How to read Lorcana cards
If you’re new to the game, you may be confused by what all the different symbols and numbers mean. How do you know which character to play and what effects it has?
The first thing to understand when learning how to read any Lorcana Cards is the different card types and their characteristics. Most cards are costed, with a strength and willpower. They also have a symbol and classifications like character, item, or action. To help you get started, here’s a guide to the different Lorcana cards and their symbols.
How to read Lorcana cards
Lorcana cards have several symbols that are important to understand when playing the game. These symbols represent a character, item, or action.
Characters have different ink colors, each with its own abilities and strategic design. Royal Scarlet is a strong attacker, but his ability to ready exhausted characters lets you get more out of your cards on other turns. The Dancer’s Song, meanwhile, is only available to Red cards, so you’ll want to plan your deck to include her if you’re planning to use her ability.
The goal of the game is to collect 20 lore or make your opponent run out of cards. The game begins by shuffling the deck and drawing seven cards for your opening hand. The turn proceeds in two parts – the Beginning Phase and the Main Phase.
In the Beginning Phase, cards are readied by exerting them, abilities are resolved, and you draw a card. Once all players have had a chance to take these actions, the Main Phase begins.
During the Main Phase, most of the game’s actions take place. You can play cards, activate abilities, and even attack. These actions can only be taken on your own turn – with a few exceptions, such as triggered abilities.
After all actions have been taken, the turn ends, and players draw a card for their new opening hand. There is no specific “end step” or “ending phase.”
How to play cards in Lorcana
Playing cards in Lorcana is fairly straightforward – most card abilities require paying the ink cost. You can generate ink by exerting cards in the Inkwell, your deck’s pool of resources. Cards that generate ink are known as Inkmakers.
Ink costs can only be paid by cards in your hand, except for songs. Songs are powerful actions that can be played for free if you exert a character with the specific cost, as long as you have enough ink. The exception to this rule is if you’re playing a song using a character’s ability, in which case you can pay the cost with cards from your hand.
Songs can be incredibly powerful, especially if you can play them for free. For example, the Blacksmith’s Song lets you play a +1/+1 counter on another character for free, which could be used to buff up your character and attack your opponent.
Questing with characters is the main way to generate lore and win the game. Each deck must have at least 60 cards, with a limit of four copies of each card name. You can only have up to two colors of ink in your deck.
When you quest with a character, you move it to the Quest Board, then take the top card from your deck and place it in your hand. If the name of the card matches with a character you’re controlling, you generate lore. If not, the card is worthless, and you can discard it at the end of your turn.
It’s important to maintain a diverse board to cover all bases for playing songs. For instance, if you have a Red character with a high strength, you may want to field a backup defender like the Knightess to ensure you can play The Dancer’s Song without exerting the Red Attacker.
