A partial rules set for Disney Lorcana, their new Disney-themed TCG, has leaked to the public via a cover story in early copies of Game Trader Magazine #279. This rules leak then led to a release of a two-page Quick Start Rules in an article in The Gamer. The newly released rulesheet then proceeded to be circulated on Twitter by multiple fan accounts, and clarifications of some of the rules appeared on the official Disney Lorcana Twitter account.
The new TCG carries some mechanical elements of other popular TCGs all wrapped up in Disney-themed skin. In Disney Lorcana, the goal of game is to be the first player to earn 20 or more Lore. Decks contain a minimum of 60 cards with only four copies of each card per deck and decks can only consist of one to two types of Inks. Cards have a symbol and colored band on them indicating their Ink type, similar to color types in Magic: The Gathering.
There are three types of cards in this game: Characters, Items, and Actions. Characters cards, the bread and butter of the game, have a Cost, Strength (similar to Magic “power”), Willpower (similar to Magic “toughness”), Abilities and Effects, Classifications, Ink, and Lore Value. Characters go off on Quests to earn their Lore Value in Lore points and can enter Challenges (fighting each other similar to Pokemon TCG). Items are permanents that grant special abilities, and Actions are one-time use cards that create an effect then get discarded. There are five rarities for Disney Lorcana cards: common, uncommon, rare, super rare, and legendary.
The game starts by players shuffling up decks, setting their Lore counters to 0, and drawing seven cards. After drawing, players get to alter their hands by putting any number of cards from their hand on the bottom of their deck and drawing back to seven cards (shuffling their deck afterward). First player is determined by random method (coin flip, die roll, etc.).
The game proceeds into a Beginning Phase, where players Ready exerted cards (similar to “untap/tap” in Magic), check for effects, and draw a card (except on the first player’s first turn). Players then enter their Main Phase where they can play a card face down in their Inkwell to create Ink. The Ink card stays in the Inkwell for the remainder of the game and produces one Ink, acting similar to the colorless version of land in Magic. Players can then exert their Ink to pay for cards’ costs to put them into play.
Players gain lore by exerting characters to gain their Lore value. They can also exert characters to engage other exerted characters in Challenges, where the character duel each other. Characters that are reduced to zero Willpower are banished from the board. Like Pokemon TCG, damage remains on characters throughout the game. After the Main Phase ends, the game progresses to the next player’s turn and game proceeds on from there until someone ends up with 20 Lore and wins.
In general, Disney Lorcana offers a lot of appealing elements for TCG players both new and experienced. The game seems easy to pick up and play, but also features some level of advanced strategy as players will need to make choices as to when to exert for Lore versus attempt to slow down their opponent’s progress.
Ravensburger revealed its Disney Lorcana: The First Chapter product line, the first set for their new Disney character TCG (see “‘Disney Lorcana: The First Chapter’ Product Line“).
Source: ICv2
