Disney Lorcana – Whispers in the Well Review
It’s wild to think we’ve already hit the 10th wave of Lorcana content with Whispers in the Well, shifting back to the overarching storyline following the onboarding-friendly Fabled wave which focused on reprints and consolidation for the first big set rotation. Now in its third year and with Winterspell and Wilds Unknown announced for Q1 and Q2 in 2026, Whispers in the Well may not get its due time in the spotlight as the community at large looks towards the first half of next year, the remainder of 2025 a downhill speed luge barrelling towards the holiday season and the festive forgetfulness it tends to bring. This isn’t an uncommon aspect of TCG’s though, as the model does tend to require hyping what’s next as much if not more so than what’s already available.
Whispers in the Well introduces Disney’s cult favourite series Gargoyles to Lorcana, debuting with a host of Characters including Goliath, Demona and the Castle Wyvern Location. The impending theatrical release of Zootopia 2 means there’s also quite a bit of Zootopia representation to be found in the set via Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, Bellweather and many more Characters and Locations on show. The Steel Action card ‘Putting It All Together’ even has a special Promo version given out when seeing Zootopia 2 at Hoyt’s Cinemas – sorry CineBuzzers! With mystery and investigation the narrative theme of Whispers, a host of Ducktales and The Great Mouse Detective characters appear alongside the ‘Detective’ trait being leveraged across numerous cards. Much of the card art, as impressive as ever, leans into this aesthetic with plenty of darker green, purple and blue tones complementing the atmospheric, noir inspired lighting. It’s a massive swing from the glittering gold of Fabled and shows the versatility of the design team.
Whispers launched with the usual product lineup of an Illumineer’s Trove, Booster Boxes, Sleeves, Playmats and of course, two Single Player Preconstructed decks. The Stee//Sapphire and Amber/Emerald decks were provided to Player2 for review purposes thanks to Disney AUNZ, alongside a number of Booster packs which were opened on our Instagram. Neither deck features cards from the previous Fabled wave, nor any wave prior – I can only assume this is a long-term strategic move to make Pre-con products still viable when some of the previous waves of content have been phased out from competitive play in upcoming rotations.
Kicking things off is the Simba/Megara-led Amber/Emerald deck, with both featured character cards taking the form of ‘Whispers’. Whisper Cards are a new type that usually combines a lower cost character with a Boost ability that can power up the card or activate a powerful effect at the cost of exhausting some Ink. These costs are relative, with the much higher Ink cost cards like ‘Simba – King in the Making’ letting players draw the top card off their deck and play it for free provided it’s a Character card. Having noted that several decks already lean towards Actions and Characters, skipping out on Items and Locations entirely, it would be interesting to find out how the designers go about shaping and reshaping the overall metagame of Lorcana when they’re usually so many waves ahead of the audience. Of the 60 cards in this deck, 8 of them are Whispers; ‘Flynn Ryder – Spectral Scoundrel’ (3), ‘Gaston – Frightful Bully’ (3), and of course ‘Megara – Secret Keeper’ and ‘Simba – King in the Making’. 6 Item cards, 6 Action cards and a single Location in ‘Duckberg – Funso’s Funzone’ leaves 47 Character cards with which to try and make the most of Simba and the new Boost Keyword, which appears only on Whisper type cards but is supported by new abilities and effects on many other Character cards. Boost is a costed ability which has players peel the top card off their deck and play it face down under the card Boosting, providing either a buff or effect. Present in both Pre-cons, Whispers also feature a unique Ink symbol and art framed to resemble a peeling page with each portrait far more ethereal and spirit-like. Of the two decks, the Amber/Emerald combo feels a touch more sedate, taking a while to get going but very steady once the underlying engine is ramped up. This curve is assisted by 43 cards in the 1-3 Ink cost range and a ceiling of three 7 Ink cost cards, whilst only 4 cards in the entire deck are un-Inkable. Against an aggressive deck that can take out these low-cost cards with ease, it can be a struggle though, with a card like ‘Simba – King in the Making’ able to turn the tide if the player can manage to make that 7 Ink payment in the first place.
In the Jasmine/Robin Hood led Sapphire/Steel deck, thing are a little more trim on the Whisper front, with 6 total; ‘Jasmine – Soothing Princess’ x2, ‘Kristoff – Mining the Ruins’ x 1, ‘Zeus – Missing His Spark’ x 1 and ‘Robin Hood – Ephemeral Archer’ x 1. Containing 41 cards in the 1-3 Ink range, it’s ceiling caps out at three 6 Ink cost cards alongside three un-Inkable cards and three Location cards. Tempo wise, this deck felt the faster of the two, with a few ways to ramp up Ink capacity and some heavy-hitters in both Strength and Willpower, often boosted by Support abilities on other cards. While Amber/Steel isn’t my preferred playstyle, there’s no denying how potent it can be with the right player and a good run of cards behind it. A Boosted ‘Jasmine – Soothing Princess’ being able to heal up to 3 damage from each Character while also gaining 2 Lore feels incredibly bad for an opponent who can’t deal enough damage to wipe Characters in a single go.
Overall, both Single Player decks continue to highlight new ways to interact with the mechanics of Lorcana and feel like an important way for casual and competitive players to not only get a steady footing in a new wave but also get a feel for new mechanics without having to build a deck entirely from scratch. If there is ever a point at which I recommend skipping these products, I can’t see it coming any time soon. The utter genius to include a Booster in each pre-con continues to pay dividends and has been adopted by newer TCG’s who understand just how much it ups the value proposition for players with a larger card pool already.
Outside of the product line-up but equally important is the recently launched Ravensburger Play Hub, an online resource which allows Lorcana players to find organised events close to them, whether that be a tournament or a weekly night at their local game store. Provided it’s kept current, this is a great resource for players and game stores alike, encouraging community engagement which is really what keeps any TCG alive over the long term. If people aren’t playing, they aren’t buying and once that stops, well – you can probably figure out the rest.
Whispers in the Well might be a weird wave to jump in on, but it’s a fun ride nevertheless. I feel Fabled will loom large for a while longer as a stronger entry point for newcomers, at least until it’s rotated out in Year 5 with Wave 17 in Mid 2027 provided everything continues according to plan. It certainly feels like the darkest, edgiest set since Ursula – heck , even The Black Cauldron managed to sneak in – so for those wanting some gloom to go with their shimmer, Whispers in the Well is the wave for you.
