How to Start Playing Disney Lorcana: Your First Product

The Disney Lorcana shelf is a beautiful place to get lost. Booster packs, gift boxes, trove boxes, collector portfolios, all with glowing art of characters you already love. Most of them are made for opening, not for learning. This lesson sorts the shelf into what helps a new player and what can wait.

It is written for two readers at once: the person who wants to play, and the friend, partner, or parent who is about to learn alongside them.

Collecting and playing are two hobbies

Many people meet Lorcana through the art. Opening packs is fun, and a binder of favorite characters is its own reward. That is a lovely hobby. It is just not the same as learning the game.

A stack of cards from random packs rarely makes a deck that plays well. A playable deck needs at least 60 cards, no more than two ink types, and the right mix of cheap and expensive cards, most of them able to go into your inkwell. If the goal is to play, start with a product where that work is done for you.

The best first buy: the 2-Player Starter Set

The 2-Player Starter Set is the product the official site describes as everything two players need to play. It holds:

• Two ready-to-play 60-card decks, each with two special cards
• Two deck storage boxes
• Two lore trackers
• 13 tokens
• A rulebook

The two decks are built for people new to the game, and they play differently. One leans high-tech and flexible. The other is full of wizards and apprentices. That contrast is useful: each player learns a different style, and after a few games you can swap.

Pick it when:

• Two people are learning together.
• Nobody in the house has played before.
• You want one purchase that leaves you ready to play tonight.

A guided option: Disney Lorcana Gateway

Ravensburger also sells Disney Lorcana Gateway, which the official site calls the best way to learn how to play. It comes with a game board, a guidebook, two 30-card starting decks, and four reward packs. That suits a family that wants a guided start. A deck for a constructed store night needs at least 60 cards, though, so if weekly play is the goal, the 2-Player Starter Set gets you there sooner.

Free before you buy

Three ways to try Lorcana before you spend much:

• The official introductory videos. The Comprehensive Rules themselves tell new players to start with the videos, not the rules document. They are linked from the official site.
• The Companion app. The official Disney Lorcana TCG Companion app tracks lore during a game, and it is allowed for lore tracking at official events.
• A Learn-to-Play event. The Ravensburger Play Hub lists store events, and Learn-to-Play is one of its event categories. Ask the store whether you need to bring a deck.

What to skip for now

Booster packs as a way to build a deck. Each pack is random. Open them for fun, not as a plan. The upgrades lesson shows how to add cards on purpose.

Illumineer’s Trove boxes. The Hyperia City trove holds 8 booster packs and damage dice in a full art box. It makes a lovely gift for someone who already plays, and a good kit for a sealed game at home. It is not a first deck.

The Collection Starter Set. The edition on the official site holds a collector’s portfolio, a guide, 4 booster packs, and a special edition promo card. That is a starter for collecting, and a fine one. It does not give you a deck to play.

Gift boxes and older starter decks. Older single-player decks still play fine at home. But many store events use Core Constructed, which allows only cards from recent sets. Since the release of Attack of the Vine!, that means Fabled and later. An older deck may not be legal at the store without changes.

A note for parents and gift givers

You do not need to know the rules to buy well. Three questions do the work:

1. Will they play with someone at home? The 2-Player Starter Set.
2. Do they already play at a store? Ask what format the store runs, then buy booster packs or singles to improve their deck.
3. Do they mostly love opening packs and keeping favorites? Then collecting may be the hobby, and that is fine too.

If you are unsure, buy for playing first. A kid who knows the game gets more joy out of every pack later, because they know what the cards do.

Keep the first purchase small

Whatever you choose, stop there for a few weeks. Play both decks until everyone knows them. The upgrades in Level 1 make far more sense once you know which cards you wish you had.

If you are in central Indiana and want to see the game played before you buy, our list of Indianapolis game nights shows a weekly Lorcana night downtown.