Possible New Cards, Entangled Glimmers, New Story Details + More

A new set means a new story, and we think we’ve figured some of it out! We’ll cover four possible new cards, who’s been entangled by Ursula, important lore elements, new stories told through cards – and of course some wild guessing.

A couple of months ago we wrote a deep dive article into Who Took The Trident that covered much of the story so far. We also delved into speculation on what was happening behind the scenes. There’s a lot in there.

Now it’s time for Ursula’s Return to get the same treatment. To summarize what we know from what has been confirmed: –

• It looks like it was Ursula who burst out of the locked Lorebook Martin opened
• This caused the flood, which flushed out the Lore items into the realm of Lorcana
• The flood of ink has changed the world, creating or changing the Inklands
• Purple seaweed, pools of black ink, and shadowy tendrils are shown across cards and art
• Ursula has a secret contract, was looking for lore, and is now finally enacting a plan
• There is a shadow storm and a mysterious structure at the edge of Lorcana…

Now, more has been revealed through a trailer, card art, and a new box set. In this article we’ve got four possible new cards from art. We’ll then jump into a bunch of new story beats and important items.

We’ve even got some new wild theories to test out. Our last big theory was that shadows were working behind the scenes for an evil purpose. We weren’t far off!

Ursula’s Return Story

Much of the new story is revealed in the latest trailer. First, we see Bruno Madrigal – who sees prophecies in tablets – in a cave where dripping Amethyst ink pools in front of him.

Purple wind from the ink swirls around him and inky black tendrils also entangle him. While this happens, we see visions of Ursula – Deceiver of All holding the Trident, reaching for a crown in a face-off with what looks like Ursula – Sea Witch Queen.

The vision then shows the three Illumineers. Bruno’s eyes glow purple and his face is encrusted in barnacles as he looks into a prophecy tablet showing the three again. This time they are with three new glimmers, standing underneath Ursula’s Lair.

They swim/float towards it and get ambushed by huge, inky versions of Flotsam and Jetsam. Bruno then emerges with other tendrily friends – all with glowing purple eyes. We see a great many more glowing eyes, and then a giant Ursula emerges!

Summary

In the Lorecast, Ryan Miller introduces the new set: “A storm has been building in the magical realm of Lorcana. A powerful Ursula glimmer is entangling other glimmers, bending them to her will, while many more have gone missing. How far will the sea witch go to gain power over all of Lorcana?”

The new Illumineer’s Quest: Deep Trouble blurb says: “The game follows the Illumineers as they track down the malevolent glimmer Ursula to her lair at the edge of Lorcana. Unfortunately, Ursula has been preparing for the Illumineers’ arrival by entangling glimmers with mind control as well as causing natural disasters to create seemingly impossible obstacles.

There are also a few more tidbits from the box and blurb: “Where will you fight Ursula: at the site of your first encounter, or at her lair, where her powers are the greatest?”, “She has entangled many familiar glimmers”.

Unknown New Glimmers

The team revealed most of the cards from the art shown in this set. But before we get into the lore, there are a few glimmers with art we’ve seen but don’t have cards for yet.

In the trailer, the three Illumineers were shown with three glimmers. Each Illumineer is associated with two inks, much like decks contain two inks. Venturo (Ruby/Sapphire) is on the left, next to the new Ruby Mulan – Elite Archer.

New Mickey?

Shanzay (Amethyst/Steel) in the middle is next to the new Steel Ariel – Sonic Warrior. Then next to Martin (Amber/Emerald) is what looks like Mickey Mouse – Musketeer, who is a Steel glimmer. That doesn’t match…

This new Mickey looks almost identical, but doesn’t his sword look a little more gold than silver? The hat and gloves look a little more decorated, plus he seems to have a new cape. An Emerald or Amber version – maybe Floodborn like the other two – would make more sense.

In a banner image on the official website, the team are in battle with the giant Ursula from the Illumineer’s Quest: Deep Trouble box. The Muskeeter-looking Mickey from the intro is shown on the left where we can see the weaving motifs of Amber flowing from him.

You can see that same Amber ink design on his cape, and differences to the other design. Martin isn’t in the picture, but he must be close by. It looks like this is a new Amber Mickey Mouse – Muskeeter.

New John Silver?

On the right, we have Venturo, his Ruby/Sapphire armpiece glowing blue with the swirls and dots of Sapphire. Next to him is a version of John Silver surrounded by the same inky energy. He looks different from the two glimmers of him we’ve already seen.

New Sisu + Beast?

There is a picture of a new Sisu on boosters (with a red aura), booster boxes, and the trove. Then there is a detailed image of Beast on the side of the trove inner box. There is also an Ursula, but it looks like the one from the animatics in the trailer – so maybe not a new card?

That might mean new Amber Musketeer Mickey, Sapphire John Silver, Ruby Sisu, and Ruby(?) Beast cards have yet to be fully revealed. More interesting details on Beast further down.

Bruno’s Prophecy

Some of the new Madrigal cards seem to be heavily tied into the new story. Dolores has the gift of enhanced hearing, scoping out something in a cave. It looks like inky tendrils are reaching out and entangling her!

Luisa seems to have stumbled upon Bruno’s tablet, telling her sister: “Go get that prophecy, hermana!” Mirabel is reconstructing the tablet, which seems to have an image. If we flip it and take a closer look…

It looks like Ursula’s Lair opening its jaws, with the outlines of what might be an Amber character in the missing chunk. From Mirabel’s flavor text: “Why would Bruno break this prophecy? Could it be something dangerous? We have to find out!”

Ursula’s Lair

In the trailer we get a clear look at the lair where Ursula seems to have been plotting her wicked plans. Ursula’s Lair has been seen before, far in the background of the art for Jolly Roger – Hook’s Ship.

It looks like an overgrown version of her movie lair, inside the giant skeleton of a long-dead sea creature. The floating lair looks similar to the Great Illuminary, with various towers and rooms.

Ursula’s Lore Necklace

The cover art for the Illumineer’s Quest: Deep Trouble box features an incredible piece of art from John Loren. In it we see the massive Ursula – Ruler of Lorcana card from the box set. She has a few distinct things going on.

First is an entangled version of Triton’s Trident – clearly now in the wrong hands. A crown sits atop her head, though we’ve not seen an item for Triton’s other royal accessory yet. Tendrils of black ink swirl from her right hand, which could be how she entangles glimmers.

Flotsam and Jetsam have very distinct appearances, which we’ll check out again a little later. First, that necklace looks pretty powerful. Three items hang from it: a shell, a ship’s wheel, and what looks like a ship’s cannon.

Nautilus Shell

Ursula’s Shell Necklace has been around her neck in every one of her cards so far. In The Little Mermaid, Ariel signs a contract with Ursula to become human for three days. In exchange, Ursula gets Ariel’s voice, which she traps in the Shell.

Cannon

The other item around her neck looks like a cannon from a ship. It looks similar to the one in Fire The Cannons! but maybe not exactly. There are some ships we cover later this could be from.

Ship’s Wheel

The wheel seems to be one that the Lost Boys stole from Hook! Cubby – Mighty Lost Boy is seen hauling it overboard, then the boys are running away with it in On Your Feet! Now!

Mr Smee – Bumbling Mate is out trying to get it back but instead Slightly – Lost Boy is catching pirates with it.

There is another theory for this to go along with the Entangled glimmers below. In Jolly Roger – Hook’s Ship, we can see the cannons on the side, and the wheel glowing. At the helm, there is Wendy Darling – Talented Sailor in blue coat and hat.

In the wheel is the Aurelian Gyrosensor upgrade put there with the help of Tinker Bell – Very Clever Fairy in Maurice’s Workshop. They’re searching for the missing mermaid that might be in Ursula’s Lair.

Having the tech to find lore in the wheel could be very helpful for Ursula – why not accessorize with the cannon too?

Entangled Glimmers

The purple-eyed glimmers seen along with Bruno in the trailer are all entangled! Prince Eric, Magica De Spell, Jafar, and Minnie Mouse are clear. This ties in with the set theme from the box set.

In Illumineer’s Quest: Deep Trouble, one of the cards in Ursula’s deck (of 50) is Captain Hook – Devious Duelist which seems almost certainly a version of Captain Hook – Forceful Duelist.

This hugely powerful new card can’t be used by players, just this box set. Now no longer Dreamborn, he has the Entangled classification, and no obvious ink color. Ink floods the text box, with huge inky tendrils throughout the border.

The card is numbered 3 of 31, meaning we’ll probably have 31 different cards and some duplicates in the deck of 50. So, that’s 30 more Entangled glimmers potentially – who could they be?

Prince Eric – Expert Helmsman was flying close to the storm and a similar version is there over Bruno’s left shoulder. Was Captain Amelia – First in Command on the same ship, or found the same fate on another? – “I’ve spotted a strange structure on the horizon. Hard to port, helmsman!“

Update: It’s been pointed out that Prince Eric looks like he’s in his wedding suit from when he nearly marries Ursula. Ursula – Sea Witch looks like Ursula in the Vanessa wedding dress and scene (thanks Parker!).

A team including Mickey Mouse – Stalwart Explorer were looking for The Sorcerer’s Hat. Pluto‘s job was:” to keep Gustav’s attention so Minnie could get to the cave” as seen in Distract.

We can see the cave in the background of Gustav the Giant – Terror of the Kingdom‘s art. Minnie Mouse – Funky Spelunker rappelled down into the cave and found the hat – but were there traps laid for her?

To us, the Minnie looks more like another that got caught in a similar situation – but much closer to where Ursula might be. Did Donald get caught up in it too?

The Jafar in the trailer could be one of quite a few. Our best guess would be Lamp Thief or Royal Visier, largely because of the art and flavor text. More on that later…

Entangled Magica again could be various instances, but her Thieving Sorceress version with Ariel’s music box from the Ariel – Whoseit Collector card ties in nicely. Remember, it was Magica’s shadow that stole the Trident.

There are cards with suspicious art: Rafiki – Mystical Fighter is surrounded by purple-eyed Hyenas, and Bernard is surrounded by purple eyes. Kida stumbled upon something weird too, what could that thing be?

Let’s go back a bit, to that Beast image from the side of the trove. What’s that thing in the background? Is that a fish, a tentacle, or something different?

Maybe the thing in both of these images is one of Ursula’s sneaky boys: Flotsam and Jetsam! With inky black tendrils and glowing purple gills, they could be watching the glimmers with their golden-eyed live feed to Ursula.

Side Stories

As ever, smaller stories are still playing out in cards. We’ve mentioned the missing mermaid, the Hat in the cave with Minnie, Mickey, and Pluto is above, then the “ink caves” with the Ducktales trio, Pan’s shadow, Panic, and Pain are in the last story deep dive. Here are some that may be relevant in the new story.

Missing Mermaid

In Never Land – Mermaid Lagoon, the mermaids talk of a missing friend. They may appear in Cursed Merfolk – Ursula’s Handiwork – trapped in the Cauldron, or could be in the background of Wendy Darling – Authority on Peter Pan.

Hans Tempts Anna

Hans is trying to get Anna to Ursula using Kristoff’s hat, and it looks like she’s taken the bait from her card art. You can see the inky storm in the background, and her flavor text ties in. Both of their abilities are really excellent story-wise.

Madame Medusa Bossing Around Mr. Snoops

Various other characters are out for lore, some of them are Villains that might be working with Ursula or just on their own. Madame Medusa is ordering Mr Snoops to find lore, and he’s trying!

In The Rescuers, she only cares about the Devil’s Eye diamond, which there isn’t an item for yet. The nephews in the cave are looking for parts of a larger crystal, and Louie is ignoring a big diamond next to him. There’s a chance they’re linked.

Story Theories – Potential Spoilers Ahead!

Here’s where we veer off course a little. Well, a lot. This is all pure guesswork for the fun of it but could be very spoilery – we have warned you! The further down this goes, the more we’ll be guessing.

Let us know what you think is going on in the comments below and please don’t repeat any of this as hard fact on facebook 🙂

Ursula’s Return Story

Our general overview is that Ursula was locked away in an inky chamber in the Illuminary long ago because she had become too powerful. She must have been inkcast by a previous Illumineer first. But by who?

When she was freed, ink spilled out and caused various different Inklands, all in the current timeline as we’re following it.

It looks like there are even different parts of the inklands with their own inkcasting chambers, as seen from the ink pillars in The Queen’s Castle – Mirror Chamber or in the background to Honest John – Not That Honest. These could all be in the Illuminary.

Ursula has signed a contract with someone. It’s likely Ariel for her voice, as we’ve got lots of Ariel voice references and Ursula singing throughout the cards.

Using Ariel’s Voice

Ursula uses Ariel’s voice in the movie to transform her voice. With it, she charms Prince Eric. It’s only when the plan gets scuttled that Ariel gets it back. By that point its too late and Ariel is under Ursula’s control as bound by the contract.

When King Triton finds out, he signs a new contract and gives his power to Ursula – who then transforms in a battle with Ariel and Prince Eric.

Given this, it might be that Ursula is using Ariel’s voice to control the Entangled. Ursula – Deceiver of All can sing over and over. Her new card exerts characters when she quests, and stops all other characters from singing.

Villain Contract?

Another theory is that the contract was signed by certain Villians, and that’s where the Rules of Villainy come into play. Of the cards that have rules, Ursula is of course number one, and the main villain in the first year – we don’t have rule two yet.

Locations + Timelines

The story of Lorcana told throughout the series actually feels like it’s split into two timelines. How the Illuminary was created, who the Curator is, why Ursula is locked away, and why it’s abandoned are all questions we have for the original timeline.

We also don’t know why the new Illumineers were drawn in by the Great Illuminary. Our guess is the current story will play out as follows: –

• Ursula is using Ariel’s voice to control glimmers to find powerful lore items
• Flotsam and Jetsam are scouting out to find and steal lore or keep an eye on where the Illumineers are, and get it before them
• She grows her lair, maybe creating an Illuminary of her own to try to control the realm
• The Lair is found above ground because of the storms, which draws in glimmers
• Some glimmers like Eric go missing, and Ursula uses her growing powers to Entangle them and steal even more lore
• Illumineers notice glimmers and lore are missing so investigate
• Bruno sees the showdown with Ursula and smashes the tablet, hoping it won’t come true
• The team find the lair and there is a showdown, Ursula loses and retreats under the sea
• The team then track her down, finding Ursula and her lair have grown hugely powerful
• A face-off ensues against Ursula and her Entangled glimmers
• If the team win, the glimmers are freed and the team win… something we could guess at but will instead leave to you to find out and keep secret

As for the origin story…

Yen Sid – Sorcerer or Curator?

The Sorcerer is key in this all, and could also be the original Curator who created the Great Illuminary. The Sorcerer’s items like the Hat and Spellbook seem like important pieces of Lore. The Sorcerer’s Tower even has ink pillars.

The Spellbook was mentioned in the Rise of the Floodborn player’s guide: “Below, shanzay sees an Illumineer beckon others over to a large shining sphere containing a red spellbook. Soon the group surrounds it, quickly diving into an animated discussion. Then the wave comes“.

The Curator is the person who created the Great Illuminary and all of the tech in the world of Lorcana. He “called a small group of apprentices to help him in this work, naming them Illumineers“. Together they harnessed the power of story stars, combining them with ink and capturing the stories in lorebooks.

The glimmers of characters in those stories are then inkcast by the Illumineers. The Curator and original Illumineers are gone, but the Illuminary itself awoke and drew in new creative people to become the new Illumineers.

An Illumineer is referred to as a “powerful sorcerer” in various early blurb for the game. To have Yen Sid – Powerful Sorcerer in the set (with his tower in the background) might make him the obvious choice as the Curator.

Fantasia

Yen Sid is Disney backwards. He was the sorcerer that Mickey apprenticed for in the Fantasia film “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. Much of the storyline seems echo the happenings of Lorcana.

In Fantasia, Mickey steals the Sorcerer’s Hat, creating magic brooms to clean. He falls asleep and dreams of playing with stars. Waking to find he’s caused a flood, he destroys his creations but finds they overpower him. Yen Sid fixes it all.

Maybe Yen Sid’s card shows him in the tower working creating glimmers the old-fashioned way. He creates the Illuminary and calls apprentices. At some point, one of his new apprentices makes a mistake.

Perhaps this was summoning Ursula, and Yen Sid had to lock her away, now he’s made a timely return to stop her once more. Maybe a Playful Sorcerer apprentice causes a flood that angers him. Perhaps a Wayward Sorcerer takes ink and story stars to make his own glimmers…

Un-Inked Characters?

There are a couple of character images that seem to be important – but we can’t quite figure out why. The main one is Ursula – Sea Witch. She seems drained of color as if she’d lost her ink. She’s definitely important as Sea Witch is mentioned so much in the new set details.

With the crown in the background, lighting shooting from her hands like the storm, and her flavor text: “The Secret contract has already been written”, doesn’t this seem like Ursula at a key point in the story?

Update: This seems like it’s Ursula as “Vanessa” in the marriage ceremony between her and Prince Eric. She’s wearing the same dress, the giant crown and decorations behind her are similar, and she pulls down lighting before transforming.

In Jafar’s card art, he seems to be using the power of a Lore item to control ink to wish himself into being. Maybe these glimmers are literally casting themselves from the blank pages of the story?

Update: Yet another movie moment, from when Jafar wishes to “rule on high, as Sultan!” and his costume changes to white. Just a coincidence for these two characters then.

Boiling Hot Take

Remember the tablet with Bruno’s prophecy? In Encanto, Bruno hides his original vision of Mirabel from the family. Does the missing piece of the tablet show an Amber Mirabel in front of the Lair?