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Lorcana announced on April 8th 2025 that it will be banning two cards from being used at Tournaments under the Core Constructed Format. This is the first time ever that Lorcana has had to ban cards from player decks and is a sign at just how popular these cards were in recent tournaments.
After a few recent Lorcana Tournaments, it has come to the attention of how over-powered the two cards in question were. It made other decks less competitive and created a meta that was unhealthy for the game.
The two cards in question were Hiram Flaversham - #149 from Rise of the Floodborn and Fortisphere - #200 from Ursula's Return.
If you've been using these cards in your Sapphire and Steel Decks, now is the time to get used to playing a new strategy as these cards will no longer be permitted to be used at Core Constructed Format Tournaments.
Posting on the official Lorcana website, they wrote:
Today the Ravensburger Disney Lorcana TCG team announced removing two cards from eligibility, known as a ban, in the Core Constructed format. A ban is an important part of keeping a trading card game like Disney Lorcana thriving and fresh. The game design team chose to ban Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker and Fortisphere to ensure the greatest diversity of successful strategies was available to competitive players. The ban is in effect as of April 8th, 2025, meaning all Disney Lorcana events taking place after that date will no longer accept deck lists with those cards included. This marks the first time cards have been banned since Disney Lorcana TCG launched in Aug 2023.
It seems this ban does not affect regions in China or Japan.
Later on, Co-Leader designer posted this letter to the Lorcana Discord, which goes into more detail on why the two cards were banned:
Dear Illumineers,
We are writing to address the recent decision to ban the cards Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker, and Fortisphere from play in Core Constructed, the main format used in Disney Lorcana Challenge. This decision was not made lightly, and we understand that it may cause some disappointment. However, we believe it is necessary to preserve the overall enjoyment and balance of the game.
Our primary goal with Disney Lorcana is to create a fun and engaging experience for all players. After extensive observation and feedback from the community, it became clear that Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker, and Fortisphere were consistently leading to gameplay scenarios that were not conducive to this goal.
Specifically, the inability for opposing players to interact with Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker felt less enjoyable than we want in a game of Disney Lorcana. Items such as Fortisphere that Hiram's ability banished before opponents could interact with the combo, gained a large advantage that was virtually unstoppable. Fortisphere was banned because we feel it placed too much emphasis on players using items in Steel, which is not aligned with the Ink's core strengths. Rather than fostering strategic depth and diverse gameplay, playing these cards together often led to predictable and one-sided outcomes.
We did also discuss and consider banning Pawpsicle. We believe that Pawpsicle without Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker still provides value to decks attempting a more item-based strategy. This is in line with what we feel Sapphire should do, and thus the reason for removing Fortisphere while leaving Pawpsicle eligible.
While we appreciate the creative strategies players developed around these cards, the presence of Hiram Flaversham – Toymaker and Fortisphere ultimately detracted from the core principles of fun and balanced gameplay that we strive to maintain in Disney Lorcana. We believe that a healthy and vibrant game requires a diversity of viable strategies and a sense of fair competition.
We understand that banning cards can disrupt existing decks and strategies. We are committed to supporting players during this transition and will continue to monitor the game's balance closely. We encourage players to explore new deckbuilding options and discover the many other exciting possibilities within Disney Lorcana.
We value your feedback and appreciate your understanding. Our commitment remains to ensuring that Disney Lorcana is a game that is enjoyable and accessible for all.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,Steve Warner
It didn't come as much of a surprise to the Lorcana Community that these two cards were banned after seeing the top tournaments dominated by Sapphire and Steel decks.
Next up for Lorcana is the release of Reign Of Jafar and the new Lorcana Fabled Set.
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