How To Play Lorcana, The Disney TCG
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Disney is in on the trading card game action. In August 2023, the media and entertainment powerhouse released its first TCG, Lorcana. TCGs’ popularity keeps getting stronger from the long and proud history of Magic: The Gathering, to the enduring popularity of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, to the rocketing rise of One Piece, fans are loving trading card games, and with good reason. What better way to connect with friends and fellow fans, collect beautiful and rare cards, and celebrate your favorite franchise? So let’s take a look at Lorcana, the Disney trading card game making a big name for itself, and how to play it.
Core Game Mechanics
Created by Disney and Ravensburger, Lorcana was launched on August 18, 2023. It’s designed for 2 or more players and to be as enjoyable for experienced TCG players as for people new to trading card games. Players take on the role of an Illumineer and, using the three card types, aim to collect lore. The first player to reach 20 lore wins.
Ink is the currency of the game: you add cards to your inkwell to accumulate ink, then use that to pay for cards you want to play. The number in the top left-hand corner of item or character cards indicates how much ink is required to play the card.
When there is a gold design around the number in the top left-hand corner, the card can be used as ink. Each card only counts for one ink, no matter what card it is. When you add a card to your inkwell, it’s removed from the game and can’t be played again. To add it to your inkwell, show the card to your opponent, and then place it face down.
You exert a card to use its effects. This means that if you use a character card to gain lore, challenge your opponent’s card, or activate its ability, you must turn your card sideways on the board to indicate it is exerted. Only exerted character cards can be challenged by your opponent, and you can only challenge your opponent’s exerted characters. Exerted cards are reset at the beginning of your next turn in the “ready” phase.
Lorcana Card Types
The three card types in Lorcana are character cards, item cards, and action cards. These are all your favorite Disney characters, items, songs, events, and locations, either in their regular form or with a special appearance. The card type (character, item, action, or song) is written in the colored band below the picture, along with card classifications if relevant. Some classifications activate abilities in cards of the same classification.
Each card has an ink type indicated by the symbol and colored band below the picture. The six ink types are amber, amethyst, emerald, ruby, sapphire, and steel. Inks are important in deck building as different ink types support different play styles. So whether you prefer to focus on questing, slow down your opponent, challenge other cards, or use action cards to achieve your aims, certain ink types will suit you better than others.
Character Cards
Character cards are the main way to gain lore and challenge your opponent’s cards. The character’s full name, which is the combination of the card name and the card version, is important for deck building and collecting. Character cards can’t be used on the same turn as they are played; their ink is said to be “drying”. On the next turn, the cards are said to be “ready”. Ready cards can’t be challenged by your opponent.
Questing
Questing is the best way to gain lore. You can quest on your turn by exerting a ready character card. The number of lore you gain is indicated by the number of star-shaped lore symbols on the character card. The first player to reach 20 lore wins.
Challenging
Challenging your opponent’s cards is the best way to slow down their quest for lore. You can exert a ready character card to challenge one of your opponent’s character card that is also exerted. You can’t challenge a ready (upright) card.
When you challenge, you compare your card’s strength and willpower with your opponent’s card.
The two character cards then deal damage to each other. Damage is the strength of one card against the willpower of the other. If one card’s strength is greater than or equal to the other card’s willpower, that card is banished to the discard pile.
If the damage taken is less than their willpower, the character stays in play but the damage remains on them, meaning their willpower is reduced by the amount of damage taken and if they take more damage, they will also be banished. Damage stays on a character until it is removed by an effect or the card is banished. You can use damage counters to show how much damage a card has taken or keep track of the information in the app (more information later).
Item Cards
Item cards can be used on the same turn you play them. They stay on the table for the rest of the game. The card’s effect is written on it. When you use an item card, you exert it (turn it sideways) until your next turn.
Action Cards
Action cards are one-and-done cards. They can only be used once and you banish them to the discard pile as soon as you play them. Action cards include songs and other iconic elements of your favorite Disney movies. They have a wide range of effects and introduce interesting and unpredictable mechanics into the game, such as helping you gain lore, increasing your character card’s strength or willpower, and allowing you to draw or return cards.
Card Abilities
Character, item, and action cards all have abilities. Abilities allow you to “break the rules” of the TCG. Each card has an exert symbol and an ink symbol. The exert symbol means you have to exert the card to use the ability, and the number beside the ink symbol tells you how many cards from the inkwell you have to exert to use the ability. You can use an item or action card’s ability on the turn you play it but you can’t use a character’s ability. Some abilities have costs other than ink and exerting – this is written on the card.
Shift Cards
Certain cards have “shift” as an ability. If you have a card of the same character, you can choose to shift your other character card to this one by paying the ink cost indicated on the card. The shifted card keeps any damage and effects on the original card. If the original was exerted, the shifted one is also exerted. If the original was ready to quest, challenge, or use abilities, the shifted version can do these things. This means you don’t have to wait until your next turn, but can use the card immediately. If the shifted version is banished, both cards go into the discard pile. Similarly, if the shifted one is returned to your hand, both versions go back to your hand.
How To Play Lorcana
First thing’s first: shuffle your deck and place it facedown in your play area. Draw seven cards. If you want to alter your hand, return the cards you don’t want to the bottom of the deck and draw new cards until you have seven again. Then shuffle your deck. This is the only time you can alter your deck for free.
Beginning Phase
The beginning phase can be described in three words: ready, set, draw.
Ready: ready your cards by returning any exerted cards to their upright position.
Set: set your play area by moving the character cards you played on the last turn (the ones whose ink was “drying”) up to your character area – they are now ready to use. Also, look for any card effects or abilities that are active at the start of your go.
Draw: draw one card from the top of your deck and add it to your hand.
Main Phase
In the main phase of your turn, you have three actions available to you.
Add ink: add one card to your inkwell. This can be any card with a gold design around the number in the top left-hand corner. Each card counts as one ink, no matter what card it is.
Play a card: this means moving a card from your hand into the play area. If it’s a character card, you can’t use it until your next go. If it’s an item card, you can use it on the same go.
Use a card: you can use item cards, action cards, and ready character cards on your turn. Item cards and action cards have their effects/ abilities written on them. Character cards can quest (gaining lore), challenge (attacking your opponent), or use their abilities. You exert a card when you use it, meaning you turn it sideways in the play area. You reset your exerted cards (turn them upright) in the “ready” phase of your next turn.
You can perform any of these actions as many times as you like during your turn, so long as you have the ink to pay for them. Remember, you can’t use character cards on the same turn as you play them.
Building Your Deck
As we’ve discussed already, certain aspects of Lorcana cards are important for collectors and others are important for gameplay. Let’s look at how to go about building your deck for the best gaming experience.
Firstly, you must have at least 60 cards in your deck and you can only have up to two ink types in your deck. The Lorcana starter decks all contain 60 cards of two different ink types, so that’s a great place to start. These decks are designed to be balanced and showcase different card types to ease you into the game. There are 5 card sets of Lorcana so far, each with their own starter deck: The First Chapter (3 decks: amethyst and amber, emerald and ruby, and sapphire and steel), Rise of the Floodborn (2 decks: amber and sapphire, amethyst and steel), Into the Inklands (2 decks: amber and emerald, ruby and sapphire), Ursula’s Return (2 decks: amber and amethyst, sapphire and steel), and Shimmering Skies (2 decks: amethyst and ruby, emerald and steel). The sixth starter deck set, Azurite Sea, will be released on November 15th in local game stores and Disney parks, then in retail stores and shopDisney two weeks later.
Booster packs are available for each set. These packs contain 12 cards of the same ink type. They’re a great way to introduce new cards into your deck and also increase the likelihood of getting special cards to add to your collection. You can also get booster boxes that contain 24 booster packs.
One important rule in Lorcana is that you can’t have more than four cards of the same name. This is the card’s full name, not simply its character name. For example, you can have four Mickey Mouse, Playful Sorcerer cards and four Mickey Mouse, Brave Little Tailor cards.
It’s important to have a mix of low-cost and high-cost cards, since in your first few turns you won’t have much ink in your inkwell. Similarly, you want the right balance of cards to use for ink and cards to play. Some cards can help you gather additional ink or avoid ink costs; these can help you get ahead of other players and gain an advantage in the game. Later in the game, you’ll want to include more powerful cards, so it’s important to keep them in mind when building your deck.
Like we mentioned above, different inks suit different play styles. For example, amber cards tend to offer healing or protective effects, while ruby cards are more aggressive and suit players who like to tackle their opponents head-on.
Collecting Lorcana Cards
Collectors are already swarming around Lorcana and with good reason. There were 204 Lorcana cards at the time of release in August 2023. The collector number in the bottom left-hand corner indicates the card’s number out of that 204. Each card has a foil and a non-foil version. Both versions have the same rules, stats, and abilities, and the same collector number. The cards feature original artwork by talented artists, whose names are credited at the bottom of the card. Characters will appear in different ink types, differentiated by their full name, which is important for deck building and gameplay.
One of the best things about Lorcana cards from a collector’s point of view is the rarity symbol on each card. Initially, Disney revealed five levels of rarity: common, uncommon, rare, super rare, and legendary. These cards can all be foil or non-foil.
At GenCon 2023, a sixth rarity was revealed: enchanted. Enchanted cards are unique and only come in foil cards. They appear in only about 1 in 100 booster packs. The card’s rules, stats, and abilities are the same as their non-enchanted version.
Starter decks include foil versions of the two characters featured on the front of the pack. Every card has a foil and non-foil version, except for enchanted cards, which are always foil.
Each booster pack contains 12 cards. These cards include 6 common, 3 uncommon, 2 rare/ super rare/ legendary (non-foil), 1 foil card (can be any rarity, from common to enchanted), and 1 art/marketing card. It goes without saying that foil cards are most likely to be common or uncommon, but every collector holds out hope for the elusive enchanted cards.
There are also cards with symbols other than rarity symbols at their base. These are cards that were featured in special releases, including GenCon 2023 and the Disney Expo, and have different collector numbers (i.e. not out of 204).
The Lorcana App And Community
Ravensburger released the Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game Companion App in July 2023. The app is a great resource for newcomers to get up to speed with the game’s rules and nuances. It also makes it easy to discover new cards, manage your collection, and develop your own game style and strategy. Maybe most helpful of all is that you can keep track of your lore and your character’s damage.
As you would expect, the Disney and TCG communities have rallied around Lorcana. There are in-person tournaments in North America and Europe, with championships scheduled for later this year and early 2025. Some local game stores throughout the US host gaming sessions where players can meet fellow enthusiasts and try their skills and strategies against friends and strangers alike.
The Magic Of Lorcana
At a time when trading card games are at new heights of popularity, Lorcana has succeeded in carving out a comfortable space for itself. The game is straightforward and will feel familiar to TCG players but with enough differences to make gameplay feel fresh and enjoyable. The artwork is stunning, and seeing our favorite characters depicted in so many ways is fun and nostalgic. Whether you’re a collector or a player, Lorcana is a great way to spend time with family and friends or connect with the wider TCG community.
Have you played Lorcana? If you’ve played other trading card games, how do you think it compares? Tell us your thoughts and opinions in a comment. And don’t forget to sign up to our email list to get Finds of the Week and our free newsletter, PopPulse Digest, delivered straight to your inbox each and every week.
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