Disney Lorcana Archazia’s Island Starter Decks Review – “New Glimmers, New Tricks”

Archazia’s Island is the newest upcoming set for Disney Lorcana, the popular TCG from Ravensburger. The set will release with the usual two Starter Decks, which are perfect for beginners or anyone looking to shake up their game with a different array of cards. There is an Amethyst/Steel deck with cards focused on Jafar and Iago from Aladdin, as well as a Ruby/Sapphire deck starring Belle and the Beast. They also mark the start of new dual-Ink cards.

Each Starter Deck includes a 60-card deck that’s immediately playable, including two foil cards. They come with 11 Damage counters, 1 paper playmat, 1 tracker token, and a booklet of game rules. It’s everything needed to learn how to play the game – and jump right in while getting a hang of the rules. Each Disney Lorcana Starter Deck also comes with a booster pack, which features 12 randomized cards.

Highlights From Archazia’s Island Amethyst & Steel Starter Deck

Aladdin’s Villains Get A Chance To Shine

For anyone who loves a focus on magic, the Amethyst/Steel deck for Archazia’s Island is probably a dream come true. A lot of actions in this deck focus on magic, and that means many of the characters here are casters from across the Disney-verse. “Jafar – Newly Crowned” is one of the highlights, a new dual-Ink card offering a chance to bring back banished Illusion characters. From a story-telling standpoint, he serves as a caster that sends out these Illusions into combat.

“Iago – Giant Spectral Parrot” is the other featured card, and while his initial stats seem great – he can be removed from play easily if you aren’t careful. “Giant Cobra – Ghostly Serpent” is another Illusion card in the deck that I became quite fond of. Its “Vanish” ability lets you banish an opponent if Giant Cobra is chosen for an action, and its “Mysterious Advantage” lets you choose and discard a card for 2 lore when you first play this card.

From my time with these decks, these Amethsyt/Steel cards seem fairly powerful – and potentially even overpowered. Action cards like “Magical Maneuvers” and Item cards like “Amethyst Coil” help to return characters to your hand and remove damage. Combined with the new Illusions, this can make mitigating damage while collecting Lore somewhat of a breeze. Of the two new Archazia’s Island Starter Decks, this one was my favorite.

Highlights From Archazia’s Island Ruby & Sapphire Starter Deck

Beauty & The Beast Glimmers Stand Out

Just like my favorite Starter Deck from Azurite Sea, the Ruby/Sapphire Starter Deck for Archazia’s Island is focused on Inventors – this time with “Belle – Mechanic Extraordinaire” and “Beast – Frustrated Designer.” Both cards are dual-Ink types and have hefty Strength, Willpower, and Cost. Whereas the Amethyst/Steel deck is all about Illusions and magic, this deck is more about using (and discarding) Items in order to make Lore gains and lower Cost. In Beast’s case, it can also mean causing a whole lot of damage to your opponent.

Belle’s incredible stats, coupled with her “Salvage” and “Repurpose” abilities also make it easier to gain Lore and play her card (since her standard Ink Cost is a 9). I found it a bit difficult to get a hold on how to best use this deck – and there was a time or two I ate through Items too quickly – but there’s a solid “slow and steady” strategy here that was beneficial once I played around with it more. In terms of artwork and characters, the Ruby/Sapphire deck was the clear winner for me.

Are New Dual-Ink Cards In Archazia’s Island Worth It?

And How They Compare To Other Disney Lorcana Decks

Dual-Ink cards are a cool idea, but still feel somewhat limited at this stage. Because they have to belong to specific decks, and because they play the same as regular cards, they can come across as unnecessary right now – except to those hunting for a hyper-specialized deck. This is something that should even out over time, as more dual-Ink cards are added to Lorcana in future sets.

Of course, this is based only the dual-Ink cards in the Starter Decks, and this issue may be resolved once the full set releases and more cards are available. For now, I’m cautiously optimistic about this new mechanic and what it could mean for Disney Lorcana‘s future meta. These new glimmers – and new tricks – could certainly open up the game in interesting ways, especially as more people get their hands on the new cards.

It’s great to see that glimmers and cards in new Starter Decks still serve a purpose and can mix up the game in interesting ways. The new decks for Archazia’s Island definitely feel like they’re based on using glimmer team-ups (a trend that’s been in Lorcana for a while), which might make customizing the deck a challenge. Archazia’s Island is a nice follow-up to the decks for Azurite Sea, and should be perfect for newcomers to Disney Lorcana or anyone looking to give the new dual-Ink cards a try.