How to Build a Lorcana Deck for Beginners

Lorcana is the hottest new way to explore the magical world of Disney. And, learning how to build a good Lorcana deck is much easier than you think so you can get started playing fast!

Whether you want to know how to build a Lorcana deck centered around your favorite characters like Pluto, Peter Pan, or Prince Charming or wish to adapt a playstyle from a different TCG, we’ve got you covered.

At Danireon, we’ve helped TCG fans across North America grow their collections. Our Disney Lorcana starter decks are an excellent launching pad for starting your journey. From that foundation, you can mix and match your favorite characters and playstyles to build a unique deck.

Basics of the Disney Lorcana TGC

Starting with the basics is crucial before you learn how to build a good Lorcana deck.

Lorcana provides a unique Disney-inspired spin on the world of trading card games.

Lorcana games feature two players battling each other across a double-sided playmat. 

Playmats have different zones to keep track of.

There’s a Play Area, where all your active cards go, an Inkwell for your ink (the game’s form of mana), and space for your deck and discard piles.

You win by gathering 20 lore points, gained in a few different ways.

Lorcana’s Gameplay Loop

You start the game by drawing 7 cards from your deck. You can then redraw some or all of your initial cards, called a “mulligan.”

Gameplay is then divided into 2 phases: the Beginning Phase and the Main Phase.

The Beginning Phase consists of the same 3 actions. You ready all your cards in the play area by turning them upright, resolve any effects at the start of your turn, and then draw a card. 

The lone exception to this ‘Ready, Set, Draw’ phase is on the very first turn, where the first player does not draw an extra card.

The main phase is where you can get creative. Add ink to your Inkwell, then play your characters, locations, actions, songs, and items in your play area. 

You can use ink to activate the effects on your cards by going Questing for lore, Challenging an opponent’s character or location, or Singing a song card.

Questing, Challenging, Singing, and ability effects are your tickets to gaining more lore. One of the keys to learning how to build a Lorcana deck for beginners is figuring out your preferred paths to victory and setting up your cards accordingly.

This gameplay continues back and forth until someone gains 20 lore.

How to Build a Lorcana Deck for Beginners

At first glance, figuring out how to build a deck in Lorcana could seem daunting. But there are just a few rules to remember, and the rest is up to your creativity!

How Many Cards Do You Need for a Lorcana Deck?

The first rule concerns the size of your deck. You need at least 60 cards in your deck, but there isn’t an upper limit.

A key part of figuring out how to build a Lorcana deck is settling on your final count. As with many card games, deck sizes close to the minimum are generally better since they have higher odds of drawing the cards you want.

There are exceptions, and as the game releases new sets, the meta may even come to prefer larger decks. But for your first few creations, we recommend sticking with 60.

How Many Duplicates Are You Allowed to Have?

Yay! Time for 60 copies of Piglet - Sturdy Swordsman or Stitch - Rock Star!

Well, not exactly.

Every deck is limited to 4 copies of any given card. This makes it less reliable to hit your game-winning combos by stacking your deck with capstone cards.

This rule applies to copies of specific cards, not characters! So you can have 4 copies of Daisy Duck - Lovely Lady and Daisy Duck - Musketeer each, but not 12 copies of Daisy Duck - Secret Agent.

Variety is the spice of life, and one of the most enjoyable parts of learning how to build a Lorcana deck is figuring out ways to complement your favorite characters. It even leads to exciting character pairings, like Pete - Bad Guy and Goofy - Musketeer Sword!

Exploring Ink Colors and Their Strategies in Disney Lorcana

One more rule to consider when learning how to build a Lorcana deck: ink colors.

You are limited to a maximum of two ink colors at a time. You can divide the two colors however you like. Decks with 30 Ruby and 30 Steel cards or 15 Amber and 45 Sapphire cards are both legal.

Each color has a playstyle, and pairing them together creates unique strategies.

This leads to 21 different playstyles (6 mono-color decks plus 15 double-color options), although there’s enough overlap to make things beginner-friendly.

Here is how each color plays individually:

Amber

If you love playing the long game, Amber provides the tools you need to do it. These cards keep your characters alive through healing and other forms of protection.

For example, Pluto - Rescue Dog removes up to 3 damage from another character upon entering the battlefield. There are also ramping cards like Pongo - Determined Father, which helps you find the characters you need to close out a game.

Amber’s slower-paced style is excellent when paired with a defensive color like Steel or a fast-paced color like Ruby to provide all-around coverage.

Amethyst

Amethyst players love to make their opponents feel like Alice entering Wonderland for the first time. This color features a fast-paced tempo, with card draw characters like Merlin - Rabbit or Chernabog’s Followers - Creatures of Evil to set up your plans.

You’ll also find many fast attackers with the Evasive or Rush keywords. Cards like Madam Mim - Fox, Peter Pan - Shadow Finder, and Flotsam - Ursula’s Spy can accumulate tons of lore in the same turn they’re played.

Amethyst gameplay tends to be more complex, but if you can pull it off, your opponents will wonder what hit them. It works well with all ink colors, and we particularly love it with Sapphire to double down on card draw.

Emerald

Fans of Magic: The Gathering may consider Emerald similar to Green, with its big characters and ramping style.

But Emerald has more nuance to it. While there are some powerful cards like Tor - Florist, Prince Phillip - Vanquisher, and Don Karnage - Prince of Pirates, Emerald also offers aggression.

Early game cards like Pegasus - Gift for Hercules, Diablo - Maleficent’s Spy, and Ursula - Deceiver are great for gaining lore and disrupting your opponent’s plans.

Emerald is always on the forefront, forcing reactions from your opponent. Pairing with Amethyst creates a disruptive deck, while Steel helps Emerald scale into the late game.

Ruby

While other ink colors have some level of aggression, Ruby offers the highest tempo by far.

There are several characters you can play on Turn 2 that accumulate lore quickly, like Stitch - Little Rocket, Lumiere - Fiery Friend, and Pegasus - Flying Steed.

Ruby also provides direct damage and removal with cards like Teeth and Ambitions and Dragon Fire.

With Ruby, the best defense is a good offense. It’s easy to win before your opponent can set up their strategy. It pairs well with fast-paced colors like Emerald and disruptive colors like Amethyst.

Sapphire

All-around strength is the name of Sapphire’s game. Like Amethyst, it centers around card advantage and tempo control.

But unlike Amethyst, Sapphire focuses less on disrupting the opponent. Instead, it specializes in strongly reacting to nearly any play style.

There are cards like Aurora - Dreaming Guardian that stop removal cards, Anna - True Hearted to go for a Questing win, or Winnie the Pooh - Having a Think for adding extra Ink.

Since Sapphire is tailor-made to win through questing, it pairs well with every other color–provided you add cards that complement that strategy.

Steel

Steel is a character-focused color. The characters you find in this color are difficult to remove through challenges. Robin Hood - Champion of Sherwood gets extra lore on challenge wins and provides card draw while losing. Mickey Mouse - Standard Bearer has 3 Strength for only 2 ink. For the late game, cards like Raya - Unstoppable Force are, well, unstoppable!

Steel also provides item cards like Imperial Bow and Gizmosuit to keep your board full of powerful characters.

It pairs well with colors like Emerald or Ruby for their powerful characters.

Strategizing Your Resource Curve

After identifying ink colors you like, you’ll need to consider your resource curve. This is a concept in all trading card games.

If you stack your deck with 8-cost cards like John Silver - Terror of the Realm, your opponent will defeat you before you can get your endgame characters out. 

Conversely, running a deck of only 1-cost cards means you have to win the game in just a few turns before your opponent overwhelms you.

Your ink cost distribution should look like a curve when graphed out. Enough 1 and 2-costs to ensure you have multiple in your initial 7-card draw, a bulk of 3-5 costs, and a couple of higher-cost cards.

This varies based on your ink colors. The more aggressive your playstyle, the higher amount of low-cost cards you will have.

More Tips on Building Your Disney Lorcana Deck

You know almost everything you need to learn how to build a Lorcana deck, but there are a few more things to consider:

• Card Types: Your deck should have a good balance of Character, Item, Action, Location, and Song cards.

• Synergies: Make sure that your cards help your overall strategy. For example, Minnie Mouse - Funky Spelunker can be paired with location cards and Minnie Mouse - Wide-Eyed Diver for a cohesive plan.

• Win Condition: How do you want to win? Aggression, control, singing? All of your cards should help you get there.

• Personal Touch: Don’t be afraid to add your personal touch! Want to create a deck centered around all the famous Disney dogs like Pongo - Ol’ Rascal? The world of Lorcana is your oyster.

There’s a final tip, and it’s the most important one. You need a reliable card shop to help you along your journey! Thankfully, you don’t have to search for very long.

Set Yourself Up For Success Building a Lorcana Deck at Danireon!

Danireon is North America’s #1 home for Disney Lorcana cards!

There are a few things that the best card shops share: a thriving community, fast shipping, a diverse inventory of cards, and authenticity.

We've focused on all four since our beginnings as a PokémonTCG shop. When Lorcana was announced, we were thrilled. Our community quickly latched onto the game, which magically pairs the world of Disney with exciting TCG mechanics.

Since then, we’ve grown our inventory of Disney Lorcana singles and Disney Lorcana booster boxes to help everyone grow their collections.

Our friendly team and Discord community are here to help you start your magical journey. We’ll pinpoint the best Lorcana starter deck for your preferred playstyle and characters. From there, you can use our guidance to help you find single cards to swap in and out of your deck or send in your decklist for us to review!

With our lightning-fast shipping and authenticity guarantees, you can shop at Danireon with peace of mind, knowing your growing collection is in good hands.

Parting Thoughts on How to Build a Deck in Lorcana

The principles are consistent whether you’re building your first Lorcana Deck or looking to branch out into a new ink color. Start with your preferred win condition, and work backward to fill your deck with ink-friendly cards that fit that strategy. 

The best way to get started is by picking up a starter deck from Danireon. From there, you’ll have the foundation to start getting creative with your gameplay.

Plus, we have a free Discord community you can join to find others to test out your deck with or just chat about the latest meta.

The #1 home for Disney Lorcana booster packs, starter decks, and singles is waiting for you, so shop at Danireon today!