DISNEY LORCANA WINTERSPELL Is a Balanced Set That’s Tons of Fun (Review)

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The latest set for Disney Lorcana, called Winterspell, introduces a new keyword and a host of beloved Disney characters. While not the most visually spectacular set yet, Winterspell boasts a remarkably consistent artistic style. It also aims to level the playing field by giving the second player a better opportunity to take control of the game. Overall, Winterspell is a strong addition to the Lorcana lineup, offering exciting cards without disrupting the established game balance.

The Disney card game successfully moved past a major change last year, retiring the original set of cards from competitive play. Although fewer card sets are currently used in competition, the recent release, Fabled, brought back many popular, previously available cards. This reset gave the game’s designers a choice: they could revisit old ideas (a bit ironic, considering the previous set was called Whispers in the Well), or try something completely new. With the new set, Winterspell, they’ve opted for a mix of both – balancing familiar elements with fresh gameplay.

The card set Winterspell is all about winter, as you might expect! The story behind it is that Elsa Glimmer accidentally covered the game world in snow and ice, creating a winter wonderland for all the characters. Most of the cards feature a winter theme, showing characters playing in the snow or going about their daily lives with a snowy backdrop. While Disney has several winter-themed stories, including Mickey’s Christmas Carol which appears in this set, the most fun part of Winterspell is seeing unexpected characters like Moana and Aladdin enjoying a snowy environment.

For Disney fans, it’s always fun to see beloved characters in fresh situations. Previous Lorcana sets showed characters changing through magic, but Winterspell takes a different approach, placing familiar faces in unexpected winter settings. You’ll see characters like Stitch playing in the snow or Tiana wearing warm clothes. The set has a cozy, nostalgic feel, like a classic Disney Christmas book. It’s a shame it wasn’t released closer to the holidays, given its strong winter theme.

As a big fan of Lorcana, I’m really excited about the Winterspell set! It brings in three new groups of characters, and Darkwing Duck is definitely the star. It seems like Lorcana is really leaning into those awesome 90s cartoons, which I’m totally here for. Just like with the Gargoyles set, there’s a lot of potential to expand the Darkwing Duck characters and stories within the game. We get some key characters and villains in Winterspell, but it’s clear they’re saving plenty more for future sets – which is great because I want to see everyone!

The latest expansion of Lorcana, Winterspell, introduces Pocahontas as a new character. She’s the final Disney Princess to join the game, reflecting how her story is often less celebrated than other Disney heroines. Because Pocahontas’s real-life history is complex, the game handles her character with thoughtful respect. A standout card from the set is Grandmother Willow – Ancient Advisor, inspired by the film Pocahontas.

This card helps players play characters more quickly by reducing their ink cost by one each turn, significantly boosting Amber’s strategy. Players are excited about how powerful Grandmother Willow is, showing how even smaller characters can have a big effect in the game. While Meeko and Flik aren’t currently included from Pocahontas, there’s potential for more characters from that movie to be added later.

Beyond introducing new characters and a fresh theme called Winterspell, the game aims to address a major issue with Disney Lorcana: the significant advantage given to the first player. The rules allow the first player to immediately play ink and a character, potentially gaining a large lead if they have a low-cost card. Data from 2024 shows the first player wins around 60% of the time, which is a considerable benefit.

The game Winterspell introduces the ‘Underdog’ keyword to help players who go second. This allows them to play certain cards costing 2 Ink for only 1 Ink. While there aren’t many Underdog cards in the set, they often come with other helpful abilities like ‘Singer’ or ‘Evasive’, making them strong early in the game. For example, being able to use the ‘Sing’ ability for 3 on your second turn, or playing a character with 2 lore that quickly, can be a significant advantage.

Although Underdog cards aren’t currently dominating in Winterspell, they could become a key element of successful decks. They’re definitely situational – a player only gets a benefit from Underdog half the time, and needs to have the right card from the very beginning. It’s unclear if the slight advantage of playing a stronger card on Turn 1 is worth giving up the first player’s ability to start scoring and control the game. However, this is Lorcana’s first significant effort to address the typical first-turn advantage, and it will be interesting to see how players use and respond to this new ability.

As a big fan of Disney Lorcana, I’m really enjoying Winterspell. It feels like a step forward for the game – the new keyword adds some interesting depth, we get some fresh faces, and honestly, it’s the most unified a set has ever felt thematically. I appreciate that Lorcana keeps the bigger story moving, but I’m hoping future sets will lean into a strong theme like Winterspell does. It feels like they didn’t have to split focus between making cards fans want to see and building out the world. The Disney characters are so iconic that they can be placed in new scenarios without losing their magic, which is great. Whether you’re new to Lorcana or a seasoned player, you’re going to have a blast opening packs of Winterspell.

Winterspell‘s pre-release is on February 13 and it will be available everywhere on February 20.

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2026-02-05 20:04