Did Magic: The Gathering try to disrupt the launch of Disney Lorcana?

This weekend is the last chance to buy tickets Magic the Gathering, arguably the world’s most popular trading card game, has a new competitor. Ravensburger’s Disney Lorcana The new game, which was first shown at Gen Con Indianapolis in August, is gaining a lot attention. It’s a potent mix of classic animated characters like Cinderella, Stitch, and Frozen’s Elsa that has Disney fans and TCG collectors both lining up for product. That’s what makes The Magic of the Word’s latest set so very conspicuous — it’s also chockablock with fantastical royalty and fairy tale characters.

The Magic of the Word’s next set of cards, titled Wilds of EldraineThere are many characters and themes in that have a shared ancestry to classic Disney movies. There are knights on quests, witches with apples, and winged fairy. Its cards are inspired by the vibrantly colored and fantastical scenes in old films, such as Sleeping BeautyThe following are some examples of how to get started: Snow White. But all of those features appear distinct enough — and public domain enough — not to raise the hackles of the legal team lurking deep inside the Magic Kingdom.

But it is a bit of a coincidence, wouldn’t you say? Elizabeth Stewart was the senior communication manager for Wizards of the Coast when we asked her the question at a recent private press briefing.

“‘Was scheduling this set a conscious effort to directly compete with the launch of Disney Lorcana using public domain characters?’” said Stewart, reciting our question during the call. “No,” she said plainly. “[Given] that we work on our sets pretty well far in advance, I don’t think we even think we even knew Disney Lorcana was a thing when this thing was being designed.”

The statement is correct based on the past. Disney LorcanaIt was kept a secret from the public until 2022, when it was revealed. Very little of the art was shown prior to this year, and the rules weren’t even available until April. The Magic of the Word publisher Wizards of the Coast generally works on its cards sets — both the rules and the art that accompanies them — years in advance. Mark Rosewater’s personal social media pages, where he engages the community daily, make this clear. Wizards has presented this subject at previous industry conventions.

When did work on Wilds of Eldraine How did it begin? Principal game designer Ian Duke, also responding to Polygon’s question, said he’s been working on these cards for at least two years. He said he joined the project late, but that work on art and other aspects had already begun before he arrived.

It’s also critical to note that Wilds of EldraineThe sequel to the previously released card set entitled Eldraine’s ThroneThe set was released in 2019, and it featured similar characters. The set came out in 2019. The Magic of the WordKnown for returning to sets in the past, such as these. It’s done so several times over the last few years, revisiting locations such as Dominaria, Kamigawa, and Innistrad. Also, Wizards definitely likes to poke fun at existing franchises when it’s able. You need to look no further than Strixhaven School of MagesThis is a huge Harry Potter mistake. Even a selection of scarves were included in the press package.

Wizards created a deck of cards based on fairy tales to direct compete with Disney Lorcana? No, most likely not. They made a deck of cards which poked fun at Disney’s established properties. Yes… In 2019. Did the company take any steps to stop the release? Wilds of Eldraine How can we avoid confusion for consumers by releasing the product in one go? It seems very unlikely that such a deference would be shown. What brand would want to be a coward, particularly when facing the cardboard Mickey Mouse?