Disney Lorcana’s Archazia Island Decks: Solid Gameplay, Unusual Themes

Disney Lorcana, the popular trading card game from Ravensburger, continues apace with its seventh new set of cards in March titled Archazia’s Island. Polygon had an early look at the two new starter decks, and while the mechanics are interesting, neither feels particularly potent right out of the box. Additionally, the game’s narrative feels as though it’s starting to fray at the seams. Honestly, I’m just not sure what all these animated characters are even doing here anymore.

We still don’t have a video trailer for Archazia’s Island, which is weird. So here’s the one for the previous set, Azurite Sea, that went live about five months ago. In it, you can see a motley crew of Disney characters navigating a watery maze. It’s therefore assumed that they arrive at their destination, Archazia’s Island. That arrival is represented by two new starter decks: an Amethyst and Steel deck featuring Jafar and Iago on the cover, and a Ruby and Sapphire deck with Belle and The Beast on the cover.

My favorite of the pair is the Amethyst and Steel, which centers on Jafar, Newly Crowned and his ability to bring back characters with the Illusion keyword from the banished (dead) pile to your hand. That ability means that Jafar can always be on the offensive, doing damage and earning lore as he cycles out the same set of Illusion-based characters. Unfortunately, Ravensburger tells Polygon that there are only three Illusion keyword cards in the entire game, all of which are included in the new Archazia’s Island set and featured in this deck in particular. That means, at most, you can only have nine of these Illusions cycling in and out of play given the current deck building rules. Whether or not that’s effective compared to some of the more powerful decks is unknown, but players are certainly encouraged to bulk up their decks with new cards found in blind boosters. Right now, the deck is short a potential two more Iago, Giant Spectral Parrots, which could make a big difference when added to the mix.

The other big change with this set is the addition of dual-color cards, and the Belle and Beast deck certainly seems to be trying to get more use out of them than Jafar and Iago. Again, whether that’s beneficial in a competitive space remains to be seen.

The most confusing part though is that narrative. The Jafar deck contains aligned characters like the tiger Rajah and an Agrabah guard. But why are Raya, Fa Zhou, and Kashekim doing here with Wart and the Fairy Godmothers? And honestly, how many versions of Heihei do I really need? It’s all beginning to feel just a little bit scattered.

Archazia’s Island is currently up for pre-order at multiple outlets online. You can find it at local game shops beginning March 7, with a wider release on March 21.

Disney Lorcana – Arkazia’s Island was reviewed using a pre-release copy provided by Ravensburger. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.