Hello and welcome back to Illumination, the Disney
Lurkana podcast. My name is Max. And I'm Sam.
And we are back at you. This is episode 41. And
we are here to talk about Fabled, the newest,
ninthest set coming to Disney Lurkana. And we
are pretty excited about it. It's a pretty unique
set for Disney Lurkana. So we want to talk about
it. We want to talk about the things we're excited
about. We want to talk about the things that
are a little bit of a letdown. we want to talk
about some things that we hope to see. Before
we jump too far into that, of course, we're in
the middle of set champs for Return of Jafar,
the eighth -est set from Disney's Lorcana, and
the team is doing... Pretty good, I would say.
At this point, we have three top eight finishes,
two top four finishes, and two playmats. So that
is pretty exciting. Sam, you're one of the playmat
getters. Yeah, I just got one this past weekend.
And where did you get this playmat? At Dragon's
Vault. One of our favorite stores. Yep, my favorite
store. Shout out to Dragon's Vault in Vineland,
New Jersey. If you're ever out that way, definitely
worth your time to stop by and say hi. A great
little shop for sure. Sam, what were you playing
at this set championship? I was playing Amethyst
Emerald. Oh, I bet you a genius got you onto
that deck. Oh yeah. Yeah, certainly did. I also
have been playing Amethyst Emerald. I've been
on it both versions. I started off on the Art
of Bax version and switched off of it early in
the format because I didn't like its match into
Amber Steel and switched over to the Diablo style
discard variant. Later on the discard, a little
bit more board presency. And the reason for that
is because I think that the Diablo deck has a
really good ability to ditch pull the lever so
that you can set up extremely fast wrong levers
because you do have to watch out for a three
or four drop that might be able to dispatch your
Diablo. And being able to wrong lever their Genie
or their Peter Pan or something along those lines
is very, very strong. So I like the fast wrong
lever. So Sam did indeed play the deck I was
playing. You had a couple differences in yours.
Neither of us play Prince John, which is one
of the big things that differentiates. the way
we do it. I play go -go Tamago. You drop go -go
Tamago in favor of Iago. I have an extra Iago,
so I'm playing three Iagos and as well as two
improvises. Improvise, yes. And we're both playing
one singular seven drop shift. Ursula in our
deck. So we can do those kinds of things because
we're playing a little bit more to the board.
I play go -go for the extra reach in the deck.
It is the card that I'm the most on and off about
in the build right now. There are some leanings
towards wanting to move into something like chip.
I think it's quick thinker, the new chip that
when it comes in, they have to discard a card.
I like that into the predominance of blue red
decks, particularly the DKP style decks. We are
starting to see more. and more often. I think
there were four of them in Dragon's Vault's set
champs out of a room of 20 -ish. Yeah. So it
was not ridiculous, but there was that. It was
a mix. We're in a pretty flat meta still at this
point. So anything that you want to play seriously,
if you are comfortable playing with it, has a
shot. There are some wild brews we've seen take
home playmats. There are some very standard,
by -the -book style meta decks that we've seen
taking things home. In my strong opinion, and
I think in your strong opinion, as well, we would
say play the deck that you're going to make the
least mistakes playing and that will give you
the best chance of winning. You can't help your
matchups. I have been getting devastated. I've
had to play so much Amethyst Ruby and so much
Blurple while I have been going through set champs.
It's been a nightmare. I've been blocking all
the bad decks for Sam so she can perform better
than me this set champs. So big shout out to
the team Illumination folks for doing a really
good job so far and more weeks of this to come.
more exciting events to jump into and I'm excited
now that we have a mat for the podcast and for
the stream. You can check us out on twitch .tv
slash superilluminalfilms. I can start playing
shenanigans, which is one of my favorite things
to do during set champs. After we get the mat,
I can eschew the meta decks and start playing
with less commonly seen decks and hope to catch
some folks off guard and get some Ws that way.
Just a lot less stressful and you get to just
have fun. Yes, so we hope you all have an awesome
set champs conclusion and I hope you all do as
well as you hope. Keep pushing. yourself and
keep listening to the podcast for more great
tips. So on to Fabled now. We're talking not
necessarily review. We don't know what cards
are in the set yet. We're talking about hype.
This set is very unique for Lorkana. There is
a very different way that they are handling things.
In this set, we are only talking about 33 new
cards. So what are they doing, Sam? Are they
just releasing 33 cards? That's all that's in
the sets? The 33 card set? That's all I need
to buy? No, we're getting an awful lot of reprints.
Reprints? What is a reprint? A reprint is going
to be cards that... we have seen in our previous
sets so i'm guessing cards that we had in sets
one through four that are going to be rotated
out makes sense because if you're not familiar
with the rotation cycle that is going to be happening
core constructed will be five to eight sets total
ever in size which gives you two years on any
card unless it gets one of these special reprints
where it will be then again in the game for another
few years to come so that when the cycle gets
to eight sets it chops itself back down to five
with the set that would be a essentially would
be the ninth if it stuck around. So in this case,
Fabled, the ninth set. We are looking forward
to seeing what gets reprinted. It sounds like
all of the reprints will be in terms of look,
the same artwork as what was previously available.
So talking over something they've talked about
and we've seen a little bit is something like
Tinkerbell, the giant fairy. We know that that
Tinkerbell is going to have the same art that
it always did. If you buy the gift set, you'll
get a special bordered version a la something
like the Lilo Escape. artist that is pretty cool
to see coming out and it is cool that if you
get a card in fabled it'll just have the little
nine at the bottom so you'll be able to differentiate
it that way so if i got a tinkerbell out of set
one it'll have a little one at the bottom that
is how you differentiate the reprints but you
can still use your tinkerbell from set one in
core constructed even though set one will be
rotated out the only cards that are truly rotated
out are the ones who do not receive this graduation
according to the lorecast that's the way they've
been phrasing it i like it so they're graduating
some of these cards over into the new set. I
think that helps really stand behind some of
the designs that they've chosen and some of the
things that they want the game to do. It really
helps us learn what the game designers want from
the game. I think these reprints are going to
tell us a lot about how they want Lurkana to
be played and the types of gameplay that they
really want to see at the constructed level.
So that's very exciting to see. So we have 33
new cards. However, when it comes to the highest
rarity, that is not a special rarity. We're talking
legendary. We're going to have six new legendaries
just out of 33 cards. That's quite a lot, right?
And we're going to have six legendaries that
are returning back from previous sets. So a lot
to get excited for, a lot to speculate on. We'll
save you from some of that. If you're in our
Discord, you know we've been specking, we've
been talking, we've been sharing information.
So that's pretty exciting. You can also catch
us over on Facebook, talking about things frequently
as well. We won't overload your socials. We're
not much for socials. here. We basically post
when we need to or something excites us. But
on the whole, we just like to ingest the content
the way you do and hope that this podcast helps
you improve. Talking about the rarities here,
we have Enchanteds. A little bit of news about
Enchanteds is Enchanteds won't be redone. So
I won't have to worry about an Elsa Spirit of
Winter Enchanted coming out in Fabled. Yeah.
Because there will just be that particular Elsa,
which is really exciting. Knowing that these
Enchanteds are kind of one and dones makes them
more collectible. So if you're into the game
for collecting that's something to get excited
about something else to get excited about are
some new rarity levels we have epic which falls
between enchanted and legendary so they're going
to be open more frequently than an enchanted
but less frequently than a legendary and they
have basically a borderless style treatment to
them above that and above all else now beyond
enchanted the highest rarity of card we have
the newly coming iconic which is going to be
impressive to get these are going to be hardcore
Because you're going to have to open a lot of
product or get insanely lucky, Charlie Bucket
style, to get one of these iconic cards. So that's
very exciting to see coming. So there's reasons
to open packs, even if you've already been a
longtime stalwart of the game, because there's
some new shiny things to go after. And we're
also getting six enchanted that are going to
be reprints. So six cards that we didn't have
enchanted before, we're going to get now. So
I think that's pretty exciting. It is exciting.
released one of the example of one of these cards
was a winnie the pooh honey wizard an absolute
fan favorite not necessarily from a playability
perspective but from a delight ability perspective
so that's pretty awesome to see. So let's kind
of get into the meat of this because I know,
like all things, when something new happens,
there are a lot of varying opinions about that
thing. So why is this good? Why is this bad for
the game? In my opinion, I think in Sam's opinion,
as we wrote these notes together, I know I can
shout out our good buddy Cliff HyperHippo, who
also shares a lot of these opinions as well.
There is a lot more good from a decision like
this than there is bad from a decision like this.
We'll start with the bad things we could think
of. I think that part of the feels bad is for
someone like players who have been there since
the beginning. Sam, myself, we have everything
that we need in terms of playable cards for 171
of these. If we buy a pack of Fable, there is
a good chance that we could open a booster pack
of cards that are completely useless. Maybe the
foil is something spicy, but other than that,
we could open a pack that is a total dud. So
it is a lot more of a quote -unquote pack lottery
for this set than there ever was before. However,
Ravensburg are clearly trying to incentivize
collectors of the game to want to buy packs because
enchanted were difficult to get, but we were
basically pulling them at a rate which equated
to about one a case. So one out of every four
booster boxes. If you are buying them in a case
quantity, so this is a sealed cardboard box that
contains the four booster boxes, you are going
to get an enchanted most likely. Now we have
other rarities that will incentivize people to
maybe want to buy a little bit more product.
If you're a competitive player, you might be
able to avoid buying a whole lot of the product.
Maybe you have a friend who is a collector, and
they'll be able to gift you a lot of these cards
for very little. Or maybe you just trade them
one of your fancy cards that you don't need to
use to play, and you get all of the cards you
need to play from this set. So there's benefit
to... everybody ingesting and enjoying the game
a different way. Having the availability for
people to enjoy things in a different way than
you do opens up the ability to be able to get
cards and trade for cards and do things like
that. Like Sam and I will often trade our enchanted
cards because we want to trade for cards that
are playable and we don't want to break the bank
trying to fill in the gaps that we've already
broken the bank trying to begin to create. So
this kind of high roll aspect with the new cards
collectability can lead to some feels bad. I
know there are going to be people who are going
to go on and say, I've bought loose booster packs,
like blister packs hanging up in different stores,
or I've bought non -sequential booster boxes,
like one at a time ad hoc, and I haven't opened
anything really good, or I've gotten one Epic
card and that's it. It's going to create a bigger
feels bag because we're going to see more pictures
of carpools. Do not get me started on carpooling.
That will be, oh my God, iconic. Oh my God. enchanted
oh my god three booster packs two epics and then
enchanted yes there's gonna be more of that kind
of stuff being shared across social media but
that is exciting for people it also incentivizes
absolute maniacs like sam and i to buy these
loose hangy blisters off of the shelf because
there's no allocation to them we don't know it
could be an enchanted that one because it wasn't
part of a booster box so it's not a bad thing
from a sales perspective but it definitely can
create a lot more of a feels bad environment
that's it i'm out of at things yeah i agree what
about good stuff sam hit us with some good stuff
there's less of a need to buy a bunch of product
to be able to play which you did touch on yes
with the bad right so for you and i if we wanted
to seek out singles we could just buy no sealed
product potentially of this set which is pretty
interesting right like what's neat about that
for me is it offers me a reprieve I can save
up for whispers in the well now. I don't feel
like it's just punching me in the wallet trying
to consistently cash grab. It also means that
all the money I spent way back means something.
Yeah, definitely. So it has like this echoing
value because I get to reuse the old version
of the card. So I do like that it can help. And
also remember, one thing to call out too is when
this game came out, product was very hard to
get. I mean, I remember early on upon release,
you and... and I running around seeing the same
group of additional maniacs trying to get cards
at Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, local game shops,
everywhere and anywhere we could go that a booster
pack had one time sat for any game, we were going
to knock on the door and ask if they had any
Lurkana. Camping at Walmart, watching for Winda.
The person comes to refill the card section.
You did do that. Yep. You went to Walmart, I
think, for a week straight to find the person
who refilled it. And then you did. I did. And
you had to wait for her to refill the shelf for
you. Yep. And then there's somebody else who
came strolling in and you both kind of split
the lot, which was really cool. Yeah. So a lot
of newer players can't get access to those cards.
They're very hard to get even now, outside of
the recent lottery and things that were done.
Some singles, stuff like The Wardrobe, for example,
right? Not to besmirch a good limited card, but
The Wardrobe. or pack tactics and things like
that. Sure, you can get those very easily. People
will just give them to you, perhaps. But when
it comes to harder -to -get cards, Rapunzel Gifted
with Healing, these legendaries that are harder
to get, especially if you want foils of older
things, it's difficult. Now it will be easier
to get. Yeah. We personally know some people
who have gotten into the game recently and they're
just like, I'm not going to buy these older legendary
cards that cost a lot of money because who knows
if they'll get reprinted or if it'll be easier
for them to get now. I'm not buying Diablos right
now. Right. Are you crazy? Except you just did.
I did a little while ago. I made out on that
deal though. They went way up after I bought
them. I bought them when nobody wanted that poor
Raven. And now look at them. They all want it.
Yeah. I think it's exciting that new people can
get into the game easily. Easily -er. Yeah, definitely.
Definitely easily or as bad a good word as ninth
or ninthest. So lots of fake words being used
today on the podcast. Fabled words, made up words.
We also have cards that can last, which just
increases confidence of the players. So these
cards lasting. Now I bought this card and it's
going to get reprinted. And now I have more time
with that card. Adds even more value. It's just
really good. It also, one of the things I'm most
excited to see how they proceed with these reprinted
cards. And we're going to talk about this kind
of transitioning over is what strategy. strategies
did they want to be good that maybe missed the
mark or didn't quite have a deck that was strong
enough to hold its own ground against such strong
cards like we're talking Prince Johns, Diablos,
Hiram Flavershams, these absolute... pinnacle
of power level for this game so far these cards
couldn't compete now they might be able to one
thing that stands out to me as you say that is
with purple with moving damage we don't see that
too too much and maybe that's something they'll
push i don't know right we've seen a lot of little
cards be able to get that we've seen like the
four drop panic get that it's not just the bell
accomplished mystic anymore that can throw damage
counters around we've gotten a lot more rares
uncommons things that will willingly deal damage
to your own characters it seems to be the identity
that Ruby Amethyst is falling into. Self -damaging
for a benefit, which is cool. I'm intrigued to
see it. So what else do we want to see? What
do we have to see? What's the card, Sam? What's
coming? What is it? What's going to be reprinted?
What do you want? This isn't a guess. This is
just a want. This is a wish. So for Amber and
Emerald both, I think we're both looking forward
to seeing some card advantage get printed or
reprinted. Absolutely. We're losing Rapunzel
and Amber. That's a huge thing. We are losing,
I'm not 100 % on Julieta, Madrigal for Amber,
but I know we, on the Emerald side of the coin,
we're definitely losing Prince John, Greediest
of All, and Diablo, Devoted Herald, both the
pinnacle of some of the most unfair cards in
this game and some of the only Emerald. card
advantage engines we have. I think right now
we have a pirate daisy duck that deals with both
pirates and locations simultaneously, which is
not enough of a draw engine to support something
like an entire color identity like emeralds.
So I'm hoping to see more card advantage absolutely
in those ink identities. Yeah. In Amethyst, I'm
really hoping we get the bounce back. So I'm
hoping we see either a new card entirely that
bounces or a snake or fox come back. Sure. If
the cards that are being bounced are less good,
so for example, a white rose over a... Merlin
Goat, we could potentially see a bounce card
come back as long as something in that synergy
engine is weakened because it is just one of
the strongest in the game. But that's definitely
my favorite way to play Lorkana. So I'm really
hoping we get to see that again. That would be
lovely. In Ruby, I think we need a board wipe.
So either B prep stick around or get a new one
entirely. Yeah, it's interesting, right? Like
we've seen some cards that have been officially
or kind of officially spoiled. We saw on the
side of starter products, there's a powerline
that can shift and sing very quickly, which would
let a B prep happen like in a snap if you needed
to, way faster than we're used to, way faster
even than a shifted Sisu in some cases, especially
if you combine it with Ramp from Sapphire. So
will they allow something like powerline singing
be prepared or will they push to a different
style of board wipe? I do think a board wipe
of some effect is going to happen. We've seen
it in other colors a la something like an Under
the Sea. So I do think that... A board removal
card of some kind will happen in this game. What
will it look like? I don't know. Be Prepared
is very iconic for the game. Yeah, because right
now we're losing both Be Prepared and Sisu, as
far as we know. And Under the Sea. Yeah. So all
the board wipes right now are getting kind of
sent back to the Stone Age a little bit. So we'll
see. Oh, and Grab Your Sword's going too, by
the way. Yeah. In Sapphire, I think we're going
to need cheap items. We're losing Popsicle. So
I think all we're left with that we know of is
Shield of Arendelle. That's a sssss. steel yes
it's a one cost so yeah and there's like the
new sword there's a few things not in sapphire
directly that can help or some things that are
just kind of forgettable but happen to cost one
i do think that there will likely need to be
some item that hits similar to Popsicle. And
then last, we have Steel. And I think we both
want to see some removal songs since we're losing
our most powerful songs. So what are they going
to either reprint or what will we see as far
as Steel removal? I would love to see the concept
of challenging ready units matter because we've
had many cards that allow that to happen, but
we have not had anything really game defining
with that ability printed. on it it's either
very hoop jumpy or the card is very underwhelming
like we had a legendary namari that had that
ability it was underwhelming we had a legendary
piglet that had it but the condition was very
hard to meet and i just think that i get the
concept that they're worried about that being
very very good because it kind of feels like
i'll play a character and if they can just take
out my character every time i play when i never
get to play the game i understand the feels bad
that they are trying to prevent but to introduce
that even on solo actions that give it till end
of turn and things they feel like they've come
up they failed at it every possible way they
could so they either have to back off of that
existing and just go you know what it was it
was a failed experiment or they need to step
up and go okay we're gonna make this a real thing
now yeah i agree so i'm interested to see how
that will end up landing in either direction
but i hope to see some sort of move right now
we're down to basically tug of war and twin fire
for steel or hot potato like there's not a lot
of really good options we're losing smash we're
losing fire the cannons we're losing grab your
sword we're losing strength we're losing let
the storm rage on zeus along came zeus all these
things go away with the rotation so how will
they choose for steel to damage things like obviously
we know tinkerbell's coming back so what else
will they put there and how do they want to handle
the way steel can banish characters. Pretty intriguing.
I'm excited to see how they tackle a lot of these.
Only 33 new cards. You have to believe a lot
of these issues will be addressed via reprints.
Right. So I do think like if bounce were to come
back, we'd likely see it on an old favorite versus
a brand new mechanically different card. So we
shall see what fabled brings to core constructed,
what new strategies lie within the ink identities
we're familiar with and what cards will allow
us to. Keep questing.