@@brettsharpe7277 Thanks for the question! Great observation - yes, the third and fourth runs both utilized rounded seals (just in two different ways - parallel and then perpendicular). Starting with the 2024 MPG reprints, the seals changed yet again to square tape applied perpendicular to the edges. If you look at the print code on the bottom of the booster box, it is likely something like 021224MPG2 (which would be read as February 12, 2024 by MPG on their second production line, which would be the 5th run. Hope this helps! 😀

@MyFirstLore that was incredibly helpful! Thank you for your help!

@@Fra-iy2hy Yes. For The First Chapter, all Cartamundi printing (CM1 and CM2 production lines) are marked with 2023 and EN01. All Millenium Print Group for The First Chapter (MPG) are marked with 2024 and EN02. It wasn’t until Into the Inklands when they released both Cartamundi and MPG at the same time. So, we always look for 2023 EN01 to get early limited prints, rather than the unlimited printing they have done so far with MPG. Within the limited Cartamundi print runs, there was two waves, with the first wave having two print runs. We have an episode on all the different print dates from April to November and the difference between the cards and the boosters. Appreciate all the comments and follows. As views/discussions go up, we can kick off the full season of great content we have in store for all the Lorcana fans! 😀

@@MyFirstLore thanks for the kindness from Italy ! I want one of them but the minimum price start from 400$, should I buy it at this price ? What do you suggest ?

@@Fra-iy2hy We believe there is great value in the limited Cartamundi run of The First Chapter for players and collectors. And, the earlier print date, the better. Fortunate for you, the earliest print dates were sent to Europe (because the foreign language prints - French and German - were printed before English and so they shipped first). So, hopefully you can find a really early print. Beyond the lower print run (as Ravensburger was still right-sizing their orders) and the edits (pre-errata and formatting edits), many of these packs were opened as the game kicked off. We saw booster boxes hit $400 before coming down closer to MSRP, but the decline is attributed to the massive MPG reprint, rather than a major decline for the CM boxes. In fact, you will see early May 2023 booster going for almost $1k and $3-4k+ for a September case (which could have May or June booster boxes inside). We can’t provide individual financial advice, but always happy to share what we see in the market. Hope this helps! Another great option to consider is The First Chapter troves and gift boxes. Troves and gift boxes are only first print, very limited and sealed well - thus they carry a nice premium. We also like the CM starters and blisters. Great artwork, very limited print run (especially blisters) with some of the earliest boosters. With these you have to make sure you are receiving CM rather than MPG). Looking forward to sharing more about all of these great options in future videos and continuing these great conversations. 😀

@@MyFirstLore thanks again you are an incredible person to help that am a young guy that doesn’t know a lot of this game, my dream is to have one of the first print of the first chapter and I’ve find this one 2023 EN01 with the code that star with 05 and terms with CM2 in English, so if you said to me that this is the very first print first wave I’ll buy it !

@@Fra-iy2hy You are too kind! Enjoy the conversation! 😀 This may help you too: the 05 CM boxes can be read as a full calendar date. For example, the most valuable first print/first wave English booster boxes are 050123CM1/2. This is read as May 1st, 2023 Caratmundi production line 1 or 2. Each of the boosters inside also have a print date and should be from around the same timeframe. However, their print code looks a little different. They will likely read something like: 12123CM108. This can be read as the 121st day of 2023 (which is May 1, 2023) Cartamundi production line 1 (or 2) with the 08 (we believe) referring to the allocation of legendary/enchanted cards. While above is part of the first print of the first wave, by the end of May they were transitioning to the second print of the first wave. These boosters have the same print format (normal calendar date) as the boxes. As mentioned in my earlier comments, the earlier boxes (050123CM) will likely carry a premium to later boxes (053123CM). So just make sure the box fits your needs / what you are looking for. Good luck and enjoy! 😀

@@ElusiveClit They did fix this starting with Into The Inklands. We have some fun stories to share about the packaging and learning lessons along the way. Stay tuned!

@@theDawa12 Hello! Yes, Ravensburger ordered another reprint of The First Chapter through Millenium Print Group. Your print date represents February 7, 2024 (02/07/24) by MPG. Hope you get some great pulls out of the booster box! 😀

@@DeckMasteryTCG Hi! Thanks for the question! The 04, 05 and 06 product is still considered the first wave / release of Lorcana. Ravensburger/Cartamundi started with foreign language printings first. These would be shipped with a decent number of English boxes, thus Europe received many of the 05 boxes. Whether you received an 05 or 06 box was based on US distribution. While a supplemental print to the original order with very minor differences, it is still a great sealed product from the 1st wave. Congrats!! 😀

@@MyFirstLore Woah thanks! So Basically I have two 1st edition, 1st wave boxes :O!!!

@@austinmartin2997 Fortunately, Cartamundi put print codes on both the booster boxes and the boosters. Therefore, the contents can be validated as first print run (or later). So, to your point, everyone should be careful and confirm the print codes when adding to their collection. Plus, being able to track to the specific day is an added benefit. Thanks for watching and commenting! 😀

Third print...can you explain how the numbers work? 2753cm2

@@stephenlosco9169 Sure! You can read your print code 2753CM2 as the 275th day (275) - which was Monday, October 2nd - of 2023 (3) by Cartamundi (CM) on production line 2 (2). Congrats on the box! 😀

@@kylewelch25 Thank you! Starter decks are one of our favorite ways to collect first wave Lorcana. We designed an entire episode for it! 😀 First, starter decks were made by both printers (Cartamundi first, then Millennium Print Group for mass reprints of the First Chapter). Based on pictures normally shown by sellers, the quickest way to tell is looking at the UPC barcode area on the back: - Copyright 2023 and EN 01 = CM - Copyright 2024 and EN 02 = MPG Because the MPG print run is so massive (and still going), this quick trick will save you lots of time on your hunt. Once you find a Cartamundi starter, you will want to see the bottom of the box. The CM starter decks are assembled by CMX and utilize a print date code (e.g., 081723CMX2, is read as the second production line of CMX sealed on August 17, 2023). CMX produced starters for both Wave 1 and Wave 2 of The First Chapter. One complication is that CMX had to receive the components (starter deck and booster) before they could seal the box. Obvious - I know - but it creates unique opportunities. The later CMX print date starters (e.g.,example July and August) should contain a second wave booster. The May and early June starters should contain not only a first wave but also a first print booster. Recall you can tell the difference if the print code uses number of days in 2023 vs date structure. For example, we found a 051023CMX2 starter which contained an 1153CM109 booster. So, May 10th starter box with an April 25th booster (one of the earliest English boosters). The sleeved boosters (blisters) had the most consistent print date to booster print date (only a day or two behind). The Starter Decks and Gift Boxes had more variations in time. Good luck on your search - hope you get some great first wave/first print boosters for your collection! 😀

@@MyFirstLore thank you so much for this. I have 060623 starters I want to leave sealed. In your estimations would these contain first wave boosters within? Your attention to detail is stunning.

@@kylewelch25 Thanks! 😊 Congrats on the 060623 starters! Yes, they definitely have first wave boosters and decks (i.e., pre-errata cards). I will confirm with one of our June 6th starters, but am confident that these are early enough starters that the boosters will also be from the first print portion of the first wave. Excellent finds and ones to hold onto! 😀

@@MyFirstLore you’ve made my day! Keep up the fantastic content. You will always be the Lorcana authority I reference for years to come!

@@MyFirstLore what should the collector community be looking for when it comes to sealed first wave blister booster? Is there a difference nuance to the lots?

Thank you. Definitely a fair perspective for many enjoying The First Chapter, but there are differences for many collectors and players. For those collecting sealed product, we are excited that both printers (CM and MPG) utilized consistent coding, permitting us to distinguish print runs for a number of reasons. For those collecting singles, there are differences in text and formatting for many cards between print runs and printers. Also, the first set of print runs were by Cartamundi (which corners their cards), while the massive reprint runs are by MPG (stamps the cards for rounder corners) - like comparing an MTG and a Pokémon card. As always, everyone collects what is meaningful to them. We see clear differences in sales between the print runs and want to share the information we have to help players/collectors to make informed decisions. Appreciate you watching and leaving a comment! 😃

@@MyFirstLore excellent info. I couldn't find anything on the differences about the cards themselves. Guess you've answered this for me. Appreciate it.

@@len6482 Thank you! We have several episodes lined up diving into all kinds of differences, fun history and more for Lorcana. We will release more episodes as followers grow. 😊

@@MyFirstLore Perfect look forward to that. Last question, I notice some first chapter first wave with CM1 and CM2 on the serial numbers. Is there a difference? Thank you

@@len6482 Questions are always welcome! 🤗 There has been some speculation around CM1 and CM2 being different. One theory revolves around the sorting machines and one having more hits than the other. We don’t believe this is the case; however, the two digits after the CM1 may signal this. For example, CM108 we believe has a higher hit rate of rare cards than a CM111. Another theory is around multiple Cartamundi facilities. We think this is highly unlikely as we have found CM2 packs in CM1 boxes and vice versa. Rather, we believe the CM1 and CM2 refer to the two lines in the same facility and allows for tracking if errors are identified in production. We have both CM1 and CM2 boxes and view them interchangeably as long as they are from the same print run/wave. It appears more was printed on the CM1 line than CM2 line, but do not see any difference in packaging or cards. The market seems to agree, as we do not see differences in CM1 and CM2 pricing like we do between waves and print runs.

Thank you! The first and second wave should carry a premium to the subsequent/reprint waves. Ravensburger used Cartamundi for the first two limited runs and has been using MPG for the mass reprints. The first wave should carry the largest premium because: 1) it has the original version with errors and pre-formatting changes; 2) it has unique products (Trove and Gift Box were never reprinted and Blisters were never reprinted by Cartamundi); and 3) well, it was the first (and lots were opened for valuable singles). We have a lot more to share about The First Chapter and other sets - looking forward to publishing more episodes soon.

@@MyFirstLore Thank you for answer. I have the possibility to buy the third wave, i.e. 2773CM1.. But I'd rather wait and try to find the ideal first wave, i.e. 04 or 05.. :)

@@martinkrecek9828 That makes sense. A box printed on the 277th day of 2023 by Cartamundi is a great find. They are harder to find, but can definitely understand holding out for an April or May print date First Chapter pack/box. Hoping the detailed listings for The First Chapter sealed products continues to improve as more information about these print runs get out there.

Congratulations! That is a great purchase and piece of Lorcana history. Appreciate you watching and sharing with us. Do you have a picture of the bottom of the box? Interesting fact: in general, the earliest print runs went to Europe.

@@MyFirstLore Yeah I do, I have to take a look at my Storage. I’m gonna send you a picture in the next few days on Instagram 😄 I can imagine, got mine from the German Ravenburger website, since Ravensburger is from Germany that might have something to do with the food demand back then.

Thank you for watching and your comment. Cartamundi used alternating batch codes. The earliest English prints are late April 2023. The first print of the first wave have boosters with julianday and year before the CM. An example is 1163CM2 for the 116th day of 2023. Many of these boosters ended up in blisters. These April English print runs are gems! The May booster boxes will have a regular date print code on the box (05/28/23 CM1) and the boosters inside will have a jullianday year combo that aligns with (often) a few days earlier in May. By the beginning of June, they used calendar date for both the box and the packs inside. We believe there were tweaks between the first print and second print of the first wave. They didn’t change text, but appears there were several formatting/sizing differences.

Agreed - wish they would have used cellophane from the beginning. And, yes, we routinely see the value align with the wave. First wave carries a nice premium as it was the first, smaller print run, lots already opened, and pre-errata cards. We have not seen a clear differentiation in pricing within the first wave, but the first print (Julian day) may start carrying an additional premium. Second wave is less than first wave, but more than third wave (a massive print run by Millenium Print Group, which is the EN02). The Second wave boxes have the corrected text (erratas), but they are still from Cartamundi, marked EN01, and limited print run. The third wave routinely has the lowest value. They are from the largest print run and what we see continue to hit the shelves during the restocks that many confuse with a reprint. That’s how large the MPG print was … should be coming to a close at this point and likely they that they will focus on future chapters. Hope this helps! 😀

@@MyFirstLore yes it helps. Was looking for comps on eBay but it was hard finding differentiation between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd print EN01 boxes. I found a lot of sellers claiming they had 1st print boxes but appear to be 2nd print based on the information in your video.

@@Mndudecollects Try searching sold listings on eBay and sort from high to low. You will see fairly clear tiers for cases and then boxes by wave (including premiums for early May boxes). There are not as many active listings for early prints. Also, you may want to confirm that pictures are of the actual item - could save some headaches later.

Yes. Congrats on having an awesome first wave box. Here’s a little more info/context. The first wave had two print runs. The first has a print code of day/year (e.g., 1213CM1 was produced on the 121st day of 2023, or May 1st). The second has a print code in our normal date format (e.g., your box was produced on June 14th). There appear to be minor variations between these prints (e.g., font sizes). The big difference is between first wave and second wave (e.g., errata/corrected text cards and lots of formatting changes) and between those and reprints done by MPG.

Did you notice the difference in the card stock between the first and second wave and the reprint?@@MyFirstLore

Great questions! Beyond the pre-errata cards, if you could tell an entire set was from an earlier print run (wave 1 or 2 vs 3), would it affect the value to you? We will show the differences that we see between (and within) each wave and draw upon other TCG experience to see what affected value early on vs later. Agree that the earliest prints should lead - and they are. We are also seeing the second wave carry a premium to the third wave in recent sales.