My Lorcana Journey
It all started when I brought Pokemon cards home from summer camp. I was five years old. When my dad saw the cards, he asked me if I wanted to learn to play Pokemon. I said yes, so he bought a Battle Academy set that came with three different starter decks, a set of instructions, dice, and other items needed to play the game. After a few games with the starter decks, my dad started buying cards for us to collect and add to our decks. A Shining Fates Elite Trainer Box, a Trainer’s Toolkit, display boxes of Lost Origin, Obsidian Flames, and Paradox Rift… he let me open three packs every Saturday morning! But after a little while, I guess I lost interest. My dad still has the display boxes of Obsidian Flames and Paradox Rift. They’re sealed!
But I guess my interested faded just in time. My dad told me about a new game that was coming out, one that was Disney-themed, and wanted to know if I wanted to try it. It was called Disney Lorcana. I said yes, so in the middle of August, 2023, he took me to a local game store we had never been to: Koros Wargames in Flemington, NJ. We got there when it opened but they weren’t going to start selling for a couple of hours. We hung around town, checked out the library, got some pizza, then went back to the store. Because we showed up first, we got to buy our stuff first. They had starter decks, booster boxes, playmats, card boxes… we ended up buying two starter decks and a booster box. Then to top things off, they invited everyone back to the shop to actually play the game! We met some really nice people, even my dad’s chiropractor was there!
We didn’t know it at the time, but going back to the store to play was step one in joining the Disney Lorcana community. I only played Pokemon at home with my dad. With Lorcana, we played at home and joined a league! We went most Saturday evenings back to Koros Wargames to play for fun. This continued for chapter one and chapter two, and then when chapter three came out they announced set championships in April, 2024. I was only seven years old, but I played. It was hard. I didn’t win at all. My dad wanted to play but my sister was with us so he couldn’t. After losing, I remember wanting to keep trying. My dad found other stores and we started playing for packs. My dad even took me to Atlanta, Georgia to play in the first-ever Disney Lorcana Challenge event! This was in May, 2024. We played five rounds before dropping from the main tournament and joining side events. We walked away with promo cards and my Tinker Bell playmat.
Since then, we have played in countless set championships for chapters four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine. My dad and I won foil promo cards from most of them and my dad even won a chapter eight set championship. We went to another Disney Lorcana Challenge event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I played amber steel that weekend. On day one, I had a record of 6-2, which was enough to qualify for day two! I was on top of the leader board after rounds 3, 4, and 5 before losing my first match. I went 2-2 on the second day. I had a chance to make the top 64 but lost to Joe Speci in the final round. I ended up with a final record of 8-4. Out of over 2,000 people I came in 117th place. My competitive career is just getting started!
What’s next? I’m glad you asked. My dad and I continue to play at league when we can. I continue to play almost every day online. I also started bringing starter decks to school and I have been teaching my friends how to play. The next Disney Lorcana Challenge event is in Richmond, Virginia in January. I’m hoping to get a ticket. Chapter 10 set championships are also scheduled for weekends in January, so it will be a busy month. See you around!