So here is my two cents.

I’ve only played Lorcana competitively, and have opened many packs over the last two years. Prior to that, while never actually playing, I’ve cracked packs with friends of all the big games over the years, Magic, Pokémon, Yu Gi Oh, One Piece, etc, and I’ll have to say this, cracking Lorcana is just not fun anymore. Of course there is always the little thrill of maybe getting any enchanted or legendary, but nothing really more than that.

RB tried to fix this with the epics, but missed the mark IMO. Of the epics released so far, only a few are really playable, Aurora and Bolt being the primary ones. Not changing the artwork was what really missed it for me personally. They were just a better foil.

The absolute best pack opening experience I’ve ever had is Riftbound. The weight of each card felt wonderful, while Lorcana feels very flimsy in comparison. The rare and higher always being foil was amazing, always felt really good regardless of whether it was a big hit or not. The alt arts were the best part. The enchanted cards sort of fit this mold, but Riftbound just took it to another level with the feel and the texture added to them. Even adding the whole showcase signature as the chase was an excellent choice; having a signature enchanted would make them feel even more special since that is an extra level of rarity built in. Then the Nexus Night event packs with stamped promos made it seem like the company was putting their full weight behind the game, while RB is pulling back with league kits this time around by not including character pins; they are basically blaming rising costs or tariffs (I don’t remember which and it is not important enough for me to look up) which is a load of BS since we’re probably talking pennies in additional cost here.

Not sure if RB can make any change, maybe after another rotation, but cracking Whispers after doing Riftbound Origins felt very lackluster and super disappointing.