One of the best ways to start collecting and playing any trading card game is to purchase pre-built decks. You typically know exactly what you’re going to get, with the exception of any included booster packs, and you know that it will be relatively balanced, giving you the chance to dive right in and start playing with your friends. In this regard, Disney Lorcana is no different, and we’ve been lucky enough to receive the latest series; Archazia’s Island.

The Disney Lorcana single-player deck comes with everything you need to get started; a pre-built sixty-card deck, including foils of the characters displayed on the box, 11 push-out card damage counters, a paper playmat with a push-out card tracker token, a simple-to-follow rulebook, and in the packages supplied to retailers, an additional booster pack containing twelve randomised cards.

Unlike most trading card games, however, you won’t use your favourite Disney characters to attack your opponent or defend your life pool. Instead, you’ll race to collect twenty points, hereby referred to as Lore, and this is primarily achieved by sending your characters on quests or using them to hinder your opponent. Characters, items and locations are sorted into one of six faction-like colours known as Inks: Amber – Yellow, Red – Ruby, Blue – Sapphire, Green – Emerald, Purple – Amethyst, and Silver – Steel.

Some cards, such as characters, will show values for Strength and Willpower, corresponding to how much damage they can do during a challenge and how much damage they can take before being banished, as well as values to show how much Lore they’ll earn during a quest. While you might expect the typical black-and-white split of good and evil, it’s not the case. Traditionally, evil characters can be found using the same colour inks as those portrayed as the good guys.

We received two pre-built single-player decks for the Disney Lorcana Archazia’s Island release: An Amethyst/Steel deck featuring Jafar and Iago from Aladdin, and a Ruby/Sapphire deck featuring Belle and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, and while you might expect the decks to feature characters from the worlds they hail from, you would be mistaken. I certainly was when I first started filming the unboxing videos when we were approached to check the game out. You’ll find the likes of Mufasa from The Lion King rubbing shoulders with Moana or Donald Duck.

Each new series brings cards with new and exclusive artwork, and Disney Lorcana Archazia’s Island is no different. While most of the cards supplied in the pre-built decks were somewhat generic, with characters appearing in situations you might expect, the appeal comes from seeing the themed art, such as Belle, Mechanic Extraordinaire; Beast, Frustrated Designer; Iago, Giant Spectral Parrot; and Jafar, Newly Crowned. These feature artworks directly correlate to the flavour text on the cards, with Belle proudly standing with a contraption she’s been working on or the Beast tearing apart plans that aren’t quite working out as expected. They are something special, especially being the ever-gorgeous foils.

Disney Lorcana Archazia’s Island is the latest addition to the Disney Lorcana trading card game, taking the world by storm. The pre-built single-player decks are the perfect way to jump in and start playing. They offer a balanced starting point for new and experienced players, letting you dive right into your first game or providing you with something you can build from. Disney fans, young and old, can enjoy Disney Lorcana, and the Archazia’s Island series is a great way to get started.

Written by: Mathew Lindner