Shimmering Skies Gateway Box

Lorcana is a new and immersive Trading Card Game, set to delight players old and young and is absolutely must for Disney fans. The Shimmering Skies Gateway box contains everything you need to learn the magical game. The new Ravensburger and Disney game is set within a mystical realm known as Lorcana, where players engage on a quest alongside the most beloved of Disney characters. Inside the gateway box is everything you need to get started; there’s even exclusive reward cards to help build and define your deck! It is a great and exciting game for youngsters entering the world of Trading Cards and also those who are more familiar with the format. Adventure is out there, read on to find out more about the highly anticipated, fun release.

The Realm of Lorcana is Beckoning

The Ravensburger and Disney collaboration has been a great hit since its initial release in Summer 2023. Shimmering Skies is the latest set to expand on the story of the Illumineers and the enchanted realms of Lorcana. The Chaos Cards team love an occasional Easter Egg, and players will be pleased to know there are many littered throughout the Lorcana sets. As you can imagine, the art work is beautiful and really evokes the high standard of animation that goes hand and hand with the popular animation studios. Being a Disney fan is definitely beneficial with Lorcana, as it means you already have an inkling as to the characters powers and personalities. This doesn’t mean to say that you have to be a diehard fan at all, as each card explains their abilities, but it certainly adds a fun dynamic.

Explore the Realm of Lorcana

The Gateway Box is perfect for demonstrating how to play in a logical format; it means no worries for the rest of the game (see what we did there?) It is designed for players with no prior experience of the game, meaning you can jump into your first quest straight away. Lorcana itself is quite a fast paced game lasting roughly half an hour to forty five minutes, but obviously that won’t be the case at the start. This is where the Gateway Box comes into its own. To begin with, players start with a 30 card deck, and bump up to the standard 60 when they feel more confident. The set comes with two prebuilt decks containing ‘Glimmers.’ For those who don’t know yet, ‘Glimmers’  are characters or items which are summoned to the board during gameplay. In order to win the game, the player must collect something called ‘Lore.’ An interesting thing about Lorcana is that there is no such thing as ‘Mana’ or ‘Energy,’ but there is something called ‘ink.’ In order to gain ‘ink’ (which is used to power your cards,) players must sacrifice characters, actions, items and songs; each ink gives different qualities to the ‘Glimmers.’ Once you get the hang of the game, there's simply no stopping, and you will be a full blown Illumineer once you have completed the Gateway box!

The Chaos Cards team really like how the guidebook contains QR codes that link to ‘How to play’ video tutorials, this is such a great addition for players that learn visually! With the Shimmering Skies Gateway box you can earn special packs as you learn, these help to introduce further gameplay concepts and enhance your understanding of the game. There are some aspects of the game such as ‘shift’ which will seem familiar to more seasoned trading card game players, especially Pokemon. Our awesome Youtube channel has an unboxing video, which is perfect if you would like to get a closer look at the contents!

To Lorcana, and Beyond!

Once you feel super confident with the game, there is a whole new world of items available to enhance your gameplay. From the traditional booster packs we have come to expect with Trading Card Games, to some beautiful playmats and rather stunning deck boxes. The Shimmering Skies release has a rather awesome Scar and Kronk starter deck, as well as an Elsa and Wreck it Ralph one. Of course, as with Pokemon and Magic the Gathering, there is the allure of future releases and expansions to get hyped up about.

The Chaos Cards team think that Lorcana is a delightful game and is sure to thrill Disney fans young and old. It is a great addition to existing trading card games, and feels very accessible for players of all abilities. The Shimmering Skies Gateway Box is perfect for newcomers to the Trading Card Game, as it is designed to demonstrate the essentials of the game, whilst discovering how the cards all work together. Needless to say, we are big fans. Many of the team are regular players, in fact the Chaos Cards tabletop store has weekly Lorcana events where you can play and catch up with other players. 

Have you played Lorcana yet? Do you have any tips for the game? Or are you just interested in collecting the cards for the beautiful artwork? Do let us know over on our socials, we always love to hear from you!