Case Files · D23 2022
Status: Draft — rough publish for review
D23 2022: Cruella De Vil – Miserable as Usual
Emerald misery — company you did not invite
4/P1 · folio slot photography forthcomingSome villains arrive as dragons. Cruella arrives as a 2-cost Storyborn irritant with perfect posture and worse intentions. Collector number 4/P1. Emerald ink. YOU’LL BE SORRY! — when she is challenged and banished, you may bounce a chosen character to hand. The ability reads like etiquette. It plays like a trap door under the person who thought they were cleaning up the board.
Flavor text keeps the appointment book honest: “When she stops by, misery is company.” Nicholas Kole’s line work does the rest. In a folio packed with legends and super-rares, Cruella is the reminder that historical importance is not the same thing as retail rarity — Expo stamps democratize prestige with ruthless efficiency.
How it got into collections
Portfolio only — not a freebie.
- Contained in the D23 Expo Collector’s Set ($49.99 decorative portfolio)
- Sold at the Disney Lorcana booth, D23 Expo 2022 (Anaheim), September 9–11, 2022
- Foiled; stamped D23 Expo + “1st”
- Part of the ~900-set weekend allotment (≈300/day × 3; Mushu Report wiki)
- Same weekend’s free booth giveaway was Mickey
1/P1+ pin — related bed, different drawer
Creator signatures (aftermarket): Co-designers Ryan Miller & Steve Warner were at the booth; Miller was widely reported excitedly talking with fans and autographing cards (TheGamer D23 interview). Many D23 specimens in the hobby carry creator ink (esp. Miller and/or Warner). Not factory-signed — booth/creator provenance. See the Collector’s Set page.
Specimen dossier
- Catalog ID
4/P1(D23 Expo printing; early set notation such as1 TFCmay appear)- Event of origin
- D23 Expo 2022 (Anaheim), September 9–11, 2022
- Publisher
- Ravensburger / Disney Lorcana TCG
- Associated set
- Promo Set 1 / preview of The First Chapter
- Illustrator
- Nicholas Kole
- Franchise source
- 101 Dalmatians
- Finish
- Foil (Expo portfolio treatment)
- Flavor text
- Present — misery-is-company line intact on promo and retail twin
Card anatomy
| Field | Observation |
|---|---|
| Type | Character |
| Ink | Emerald |
| Cost | 2 (inkwell-eligible) |
| Strength / Willpower / Lore | 1 / 3 / 1 |
| Classifications | Storyborn · Villain |
| Ability | YOU’LL BE SORRY! When this character is challenged and banished, you may return chosen character to their player’s hand. |
Low strength, inconvenient willpower, exquisite manners. Challenge her casually and the board may rearrange itself in her favor — a scientific demonstration that misery scales better than muscle.
Promo vs. retail twin (diagnostic traits)
The retail twin arrives later in The First Chapter as Rare 72/204 — same Kole art family, same bounce-on-death toolkit — without the Expo stamps. Lorcana Player notes light production updates from the D23 face to the retail face; stamps remain the primary ID.
| Attribute | D23 Expo 2022 Promo | The First Chapter retail |
|---|---|---|
| Set code | 4/P1 (D23 Expo printing) | 72/204 |
| Rarity / marks | Promo; D23 Expo logo + “1st” stamp | Rare |
| Finish | Foil (Expo portfolio treatment) | Non-foil and cold foil in set |
| Availability | Paid Collector’s Set only (~900 portfolios) | Packs / product after August 18, 2023 |
| Early design quirks | “Illus.” credit styling; early set notation such as 1 TFC | Standardized retail production |
Authentication checklist (loupe optional, honesty required):
- D23 Expo logo
- “1st” edition stamp
- Collector number
4/P1 - Foil finish
- Nicholas Kole / Miserable as Usual version
- Emerald · Storyborn · Villain · 2 · 1/3/1 · You’ll Be Sorry!
- Flavor text present (misery is company)
Miss the stamps and you may still have a perfectly respectable Rare. Find the stamps and you have day-one Cruella — company the archive did, in fact, invite.