Gen Con 2024 is currently underway in Indianapolis, Indiana — and Ravensburger is back for more fun. In 2023, in addition to making more than a splash with the debut of Disney Lorcana, the game company also held its first ever Disney Villainous tournament. This year, the tournament returned, albeit with some twists.
The inaugural tournament at last year’s Gen Con started with 32 participants who played head to head matches until two finalists were left to compete. Along the way, the villains facing off were hand-picked by the game’s lead designer Mike Mulvihill to create interesting and level battles. Notably, the 2023 tournament also took place over two days.
For the 2024 edition, Ravensburger experimented with the tournament format in a few ways. First, the initial two rounds saw competitors playing in groups of four, with one winner from each group moving on — until the last round, which had three finalists. With this adjustment, the number of participants also increased to 48. So, the tournament went from 48 to 12 to 3. Also, this bracket meant that the event could be held on just a single day (August 2nd).
In the first round, players used the base characters from Disney Villainous: Introduction to Evil (which is currently available with a special Disney Lorcana card). As for the second round, it has a secret theme that players were invited to guess. The featured villains were: Shere Khan, Scar, Pete, and Yzma.
Did you figure it out? Well, the theme was “Bad Kitties.” And, if you’re confused by Yzma’s inclusion, perhaps this frame from The Emperor's New Groove will clear things up.
In any case, I happened to join for the finals, which featured contestants Andrew, Rob, and Peter. I actually recognized Andrew as the winner of last year’s tournament — and wasn’t surprised to see him again. When the final envelope was opened, what poured out was not only three King Candy boards (which are part of the new Sugar and Spite expandalone set) but also some sweet treats for the players to enjoy while they battled it out.
With the villain being new to the game, the finalists did take some time to learn more about his abilities. Some rules clarifications were also on hand if needed.
After a hard-fought match that nearly went a different way, it was Andrew Maine who once again took the tournament. That makes him a two-time reigning champion of Disney Villainous! Of course, while they didn’t claim the trophy, the other finalists did not leave empty handed as they were each given a copy of Disney Villainous: Sugar and Spite, a special playmat, and some other goodies (not to mention the leftover candy from the envelope).
2024
2023
Seeing as Andrew has established himself as “The Worst” yet again, there’s no question that he’ll need to defend his title at Gen Con 2025. On that note, it will be interesting to see what other changes Ravensburger and the Disney Villainous team might make to the next edition. But, I suppose we’ll need to wait to find out on that one.
In the meantime, if you want to take on Andrew in the next Disney Villainous tournament, you can start practicing by picking up one of the numerous sets now available — including the new Disney Lorcana tie-in edition of Introduction to Evil as well as the Sugar and Spite expandalone set.