Trares
There’s a new obsession in the Trares household.
It’s taken over in the past few months. And my wife and I are powerless to stop it.
Anthony has a new hobby. He’s become a big fan of Disney’s Lorcana cards.
For the uninitiated, Lorcana is a trading card game featuring different Disney characters.
According to the official website site: “Disney Lorcana is a game where you team up with your favorite Disney characters and embark on exciting adventures! In the magical realm of Lorcana, you’ll work with your team of characters in a race for prized story stars. This immersive trading card game involves collecting cards and building decks, offers fun and strategic play, and lets you play against one or more opponents.”
Such a game has a precedent for Anthony — for years, he had collected Pokemon cards, filling a hoard of binders with the colorful creatures in all different kinds.
But he never played the game of Pokemon; he just liked the characters and their unique designs.
Lorcana has become the same kind of thing.
Anthony first discovered the cards during a trip to Target. The flashy art of the packages caught his eye, and because my wife is a lover of all things Disney, she bought him a pack.
He was hooked.
Since that point, Lorcana has become his central focus. Nearly every dollar of his birthday presents, Christmas gifts and tooth fairy money has been earmarked for the cards.
We’ve tracked down different stores around the area that sell them, and frequent them enough that we’ve been encouraged to sign up for their rewards program.
Anthony watches YouTube videos explaining what the different cards mean and what the most desirable. He knows the hierarchy of the best pulls: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Super Rare, Legendary, Epic, Enchanted and Iconic. We’ve managed to unearth an Enchanted, but no Iconics yet.
With Anthony’s fascination with Lorcana, he knew there was a big day coming up. On June 6, the newest series would drop. Reign of Jafar followed the titular villain from “Aladdin.”
According to the Lorcana website: “A Jafar glimmer has taken over Archazia’s Island, corrupting the beautiful haven into his menacing fortress. His reign may be the greatest threat Lorcana has faced! With 200+ cards to collect, newcomers to the game and seasoned players will uncover more dual-ink cards, illusions, and so much more.”
I don’t understand any of what that means. But Anthony was so excited, he stated a countdown marking off days until the release. He wanted to go to the store the day the set came out, just to buy one pack.
My wife and I had him covered. We called ahead to preorder a couple of packs.
On the afternoon of June 6, we drove him to the store and let him lead us in. Like a pro, he went up to the counter, ready to ask for a Reign of Jafar. But my wife stepped in, explaining we had a pre-order. Anthony’s eyes went wide; here it was, Christmas in June.
Since that day, he’s used his own money to buy a few more packs. I love that he gets excited for these things. I remember being 10 years old, saving all of my allowance to buy a few packs of Topps or, if I had enough money, Upoer Decks and hoping for a Ken Griffey Jr. or Sandy Alomar card.
So even if I don’t understand it, I’m glad Anthony has gotten into Lorcana. He may lose interest soon, but for now, he has a fun hobby that captures his imagination.
That’s a winning card.
Ryan Trares is a senior reporter and columnist for the Daily Journal. Send comments to editorial@therepublic.com.
