During the Tokyo Toy Show 2024, Disney Lorcana made its Japanese debut. The card game is set to be released in the region in January 2025 with a slimmed-down version of The First Chapter set, smaller and cheaper booster packs, and three starter decks to get new players started.
As translated and reported by Mushu Report, Disney Lorcana‘s The First Chapter set has been officially revealed. Ravensburger is working with Takara Tomy as its distributor for the game in Japan. If you’ve been a fan of Disney Lorcana since it was initially released, this launch may look a little wonky to you. While the products that help you leap into the core experience are unaltered, it’s the pack-opening experience that’s going to feel very different.
New cards for everyone to collect
While Disney Lorcana‘s first Japanese set is a fully translated version of The First Chapter set, it’s not quite like it was when it launched in the West. The Japanese set is reported to have 204 cards instead of the 216 the English set has. Booster packs will also be smaller, with 6 cards in each one instead of 12.
However, fewer cards in each pack also means a lower price. So, you’ll be able to purchase a Japanese Disney Lorcana booster pack for 330 Yen, which is roughly $2.26. All three main starter decks for the set will be complete with 60 cards, though. Meaning anyone who purchases them has a full deck they can play with right out of the box.
While there’s no information on which retailers you’ll be able to purchase these cards from, you can keep an eye on the Takara Tomy website to see them as soon as they’re advertised. Of course, the best part about this set is that it brings Disney Lorcana to a new audience, but it’s also a completely new set of cards for collectors to pick up.
Japanese variants are a part of both the Pokemon TCG and Magic: The Gathering. Sometimes, Japanese variants are worth more, others just look better if the text is arranged differently, and some feature exclusive artwork.
At the time of writing, The First Chapter is one year old. Booster packs are fairly hard to come by outside of the ones you get in starter decks, and it’s not really viable to chase Enchanteds through those. I’m sure that for some fans, the set’s Japanese release will provide another opportunity to pick up rare cards from booster boxes. After all, you can always memorize a card’s effect and play it regardless of which language the text is written in.
Published: Sep 1, 2024 08:44 am