The Disney Lorcana Challenge circuit has entered its third season, and Ravensburger has given it a theme: the Season of Villainy. The official Challenge page now lists thirteen dated stops across seven regions, a brand-new store-level qualifying path, a dedicated Youth Division at every event, and one headline trophy card — an all-new serialized golden Hades – Dark Usurper.
Two things are worth separating before you read another word about this season, because they are getting mixed together everywhere else.
Official — everything about the season name, the golden Hades card, Local Qualifiers, the Youth Division and the dates comes from Ravensburger’s Challenge page (verified August 16, 2026).
First look, not official — the card-by-card C3 prize lineup circulating this week comes from event coverage posted by onemorelore.au on Instagram. Ravensburger has not published an official prize sheet for the new season. Anything from that coverage is flagged in this article as a first look, and we do not reprint the photos.
The golden card: Hades – Dark Usurper
Every Challenge season so far has had one card that people actually travel for. In 2025–26 that card was the serialized golden Mickey Mouse – Brave Little Tailor, handed to the Top 8 of each Championship event alongside a World Championship invite. For 2026–27, Ravensburger’s page says the season awards “all new serialized golden Hades – Dark Usurper cards” — a villain headlining a villain-themed season, which is about as on-brand as this game gets.
What Ravensburger has not published is which placement earns it, or how many are struck. If you have seen a number quoted this week, it did not come from the Challenge page. The one structural clue we do have is last season’s official ladder: the golden Mickey sat at Top 8, above the Top 16 foil promo and below the Top 4 uncut sheet.
The C3 prize ladder, as shown so far
Coverage from onemorelore.au walked through a card-by-card prize display for the new season on the show floor, and it lines up with the shape collectors already know: a participation promo at the bottom, placement promos and playmats through the Top 64, Top 32 and Top 16, the serialized golden card near the top, and uncut sheets above that. That is a first look, photographed at an event, not a published prize sheet.
The card names shown in that coverage are below, exactly as the display presented them. Treat the whole table as first-look event-floor reporting: Ravensburger has not published a prize sheet for the Season of Villainy, the placements shown on a show-floor display can change before the season starts, and this page will be corrected the day the official sheet posts. Alongside the cards, the display also showed pins at several tiers.
| Tier shown | Card shown | Art credited to |
|---|---|---|
| Participation | Ursula – Deceiver (14/C3) | Ian MacDonald |
| 3 Wins | Be Prepared (15/C3) | Emily Abeydeera |
| Top 64 | Gaston – Superior Archer (16/C3) | Ian MacDonald |
| Local Qualifier promo | Mickey Mouse – Brave Little Tailor (24/C3) | Nicholas Kole |
| Youth Division | Syndrome – Out for Revenge | Eriwelli |
| Top 8 / Championship / World Championship | Hades – Dark Usurper, three different arts | Karolewski / Alberto Besi / Weiao |
What the display does not settle is the rest of the ladder: Top 32 and Top 16 card assignments, print treatments, and the serialized golden distribution are still unpublished, so the honest answer to “what do I get for Top 32?” remains that the season’s own page does not say. We are not reprinting the coverage photos.
For context, the 2025–26 season’s official prize wall leaned on reprints of existing cards — villain-flavoured effects like Be Prepared from The First Chapter sat right alongside character promos. Season 3’s theme makes that kind of selection an easy guess, but a guess is all it is.
New this season: Local Qualifiers
This is the structural change that matters most for players who are not already on the circuit. Ravensburger is adding a Local Qualifiers tier: you play Set Championship events at your local game store in North America or Europe for a chance to enter a local qualifier, and winning that qualifier earns you a seat at an upcoming Championship event.
In other words, the path from a Friday night at your store to a Championship table no longer requires travelling to a Challenge first. Two caveats straight from the page: the tier is described for North America and Europe only, and registration mechanics beyond “find a store” are not detailed yet.
Youth Division
Every Challenge event this season runs a dedicated Youth Division in two brackets: ages 8–12 and ages 13–17. Ravensburger describes the events as welcoming and rewarding rather than cut-throat, and confirms that competing young Illumineers get a promo card and playmat that will only be available to them. Registration information is promised “soon”.
Collectors should note what that promo is by definition: a card whose only distribution channel is a child registering for and playing in a Youth Division event. There is no announced retail or prize-wall route to it. That is the whole factual picture right now — anything beyond it is speculation.
Season of Villainy schedule
Thirteen dated stops are on the official page across Japan, Asia, North America and Europe. Kobe opens the season in September 2026 and Düsseldorf closes it the following July.
Here is the full published calendar, in date order, exactly as Ravensburger lists it. Regional groupings on the official page put Kobe under Japan and Bangkok under Asia; the five North American stops and five European stops fill in the rest of the season.
| Dates | City | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 2026 | Kobe | Japan |
| Oct 31 – Nov 1, 2026 | Bangkok | Thailand (Asia) |
| Nov 13–15, 2026 | London | United Kingdom |
| Dec 18–20, 2026 | Tampa, FL | North America |
| Feb 19–21, 2027 | Milwaukee, WI | North America |
| Mar 5–7, 2027 | Turin | Italy |
| Apr 30 – May 2, 2027 | Las Vegas, NV | North America |
| May 7–9, 2027 | Lyon | France |
| May 28–30, 2027 | Utrecht | Netherlands |
| Jun 18–20, 2027 | Portland, OR | North America |
| Jul 16–18, 2027 | Toronto, ON | Canada |
| Jul 23–25, 2027 | Düsseldorf | Germany |
What these promos are worth: nobody knows yet
None of the Season of Villainy prize cards have been distributed. There is no print run, no placement mapping, no confirmed sale, and therefore no honest number to quote for any of them — not the golden Hades, not the Youth Division promo, not the placement foils. Anyone publishing a figure today is guessing at supply that Ravensburger has not disclosed.
What you can do is watch the originals. When a card gets a serialized or event reprint, attention usually lands on the printings that already exist, and those we track with a dated daily snapshot rather than a guess. Our card pages show the price history for the original printings referenced above, updated once per day.
- Season 3 is the Season of Villainy: thirteen dated stops, seven regions, Kobe Sep 6, 2026 through Düsseldorf Jul 23–25, 2027.
- Trophy card: all-new serialized golden Hades – Dark Usurper. Placement and quantity unannounced.
- Local Qualifiers add a store-level route to Championship seats in North America and Europe.
- Youth Division at every event, ages 8–12 and 13–17, with a competitor-only promo card and playmat.
- The full C3 prize ladder circulating this week is event-floor coverage, not an official prize sheet.
For reference, this is the shape of the ladder Ravensburger did publish for the 2025–26 season. It is the only structure anyone can honestly point to while the Season of Villainy sheet is unpublished.
FAQ
When does the Lorcana Challenge Season of Villainy start?
The first event on Ravensburger’s published Season of Villainy calendar is Kobe, Japan on September 6, 2026. The season then runs through Bangkok, London, Tampa, Milwaukee, Turin, Las Vegas, Lyon, Utrecht, Portland, Toronto and Düsseldorf, closing July 23–25, 2027.
What is the serialized golden prize card this season?
Ravensburger’s Challenge page states the season awards all-new serialized golden Hades – Dark Usurper cards. The card-by-card placement ladder for the season has not been published by Ravensburger yet.
How do Local Qualifiers work?
Per the official page, you play Set Championship events at a local game store in North America or Europe for a chance to enter a local qualifier. Winning that local qualifier earns a seat at an upcoming Championship event.
Can kids compete at Challenge events?
Yes. Every Challenge event this season carries a Youth Division in two brackets, ages 8–12 and ages 13–17, with a promo card and playmat available only to competing young Illumineers. Ravensburger says registration details are coming.
Sources: Ravensburger’s official Disney Lorcana Challenge page (disneylorcana.com/en-US/play/lorcana-challenge), verified August 16, 2026 — season name, golden Hades – Dark Usurper, Local Qualifiers, Youth Division brackets, event calendar and the 2025–26 prize ladder used for comparison. First-look prize-display coverage: onemorelore.au on Instagram (unofficial; no official prize sheet published at time of writing).