Why Is Lorcana Sold Out Everywhere? Stock + Store Issues Explained

The simple truth is that Disney Lorcana is too popular for its own good. Card games are big right now, and Disney is a huge brand that will pull all types of people into playing and collecting.

This means that fans that want to open some packs or build a deck might well see issues trying to get hold of any Lorcana in the short term. If you’ve been told things by a store or seen rumors on the internet – this post is for you.

We’re going to try and address all of the stock issues in one place, so it’s easier to understand what’s happening and why. We’ll also try to reassure you that yes, you will be able to find Lorcana cards and places to play – but it might take a little time.

We’ll also talk about the things that both we and local gaming stores as a community can do to make things a little better.

This is gonna be pretty wordy so let’s just sum it up here:

• Ravensburger underestimated how popular Lorcana would be
• The first print run likely won’t cover everyone that wants it
• They became aware of rising demand after printing was underway and have increased print runs
• Ravensburger doesn’t distribute directly (apart from Germany and close regions)
• Hobby stores and local game stores (LGS) can sell Lorcana from August 18th to encourage people to buy locally, support these small stores, and help a local playing scene start
• Larger retail stores will sell Lorcana from September 1st. shopDisney and Amazon will also be selling online from this date
• Stores that got into the Organised Play (OP) program are being sent the most stock
• That encourages people to buy locally at places they can learn to play and means those stores have at least some stock to sell to players
• Hobby Store Program (HSP) stores are being sent stock – but less than OP stores
• Stores that didn’t get into the OP or HSP might not get much stock at all
• Online-only stores are not being given stock, or very little
• Many stores are finding their orders being cut by distros close to release – This is called allocation
• Some stores will only receive only a tiny amount of what they ordered
• This has led to some customers’ pre-orders being canceled
• Stores are being strongly encouraged to only sell one of each item to customers
• Stores that also sell online are being encouraged not to ship until September 1st – in-store pickup before is OK
• Lorcana will probably sell out almost immediately in local stores and big box stores later
• This has led to scalping and stores charging over MSRP
• There will be waves of products instead of everything in one go
• We don’t know exactly when or how big those might be
• Rumors for second/third waves are September and late November/December (when the next set arrives)
• It is very likely Rav will keep printing sets well after release so as people come into the game they can still go back and grab must-have cards
• Things will get better – it will just take time

What Should I Do If I Can’t Buy Lorcana?

Start Now

We strongly suggest getting in touch with your local game stores ASAP. On September 1st, be ready to check out local big box stores, as well as shopDisney, Amazon, and other large online retailers.

Go Local

If you can’t get anything, ask around at local playgroups and stores. See if they will have pre-made decks to borrow for local game nights, or if people are willing to sell their double or let go of a few packs or spare starter decks.

Be Patient

There will be restocks eventually. It could be a few months before you can get everything you wanted but you will get to collect and play Lorcana soon™. Printing will continue and prices will settle.

Buy Singles

You can also buy singles (individual cards) or bulk cards from people only opening packs for the rare cards. It’s still possible to play and collect without the rarest card. We plan to publish some cheap-to-build decks (Poorcana!) here that are still playable.

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We’ll go into more depth on why this has happened and what we can do below. This is longer than we expected it would be.

Waaay longer.

Ravensburger Underestimated Demand

Many people are shocked that Rav didn’t think Lorcana would be as popular as it has become. Bear in mind, they have done literally no advertising to get this much hype. Just social media posts and a few industry expos.

In reality, there are so many new card games launched every year that go nowhere. Boxes sit on shelves and get discount after discount, or some games have a strong scene for a year or two then eventually fade away.

If they overestimated demand and printed non-stop Rav would have piles of debt, and piles of cards in warehouses that need to be disposed of. Getting this wrong could also mean losing their other Disney licenses for games like Villainous.

It’s very hard to accurately predict that level of success. The unfortunate result of all of this means it’s going to be pretty hard to find Disney Lorcana in a lot of places. Anywhere that gets stock in will probably sell out pretty fast.

In our opinion, Lorcana could get into the top 3 TCGs within a year or two. Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon have been around for 25-30 years and sell billions of cards a year.

That has led to some stores pre-selling at much higher than MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) – Read How Much Does Lorcana Cost for the full breakdowns. Some stores and individual sellers (scalpers) are pre-selling for well over double the MSRP.

Unfortunately, we’re in a situation where all types of people want in – gamers, Disney fans, casual card game collectors, and sealed collectors. Way more demand than supply means there is money to be made by people scalping: individuals buying high-demand items and reselling for profit.

How Is Ravensburger Addressing This?

While there is much valid criticism, Rav are trying to deal with this as best as they can. Underestimating demand sucks for us who want to play and collect. It’s also bad for stores to get just a small amount of product as they can’t really start hosting locals without cards to sell.

There are limits and other measures we’ve covered below. Ravensburger’s aims with these are to: –

• Discourage people from buying just to resell
• Try and stop hoarding of sealed boxes to speculate on price long-term
• Get cards to stores that will support local play as much as possible: so players can buy cards, build decks, and grow the scene
• Printing more as fast as possible for now and the longer-term

The Bright Side

Honestly, some people won’t run into issues at all. In certain areas, you might just find that your local has enough for what you need. This really hasn’t been advertised at all outside of a few videos and articles.

We’ve also heard a few stores saying they’ve got everything they ordered, and in a slim few cases got more. The people who’ve got cut the most will be shouting the loudest – which is understandable.

At the end of the day, this isn’t ideal but it’s just a card game. The biggest issue is the loss of potential, or just having to wait for something you are excited about.

If you’re feeling anxious or stressed about this because you wanted to play or collect from day one – maybe take a break from social media. If you can get some cards, great. If you have to wait, you can wait.

The Problems

Allocations – Canceled Pre-Orders – Momentum – Hoarders – Scalping – Overcharging – LGS Problems – Big Box Stores – Gen Con

Allocations – Why Didn’t My Store Get What They Ordered?

Ravensburger, like almost every TCG company, doesn’t distribute their own products. Well, at least they don’t outside of Germany. That’s the job of big distribution companies like PHD, asmodee, Alliance, and Universal among others.

These distros get all sorts of card, board, and tabletop games from different companies – then they sell them directly to stores. It means game companies can send the stock straight from the printer or producer to the distro’s own warehouses, and makes it easier for stores to buy everything from one or two sources.

Generally, those distros cover a massive area or sometimes a full country. There tends not to be much competition and only one or two choices in a given area. Building a good relationship with just one tends to pay off better for a few reasons.

Distros tell stores months in advance what is coming out and take preliminary numbers for different items. Some stores are really hot on ordering up front, some see what demand is like nearer to release and then put their order numbers in.

Most stores have a decent relationship with their local sales manager. For distros, stores that take the most stock and take the widest range of stock – things that might otherwise go unsold – get some preferential treatment.

By and large, stores get what they wanted without much issue aside from late deliveries. Most of the time once a store places orders, they can’t take less. Payment can be upfront, net 30/60, a percentage before delivery, or on credit if the stores are more established. It depends on the distro.

With new games or certain sets/products from a company, sometimes a hype train starts that can’t be stopped. Every store puts in big orders, stores that left it late try to put theirs in before the cut-off, and everyone calls their sales rep and asks for a favor.

In this case, the distros have to make a decision about where the limited amount of product goes. This is called “allocations”, i.e. “You’re only getting allocated 2 boxes when you ordered 4 cases“. Should everyone get it equally? Should only big stores get it? Should it be first come, first served?

We can all probably argue back and forth about this but in the end: it’s a business decision. Distros will try to make sure every store that ordered gets something. Bigger, regular accounts will get the most – even if it’s less than they wanted.

Some stores that were diligent about ordering early and encouraging a community will have their order cut so hard it feels like a joke. It can be a gut punch for many stores. If your competitor has packs available and you don’t – your players are more likely to go across the road.

Canceled Pre-Orders

Many stores sell pre-orders for products well ahead of time. It gets them money early, which they can use to order other things. Cash (flow) is king for businesses – especially low-margin, high-turnover card and game shops that are constantly ordering new stock.

Most of the time this is fine, especially for products that are regular or just restocks specific people might order in. However, experienced stores know that allocations happen for new games and hyped sets.

It happens every year or so, and every few years there is a huge one. Sometimes a particular game gets allocated multiple sets in. Bandai card game players we feel your pain.

One thing that takes it to the next level is canceling pre-orders just to put them back in stock at higher prices or asking for more money after pre-ordering. It’s rare but we’ve seen it. This is clearly not OK in any way.

Experienced Stores

Most stores are well aware of this and only open pre-orders closer to release when they have rougher numbers. Most will only put a little of their order up, limit it to locals, or just put names on a list without taking payment.

They might not get loads, but they won’t have to cancel orders. If they do (as might well happen with Lorcana) they’ll be minimal or just distribute fairly so locals all get something.

New Stores

Newer stores and especially newer online stores don’t seem to have much experience with this. They might be really hot on figuring out what games will be big and place a huge order – bigger than what they normally take from their distro.

They put all of their pre-order numbers up online and sell everything well ahead of release. When release comes: they get almost nothing because their distro allocated more heavily in favor of their long-term, big customers.

These stores then have to cancel or slash numbers on every order and refund loads of people. It’s very bad for their reputation, incurs fees, and creates extra work. This isn’t the majority of stores by any means.

These do tend to make the most noise when they and their customers complain. We can absolutely empathize with them and it’s a harsh lesson – but allocations happen for popular sets and should be planned for. For Lorcana, allocations look like they’re going to be very harsh.

Stock Issues, Hoarding & Scalping Kills Momentum… and Games

To have long-term success, card games need a lot of different things to add up. At the base, the game rules need to be very well thought-out, sets and individual cards need to be planned and play-tested thoroughly, and the art and design need to be on point.

New card games rely heavily on garnering lots of hype before release to draw people into trying it out and convert that into a long-term passion. That goes for collectors and players.

If your first experience of trying to get into the game is that you can’t buy anything or you are asked to pay double for it – you’ll be put off. The same goes for dedicated local card gamers not being able to pull packs and get cards to make the decks they want.

In these situations, people might walk away and never try the game again.

By limiting sales to in-store, having actual LGS have the product, limiting the amount people can buy, and limiting online sales – it is much better for people who want to open cards to play or collect.

(New) Games Need Players – Not Hoarders

Lorcana is firstly a game to be played. We all know TCGs are fun to collect, and we love collecting just as much as many of you. But the trend of collecting in recent years has moved from collecting cards towards collecting sealed product.

This is totally valid, I occasionally do it too alongside opening to collect and play in a few different games. Having the odd sealed box is cool! You can save it to open later for a hit of nostalgia, or it can be a very bland Funko Pop on your shelf.

With a brand-new game, you will find a huge demand for people that only want to buy sealed product and never open it. If I’d kept the Pokémon booster box I bought back on sale in the day, I’d be able to buy way more cards. Or a house. Probably more cards though.

But they don’t open packs.

Players playing the game drive the demand for new sets with new abilities, tactics, and types of gameplay to keep the meta interesting. They open packs to test their ideas with what they pull and get full playsets of cards.

Collectors opening packs to pull rare cards drive demand for great art, fun new design variations, and new characters. Their spares often trickle into the player base. Players and collectors are both needed for a new card game to flourish – hoarders aren’t.

To anyone wanting to buy and hold sealed boxes: Please give us a few months to play. There is no 1st edition, the cards won’t be different on later print runs (if they ever even stopped printing), and you’re hurting the chances that the game survives long-term. Give it 6 months and you’ll be able to buy boxes.

Scalping

Scalpers are a big problem in our era. There are going to be people that turn away from botting shoes and PS5s and zero in on Lorcana. It’s almost impossible to cut to zero, but it can be hindered significantly.

They’ll buy as much as possible as fast as possible, then flip it for more. Scalping relies on people getting FOMO and needing to buy on day 1. Everything Rav can do to slow down sales and get stock in the hands of well-vetted stores helps. Already, prices on eBay and TCGPlayer are through the roof.

What you can do is not give in, and wait until you can buy at MSRP. This article is really trying to be objective about reality, but also that it’s not the end of the world. You’ll be able to buy and play Lorcana soon.

Note: We don’t count opening packs and selling single cards as scalping. Singles sales are part of the TCG world. You don’t need to have every alt art or need four of every particular Legendary to play and enjoy the game.

Stores Overcharging

Some stores are putting up pre-orders and prices at double MSRP, or in some cases even triple. Quite a few stores have also talked about building or supporting their community while justifying these prices.

Let’s be clear: an extra $5-10 dollars on a box here and there is fine. With everything online now, people are used to paying less than MRSP. But without that margin, the store can’t rent the building, hire employees, pay bills, or host your weeklies.

I’m happy to support stores by buying drinks and snacks, getting my sleeves and products locally even when I could have them Amazon’d to me the next day for less. I like teaching new players, I give away cards I pull, I treat the store like a second home, and I make sure the employees know I appreciate them.

But selling at way over MSRP is price-gouging. It could be called scalping your own customers. Selling at “market price” is done only to increase profit. It’s disingenuine to call it anything other than that.

But that’s not the full picture.

Local Game Stores Are Businesses

Running a local game store is hard work. It often requires long hours and huge amounts of investment. The business can be threatened by many market forces that change overnight, and stores close all the time.

Stores have unsold products sitting on their shelf or in a guest bathroom that will never sell. They make thin margins on what does sell, and will often take a loss on one set just to have enough cash to buy the next.

Stores rely on selling a lot of products at a slim margin. If you were expecting to make $20 per box for 100 boxes and now you’re only getting 5 – that doesn’t really cover much. Profit per item on Lorcana does also seem to be lower than with other card games.

Some stores have justified the increased price of Lorcana against the loss or small profit they make on other products. This is where you’ll hear “the market” quite a lot, with a little “that’s capitalism” thrown in.

If stores want to do this: they can. MSRP means literally manufacturer’s recommended retail price.

But doubling MSRP isn’t done for the community and it’s not there to stop scalping. Selling at massively increased prices encourages FOMO and means only those with the biggest pockets can enjoy a hobby your store aims to serve.

Some of these stores are arguing that if they don’t do this, only scalpers will profit. That doesn’t need to be the case and stores can control how much and who they sell to. Many stores have workarounds we’ve covered below.

Here’s my opinion. Remember this is an internet opinion so it isn’t worth the keyboard it was mashed on. Do what you want.

It’s true we don’t need to buy this game. We also don’t need the game right away. It’s a fun hobby and we have limitless entertainment potential in 2023. But as a customer, you also have the power to choose where your money goes.

Personally, I would not support these stores or buy from them in the future.

I would encourage my local play group to play where new customers are welcomed – not price-gouged. I’d buy all my board games, other booster packs, card sleeves, and accessories from another store and I’d let other geeky friends know why.

I’ve seen entire communities move from one store to another with 50+ regulars moving their weekly social games night (and their pre-orders) to a different store for exactly this reason or because of particular employees.

Also, store owners can see how on-the-ball Ravensburger are being about this. Specific stores have been chosen and given bumped numbers based on very rigorous checks. I would not be surprised if Ravensburger were aware of these stores.

Big Box Stores

Unfortunately, when Lorcana hits big stores some of them are going to get bought out and resold immediately. While local game stores have good reason to control who gets what, in big retail locations it’s just another toy.

On top of that, there are stories of employees in the know hiding boxes to buy for themselves or tipping off friends when stock comes in. We might have a repeat of the Pokémon reselling craze during the stay-at-home peak.

You’ll find some LGSs will buy from big box stores just to sell it to their own customers so they at least have something to sell.

The Solutions

Advanced Sales – Organized Play – Priority Stores – No 1st Edition – Sales Limits

Two Weeks Advanced Sales

Ravensburger genuinely want to get people playing Lorcana in local card stores. For the first six sets (a year and a half), LGS will get to sell Lorcana two weeks before big box stores. That’s a really good offer for stores.

• Disney fans and casual collectors who never have stepped foot in an LGS have to go there first
• Stores can introduce their local play and the Lorcana League to try and bring them back
• If stores reserve packs, have a good atmosphere, and take their time to teach and introduce people, they potentially have new customers for life
• It should help to reduce scalping. Going in-store and asking to buy everything they have takes a little more shame than doing it online
• Stores can reward loyal locals by selling to them first

This is a nice offering from Ravensburger. Ryan Miller and the team behind the game are all long-time card game players with deep roots in local, organized play. They know games rely on local play and they know local stores need support to do that.

In a perfect world for card gamers, it would only be sold in your LGS. But realistically, Rav would be dooming the game if they didn’t sell in big stores.

Organized Play + Hobby Store Program

For the last few months, stores have been able to apply to a couple of official programs. The Hobby Store Program is a way for Rav to choose stores that are accessible, professional, and friendly to new and younger players.

They have to submit an application and video of their store with lots of proof to show they stock and sell different games, support local play, and the store is accessible and safe.

These stores will be sent a free 2023 Hobby Retailer Kit kit with a metal Lorcana sign, a couple of window clings, and 40 copies of a normal Tinker Bell – Tiny Tactician card to give to people interested in Lorcana.

Stores that get into the Organised Play program meet a higher set of standards with minimum numbers of tables to play on and accessibility requirements. They can get the Organized Play kit which supports 12 weeks of Lorcana League with promo cards, pins, and extras.

It’s a decent program with nice rewards, and it encourages participation over winning. Stores can also choose how they want to distribute rewards if locals prefer competitive play.

A healthy, regular player base means people in your store that need feeding and watering. They’re then surrounded by all sorts of games and fun things they can buy right there.

Learn more about Lorcana League and Lorcana Organized Play

OP + HSP Stores Prioritized

Rav have sent lists of OP stores to distributors. Those stores all get a guaranteed amount of booster boxes and products so they have a decent (if not amazing) amount to start a local scene with.

HSP stores are prioritized over stores that aren’t in the program. They don’t get OP kits but can host local game nights if they want to. As the stock gets easier to get hold of, more stores will be accepted into the OP and HSP program, and more local play scenes will be available.

This centralizes local play and rewards stores that support players. It is a big shame that so many great stores won’t get anything and won’t be in the OP program to start with.

That’s purely because there isn’t enough to go around. If every store is given an amount of product equally, everyone would get almost nothing. That would apply even if the product were only to be given to stores with space for local play.

The OP and HSP programs will start to accept more applications nearer to the release of set 2 (in three months). Stores that already got in don’t need to re-apply.

No 1st Edition + No Unique Promos

Collectors (like me) foam at the mouth for anything “special”. Promo cards, alt arts, crazy rarities, 1st edition, unique cards – we must have them all. It’s fun having these, but they also drive up demand.

Initially, it looks like Lorcana was intended to have a 1st Edition run with stamps. You can see them on the D23 Expo set and some early product shots. We go in-depth in Does Lorcana Have A First Edition?

But apart from the first promos, no cards or boxes have a 1st Edition stamp. That means if you buy The First Chapter next year, the cards and product boxes should all be the same as the ones from release day.

A First Edition would have created an insane demand and meant a higher percentage of people deciding just not to open at all. Ryan has even said following up that they want to get Lorcana into the hands of people that will open the cards, and that a 1st Edition would have been counterproductive.

Promos also drive hype. In many cases, people will buy products or attend events just for the promos. Some games have promo cards with unique rulings that can’t be obtained anywhere else. If they’re powerful, they become really expensive on the secondary market.

From the outset of the game, brand manager Ryan Miller stated “I don’t like to say ‘never’ when working on a trading card game, but here I go: We’ll never do a promo card or collection that you can’t also get out of the regular product“.

So you can get promos with different stamps, maybe different foils or art, but nothing you can’t also get in a normal set. This is a great idea. It won’t really affect the main sets release but it will help long term.

Sales Limits / Online Shipping

It looks like every distributor was given quite strict guidelines to hand down to stores about limits per person and online sales. Those were: –

• Distros could not sell to online-only stores
• A list of OP and HSP stores were given to distros, those stores get priority over others with a minimum amount of each product
• Sales should be limited to 1 of each product per person
• Online sales are heavily discouraged, everything should be sold in person
• Any orders to be posted and not picked up should not be sent until September 1st.
• Pre-orders were discouraged as allocations would be very likely to occur

Much of this seemed to be made quite clear to stores well in advance. It does look like some stores weren’t told by their distro, didn’t get the memo, or didn’t think it applied to them somehow.

It also seems that stores cannot post before release day – they can only post on the 1st, not send to arrive for the 1st. Normally stores get stock before release so they can pack and post everything over a few days to arrive on release date.

This can lead to early openings and YouTubers who “know a guy” unboxing early or people selling through back channels for inflated prices. Ravensburger seem very keen to avoid this.

Some of the advice was given a little later. Ravensburger also contacted stores more recently with an official confirmation for some of these guidelines. However, this could have been communicated properly much earlier.

Choice quote there: “Your commitment to creating a vibrant Disney Lorcana TCG Community through in-store sales and activations will play a significant role in shaping our allocation decisions for future releases“.

In the last few days, we have seen mention of some stores getting their allocation upped. Apparently, that stock was taken from retailers that ignored the guidelines above. This is unconfirmed.

Some online-only stores did get a little stock though. One thing you might find is that if you ordered online months ago with a release date of August 18th on the listing, that store might not be able to send it until September 1st.

Gen Con

For a while we’ve known people would be able to buy Lorcana before anyone else at Gen Con 2023 from Thursday, August 3rd to Sunday, August 6th. We didn’t know exactly what would be available.

Now we do: Booster packs, booster boxes, starter decks, and some accessories (no troves or gift sets) will be for sale at MSRP, limited to one of each per person for the entire event. There are also starter deck tournaments with prizing.

We really hoped it would be starter decks without packs – so that everyone could open packs on August 18th at the same time to see what surprises might be there.

There has been a post on the Lorcana website about limits, being strict with line cutting, and no saving spots. However, it’s probably going to be a free-for-all (I’d use less polite words offline). There was a two-hour line and people running for the demo at UKGE.

Getting products early to open is going to draw in both rabid fans and people looking to resell the sealed boxes and cards same day. Having lots for sale when stores are struggling to get any has left some store owners feeling irked.

Still, Gen Con was planned for by many really dedicated Lorcana fans for a long time. These people have been there in the community since day one. We feel they deserve a reward of some sort.

What Local Game Stores Can Do

Stores are having to make choices about how they can support locals, foster organized play, and ensure their stock doesn’t get scalped. The suggestions below are some of the things that many LGS have put into place and have worked well for other games: –

• Limit one of each product type per person i.e. one booster box, one Trove, one Gift Set
• Only one starter deck per person so lots of players can at least have a full deck
• Remove the seal and wrapping from boxed products
• Don’t sell full booster boxes – Limit packs based on what was received
• Keep behind a few booster boxes to sell only at weeklies or give away for attendance
• If absolutely necessary: Offer sealed at a higher price for collectors, open seal at MSRP (or a reasonable bump) for everyone else

I’d add a caveat that if you plan to do these things you should make sure customers are well aware. If you tear a seal from a product that was pre-ordered and they didn’t know you were going to do that – they have a right to be angry.

This does limit very competitive play in the sense that it will be hard for players to build very meta decks. But that’s going to be the case for most people for a while. Do you really want to win everything because you’re the only one that can afford the cards?

What YOU Can Do For Your Community

Yes, you! While raiding cartamundi by night and liberating Mickey cards is probably out of the question, you can probably do some cool things for your local scene: –

• Get involved in local groups – Find a Facebook group, WhatsApp etc, or start one
• Encourage your local to limit sales
• Turn up to local events whenever you can
• Bring friends, teach new players the rules
• Build multiple decks and lend them out
• Buy sleeves and accessories from your local instead of online
• Brew some “Poorcana” decks with no legendaries or super rares
• Try starter decks only for locals

Some things that unfortunately won’t help: –

• Ceaselessly tweeting at @DisneyLorcana asking why they aren’t printing
• Replying to every social media post mentioning Lorcana to chip in that its a doomed game and that Ravensburger hate us
• Haranguing stores that sell over MSRP
• Switching to Bandai card games – sorry, not sorry

Summary

• It’s gonna be hard to buy for a few months but things will get better
• Support your chosen friendly local game store
• Share and encourage sharing
• Have fun playing Lorcana and look at the cool Disney art
• Please send me a Goofy Muskeeter promo I can’t go to Germany for it and I will die if I don’t get one

Questions, Answers & Rumors

Will There Be A Second Wave Of The First Chapter?

We will almost certainly see a second wave. We have seen and heard from multiple stores and suppliers that a second wave in September is likely, plus another in December around the same time as the second set.

Bear in mind that these are rumors and nothing has been confirmed. However, it’s fairly in line with other games that the last few sets of a game will be printed again if demand is there.

It takes 3-6 months to print and then deliver cards, so by the time printing was done or midway through – only then were they seeing the huge interest and ordering more. Now we’re at release it’s clear that the demand has continued to grow even more.

We’d expect that The First Chapter gets reprinted for a while and the same for Set 2. With everything being very focused on this game being for players it doesn’t look like Rav will create any artificial demand by limiting what’s available.

Right now, it’s just a matter of waiting. Bear in mind that it’s going to be hard to print two or even three sets at a time. We’ve been told Set 3 is being printed right now!

The amount of money and printing time that will have gone into this before people even get their hands on a card is probably mind-boggling. Not many companies have access to that much cash or credit before a single sale is confirmed.

Can’t Ravensburger Just Print More?

Printing takes a long time. Everything has to be finalized way in advance, then sent off. Initial test prints are done and there is room for only very slight changes. It looks like the proofing was done for The First Chapter back in December 2022, meaning printing would have started shortly after.

By printing here they just on paper and going over everything by hand. Printing the cards isn’t done in-house.

Printing is also not a matter of “just print more” or keeping the machines running. TCG companies are basically buying printing runs from a specialist card printing company (in Lorcana we think it’s Cartamundi) who are booked out years in advance.

Back in March and April 2023, it was confirmed that the production run of the first set had been increased. We don’t know if that means that the initial wave will be bigger than originally planned, or that they started a second run.

What Should I Pay?

Pay MSRP or a few bucks more to support a local store. If most people don’t pay the massively inflated prices -they’ll drop. If everyone refused to pay anything over MSRP, scalpers would be forced to sell at MRSP.

Are Stores Allowed To Sell Over MSRP?

Yes, it’s recommended only. It’s not illegal at all and distros won’t necessarily care if they see it.

Are Collectors Good For A TCG?

We keep on mentioning that collecting is good for TCGs. It’s definitely good for the people selling, and at the end of the day if a game doesn’t make enough money it will die.

But, if collectors aren’t playing the game – surely the cards aren’t available to players?

Pokémon is a good example of a game where most people tend to be collectors or casually open packs, with competitive play being relatively small compared to how much they sell.

Pokémon is actually one of the cheapest games to play because collectors who hunt for rare cards tend to sell off their doubles or cards that don’t have alternative art.

So for players, you can buy a few things to open, then round out your deck by trading or buying from a collector pretty cheap. That’s something that could work really well for Lorcana once things get even a little easier.

However, sealed collectors and investors aren’t great for a new game if there isn’t enough to go around. But once availability goes back up, Ravensburger aren’t going to discourage anyone from giving them money.

Are Big Box Stores Getting More Than Hobby Stores?

Some people have been posting that big retailers like Target, Walmart, etc. are being prioritized and getting way more stock than local stores are. This is just a rumor with literally no evidence. We don’t know if LGS or big box stores are getting more or less than each other.

There is nothing to confirm this. It’s also worth noting that big box stores generally don’t get booster boxes – just sleeved packs and other products like the Gift Set and Illumineer’s Trove. Overall, that’s less pack density than games stores tend to get.

Why Isn’t Disney Lorcana Being Advertised?

Many of us in the community had expected a big advertising push in the weeks and months before release. Instead, we’ve seen very little.

There has been a media push with interviews, how-to-play videos, and lots of articles from thegamer, comicbook.com, IGN, and others. However, there is no traditional print or television advertising and no social media/internet advertising even two weeks out.

Why? At this point, the game is going to sell out for certain. Creating more demand would just mean more people being upset they can’t buy anything. Why pay for negative feedback?

Advertising also tends to lead to people buying in big box stores or online. For now, it seems like Lorcana’s focus is on LGSs and starting those small communities.

Personally, we feel that advertising will come at a later stage when at least some of the demand can be supplied. The second set releases just before Christmas. With a reprint of The First Chapter also inbound around then – we might see something.