Lorcana: Shimmering Skies Set Championships Get a Facelift

It’s been interesting to watch the introduction of set championships since Into the Inklands, and how they have evolved from both the hype centered around them to the availability and cost of the prizes. Lorcana is introducing the biggest change to set championships since they were introduced, however, and that change will take place during the next season of set championships in Shimmering Skies.

The change is this: coveted set championship promos will be given out to the top eight players after the conclusion of Swiss rounds as opposed to only the top four. That means that if you are able to make the top cut, you will be going home with the set’s Enchanted promo.

Increasing prizing aims to improve player experience

Of course, a change like this was not destined to come without its fair share of controversy. Already many online are proclaiming this to be the end of competitive set championships.

Already, values for set championship promos have dropped significantly, and doubling the number available will undoubtedly reduce the cost further.

However, this was actually a very smart move by Ravensburger, and overall there has been a great number of positive reactions to the change. It’s also something I predicted was necessary. After experiencing the craze in the first round of set championships, it became clear that set championships were not nearly as beginner friendly as one might hope from a game like Lorcana – one that for many is the gateway into trading card games.

Indeed, this reality was addressed in a recent interview with ComicBook.com where the question was asked around players making it their goal to collect multiple set championship promo cards.

What ended up happening was that many hardened players went from store to store in their local areas looting set championship Enchanted Promos partly for the status of completing a set (winning four) and partly because at the time they were incredibly valuable cards.

From my experience, this sort of environment felt antagonistic towards the spirit of what set championships could be – that being a great stepping stone towards competitive play for all players.

From what I experienced, the majority of players at Set Championships were relatively new and/or inexperienced card players looking for a fun event to compete for prizes, while a much smaller group of players came from the hardened stock of competitive trading card game players. Of course, most of the winnings went to that group and not the other.

At the time, what I felt would be the best remedy to this situation that was somewhat hostile to less competitive/newer players was to set a limit on how many prizes a player was able to get. However, this approach introduces some significant issues to set championships, so in retrospect I can see why Ravensburger didn’t go with this approach.

Instead, they did something that is perhaps even more ingenious: they increased the number of promos handed out at each set championship. Here’s why this is so ingenious and ultimately a great thing for set championships and their future.

Why increasing prize pool at set championships is a great thing

Anytime you get a situation where supply is low and demand is high in the modern trading card game environment you face a big problem. Scalpers quickly decsend on the game in hopes of making a quick buck. This has happened before in Lorcana as well as other games, especially Pokemon.

My main critique of the set championships to begin with was that Lorcana seemed to have artificially created an environment that benefited scalping when there wasn’t really a need: Set Championships were supposed to be the next step in competition for players locally – not a money grab.

While Ravensburger themselves have stated they don’t plan to do anything to stop players from winning up all the proms for themselves directly, by doubling the supply of cards they basically are doing just that. Players will be playing in set championships for love of the game, not for the chance to win big prizes that can then be resold.

More players will be incentivised to play at set championships

Set championships have taken a bit of a hype hit since they debuted in Into the Inklands and thats due to a number of reasons. One of those reasons, however, is likely how challenging it in fact is to get an Enchanted promo. Not only do you need to finish in the top eight, and take the time to achieve that, you then have to win an entire added round past Swiss to even get rewarded with a promo. That added stretch can be a bit discouraging for players who have already invested a day in battling it out round after round.

And while we will undoubtedly lose the minority of players looking for a valuable card to resell, we will gain more players over all as the playing field to win a promo will open up significantly.

As a result of this change set championships will get more popular, not less popular, and will have more staying power as an important part of local play where Lorcana players can take their skills honed at league to the next level.

A first look at the Shimmering Skies Set Championship Promo

Now with that out of the way, what actually is the card that we can win in the Shimmering Skies set championship?

It’s none other than a new and improved Mirabel Madrigal.

Most remarkably, Mirabel is the first card we’ve seen with a five lore counter (as pictured above), and also makes her pretty valuable as she retains this value by just having her in play. She could be a powerful ally in aggro decks that like to play a ton of characters, and her strong will power and strength stats make her relatively difficult to take out.

The full artwork treatment this card has received is also pretty gorgeous, and will be a strong pull for many, especially fans of Encanto. I’m expecting Shimmering Skies Set Championships to be the best one yet!