Disney Lorcana is soon to release the first set of their brand-new card game collaboration with Ravensburger. The first set will be called “The First Chapter”, and will offer a range of products including booster packs, legendary rare foil cards, and more. But will there be a First Edition stamped set?
Will Lorcana Have A First Edition or Limited Print?
The answer is yes and no. Ravensburger has confirmed there will not be first edition cards available in the main set, or a specific first printing. There also won’t be stamps, or anything marking the first run of the cards as any different from the next printing.
However, there is a set of very exclusive cards that are seen as a first edition of sorts – with 1st stamps to boot. PLUS there were some plans to actually have 1st Edition stamped on The First Chapter products, we’ve even got images that prove it further down.
But essentially there is no first edition or limited print for the first run. The cards and products that come out on August 18th and September 1st on the release date should be the same as later prints. Of course, minor text corrections and formatting fixes might happen.
When asked on Twitter and in other places, the answer has always been that there won’t be a first edition. There is no “limited” run with an artificial cut-off to increase scarcity, and it seems like the first print run will continue for a while.
There was also a presentation at GAMA – see these videos – where Ryan Miller (brand manager and co-designer) talked a little about a first edition, printing, and more. He said specifically: –
- They decided against 1st Edtion to discourage “hoarding”
- Demand was much higher than expected, but that printing of the First Set has been increased
- There will not be a reserve list (where certain cards are never reprinted to keep their value)
Even without a first edition to drive up demand, the game is still incredibly popular – far beyond Ravensburger’s expectations. As a result, Lorcana is sold out in many places and the first few months might mean hunting down cards.
D23 Exclusive Cards – Lorcana’s First Edition?
Lorcana was first announced shortly before the D23 Expo – a Disney convention at the Anaheim Convention Center, California in 2022. At the Expo, two sets of the very first Lorcana cards were available to the public in limited qualities.
The first was Mickey Mouse Brave Little Tailor. It was teased beforehand and given out free to attendees at the Expo – just the card, no sleeve or seal. It features Mickey and introduced the idea of a “Dreamborn” character: a classic Disney character changed in some way.
This card features a white 1st stamp and the D23 Expo logo at the bottom but the card isn’t foil or holographic. The cards were given out until the supply ran out and the amount was never confirmed. While it was given out for free, it now sells for… quite a lot on eBay.
However, this is essentially the first card ever released or numbered in the Lorcana card game as it is the number 1 card in the set, with a 1st edition stamp, and features Disney’s most famous character.
There was also a D23 Expo Collector’s Set available at the same convention. This cost $50 and featured six cards in a simple card portfolio. They all have a special foil treatment and the same 1st and D23 Expo logos at the bottom.
This set now sells for tens of thousands on eBay, and even the individual cards have sold for $2-3,000 each. This will quite likely be the most expensive set of Lorcana cards ever.
These are essentially the 1st Edition cards of Disney Lorcana. All of these (and Mickey) will be available in booster backs of the first set “The First Chapter” and in starter decks with the 1st and D23 stamps. However, there are small text and design changes as well as different foiling.
Notably the set numbers are going to be displayed differently and some rules and flavor text will change. Because of the very limited availability and the possible popularity of this game, these are essentially the cards to have for serious long-term collectors.
Is First Edition A Bad Idea?
Printing of the cards and products is well underway so it’s basically a guarantee that there won’t be 1st edition cards unless some test runs were printed. It’s absolutely a good thing for the health of the game that there isn’t a 1st edition run of the first set.
When Magic: The Gathering and the Pokemon card game were first released, card games weren’t as popular a thing as they are today. A first edition gathered interest in people that might play anyway.
Now, card games are very popular – but collectors, investors, and scalpers looking to make quick money are also on the rise. It’s very common that when a card game first releases, people with absolutely no interest in playing buy up a lot of sealed stock, intending to make a profit.
This stops players and casual collectors (kids!) from being able to buy and open packs. Without access to that fun little thrill, people are left to buy on the secondary market at a higher price or buy individual cards if they really want to play or collect while they’re still learning the rules.
That’s unhealthy for the game. Adding a 1st Edition stamp doubles this as suddenly there is a profit motive to buying the very first set before there is even time to reprint. Card games that don’t have players die.
Luckily, Ravensburger sees this and has decided there won’t be a real 1st Edition – focusing on making it a good game first. The D23 cards were just a bit of publicity to show the game could be real. Plus we also have details of Lorcana’s organized play and rewards for players who bring friends, and teach others!
Secret First Edition Stamps
When some products have been shown to the public, eagle-eyed Lorcana fans have found signs of a Gold 1st Edition stamp in the wild. In videos and images of the Illumineer’s Trove, it looks like what was shown were likely older mock-ups that haven’t been changed.
In a video showing off the contents of the Illumineer’s Trove, the front of the box clearly shows a Gold 1st Edition stamp! It looks very much like the 1st in the hexagon inkwell logo from the D23 cards but in Gold.
In a video showing off the contents of the Illumineer’s Trove from the official Twitter account, the front of the box clearly shows a Gold 1st Edition stamp! We’ve also recently had more images of the Trove that show 1st Edition stamps on the booster packs in the bottom left.
However, this does look like an early mockup and it’s 100% confirmed that there aren’t 1st Edition stamps on either the Trove box, packs, or any other product. You can also tell that these images are out of date because the box is supposed to have 8 booster packs but has 9 in the image and description on the left.
These are small details that are easier to miss. The front of the box mock-up doesn’t have the 1st Edition stamp as it has on the video. So while there won’t be a 1st Edition release of The First Chapter, there certainly were some plans for it.
