Wield The Magic Of Disney In The New TCG Lorcana

Get ready to embark on a magical journey like no other with the highly anticipated new trading card game, Lorcana. In a groundbreaking collaboration between entertainment giant Disney and game experts Ravensburger, this game promises to weave together the enchanting tapestry of Disney Animation’s most beloved characters and worlds. From the timeless classics to the modern masterpieces, “Lorcana” draws inspiration from the rich and diverse legacy of Disney’s collected works, creating a captivating fusion of strategy and nostalgia. Mark your calendars for August 18, 2023, when the first-ever set of Lorcana is set to be unveiled, inviting players into an unforgettable gaming experience that bridges the gap between generations and rekindles the magic of Disney’s cherished stories.

While much of the lore of Lorcana remains shrouded in secrecy, tantalizing fragments have emerged. Players are beckoned to take on the role of “Illumineers,” gifted magicians who hold the power to harness magical ink. With this enchanting substance, Illumineers can conjure forth Disney’s iconic characters and whimsical items, known in the game as “glimmers.” Hopefully, once the first set is released, more details about the game’s story will become known.

Curious to know more? Read on to find out how to play the game and catch a glimpse of some of the exciting new cards you can find in Lorcana’s debut release: The First Chapter.

 

Setting Up

Image via Lorcana Player

The goal of Lorcana is to be the first player to reach 20 lore. You start at 0, then through play you accumulate lore bit by bit. But every other player is also trying to reach 20, so you’d better be quick before someone beats you to it!

Lorcana can be played with 2 to 6 players. An Illumineer wields their own deck of cards that can be crafted to embody their unique strategy and style. Each deck must be composed of a minimum of 60 cards, and no more than four copies of a single card can be included. Players are also restricted by limiting the cards in their deck to only one or two ink types. These ink types–Amber, Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst, Ruby, and Steel–are attached to every character, item, and action card in the game.

To begin a game of Lorcana, each player shuffles their decks and sets their lore trackers to 0. Then draw seven cards from the top of your deck to make up your starting hand. After the first turn, players alternate turns, with each having the opportunity to play cards, accumulate lore, and attack their opponent’s characters.

 

On Your Turn

Image via Lorcana Player.

A player’s turn is divided into two phases: the Beginning Phase and the Main Phase. 

The Beginning Phase is made up of three steps: Ready, Set, Draw. First, in the “Ready” step, cards that were used on a previous turn and “exerted” (similar to being “tapped” in Magic: The Gathering) are turned back into the Ready position, now able to used again, Following this, in the “Set” step, the player can activate any Beginning Phase effects that their previously played cards may have. Finally, in the “Draw” step, the player can draw a card from the top of their deck and add it to their hand.

With the Beginning Phase complete, the player moves on to the Main Phase, which is where the fun happens. In this phase, they can play, activate, and use their cards in any order they wish, and the choices are numerous: play a card, use a character ability, use an item ability, quest with a card, and challenge your opponent’s character card.

To perform these actions, a player first needs to have enough ink. Ink is the main resource of Lorcana and it’s how you build up your ability to play and activate your cards. Every card’s cost to play is inside a hexagon shape in the top left corner of the card. If that hexagon also has a gold circle around it, the card can instead be placed in the player’s inkwell and used as a single ink card for the rest of the game. You can choose to add a card to your inkwell once per turn. To use ink cards to activate other cards, exert the required amount of ink cards by turning them on their side. They remain like this for the rest of your turn and cannot be exerted again until your next turn.

Image via Lorcana Player.

There are three types of Lorcana cards: characters, items, and actions. Item and action cards can be used immediately after being played, but character cards must wait until your next turn. Instead, characters are placed in the “Ready” position on the field in front of you. Some character and item cards also have special abilities that you can use on your turn. These abilities either have some kind of cost you must pay to use them, while others are passive, allowing you to use them with no cost.

To gain lore and advance on your goal to reach 20, you quest with a character card. Exert the character on the field, which adds the lore value on that card to your lore tracker. The lore value of each character card is indicated by the number of diamonds located on the right hand side of the card.

Image via Lorcana Player.

But you can also try to stop your opponent from gaining lore on their turn by eliminating their character cards. To do so, you challenge their character card with one of your own. First, you exert the character on the field that you wish to challenge with. Note that you can only challenge characters that your opponent currently has exerted. Both the attacking and defending characters do damage to each other equal to their respective strength values, which can be found in the star icon on the card. Once enough damage has been done to a character to equal or surpass its willpower (which is located in the shield icon of the card), they are sent to their player’s discard pile. Damage remains on characters between turns, so you don’t have to knock out a character in one blow.

Once you reach 20 lore on your lore tracker, you win! Although you can technically also win if your opponent runs out of cards in their deck, which automatically eliminates them.

 

For Collectors

As the first release for a highly-anticipated game, The First Chapter is expected to be in incredibly high demand. Players will be desperate to get their hands on the best cards to add to their decks, but there are also some beautiful cards for collectors to seek out as well. 

Cards are split into six different rarities (seven, if you include the promo cards released at earlier events!): Common, Uncommon, Rare, Super Rare, Legendary, and Enchanted. There are 204 cards from Common to Legendary in The First Chapter, and each card also has a foil variant.

Image via Lorcana Player.

But it’s the Enchanted cards that will capture collectors’ attention. Enchanted cards are borderless full-art cards with foiling and alternate artwork, and to put it simply, they are gorgeous. There are twelve Enchanted character cards in this initial set featuring some of Disney’s biggest characters, including Aladdin, Simba, the Genie, Elsa, and Mickey Mouse himself.

 

In Conclusion

Lorcana is going to have a massive debut. That’s what happens when a TCG features some of the most well-known and beloved characters on the planet! Players and collectors alike are expected to flock to hobby stores across the country to get their hands on The First Chapter. We will try to offer as many Lorcana products available as we can, so stay tuned for future news of Lorcana’s availability at Zephyr Epic.

What are your first impressions of Lorcana? Do you think the game has staying power? Let us know in the comments, and as always, thanks for reading!