As Disney Lorcana looks at entering its third year this fall, the team at Ravensburger has been hard at work redeg some of the systems to keep competitive play formats fresh and fun for everyone. This includes instituting a new set rotation policy that will shake things up by banning several sets worth of cards from Core Constructed tournaments. There's a lot of good news to go along with this massive cut, however, with numerous features helping to ensure fans get to keep enjoying their entire card collection while also adapting to this new take on competitive play.

Disney Lorcana has only recently started to ban cards from play, but that is changing with the announcement of a new set rotation policy. This is only one part of the Disney Lorcana plan to keep the game current and, more importantly, fun for every player. Although the idea of rotating sets out of tournament play may sound like a lot, a new Infinity Constructed tournament format is also being instituted to give players options for how they want to use their deck-building skills. Of course, games outside a competitive tournament can follow whatever rules have been agreed on.

What The Disney Lorcana Set Rotation Policy Is

Yearly Sets Will Be Banned From Core Constructed Play

Beginning with the ninth set, Fabled, this September, Disney Lorcana will rotate cards out of being legally available for competitive players to include in their decks in Core Constructed game formats. This set rotation will work off an annual schedule so that only the current and previous year's sets will be tournament legal at any time. Therefore, when Fabled releases and the game enters its third year, all four sets from year one will no longer be available to be used in this format.

This system of set rotation will continue each fall, so in the fall of 2026 the four sets from year two will also be banned from Core Constructed format. Players who wish to use cards from their entire collection can enjoy the new tournament type, Infinity Constructed. Infinity Constructed will have its own banned list that is separate from Core Constructed without any sets rotating out of it.

Sets that are being rotated out when Fabled releases in September 2025 will include The First Chapter, Rise of the Floodborn, Into the Inklands, and Ursula's Return. The only cards from these sets that can be included in a deck for Core Constructed will be ones which have reprinted cards available in newer sets, such as Fabled.

Why Set Rotation Is Beneficial For TCGs

Keeping Things Fresh For Tournament Play

Set rotation may seem like a negative to someone who is new to TCGs and enjoys playing with decks crafted from their whole collection, but the concept is not a new one in trading card games and offers several benefits. As Ryan Miller, the Brand Manager and Co-Designer of Disney Lorcana states, "To keep the competitive game thriving, rotating out older cards to encourage new strategies and fresh deck designs is a really important part of the next chapter." This helps prevent the inevitable power creep and dependence on meta decks that can occur in competitive environments.

"To keep the competitive game thriving, rotating out older cards to encourage new strategies and fresh deck designs is a really important part of the next chapter." - Ryan Miller, Brand Manager and Co-Designer of Disney Lorcana TCG at Ravensburger.

The necessity of rotating out cards when a set rotation is in place can also help keep people from falling victim to the boredom of seeing the same cards and strategies repeated continuously. Learning new skills and coming to appreciate some of the game mechanics that are found in newer sets can be a lot of fun, but is also easily overlooked when a player already has that perfect winning deck that has never been beat. Of course, that perfect deck doesn't need to be torn apart either, as the Infinity Constructed format will be a perfect playground for these fan favorites.

New Infinity Constructed Tournament Format Will Not Use Rotation

Maintains Its Own Banned List Separate From Core Constructed

In the newly created Infinity Constructed tournament format, Lorcana fans can play with their entire card collection, with the only exceptions being specific one-off situations with banned cards. There will be a separate banned list for Infinity Constructed and sets will not rotate out of this format, presumably only including the most overpowered or errata cards that have rarely happened in Disney Lorcana's history so far. This format of tournament gives players a chance to enjoy playing with any card they own, regardless of which set it comes from.

Infinity Constructed tournaments will be showing up at future Disney Lorcana events and local game stores will have the option of using either or both tournament formats depending on their local communities and goals. In non-competitive situations where players are just enjoying playing the game for fun and not in any sponsored or official setting, any rules on what cards can be used would ideally be agreed upon by those involved.

Disney Lorcana's Fabled Set Will Include Several Reprints Of Year One Cards

Allowing Them To Be Used In Core Constructed

Due to the new set rotation policy plan of making many cards banned from Core Constructed play starting with the launch of Fabled, that set will include many reprints of cards from the four earlier sets that are being affected. Lorcana fans can expect to see much of the Fabled set consisting of these reprinted cards, although many will also take advantage of the new Epic card rarity type to keep them feeling special. Reprints that are included in Fabled will come from the first four sets.

Not all sets will have as many reprints as Fabled will have, however, and Ravensburger states that after this ninth set releases that they will return to the normal format for new sets, where they are primarily made up of new cards. Any card that is reprinted can be used in Core Constructed tournaments, even if the player is using a version of the card that was released in one of the banned sets.

Ultimately, each of these changes involving the new set rotation policy banning sets for Core Constructed tournaments and the introduction of the Infinity Constructed format are happening to keep the game fresh and enjoyable for all players. New players wanting to participate in a tournament will have greater opportunity for a level playing field if long-time players are not using perfected meta decks, and anyone who wishes to use their full collection to make decks is able to look at the Infinity Constructed games. This move will hopefully allow all players to enjoy the game, regardless of when they begin playing Disney Lorcana.