Disney Lorcana‘s new Reign of Jafar set is the most action-oriented yet, injecting the trading card game with a strong sense of narrative movement, buoyed by high stakes. Over the last three sets, Archazia’s Island, Azurite Sea, and Shimmering Skies, Lorcana has been treading water. While new cards are always appreciated, and the inclusion of cute pets and guests from more niche Disney franchises was grand, there’s been a notable lull in the plot of the TCG.
With each new expansion for Disney Lorcana, you do get a number of cool new cards to collect, but for me, I most appreciate its story aspects, and how you can track plot through card art and flavour text. While the last three sets felt more meandering – while still fun – Reign of Jafar really picks up the pace.
It’s my favourite set of the year so far, for that reason.
What’s the story in Disney Lorcana: Reign of Jafar?
To break down the plot simply – after months of plotting, Jafar has reassembled the magical Hexwell Crown, and is attempting to claim its power to rule the world. The heroes of Disney are fighting back against this tyranny, questing to recover the crown, and destroy Jafar’s hopes.
Across many cards, you can see this struggle, as heroes rally to steal back the crown, or to prepare themselves for a proper skirmish. I particularly like how this set reimagines characters like Jasmine, Megara, Namaari, and Lena Sabrewing, as this battle approaches.
In the case of Jasmine and Megara, it’s that they’re not transformed from their appearance in typical Disney lore. Megara is still rocking that gorgeous long dress – but she’s got magic at her fingertips, and she’s ready to use it. Jasmine, likewise, still wears her traditional clothes, but she’s grappling down a tower with a determined look on her face.
I mention these cards specifically because so often, female heroes are forced to become more masculine, or adopt “battle ready” clothes to wield their power. In Reign of Jafar, they’re simply bringing hands, while looking fabulous.
Other standout cards were a new, fancier version for Captain Hook (complete with a giant feathered hat), and a positively glowing Jafar card, that’s actually used as the key art for this set. Atop a throne, he gazes disdainfully at his opponents, for that extra lot of sass as you’re playing cards.
Read: Disney Lorcana’s Palace Heist is packed with drama and pizzazz
In terms of actual abilities, Reign of Jafar also expands on the novel inclusions of the three sets preceeding it. There’s a lot more Illusion-type cards in this set, which I really appreciate. These are cards that have powerful abilities, but vanish when they’re hit. You need to plan your strategy around them well, figuring out when you can attack, and when they’ll disappear.
Other useful inclusions are the Chem Purse item, which gives you +4 strength whenever you play a character using a Shift mechanic. This ability is particularly useful if you’re looking to challenge a tough opponent. The Scarab item is also novel. It lets you return an Illusion character card from your discard to your hand, ensuring you can get multiple uses out of it.
Disney Lorcana: Reign of Jafar – Single Player Decks
Disney Lorcana: Reign of Jafar also arrives with two single-player decks for competitive play. They’re both very well-themed, but the Tiana, Natural Talent and Bruno Madrigal, Singing Seer deck has my vote for a fun reason: it’s a musical-themed deck.
Each and every one of the cards is tailored towards singing – using Song cards to impact opponents, and provide an advantage on the battlefield. It’s a really novel theme, and one I’m really glad to see. While at first, I was concerned about the pairing of Encanto with The Princess and the Frog, I quickly understood the deck’s purpose, and fell in love with its mechanics.
Essentially, you’re looking to play as many characters with the Singer ability to the battlefield, and then use them to sing Songs that gain lore and more cards. These characters aren’t only Singers, however – they’re also plenty powerful in their own right, and allow you to put away opponents in very fun, dramatic fashion.
It’s satisfying when you finally defeat an opponent, but even more satisfying when you can sing them into submission.
The other deck for this set stars Stitch, Alien Troublemaker, and Mulan, Charging Ahead. Thematically, it’s a bit less strong, and I have to say I’m not nearly as enamoured with the characters included. Mechanics-wise, however, it does feel pretty powerful.
Many of the characters in this set have Evasive abilities, or other abilities designed to cause chaos. Some characters have Rush, allowing them to challenge or quest when first played. There’s also a bunch of Items that can cause unblockable damage, like Quick Shot.
Essentially, this is a deck to play if you want to annoy your opponent into submission. With all sorts of rule-defying abilities, you’ll find yourself constantly saying ‘Well, actually…’ when opponents plan their moves – so you’ll want to play this deck with dear friends, or at the very least, folks who understand.
Final Verdict
I’ve become quite enamoured by Reign of Jafar over the last week. Its musical Tiana and Bruno deck is absolutely entering my usual rotation, and there’s quite a few good-looking, powerful cards I’m planning to stick into my own custom decks.
It’s worth noting the story-based Palace Heist board game also elevates the action, adding more flavour to rounds, and the ever-extending quest for lore in Disney Lorcana.
All of the elements in this set add up, for a flavourful, powerful expansion that delivers great action, and pays off months of slower-paced world building in the TCG.
The next Disney Lorcana sets will likely focus on quieter themes, as the heroes of Disney deal with the aftermath of Jafar’s attack, but with this story being so rich, we expect there will be plenty to expand on, and reflect on, in the coming months.
Disney Lorcana: Reign of Jafar Booster Packs, Single-Player Decks, and more, were provided to ScreenHub for the purposes of this review.
