The two cards banned were "Hiram Flavershem, Toymaker" and "Fortisphere." These two cards enabled Steel and Sapphire players to draw too many cards before an opponent could remove them from play, creating a more or less unstoppable advantage. This led to some lopsided matches as well as higher win rates for decks using these cards. Thus, these cards have been removed from Core Constructed play, but can still be used in casual games.
This is the first time Ravensburger had to ban cards in Disney Lorcana, and only the second time they had to truly deal with a problem card since the game launched in August 2023. The previous incident, caused by Bucky, Squirrel Squeak Tutor, was fixed via errata of the card's text (see "'Disney Lorcana's' Menacing Squirrel"). Disney Lorcana Lead Game Designer Steve Warner also addressed another problem card in the ban announcement:
"We did also discuss and consider banning Pawpsicle," said Warner. "We believe that Pawpsicle without Hiram Flaversham, Toymaker still provides value to decks attempting a more item-based strategy."
Disney Lorcana had taken a tumble in popularity on the recent TCGplayer charts, and perhaps the bans will turn their momentum around (see "'Magic: The Gathering' and 'Pokemon TCG' Lead the Charge").
