Getting started with Disney Lorcana
Disney Lorcana is Ravensburger's card game with Disney characters in new artwork, launched in 2023. Two players face off, each with a deck of at least sixty cards, and the first to collect twenty lore wins. You earn lore by sending characters on quests. The game is built to be easy to get into: every card with an ink symbol can become a resource, and a starter deck is playable straight out of the box.
Quick facts
| Publisher | Ravensburger |
|---|---|
| Launch | 2023 |
| Number of players | 2, but also works with more |
| Deck size | At least 60 cards |
| Maximum per card | 4 copies of the same card |
| Colours per deck | At most 2 |
| Cards per pack | 12 |
| Packs per display | 24 |
| Card size | Standard, 63 × 88 mm |
| Win condition | First to 20 lore |
What makes Lorcana easy to learn
What stops most beginners in a card game is the resource system. Lorcana solves it with a single idea: any card with an ink symbol on its edge can be placed face down as ink instead of being played, once per turn. So you need no special resource cards, and you rarely get an opening hand with no resources at all. The price you pay is a choice every turn: a card you put down as ink cannot be played, and a card you play never becomes ink.
The rest of the game is built in the same economical way. A deck is at least sixty cards with at most four copies of the same card, and it may use at most two of the colours. The cards are standard size, 63 × 88 millimetres, which means regular deck protectors and binder pages fit without you having to look for anything special.
The turn
A turn has four steps, and the first three take seconds:
- Ready. Turn upright everything you used last turn.
- Set. Effects that trigger at the start of the turn happen now.
- Draw. Draw a card. The player who starts the match skips their first draw.
- Main Phase. This is where the whole game happens.
In the main phase you do what you like, in any order and as many times as the rules allow: put a card down as ink, play cards by paying with ink, send characters on quests to earn lore, challenge your opponent's characters and use abilities. Songs deserve a sentence of their own, since they are the first thing beginners miss: a song is an action that a character can sing for free instead of doing something else that turn, which lets you play expensive effects early if you have the right character in play.
The three rules that decide matches
Drying ink is the most important. A card that has just been played can neither quest nor challenge the same turn: it must have been in play since your previous turn. That is why a seemingly strong hand rarely wins right away, and why tempo in Lorcana is about putting things down one step ahead.
The ink symbol is the second. Only cards with the symbol on the edge may be put down as ink, and that is the whole reason a deck cannot consist of only the best cards. If you build your deck from expensive cards without the symbol, you end up with a full hand and nothing to pay with.
The third is that challenges are aimed downwards. You can only challenge characters that are exerted, for example after a quest, never those that are ready. The result is that whoever chases lore keeps exposing themselves, and that tension is what decides matches: you have to quest to win, and every quest gives your opponent a target.
The card types
Characters are your fighting cards and carry three numbers: strength, willpower and a lore value showing how much they earn when they quest. Actions are one-off effects that are played and put in the discard pile, and songs are actions with the free route described above. Items stay in play and give a lasting effect. Locations also stay in play, can hold characters and often earn lore on their own, which gives a slower but steadier way to win.
The colours
| Amber | Supports your own characters, heals and plays wide. |
|---|---|
| Amethyst | Draws cards, moves things around and manipulates the board. |
| Emerald | Steals, returns cards and disrupts the opponent. |
| Ruby | Aggressive, fast characters and direct damage. |
| Sapphire | Items, resources and long-term building. |
| Steel | Tough characters and control through challenges. |
Since a deck may carry at most two of them, choosing colours is the first real decision you make. Ready-made decks are always built on a pair that works together, and that is why a starter deck is a better way in than a pile of loose packs: you get to see how a working pair behaves before you build your own.
What you need to get started
A starter deck is enough to play the same evening: it contains a ready-made deck in two colours and often a booster pack on top. You also need something to count lore with, and most starter decks have a counter in the box. If you play often, add deck protectors, since the cards are shuffled every match, and a deck box that holds eighty cards or more once the deck is sleeved.
Besides starter decks, the series is sold as booster packs of twelve cards, displays of twenty-four packs, gift sets and the series' large box Illumineer's Trove, which contains packs, storage and play materials. Which route is cheapest per card varies by release, and that question belongs in the guide to pack types.
The rarities
Common, uncommon and rare work as in most card games. Super rare is the step above, and legendary is the highest of the regular levels. Enchanted is what drives secondary market prices: a special illustration with foil across the whole card, in a considerably smaller print run than legendary. Epic and iconic are later additions with their own treatment. How to read the rarities on the card is explained in the guide to rarity.
Building your own deck
Start with the colour pair, preferably one offensive and one supporting colour. Then make sure at least half the cards have the ink symbol: that is where most builds fail, and the mistake only shows when you are stuck on three ink in turn five. Keep the cost curve even with the weight on cards costing two to four, include characters that earn lore quickly and not just tough defenders, and stick to at most four copies of the same card.
Beginner mistakes are few and easy to recognise. Forgetting to put down ink one turn cannot be made up later. Putting your best cards down as ink just because they have the symbol costs you the match further on. And only challenging, never questing, feels safe but wins nothing: challenges do not decide the match, lore does.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to know the Disney films? No, but the artwork is more fun if you recognise the characters.
- Is it suitable for children? Yes, it is one of the easiest card games to learn, and the world of the artwork is familiar.
- Can three people play? Yes, the game works with more than two, but it is built for one against one.
- What happens if the deck runs out? The player who ends their turn with an empty deck loses.
- Why are some sets hard to get hold of? The series has had print shortages at several releases, which has made early editions expensive on the secondary market.
Read more about the pack types, the rarities and how to protect your cards.
Shop: Disney Lorcana at Bangerpack.
Written by those of us who run Bangerpack. Range and prices change continuously. What applies when you read this is shown in the category.
