There is no shortage of TCGs out there leveraging existing IP. From the Final Fantasy TCG to Pokémon to the newer One Piece set, if you like it, you can probably play it. Well, Disney got into the action with Lorcana last year, and it has started releasing in Aotearoa and Australia. But if you’re keen, you better jump on the early sets fast, as they are selling out like crazy.
With my TCG journey starting late last year, I was keen to check this one out, so I swung down to Bea DnD to try a beginner event.
What is a Learn-to-Play event like?
The event I went to gave you a starter deck. That has a fully ready-to-play deck, a quick start guide, and some stuff to track life. There is also a booster, so you can immediately tweak your deck if you pull the right cards.
We then casually played some games while one of the amazing Bea DnD staff hung out, helped explain the game, and played some matches too. It was chill, fun, and a great environment to try Lorcana out.
So what’s it like to play?
I will get into this in more depth when I have more time to play and more products to test out. But using the first experience, it plays a lot like other TCGs mashed together. Like FAB, you can turn almost any card into your inkwell, which is used to cast cards from your hand. But like MTG, you play one turn into your inkwell, and they stay there for the game.
Then, when you have your turns, you do a starting step, which is similar to Magic, where you prepare everything. Draw a card, play some ink, play some cards down, and send your cards on quests.
Unlike other games, rather than having a life counter, you capture lore. Starting at zero lore, your goal is to get up to 20 lore and win. Each character card has a lore value, so instead of attacking, they go on their quest and earn lore points.
So there isn’t any violence?
You might think that it’s a Disney game, but you’d be wrong. They don’t attack players, but when a character goes on a quest, they are exhausted, which leaves them vulnerable to an attack. This means scoring that sweet lore is a risk, leaving you open to potentially losing your character in a battle. Taking out opponents characters isn’t easy either, as Pokémon damage counters hang around, even if you take out their character.
The big thing missing right now is the ability to play on each other’s turns. You complete your turn, then your opponent has and completes their turn. No instant or response type of gameplay leaves that fear of unspent ink out of the game. Hopefully this comes in later sets, but for now it’s fine.
So should you be checking Lorcana out?
Having only tested a couple first chapter sets so far, I’m torn. It is fun, but it’s a little bit simple. The next month or so will see us catch up on the next three sets, and it will be interesting to see how it evolves, and then we will be joining the rest of the world. So far, I am optimistic, but I will need to play with a bunch more kits before I am sold.
