How to Play Disney Lorcana TCG
Two Illumineers. Two decks of beloved Disney characters reimagined. The first player to gather 20 lore wins. Ravensburger's Lorcana is welcoming, fast, and built around a clever choice every turn: do you ink this card for resources, or play it for power?
Quick Overview
- 2-player head-to-head, ~20 minutes per game
- Each player brings a 60-card deck using cards from up to two inks
- You win the moment you reach 20 lore — earned mainly by questing with your characters
- No separate resource deck: any card in your hand can be put into your inkwell as ink to pay for other cards
Card Types
Character
Your Disney heroes and villains. They quest for lore, challenge, and have Strength, Willpower and a Lore value.
Action
One-shot effects played from hand, resolved, then discarded. Some Actions are also Songs.
Song
A special Action that a character can "sing" for free instead of paying its cost, if the character's cost is high enough.
Item
Persistent gadgets and artifacts that stay in play and give ongoing or activated effects.
Location
Places that stay in play. Characters can move to them, and some Locations earn lore on their own.
The Six Inks
Every card belongs to one of six inks. Your deck can use cards from up to two inks — pairing inks defines your deck's personality:
Turn Structure
- Ready — Turn all your exerted cards upright again.
- Set — Resolve any "start of turn" effects; gain lore from Locations.
- Draw — Draw 1 card. The player going first skips their very first draw.
- Main Phase — Do any of these in any order: put one card into your inkwell (face down, once per turn), play cards by paying ink, quest with characters to gain lore, and challenge opposing characters.
Questing & Challenging
To quest, exert a ready character to gain lore equal to its lore value (the diamond icon). That's how you race to 20.
To challenge, exert one of your ready characters and attack an exerted opposing character. Both deal damage equal to their Strength. A character is banished when its damage reaches its Willpower. You can only challenge characters that are already exerted — so questing leaves your characters open to attack. That tension is the core trade-off every turn.
Common Keywords
- Rush — This character can challenge the turn it's played.
- Evasive — Can only be challenged by other Evasive characters.
- Bodyguard — Enters play exerted and must be challenged before your other characters.
- Ward — Opponents can't choose this character for effects (only challenges can hit it).
- Challenger +X — Gets +X Strength while challenging.
- Singer X — Can sing Songs of cost X or less for free.
- Shift — Play this character on top of a matching one for a reduced cost.
Deck-Building Rules
- Exactly 60 cards minimum (most decks run exactly 60)
- Up to 2 inks per deck
- Max 4 copies of any card by full name
- No separate resource deck — your inkwell is built from cards in your hand
Quick FAQ
Do I need to buy real cards to play on TCG Zen?
No. Our virtual pack sim, collection tracker, and (coming soon) deck builder all run on the cards you've ripped digitally. Real-world ownership is tracked separately if you want it.
How is Lorcana different from Magic or Pokémon?
The biggest difference is the inkwell: there's no separate land or energy deck. Any inkable card in your hand can be banked as ink, so every card is a resource or a play — your call each turn. You also win by gathering lore, not by reducing an opponent to zero.
Which inks should a beginner start with?
The official starter decks are built around friendly two-ink pairings. Amber/Amethyst (support + magic) and Ruby/Sapphire (aggro + ramp) are both forgiving for new players. Pick the characters you love most.
What are Enchanted cards?
Enchanted cards are full-art alternate versions of select cards — Lorcana's rarest, most sought-after pulls. They're the case-hit chase in our pack sim, layered on top of the normal rarity slots, just like the real product.