler (First Chapter)
- 3x Sleepy Nodding Off
- 3x Sneezy Very Allergic
- 2x Snow White Lost in the Forest
- 3x The Queen Regal Monarch
- 2x Painting the Roses Red
- 1x Belle Inventive Engineer (First Chapter)
- 3x Cruella De Vil Fashionable Cruiser
- 1x Hiram Flaversham Toymaker
- 2x Judy Hopps Optimistic Officer
- 3x Owl Logical Lecturer
- 2x Philoctetes Trainer of Heroes (First Chapter)
- 3x The Nokk Water Spirit
- 1x Winnie the Pooh Having a Think
- 2x Four Dozen Eggs
- 2x Launch
- 2x Fang Crossbow
- 2x Gumbo Pot
- 3x Pawpsicle
The cards marked as First Chapter are from The First Chapter set, all the others are from the Rise of the Floodborn set.
What Cards Are in The Lorcana Rise Of The Floodborn Amethyst and Steel Deck?
The Rise of the Floodborn Amethyst and Steel Deck contains:
- 1x Merlin Shapeshifter (Foil)
- 1x Tiana Celebrating Princess (Foil)
- 3x Chip the Teacup
- 2x Dr Facilier Savvy Opportunist
- 3x Heihei Persistent Presence
- 3x Kuzco Wanted Llama
- 1x Madam Mim Fox
- 3x Madam Mim Snake
- 2x Merlin Crab
- 3x Merlin Goat
- 1x Merlin Rabbit
- 2x Merlin Squirrel
- 2x Freeze (First Chapter)
- 2x I'm Stuck
- 2x Beast Forbidding Recluse
- 2x Benja Guardian of the Dragon Gem
- 2x Cinderella Knight in Training
- 2x Eli La Bouff Big Daddy
- 2x Hercules Hero in Training
- 1x Kronk Junior Chipmunk
- 2x Lawrence Jealous Manservant
- 3x Lilo Galactic Hero (First Chapter)
- 2x Prince Eric Dashing and Brave (First Chapter)
- 3x Prince Naveen Penniless Royal
- 1x The Huntsman Reluctant Enforcer
- 2x The Prince Never Gives Up
- 3x Tiana Diligent Waitress
- 2x Last Cannon
- 2x Mouse Armor
The cards marked as First Chapter are from The First Chapter set, all the others are from the Rise of the Floodborn set.
What Are Our Final Thoughts On The Lorcana Rise Of The Floodborn Starter Decks?
I love that all 7 Dwarfs are in the Rise of the Floodborn Amber and Sapphire starter deck. The Dwarfs all either combo with each other, or offer great benefits like Doc who lowers the cost of your next character when they Quest allowing you to bring out other characters quicker.
The Queen Commanding Presence is a powerful card, questing for 2 lore and giving an opposing character -4 strength and a friendly character +4 strength. You can also bring the Queen out quickly with shift, paying 2 ink to play her on top of her 1 cost The Queen Regal Monarch.
Gaston Intellectual Powerhouse is also a solid card, questing for 3 lore and allowing you to draw 1 card from the top 3 of your deck. Gaston has shift 4, but the deck doesn't include a low-cost Gaston (the 2-cost Gaston is Ruby) to allow you to cheat him out that quickly like the Queen, but he can be played on top of the 3-cost Gaston Baritone Bully.
The Rise of the Floodborn Amber and Sapphire starter deck is fun, but it takes a little momentum to get going. It does have some solid cards that will see play outside of the starter decks in friendly and competitive settings.
The other starter deck, the Rise of the Floodborn Amethyst and Steel starter deck includes a lot of Merlin and Madam Mim cards, but it's a real shame that it's not an all-in theme deck with a foil Madam Mim as well.
All of the Merlin cards give an ability when returned to hand, like the Merlin Crab which gives another character +3 strength when challenging, when they are played, and when they leave play (which can be in the same turn for a super boost), and Madam Min returns cards to hand when played.
All this playing and returning uses a lot of Ink, so there are some low-cost characters included in the deck to make sure your hand doesn't get too full.
The Rise of the Floodborn Amethst and Steel starter deck is also a fun combo deck and takes a while to get going. I'm going straight to produce a competitive Merlin/Mim deck as my first Rise of the Floodborn deck.
Both combo decks play well against each other, as neither comes out of the gate swinging and setting the other on the backfoot. Both decks have some solid Rise of the Floodborn cards and I can see The Queen being cheated out with her Shift 2 a lot.
Should I Buy The Lorcana Rise Of The Floodborn Starter Decks?
If you're new to Lorcana, these 2 decks are a great way into the CCG. The fact they also contain a booster allows you to start deck building as well, but you will need to buy more to make the decks competitive.
If you've already got a lot of cards from The First Chapter, apart from the guaranteed foils in the 2 decks, it might be more cost-effective to put your money towards boosters, unless you're looking to pick up the cards from either of the starter sets quickly, then the fixed nature of the decks will get you those quicker than randomized boosters.
Both Rise of the Floodbon starter decks are great decks, and I love how they're combo-focused and play well against each other, showing the depth that Lorcana can have.
The Disney Lorcana Rise of the Floodborn Starter Decks used to produce this review were provided by Ravensburger.