Disney Lorcana Game Rules

In Disney Lorcana, you take on the role of an Illumineer. With magical ink, you summon glimmers: special versions of well-known Disney and Pixar characters, items, and locations.

During a game, you build your inkwell, play cards, and use characters to gather lore. At the same time, you try to slow down your opponent's game plan by challenging characters, removing cards, or using other abilities.

The normal way to win a game is to be the first to reach at least 20 lore. Therefore, Disney Lorcana is not just about attacking. A player can banish many of the opponent's characters and still lose if the other player collects 20 lore first.

During your main phase, you may normally once per turn place one suitable card from your hand face down into your inkwell. A card is normally suitable if the official inkwell symbol is around the ink cost.

Before laying the card face down, show it to your opponent. This allows them to verify that the card can indeed be used as ink. Then, place the card face down in your inkwell.

Once a card is in the inkwell, it is no longer treated as the Character, Item, Action, or other card type on its front. From that moment on, the face-down card is ink.

What happens if you cannot fully resolve a card?

For many effects, you perform as much as possible. However, you cannot choose a card or activate an ability if you cannot pay necessary costs or validly choose mandatory targets. The exact outcome depends on the wording and type of effect.

You exert a card by turning it about a quarter turn. Ink is exerted to pay costs. A Character is exerted, among other things, to quest, initiate a challenge, or use certain abilities.

At the beginning of your next turn, the designated exerted cards are straightened during the ready step, making them ready again. Readying does not remove damage and does not automatically allow a card to act again within the same turn.

When you play a Character, the magical ink it was summoned with is still "wet." The Character is therefore dry. This is sometimes compared to "summoning sickness" in other card games.

A Character is normally no longer dry when it has been continuously under your control since the beginning of your turn. A Character you played during your current turn must therefore usually wait until a subsequent turn.

To quest, you choose a suitable Character of yours that is ready and not dry. You exert the Character and normally receive the amount of lore shown on the right side of the card.

The lore is immediately added to your total score. If you then meet the applicable victory condition, the game can be won according to the applicable rules.

A Character that has quested normally remains exerted until it is readied again during a subsequent ready step or readied by another effect. An exerted Character can therefore usually be challenged by an opponent.

To challenge a Character, you normally choose a ready and non-dry Character you control and an exerted Character controlled by an opponent. You exert your attacking Character and resolve the challenge.

During a standard challenge, the two Characters normally deal damage to each other simultaneously based on their current strength. Any abilities can modify the strength, damage, or other aspects of the challenge.

A Location can normally be challenged without needing to be exerted. A Location normally does not automatically deal damage back during a challenge, as it does not have strength, unless a rule or card ability states otherwise.

As soon as the damage on a Character or Location is equal to or greater than its current willpower, the card is normally banished. The card then goes to its owner's discard pile.

Damage does not reduce printed willpower. A Character with 5 willpower and 3 damage still has 5 willpower, but has already taken 3 damage. If it then takes at least 2 more damage without other changes, it is normally banished.

What does banish mean?

When a card is banished, it is normally moved from the play area to its owner's discard pile. This can happen due to sufficient damage, a card ability, or another rule-based effect.

“Banish” is not the same as “discard”. Discard normally refers to a card being sent from the hand to the discard pile. Banish usually refers to a card being removed from the play area.

The rules text on a card may contain one or more abilities. An ability can be continuously active, automatically triggered by a specific event, or consciously used by a player by paying the associated costs.

Always read carefully which part of the text describes a condition, cost, target, duration, or effect. A small wording change can make a big difference in what the ability actually does.

When an event causes one or more triggered abilities to go off, those abilities are not always fully executed immediately. They first wait in a temporary rules zone called the bag.

The active player normally resolves their own available triggers in a chosen order. Then other players get the opportunity to resolve their triggers according to the official order. New triggers that arise during resolution can also be placed in the bag.

A Song is a special type of Action. You can normally play a Song by paying its full ink cost. In addition, the card contains a rule allowing a suitable Character to be exerted to sing the Song.

The singing Character must normally be ready and not dry, because you exert the Character as part of playing. The cost or required value of the Character must be sufficient for the Song in question.

A Character with Shift can normally be played in two ways: for its regular ink cost as a standalone Character, or for its lower Shift cost on top of a suitable Character you already have in play.

The Shift card is placed on top of the chosen Character. The cards then together form a single stacked Character. Only the top card normally determines the name, values, abilities, and other visible properties of the Character.

Which properties are retained?

The stacked Character retains certain information and state from the original Character. This includes the fact that it may have been under your control since the beginning of your turn, its ready or exerted status, existing damage, and some already applied effects. The exact rules are decisive for each specific interaction.

Therefore, a shifted Character can sometimes quest or challenge immediately if the underlying Character was no longer dry. The new Character is not automatically ready by Shift.

A Character can normally only be at one Location at a time. Moving to a Location does not automatically exert a Character or remove damage.

A Character can usually also be moved when it is dry or exerted, unless the relevant card text or another rule restricts this. Paying move cost is a separate action and not a quest or challenge.

When is it checked whether someone has won?

Achieving sufficient lore is checked according to the applicable game rules. Card abilities, ongoing effects, and other rules can determine the exact moment a result is established.

For regular beginner matches, the practical rule is simple: as soon as your lore counter reaches the required limit, you check if an effect still needs to be resolved and if the victory condition has been met.