How to play characters and spells in Disney Lorcana

Players around the world are eager to discover the basic gameplay systems of casting cards in Disney Lorcana TCG, from what an Inkwell is to Exert and Ready positions.

Characters and spells are the foundation of the Disney Lorcana TCG, with decks getting built around these cards. Each deck contains 60 cards with a goal of getting 20 Lore counters to win the match. Casting characters and spells within Disney Lorcana requires players to pay that card’s Ink cost. Abilities can also have an Ink cost, while some can get cast for free. But it all starts with cards that are in the Inkwell.

Here are the Disney Lorcana gameplay systems of casting, paying a cost for cards, and the position of cards on the battlefield, according to Disney and Ravensburger.

Disney Lorcana Inkwell explained

As a player in the Disney Lorcana TCG, you are an Illumineer who has access to an Inkcaster that creates characters and items. These are the spells in a 60-card deck. To play these cards, players will add one card from their hand to the Inkwell once per turn.

Only cards that have an Inkwell icon (the hexagon shape in the top left corner of a card) around the casting cost of that card can get put into a player’s Inkwell. Prior to putting the card into the Lorcana Inkwell, that card is revealed. But it no longer has any value beyond being able to Exert Ink so the player may cast cards from their hand. The card is then placed in the Inkwell face down and becomes an Ink card.

The Inkwell system is similar to other card games, like Legends of Runeterra, where the number increases once per turn. This creates a Midrange style of gameplay for most decks, where players are limited in what they can cast or abilities they can use during the early game stages. Players must strategize to build up their combos through Lorcana characters and spells for when enough Ink has been collected in the Inkwell.

Ready and Exerted Lorcana cards (tapped and untapped)

Cards that are on the Disney Lorcana battlefield and Inkwell are always in one of two positions: Ready or Exerted. These terms are also sometimes referred to as untapped and tapped. Activating abilities and other game rules will require a player to Exert or tap a card in order to gain an effect, use an ability, collect Lore counters, and pay a card’s Ink casting cost.

Once a player puts at least one Lorcana card in the Inkwell, they may then Exert the Ink card to pay for the cost of a card in hand—as long as that cost is one. The higher the casting cost of a card, the more Ink cards a player will need to Exert in order to cast that card.

All characters and items enter the battlefield Ready. Not all cards can get used upon entering the battlefield during that turn and a player may need to wait for one full turn to use that card. At the start of each player’s turn, all cards are returned to the Ready position, unless something in the game is preventing it.

Main gameplay systems within Disney Lorcana will often require a player to Exert a card to activate its ability or to gain Lore counters. This also may require an additional cost of Exerted Ink cards from the Inkwell.

What are Lorcana Songs and how they work

An alternative cost in Disney Lorcana TCG gameplay is a Song. Some actions will have a Song on them that provides players with another way to pay for that action. 

• Songs: “A character with cost “X” or more can Exert to sing this Song for free.”

A Song that has an Inkwell casting cost of two, for example, can get played for free if there is a character on the battlefield with an Ink cost of two or higher that can get Exerted. The gameplay mechanic is similar to Convoke in Magic: The Gathering, although a player can only Exert one character to pay the Songs Inkwell cost.

Players can experience gameplay when the Disney Lorcana TCG drops into local game stores on Aug. 18. Large retailers have a release date of Sept. 1.