The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Playing Disney Lorcana

Are you new to trading card games (TCGs) or just curious about Disney Lorcana? Lorcana blends the beloved Disney universe with the fun, strategy-driven mechanics of a TCG, making it a great entry point for both Disney fans and card game players. In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to start playing and enjoying Disney Lorcana.

What is Disney Lorcana?

Disney Lorcana is a collectible trading card game (TCG) where players summon characters, items, and actions from Disney's iconic films to compete in a race for “lore.” Unlike other TCGs like Magic: The Gathering or Pokémon, the goal isn’t to reduce your opponent’s health to zero, but to be the first to reach 20 lore points. You gain lore by "questing" with your characters.

Components of a Lorcana Deck

Before diving into the gameplay, let’s understand the key components of Lorcana:

Deck Size: A deck must consist of at least 60 cards. No card can appear more than four times in a deck, except for alternate versions of the same character (e.g., two different versions of Mickey Mouse).
Ink Types: Lorcana uses six types of "ink," which represent the colors or themes of the cards. You can only include cards from one or two ink types in your deck:

Amber: Focused on healing and defense.
Amethyst: Offers trickery and disruption.
Emerald: Based around control and manipulation.
Ruby: Aggressive and damage-heavy.
Sapphire: Encourages long-term strategy with utility effects.
Steel: Tough and powerful cards for combat.

Each card belongs to one ink type, and players need to build decks that synergize with these color mechanics.

Setting Up the Game

Shuffle Your Deck: Once your deck is ready, shuffle it thoroughly and set your lore tracker to zero.
Determine First Player: The starting player is chosen randomly—either by rolling a die or flipping a coin. The first player does not draw a card during their first turn.
Draw Starting Hand: Each player draws seven cards. If you're not happy with your initial hand, you can "mulligan" by putting any number of cards from your hand on the bottom of your deck and drawing an equal number. You can only mulligan once per game.

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How to Play Disney Lorcana

Each turn in Lorcana consists of two phases: the Beginning Phase and the Main Phase.

1. Beginning Phase

Ready: Turn all your exerted (used) cards upright so they’re ready for use again.
Set: Resolve any effects that happen at the start of your turn.
Draw: Draw a card from your deck. The first player skips this step on their first turn.

2. Main Phase

In this phase, you’ll perform most of your actions, including playing cards, using abilities, and questing. Actions can be done in any order, and you can perform multiple actions as long as you have the resources (ink) to do so.

Play a Card: You can play character, item, or action cards from your hand by paying their ink cost. This is done by exerting (turning sideways) the required number of cards from your inkwell.
Add to Your Inkwell: Once per turn, you can place a card face down into your inkwell, adding one ink to your resources. Cards in the inkwell can no longer be used as characters or items.
Questing: To gain lore, you can exert a character to quest. Each character card has a lore value (indicated by diamond icons) that determines how much lore you gain when they successfully quest.
Challenge: Instead of questing, you can choose to challenge an opposing character that has already been exerted. Both characters deal damage equal to their strength. If a character receives damage equal to or greater than their willpower (shown in a shield icon), it is banished (discarded).
Use Abilities: Many cards come with special abilities that you can activate by exerting the card or paying additional ink.

Resources: Ink and Exertion

Ink: Ink is the resource used to pay for playing cards and activating abilities. Each card's ink cost is shown in the top-left corner. To gain ink, you can place a card face down in your inkwell, but it must have a gold circle around the ink symbol to be used this way.
Exerting: When you use a character to quest, challenge, or activate an ability, you must exert it by turning it sideways. Exerted characters cannot be used again until they are "readied" during your next turn.

How to Win Disney Lorcana

The primary way to win in Lorcana is by being the first player to reach 20 lore points. Lore is earned through questing with your characters. You can also eliminate your opponent by forcing them to run out of cards—if a player has no cards to draw at the start of their turn, they lose the game.

Terminology for New Players

Exerted: A card that is "exerted" is turned sideways to show it has been used for an action. Exerted cards cannot be used again until they are "readied" on the next turn.
Inkwell: This is where you store cards that are used as ink. Ink is a resource that lets you pay for other cards and abilities. Each card placed into the inkwell is worth 1 ink.
Lore: Lore is the victory condition in Lorcana. Players gain lore by questing with their characters. The first player to reach 20 lore wins.
Questing: This is the action you perform to gain lore. You exert a character to quest, gaining lore equal to the number of diamond icons on the card.
Challenge: Instead of questing, you can challenge an opponent's exerted character. Both characters deal damage equal to their strength, and if a character’s damage equals or exceeds its willpower, it is banished.
Banished: A banished card is sent to the discard pile. Characters are banished when they take damage equal to or greater than their willpower.
Mulligan: At the start of the game, players can perform a mulligan by returning any number of cards from their hand to the bottom of their deck and drawing the same number of new cards.
Ready: At the beginning of each turn, players "ready" their exerted cards by turning them upright, making them available for use again.

Key Tips for New Players

Balance Your Deck: Make sure to include a balance of low-cost and high-cost cards to avoid getting stuck with expensive cards early in the game.
Mulligan Wisely: Don’t be afraid to mulligan if your starting hand doesn’t have enough cards with inkwell icons or is too top-heavy.
Use Ink Efficiently: Don’t forget to add a card to your inkwell each turn. Falling behind in ink can leave you struggling to play more powerful cards later.
Strategic Questing: While questing is essential for victory, be mindful of when to exert your characters, as it leaves them vulnerable to challenges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Play Lorcana with More Than Two Players? Yes! Lorcana can be played with more than two players by following the same rules. Players take turns clockwise, and abilities that affect more than one player trigger in turn.
What Happens When I Run Out of Cards? If you cannot draw a card at the start of your turn, you lose the game..
What Do I Need to Start Playing? To get started, all you need is a preconstructed starter deck, available for around $16.99. You can also collect booster packs to upgrade your deck over time.

Final Thoughts

Disney Lorcana is a fast-paced, fun, and strategic TCG that brings your favorite Disney characters to life in new and exciting ways. With its easy-to-learn rules and deep strategy, it’s perfect for both beginners and experienced players alike. Follow this guide, practice your strategy, and you’ll be questing for lore in no time!

Happy questing, Illumineer!

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