Lorcana: Highlights from the 11th set - Winterspell!

Hello, everyone!

February 13th, 2026 marks the release of Lorcana's 11th set: Winterspell!

It's a highly anticipated set, as everything indicates it will significantly shake up the metagame, especially for the next batch of competitive events, like the Lorcana Challenges.

Let's talk about some interesting and potentially very promising cards from this edition – remembering, of course, that the idea isn't to provide a buy list focused on the most powerful or expensive cards, but rather those with great potential or a unique design!

Let's go!

Amber

It's impossible not to get goosebumps when you read the magic words that any veteran card game player loves: play for free.

Pudge has a rather peculiar condition, of course, but on the other hand, there are some low-cost Lilo cards – including a 1-cost one in this same set, Lilo - Snow Artist. Be aware, at some momento you'll surely hear fantastic stories involving turn 1, Lilo, four Pudges, go.

Willow has some rather low stats for its cost, and also quests for only 1 Lore, all while being uninkable. But the ability to reduce ink cost turn after turn is capable of generating a lot of ink advantage, and the fact that it's tied to a character means that even when you have few resources it still has some use – even if it's just generating 1 Lore.

An important rule point: it was clarified that its ability necessarily works for the next character played, and it's not possible to choose when to apply its discount. That is, when you play it, in the same turn, the next character costs 1 less. From the next turn onwards, the first character of each turn, while Willow remains in play, will always cost 1 less.

OMG, Be Prepared is back! Wait, hold on, take a deep breath… actually, it's a nerfed version of Be Prep, since it costs 8 instead of 7, and the fact that it's not a song may or may not be a disadvantage. After all, how many times have you faced Ursula - Deceiver?

Joking aside, a card with this kind of effect is always interesting to see available in the card pool, otherwise decks will tend towards uniformization with just the best threats. So, albeit the effect is necessary, of course, there are many types of players who prefer that there isn't a mass destruction available for play.

Amethyst

An impressive card for aggro decks, and excellent synergy with Lilo - Escape Artist, and invariably an excellent option for using other cards that interact with the discard pile in the game.

It works like a kind of Daisy Duck - Donald's Date, but in Amethyst, replacing the high Willpower with Evasive, and instead of giving cards to your opponent, you have more control over the card disadvantage.

Will we see another rare Genie card, like we saw Genie - Wish Fulfilled, end up as one of the most sought after from this set?

Genie - Magical Researcher doesn't have the magic words draw a card, nor does it have evasive, but in return it can be an excellent finisher for slower decks that will control the board and then use a few characters to win the game. In 2 turns, it becomes a powerful Lore generator that the opponent will need to deal with quickly!

In the early Lorcana sets, Maui - Hero to All was a huge threat to any exhausted character. Is it possible for Sven to replicate that threat?

Although his stats are slightly lower, he has the Evasive ability, making him extremely useful in any scenario. Furthermore, since he doesn't have Reckless, even in a situation where the game is already under your control, Sven can still help generate Lore!

Emerald

Mulan seems to be one of the cards with the most potential for combos in the set – that is, combination decks. Basically, try to get Mulan to power-up until she has 6 power, thus generating six Lore with her Quest!

Probably some interesting sequence can be created with Mulan and You Came Back. Stay tuned for the first post-Winterspell deck articles!

This is a very interesting card in Emerald, which isn't an ink that so far has shown any specific item-related builds. Maybe Stegmutt could change that?

It also helps, of course, with item builds in general, since they can now pivot to Emerald as a second-color and profit a lot - after all, not only is Stegmutt a heavy hitter, it also deals with tons of characters from your opponent due to its 3-damage effect.

It's not often we see a Location with the Evasive ability, and on top of that, generating 2 Lore! Even though it's conditional, the current metagame is full of evasive characters, which makes Game Preserve - Protected Land a possible and even attractive option for continuous Lore generation.

Ruby

An excellent 1-Drop for the color, as it can be used as a lore generator until it's needed as a Challenger, and then you'll have a robust 3/3 on the table. In addition to synergies with the following types: Hero, Prince, Whisper. Finally, it's also inkable, meaning: a lot of utility and flexibility for a 1-cost character.

Okay, first of all: this is perhaps the best ability name so far in all of Lorcana. Phew, I needed to get that out of my system. Moving on…

Goofy is another example of great utility, now on a 3-cost character. Potentially generating 2 Lore every turn, it's a threat the opponent can't easily ignore. And even better, if the opponent plays a stronger threat, Goofy can simply remove it from the board!

We've previously discussed the gap left by the removal of Be Prepared from the format; after all, it was an extremely relevant card in the Ruby color.

Grab Your Bow isn't on the same level, but it's a tool that assists more control-oriented strategies in this color, especially for dealing with the increasingly frequent ultra-fast aggro decks.

Sapphire

The new ability, Boost, received several supports in Winterspell, and this Mickey is quite interesting. Each turn he is on the table, he potentially expands the available cards to include other cards with Boost, and the second ability allows you to control, to some extent, when you will transfer the cards to another character or location.

When I see this card, I'm reminded of The Horseman Strikes! and others like it. These are cards that deal with specific threats, so their widespread use might seem strange – but in the right metagame, they can make all the difference. And, if they're not in the necessary context, the biggest advantage is that they're inkable, so they can simply be used that way!

Another example of a character with the Underdog ability, meaning it costs 1 less ink if you're playing your first turn and didn't start the game. The difference is that Splatter Phoenix is quite playable even if you don't use Underdog, since 2 Lore on a character with Ward - meaning it's difficult for the opponent to deal with or remove from the table before you get at least one Quest - is almost a guarantee that you'll get those crucial Lore points on your next turn.

Steel

Launchpad is another support for Locations deck, and its effect is very good – even better, it's tied to a defensive character with 5 Willpower. Even the cost is interesting, since the game's curve allows you to develop one or two Locations in the first few turns, and then Launchpad guarantees protection on turn 3.

Perhaps the 1-cost character with the best stats so far. Even with a potentially heavy additional cost – after all, a card from hand is often a painful price to pay – there are many new cards that synergize with cards in the discard pile, or even old cards that will bring cards back at some point. Or, finally, cards like Lilo - Escape Artist, which remain available even when they go to the discard pile.

John Smith is another card with a unique effect in Lorcana - something that always deserves a closer look. In this case, it forces opponents to choose it for abilities and effects… but notice that it's not restricted to abilities or effects that are negative! In practice, it will prevent any buff that opponents want to use on their own characters, and protect your characters from removals and other harmful effects as well.

As we've seen, Winterspell brings strong new cards, with even a certain power creep – that is, an increase in the average power of the game's cards, making older ones obsolete.

But it also brings new designs, interesting ideas, and development or support for already established mechanics.

The set, as already predicted, should indeed bring changes to the current competitive metagame, and we will be watching closely at the next major events to see this impact!

Until then, best regards, and until next time!