Disney Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited Shake Up Competitive Play with Card Bans

Two of the most popular trading card games on the scene, Disney Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited, have recently introduced significant changes to their competitive formats by banning or suspending newly released cards. This marks a first for Disney Lorcana, while Star Wars Unlimited adds to its growing list of suspended cards. These updates are now active, impacting tournament play. Let's dive into the details.

Disney Lorcana's First Competitive Bans

Ravensburger has implemented its first-ever card bans for Disney Lorcana's competitive scene, removing two specific cards from official tournament play.

Banned Lorcana Cards:

• Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker: A 4-cost character (1/6 stats) with the Artificer ability, allowing players to banish an item to draw 2 cards when he's played or quests.
• Fortisphere: An Item card featuring Resourceful (draw a card on play) and Extract of Steel (pay 1 ink to banish Fortisphere and give a character Bodyguard).

It's crucial to note that these cards aren't completely removed from the game. Players can still include them in decks for casual play with friends and family. The ban specifically applies to official Disney Lorcana Challenge events and other tournaments utilizing the Core Constructed Format.

Elaine Chase, Chief Marketing Officer for TCGs at Ravensburger, addressed the decision: “No card is ever designed with the intention of it not being played in competition, but in order to keep the meta-game healthy and challenging without it feeling stale or repetitive... the TCG design team at Ravensburger made the difficult decision for the good of the game. We know bans are the last line of defense and we will only pull that lever when it will increase excitement for competitive play.”

Star Wars Unlimited Suspends Three Cards

Fantasy Flight Games has suspended three cards from Star Wars Unlimited's premier competitive format, bringing the total number of suspended cards to four.

Suspended Star Wars Unlimited Cards:

• Triple Dark Raid (Shadows of the Galaxy, 194)
• Jango Fett (Twilight of the Republic, 16)
• DJ (Shadows of the Galaxy, 213)

Fantasy Flight Games provided insights into these suspensions following the release of Jump to Lightspeed:

• Triple Dark Raid: The introduction of new Vehicle units in Jump to Lightspeed significantly increased this card's damage potential, particularly with Devastator pulls. Originally a high-risk, high-reward card, it became overly dominant, heavily influencing recent Sector Qualifier top decks.
• Jango Fett (Leader): This suspension resulted from two key factors. Firstly, Jango Fett led roughly half of the top decks utilizing the now-suspended Triple Dark Raid. Secondly, his standalone power, combining a potent ability to exhaust enemy units with high health, made him exceptionally difficult to counter. Suspending both Triple Dark Raid and Jango Fett was deemed necessary, as combinations with Boba Fett or Jango alone would likely maintain similar dominant strategies.
• DJ: The design team stated that DJ's ability allowed for permanent resource theft too easily, which wasn't the intended function. Rather than issuing an errata, suspension was chosen due to his significant impact on forcing opponents into specific playstyles just to counter him. This move is also viewed as a correction to adjust Han Solo's power level, though Han is still expected to remain a viable leader.

Looking Ahead: Monitoring the Force

The Star Wars Unlimited team also mentioned they are keeping a close eye on older cards featuring Force traits. With the Legends of the Force set releasing in July and heavily focusing on this mechanic, they anticipate some older cards might become unexpectedly powerful. While no pre-emptive changes are planned, they are prepared to act quickly if any cards significantly disrupt the metagame balance.

These bans and suspensions represent significant shifts in the competitive landscapes of both Disney Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited, aiming to foster healthier and more diverse tournament environments.