Glossary

Welcome to Disney Lorcana's Glossary!

A glossawhat?! Wikipedia states "A glossary is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms." Therefore, this page is an alphabetical list of terms in Disney Lorcana with their definitions. Think of it as the dictionary for words that have a specific meaning in Disney Lorcana.

The Comprehensive Rules of Disney Lorcana contain the official glossary at the very end. We thought that's a bit hidden, and since any real player should be using the correct words, we've replicated that content here, and where we thought it appropriate, we added our own notes, based on our own insights and experience (no, we don't have insider knowledge - we're normal players just like you).

Ability

Special rules explaining what the card can do that difers from the game rules, such as an efect that resolves as a result of the card being played.

Action

A type of card that gives its player an immediate one-time advantage. When an action is played, its player resolves its efects and then puts it in their discard pile. Actions never enter the Play zone.

Activate

To use an activated ability of a card.

Activated Ability

An ability that a player may use after paying its cost. An activated ability can’t be used if its cost can’t be paid. Activated abilities of items may be used the turn they’re played.

Active Player

The player who has started their turn. When a player ends their turn, they’re no longer the active player.

Bag

A nonphysical zone where triggered abilities wait before determining how their efects resolve. Whenever a triggered ability’s condition is met, the ability is added to the bag.

Banished

A card that is put into a player’s discard pile after it’s banished. A card can be banished as a result of abilities or efects or if it has damage equal to or greater than its Willpower W.

Beginning Phase

The first phase of the turn, where a player resets their cards for the turn. This is where all efects that end at the start of the player’s turn end and where efects that occur or begin at the start of their turn happen. The Beginning Phase has three steps: Ready, Set, and Draw.

Card type

The type that each card used in the game has, such as character, action, item, or location. A card’s type determines the rules for how to play it.

Challenge

When a player exerts one of their dry characters and chooses an exerted opposing character or an opposing location. Each character deals damage equal to their Strength S to the other character or the location.

Challenging character

A character chosen by the active player to challenge an opposing character or location. A challenging character is considered “in a challenge” throughout the duration of the challenge.

Character

A card that has at least one of the classifications listed in the Comprehensive Rules 6.1.2.2 on its classification line and also has both Strength and Willpower characteristics. A character that’s played is put into the Play zone and remains there until it’s banished or removed from play by a game effect. A player may have multiple copies of a character with the same name in their deck but can’t have more than 4 copies with the same full name.

Classification

A category that identifies some characteristics of the card and may be referenced in rules of other cards. A card’s classification is located to the right of a character’s ink type symbol.

Cost

What is required in order to play a card or use an activated ability. This may be an ink cost or an alternate cost such as exerting a character. An activated ability can’t be used if its full cost can’t be paid.

Damage

Damage on a character or location is represented by damage counters and counts against its Willpower. Damage is dealt by characters in a challenge and by some efects. When a card with damage moves from in play to any other zone, the damage ceases to exist.

Damage counter

A counter put on a character or location card to show how much damage it has. A single damage counter normally represents 1 damage; any damage counter intended to represent more than 1 damage counts as a separate damage counter for each 1 damage it represents. If an efect puts a damage counter onto a character or location, it does not count as damage dealt to the character or location and isn’t afected by modifications to damage that is dealt.

Damaged/Undamaged

A character or location with 1 or more damage is considered damaged. A character or location with no damage on it is considered undamaged.

Deck

A set of cards a player uses in the game. The parameters of the deck are defined by the format being played. For example, in Core Constructed a deck consists of 60 or more cards, up to two ink types, and up to 4 cards with the same name and version (together known as a full name). Other formats may have different construction rules. There’s no upper limit to the number of cards in a deck. The deck is considered a private zone.

Discard

1. noun. The single faceup pile where actions are put after they’ve finished resolving and where other cards are put after being banished from play or discarded. When a player puts a card from their hand into their discard, they’re discarding that card. The discard is considered a public zone.
2. verb. When a player chooses 1 or more cards from their hand and puts them into their discard pile. A player can discard only from their hand.

Discard pile

Another name for the discard.

Draw

When a player takes the top card of their deck and puts that card into their hand. A player can draw only from their deck.

Draw step

The third step of the Beginning Phase of a player’s turn where the player puts the top card of their deck into their hand. Once all efects have been resolved and there are no more waiting to be added, the game moves into the Main Phase. On the first turn of the game, the active player skips this step.

Dry

A character that was in play at the start of its player’s current turn is considered to be dry.

Drying

A character that was played after the start of its player’s current turn is considered to be drying. Drying characters can't quest, challenge, or exert to pay any cost. Non-activated abilities on drying characters, including abilities that trigger “When you play this character,” are still in efect while the character is drying. Drying characters may still be afected by card effects.

Effect

What happens as a result of resolving an action or ability.

End of Turn Phase

The third phase of the turn structure that begins when the active player declares the end of their turn.

Exert

To turn a card sideways, such as to quest, challenge, or pay the cost of a card or ability. Some abilities use the exert symbol to show that the card must be exerted as part of the ability’s cost. While a card is exerted, its player may still use abilities on it that don’t require them to exert.

Exerted

A card that has been turned sideways.

For Free

An effect that allows a player to play a card or use an activated ability without having to pay its listed ink cost. A player who plays a card or uses an activated ability for free must still pay any other costs.

Full Name

For cards that have a version in addition to a name, the combination of the two.

Game State Check

The check the game performs to verify a set of conditions and the required actions when one or more of those conditions are met. This check occurs at the end of any step, after any action or ability is finished resolving, and after each effect in the bag is finished resolving (see Comprehensive Rules 1.9, “Game State Check”).

Hand

The zone where cards drawn by a player are held.

In Play

A term used to describe a card that has been put into the Play zone.

Ink

The resource that players use to pay the cost of playing cards and using certain abilities. A player’s ink is represented by the cards they’ve put in their inkwell.

Ink Type

The ink type of a card as shown by the ink type symbol at the left edge of the card, just above the text box. The six ink types are Amber, Amethyst, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, and Steel, and each has its own symbol on the cards. A deck can have up to two ink types.

Inkwell

The private zone where a player puts their ink cards, facedown. Each card in a player’s inkwell represents 1 I, no matter what’s on the front of the card, and players can’t look at the front of the cards in any inkwell.

Inkwell Symbol

A circular symbol that is present around a card’s cost if that card can be put into its player’s inkwell and used as ink.

Is Damaged

Is dealt damage.

Item

A card that lists “Item” on its classification line. When a player plays an item, they put it in their Play zone, where it remains until it's banished or removed from play by a game effect. Items can be exerted on the turn they’re played. A player can’t have more than 4 copies of an item with the same name in their deck.

Keyword Ability

An ability or abilities represented by a short, bolded name that is the same wherever the ability appears. Examples of keyword abilities include Bodyguard, Challenger, Evasive, Reckless, and Rush.

Location

A card that lists “Location” on its classification line. When a player plays a location, they put it in their Play zone. Locations have a cost to play, a move cost to move a character to the location, and Willpower. Locations can be challenged; when a location has damage equal to or greater than its Willpower that location is banished. A location may have a Lore Value, which is how much lore its player gains at the start of their turn during the Set step. If a location has an activated ability, that ability can be used the same turn the location comes into play. A player may have multiple copies of a location with the same name in their deck but can’t have more than 4 copies with the same full name.

Lore

The resource players race to gain as they play. The first player to reach 20 lore wins the game.

Lore Value

A card characteristic that indicates the amount of lore its player can gain from it each turn. If it’s a character, the lore is gained by questing. If it’s a location, the lore is gained at the start of its player’s turn during the Set step.

Main Phase

The second phase of the turn structure, where a player can perform any of the Main Phase turn actions (see Comprehensive Rules 4.3, “Main Phase”).

Move Cost

The cost to move one of your characters to one of your locations.

Multiplayer Game

A game played with three or more player.

Name

A card’s name appears in large text above its classification line. On actions, items, and locations, the name is located in the center of the card. On characters, the name is located on the left of the card, across from its Strength and Willpower. A character’s or location’s name and version together make up the card’s full name.

Opponent

Anyone a player is playing against. Also known as opposing player.

Opposing Character

A character that an opponent played.

Opposing Player

Anyone a player is playing against. Also known as opponent.

Phase

One of the three main parts of a turn. The phases of a player’s turn are the Beginning Phase, Main Phase, and End of Turn Phase.

Play

The act of playing a card. A card can only be played from a player's hand. If the card played is an action, the player reveals the card, pays its cost, resolves its efects, and then discards it. If the card played is a character, item, or location, the player reveals the card, pays its cost, and puts that card into play.

Play for free

To play a card without having to pay any ink costs. A player who plays a card for free must still pay any other costs. player Anyone playing the game.

Private Zone

A zone where the cards aren’t publicly known. Players can’t look at them unless directed by a game rule (e.g., drawing a card) or an efect. Players can count the number of cards in a private zone at any time. While a private zone is revealed, it’s not considered private.

Public Zone

A zone where the cards are publicly known. Players can look at or count the cards in any public zone at any time.

Quest

When a player exerts a character to gain lore equal to that character’s Lore Value. A character can’t quest the same turn it’s played.

Ready

A card that has been put in the ready position (upright) or the act of putting a card in the ready position. A player readies all of their exerted cards in the Ready step of their turn.

Ready step

The first step of the Beginning Phase of a player’s turn where effects that apply “during your turn” start applying and the active player readies all their cards in play. Effects that would end “at the start of your turn” and “at the start of your next turn” end. Effects that trigger at the start of your turn trigger. However, they wait until the Set step to start resolving.

Reminder Text

Italicized text following a keyword and enclosed in parentheses. It’s not rules text and serves only as a memory aid.

Replacement Effect

An effect generated by some static abilities that replaces one effect with another.

Reveal

Showing the face of a card or cards defined in the effect to all other players.

Set Step

The second step of the Beginning Phase of a player’s turn where characters that are in play are no longer “drying” and can quest, challenge, or exert to pay costs for activated abilities or song cards. During this step, the active player gains lore from locations with a Lore Value characteristic they have in play. Efects that would occur “At the start of your turn” or “At the beginning of your turn” and abilities that triggered during the Ready step are added to the bag, then all triggers are resolved.

Shuffle

Randomizing the order of cards in a deck.

Simultaneous Turns

A turn in some multiplayer formats, in which all players on the same team progress through the phases and steps of the game at the same time. Triggered abilities and effects are added to the bag by the team as a whole, and the team chooses the order they resolve in.

Song

A type of action that can be played by exerting characters or by paying the song’s ink cost.

Stack

1. noun. A number of cards set on top of each other, such as a character with Shift and the character it was played onto. When cards in a stack leave play, they all go to the same zone as the top card and are no longer considered to be in a stack.

2. verb. When multiple effects combine. Keyword abilities that stack are followed by “+[N].”

Starting Hand

The initial 7 cards that a player draws at the start of the game, before they may alter their hand.

Starting Player

The player who takes the first turn of the game, determined randomly before the game begins. The starting player doesn’t draw on that turn.

Static Ability

An effect that could alter characteristics of a card, game rule, or game state. A static ability is continuously active, either for a fixed length of time or for as long as the card generating the effect is in play.

Strength

The amount of damage a character deals in a challenge. A character’s Strength may be referenced in abilities or effects.

Triggered Ability

An ability that causes an effect to be added to the bag when a particular condition is met. Triggered abilities start with “When,” “Whenever,” “At the start of,” or “At the end of” and describe the game state that causes the abilities to trigger and the effects of the abilities. When an ability triggers, its effect is placed into the bag to be resolved.

Turn

The unit of time each player takes to complete the following three phases: Beginning Phase, Main Phase, and End of Turn phase. Each player takes their turn before passing the turn to the next player.

Turn Action

An action that the game allows a player to take during the Main Phase of their turn. A player may take any number of turn actions on their turn, in any order. Turn actions include putting a card into the inkwell, playing a card, questing, challenging, moving a character to a location, and using activated abilities.

Undamaged

A character with no damage on it.

Version

A descriptor that can diferentiate cards with the same name for purposes of building a deck. A character’s or location’s name and version together constitute the card’s full name.

Willpower

How much damage it takes to banish a character or location.

Zone

A physical or nonphysical space used for gameplay purposes. Whether a zone is public or is private determines what information can be shared about the cards there. Each player’s zones are: deck, hand, play, inkwell, discard, and bag. All zones are considered separate from one another.