You can start playing Disney Lorcana with one ready-made 60-card starter deck for $16.99, or the $29.99 2-Player Starter Set if two of you are learning together, because each deck is legal and playable out of the box and the first player to reach 20 lore wins the game.
Last updated: Sunday, November 1, 2026. Rules, ink descriptions and product contents are from Ravensburger, the publisher of Disney Lorcana, through the official site at disneylorcana.com and ravensburger.us, read on that date.
Before your first store event, check which sets are legal on our Lorcana rotation and ban list tracker, keep the Disney Lorcana release calendar bookmarked for the next set dates, and read our Hyperia City release story for the newest set a beginner can buy today.
What do you need to play Disney Lorcana?
You need one 60-card deck per player, a way to track lore from 0 to 20, and damage counters, and that is the whole list. A starter deck contains all of it in one box, including the counters, which is why it is the standard first purchase. In the game you are an Illumineer, a sorcerer who uses magical ink to summon glimmers, reimagined versions of Disney characters, and race your opponent to 20 lore.
| Piece | How many | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Deck | 60 cards | Characters, items, actions and locations in one or two ink colors, with no more than 4 copies of a card with the same full name |
| Lore counter | 1 per player | Tracks your lore from 0 to 20, and the first player to 20 wins |
| Damage counters | Shared pool | Mark damage on characters after a challenge, and a character is banished when its damage equals or passes its Willpower |
| Inkwell | Built as you play | One card a turn goes face down into your inkwell, and that ink pays the cost of every card you play |
What are the six ink colors?
Every card belongs to one of six inks, and a deck can use cards from one or two inks only. Ravensburger describes the six play styles this way, so pick the pair that sounds like how you already like to play.
| Ink | Play style, per Ravensburger |
|---|---|
| Amber | Healing and protection, keeping your characters in play |
| Amethyst | Magic, with tricks and supernatural effects |
| Emerald | Trickery and disruption, bending the game against your opponent |
| Ruby | Aggressive and fast, built to race ahead |
| Sapphire | Resource management and long-term strategy |
| Steel | Strength and defense, with big, resilient characters |
There are four card types to know. Characters quest for lore and challenge opposing characters. Items stay in play and give ongoing help. Actions are one-time effects, and songs are actions a character can sing instead of paying ink. Locations, added with Into the Inklands, give lore and effects while your characters visit them.
How does a turn work?
Every turn has two parts: a Beginning Phase of Ready, Set and Draw, then a Main Phase where you take your actions in any order you like. Setup takes a minute: shuffle your deck, set your lore counter to 0, draw 7 cards, decide who goes first by any random method, and alter your hand once if you want to, by putting any number of cards on the bottom of your deck, drawing back up to 7, and shuffling.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Ready | Ready all of your exerted cards by turning them upright |
| Set | Resolve any effects that happen at the start of your turn, and gain lore from your locations |
| Draw | Draw 1 card, except that the first player skips this step on their first turn |
| Main Phase: ink | Once per turn, you may put 1 card with the inkwell symbol face down into your inkwell |
| Main Phase: actions | Play cards by exerting ink, quest with ready characters, challenge opposing exerted characters, use abilities, sing songs and move characters to locations, in any order |
Two timing rules catch every new player once. A character cannot quest, challenge or use an ability that exerts it on the turn you played it, because its ink is still drying. And a character can only challenge an opposing character that is exerted, so a questing character is exposed and a ready character is safe.
How do you win a game?
You win the moment you reach 20 lore, and lore comes mainly from questing: exert a ready character and gain lore equal to its lore value, the number of diamond icons on the card. Challenges do not score lore directly. They slow your opponent down by banishing their questers, and they cost you damage in return, because both characters in a challenge deal damage equal to their Strength to each other and damage stays on a character until it is healed or banished.
Which starter deck should a beginner buy first?
Buy a single-player starter deck from the newest set, Hyperia City, at $16.99 if you already have an opponent with a deck, and buy the 2-Player Starter Set at $29.99 if two of you are starting together. Every set ships the same proven shape: a preconstructed 60-card deck designed and tested by Team Lorcana, in two inks, with foil versions of the characters on the box.
| Product | What is inside | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-player starter deck | 1 deck of 60 cards including 2 foil cards, 11 game tokens, a quick start rulebook and 1 booster pack of 12 cards | $16.99 | One new player joining friends who already play |
| 2-Player Starter Set, Hyperia City | 2 decks of 60 cards, Technically Terrific (Baymax, Emerald and Sapphire) and Madcap Whimsy (Madam Mim, Amethyst and Steel), with 2 foil cards per deck, 13 damage tokens, 2 lore trackers and a rulebook, and no booster packs | $29.99 | Two new players learning together |
| Disney Lorcana TCG Gateway | 2 starter decks of 30 cards, a two-player game board with character standees, rules and player’s guides, and reward cards that build both decks up to full 60-card decks as you learn | $24.99 | Kids and families, and anyone who wants the game taught step by step |
| Illumineer’s Trove, Hyperia City | 8 booster packs, a full-art storage box, 6 damage dice, a lore counter and card dividers | $49.99 | Your second purchase, once you know your two inks and want to customize |
Gateway deserves its own line for younger players. Ravensburger released it on Friday, August 9, 2024 as a board game style learn-to-play box for ages 8 and up, and by the end of its guided games both 30-card decks have grown into standard decks you can take to a store night. A single booster pack costs $5.99 and holds 12 cards, so packs are for growing a collection after a starter deck, never a substitute for one.
What should you buy after a starter deck?
Buy booster packs or an Illumineer’s Trove from the sets that are legal in Core Constructed, and sleeves to protect your deck. Hyperia City, set 14, released everywhere on Friday, October 23, 2026 and is the newest set, and the next set, Into the Inkdark, arrives in February 2027. Keep your upgrades inside your deck’s two inks, keep the 4-copy limit in mind, and check the rotation tracker before buying older singles, because sets rotate out of Core Constructed once a year.
Where can you learn the rules for free?
Ravensburger teaches the game for free in three places: the how-to-play videos and quick start rules on the official Disney Lorcana site, the official Disney Lorcana app, which explores every card, tracks your collection and teaches you how to play step by step, and Gateway’s guided first games if a copy is on a store’s demo shelf. Watch one how-to-play video before your first store night and the Ready, Set, Draw rhythm will already feel familiar.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards are in a Disney Lorcana deck?
A deck is 60 cards, in one or two ink colors, with no more than 4 copies of a card with the same full name. Differently named versions of the same character, such as two different Elsa cards, count as different cards.
What is the best Lorcana starter deck for a complete beginner?
The newest set’s starter deck is the safest first buy, because its cards stay legal in Core Constructed the longest. Right now that is a Hyperia City starter deck at $16.99 for one player, or the Hyperia City 2-Player Starter Set at $29.99 for two players learning together. Families with younger kids should start with Gateway at $24.99 instead.
How much does it cost to start playing?
One player starts for $16.99 with a single starter deck. Two players start for $29.99 with the 2-Player Starter Set, or $24.99 with Gateway, which also teaches the rules as a board game.
Do you need to buy booster packs to play?
No. A starter deck is a complete, legal deck out of the box. Booster packs at $5.99 are for customizing and strengthening a deck once you know how it plays.
Source: Ravensburger, Disney Lorcana official site at disneylorcana.com and ravensburger.us, including the Hyperia City product page, the starter deck product descriptions and the January 17, 2024 Gateway announcement, read Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Changelog: Created Sunday, November 1, 2026, with the official Ready, Set, Draw turn structure, the six ink styles, the $16.99 starter deck, the $29.99 Hyperia City 2-Player Starter Set and Gateway at $24.99.