The Lorcana Lore Race: Counting Turns to 20

Lore is a race to 20. But a race is not won by whoever is ahead now. It is won by whoever crosses the line first. At Level 3 you stop reading the lore trackers as scores and start reading them as clocks.

Lore on the board

Start with one number for each player: lore on the board. It is the total lore value of every character that could quest on that player’s next turn, plus the lore from their locations, which they gain at the start of each turn.

A character still drying now will be dry on its owner’s next turn, so it counts. A character your opponent can banish before then is at risk, so note it.

The clock

Now turn lore into turns:

Turns to win = lore still needed ÷ lore on the board, rounded up.

Say you have 11 lore and 4 lore on the board. You need 9 more. Nine divided by 4 is 2.25, so your clock is 3 turns. Your opponent has 14 lore and 3 on the board. They need 6, which is exactly 2 turns.

Even though you are behind by only 3 points, you are a full turn behind on the clock. If nothing changes, they win.

Who goes first matters

Clocks are counted in each player’s own turns. If both players need 2 turns and it is your turn now, you finish first. When the clocks are tied, the player whose turn comes first wins the race. When you are the second player in a tied race, you must change the clock.

Changing the clock

Every play either shortens your clock or lengthens theirs. Four ways:

Add lore to your board. Playing a quester shortens your clock, but only from your next turn, since it arrives drying.

Remove lore from their board. Banishing an opposing quester lengthens their clock. A clean kill on a 2-lore character can turn their 2-turn clock into 3.

Protect your board. A Bodyguard that must be challenged first, or Evasive questers that most characters cannot challenge, keep your clock safer.

Deny their location. A location’s lore comes in every turn. Challenging it away removes that lore from every future turn.

Back to the example

You have 11 lore and 4 on the board; they have 14 and 3. Their clock is 2 turns; yours is 3. You lose the race unless you change it.

Option A: quest with everything. You reach 15 lore. Their clock is still 2 turns, while yours is now 2 turns as well (5 more lore at 4 a turn). They go next, so they finish first. You still lose the race.

Option B: one of your 2-lore characters challenges their exerted 2-lore quester instead of questing, banishes it, and survives. You quest with the rest for 2, reaching 13. Their lore on the board drops to 1. They need 6 at 1 a turn, which is 6 turns. You need 7 at 4 a turn, which is 2 turns. You are now far ahead on the clock, even though you are still behind on the score.

The numbers are invented, but this is the most important pattern in Lorcana: a challenge that removes lore on the board can be worth more than the lore you would have gained.

Hidden lore

The clock only counts what you can see. Your opponent’s hand can hold more: a character with Rush that can challenge the turn it arrives, an action that gains lore, a song that changes the board. Two habits help:

• Leave a margin. If your clock beats theirs by only one turn, expect a surprise and keep a guard ready.
• Count their ink. A card in their hand can only matter on their next turn if they can pay for it, with one more ink if they ink a card. The next lessons look at reading what they might be holding.

Racing versus controlling

The clock also tells you what kind of game you are in.

• Your clock is shorter: race. Quest with everything safe, and only challenge what would change their clock enough to matter.
• Their clock is shorter: control. Remove lore from their board until your clock wins.
• The clocks are close: every trade matters. Count both before every challenge.

Saying both clocks out loud every turn feels slow for a week. Then it becomes the way you see the game, and you will start to win races you would have lost by a single turn.