I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, which is a funny way to start a piece like this. In my experience, both personally and from observing others, New Year’s resolutions often do more harm than good. Planning to better yourself is good, and if you want to lose a few pounds in 2024 or read more books, you should definitely do that. But creating lofty goals for yourself on an arbitrary timeline is a great way to set yourself up for failure. The best resolutions aren’t big, life-changing decisions, they’re little things that are easy to commit to.
Instead of resolving to learn Japanese in 2024, why don’t you take it easy on yourself and just commit to making a few better choices this year than you did the last? Why don’t you, for example, theme your resolutions around a Disney trading card game?
I’ve learned a lot about playing, collecting, and trading TCGs in the few months Disney Lorcana has been out, and I’m committed to being a better, more educated Lorcana player in 2024. If, like me, you see this hobby as a journey, then making these five resolutions might help you
along your path in the new year.
Pick a deck and master it
This is the most personal one to me on this list. I’m a collector who likes to have full playsets so I can build any deck, any time I want. Unfortunately, the consequence of that much freedom is that I can never commit to playing any deck long enough to master it.
I’m always looking for the next best thing, the next innovative tech, and the next deck to counter the meta. Experimenting and deckbuilding is one of the best things about TCGs, but you’re never going to learn all the intricacies of a deck if you don’t spend the time piloting it to perfection. You’re much better off with a sub-par deck that you know like the back of your hand than a meta deck you don’t know how to play anyway. There’s enough wiggle room in the meta right now that if you really commit to a deck, even if it isn’t Ruby/Amethyst control, you may still find success.
Make more connections at your LGS
This year, I’m going to make a bigger effort to build relationships at my LGS. I’d only played in a few TCG events before Lorcana and I didn’t have any experience playing weekly at a store and seeing the same faces all the time. I’m friendly with a lot of the people at my LGS now; we say hi to each other each week, trade cards, and play games. But I don’t want to miss the opportunity to make real friendships at my store that aren’t strictly tied to Lorcana. TCG communities are amazing because of the way they bring people together, and in 2024 I’m going to try to make the most of that.
Stop making cash trades at the start of the season
Inflation sucks, but compared to TCG card values, cash is incredibly stable. The biggest mistake I made this year was buying cards from other players when I didn’t have anything to trade them. I still cringe when I think about the two Prince Johns I bought for $15 a piece on Rise of the Floodborn launch weekend before I even knew if the discard deck was going to be viable. Now they’re only worth about $2 and I don’t even play that deck. Trading card for card will ensure you don’t lose value in your trades. Your cards will lose value over time, but so will the cards you traded. Avoid cash deals unless you’re absolutely sure it’s something you need, and you’re able to’t wait to get it later.
Along the same lines, it’s important to remember that TCGPlayer does not define the market - it’s just part of it. When making trades, it can be useful to compare prices on TCGPlayer to ensure everyone is getting a fair deal, but the prices listed are not the ‘actual’ value of the cards. Other online markets often have vastly different prices on singles than what TCGPlayer has, but more importantly, the value of a card is determined entirely by what people are willing to pay for it.
A deal where both people get something they need is always better than one where everyone gets the exact cash value listed on TCGPlayer. It’s incredibly easy to manipulate the TCGPlayer market with buyouts, and the value of Lorcana cards fluctuates dramatically from week to week - sometimes even day to day. Use it when it’s useful, but don’t treat TCGPlayer’s prices as gospel.
Stop saying wet ink
This one’s not for me - it’s for all of you. Like most TCGs, characters in Lorcana have summoning sickness when they’re played. Unless a keyword says otherwise, characters can’t exert the same turn they’re put into play. Thematically, we say the ink has to dry, meaning the Glimmer has been created, but it can’t act until the magic ink dries. We do not say the card is wet. You have to stop saying that.
I can’t describe the visceral reaction I have when someone tries to exert a character they just played and their opponent reminds them they can’t be saying “that one’s still wet.” Ew. Please, I’m begging you. Erase wet from your Lorcana vocabulary. “It’s still drying” is the correct phrasing, or “it has to dry”, or “it’s not dry yet.” Dry. Not wet. Happy New Year.
