Play Format Guide

TCGs like Disney Lorcana often have several play formats that bring variety to the game. Each play format has their own set of deck building requirements. They follow the Comprehensive Rules and the Tournament Rules, unless when the play format rules contradict or add a rule.

Play formats are typically separated into “Constructed” and “Limited.”

• In Constructed, you build a deck with the cards in your collection.
• In Limited, you build a deck with cards you find in booster packs you open specifically for your game (i.e., from that limited card pool).

To conclude the co-op "fight the boss" product Illumineer's Quest: Deep Trouble brings its own play format.

There is currently only one formally recognized Constructed format, which has been named “Core Constructed" in the Glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (see “deck”) and the Tournament Rules. All official games (tournaments) use Core Constructed.

More official Constructed play formats may develop over time.

Core Constructed

The Comprehensive Rules (2.1.1) state that each player’s deck must meet the following requirements:

• The deck must contain at least 60 cards. There’s no upper limit to the number of cards in a deck.
• The deck can contain cards of up to two ink types.
• The deck can contain up to 4 cards with the same full name.
• The deck can’t contain any banned cards.

The Tournament Rules (5.1) states:

• “Constructed” describes any event where players are expected to build their decks ahead of time. Currently, there is only one Constructed format, Core, but more may be added in future updates.
• Constructed decks must contain at least 60 cards. There is no maximum deck size, but a player must be able to shuffle their deck in a timely manner without assistance.
• Constructed decks must not contain cards from more than two ink colors. For example, if a deck contains Amber and Amethyst cards, it must not contain any Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, or Steel cards.
• Constructed decks must not contain more than four of a single card as identified by its full English card name. Character cards with different subtitles are considered different cards for purposes of this rule. For example, a deck may contain up to four copies of Ariel – On Human Legs as well as up to four copies of Ariel – Spectacular Singer.

Note:

• There are currently no banned cards. Do consider errata, especially the errata of Bucky – Squirrel Squeak Tutor.
• Scenario cards, such as those of the Ursula scenario deck in Illumineer’s Quest: Deep Trouble, are not legal in this format.
• The product Disney Lorcana Gateway is an introduction to Core Constructed and Disney Lorcana in general.
• The pre-made Disney Lorcana Starter Decks are Core Constructed and a great way to start playing Core Constructed at a casual level. The Starter Decks are similar in power, so you should have fair games when everyone plays a Starter Deck. You'll notice what works well, and what doesn't, which will trigger you to tweak your deck and to start brewing decks. Don't expect to beat a competetive deck with a Starter Deck though.

What will come next?

Commonly used formats in other TCGs:

• Standard:
  • In a “standard” Constructed play format only cards of sets of the current + previous x years are legal. It is often introduced after a few years to avoid that new players have to buy old hard-to-find cards. As Disney Lorcana currently doesn’t have that many cards sets, this format isn’t needed yet.
• Commons only:
  • Same rules as Core Constructed, except only cards that have been printed as common are legal.
• Commons and uncommons only:
  • Same as the previous one, but uncommon cards are legal as well.
• Singleton:
  • The deck can contain only one card with the same full name. Often the deck must contain minimum 100 cards. There are often specific additional rules.

Limited is an extremely popular format in other TCGs which brings players to their local game store.

The official Tournament Rules recognize Sealed, Preconstructed and Draft as tournament Limited format. On 29 August 2024, the Limited format Pack Rush was published.

Sealed

Sealed is usually played with a pool of 4 to 8 players. Once all players built their deck, the games are played 1vs1 in a mini tournament format.

Every player receives a number of closed booster packs, usually 6. Therefore, 1 booster box is needed for 4 players, 2 for 8 players. The booster packs are usually of the same set, but as in Draft, you can be flexible about that. Rule of thumb – every player gets the same number of booster packs of each set to avoid power creep issues between sets. Unless you throw that caution in the wind and go for a Chaos Sealed where anything combination goes!

Deck building follows the rules of the Tournament Rules (Section 6):

• Open your (6) booster packs,
• Sealed decks must contain at least 40 cards. There is no maximum deck size, except that decks are limited in size by the card pool they’re built from.
• Limited decks aren’t restricted in how many ink types they may contain.
• Limited decks may contain any number of copies of any individual card. For example, if a player in a Sealed tournament opens six copies of Genie – The Ever Impressive, they may play all six in their deck.

TCG tradition states that every game you play, you must start with your initial deck. We’ll have to wait for the official rules to know if any changes can be made between games.

The Tournament Rules (6.2) state:

• In a Sealed tournament, each player is provided with a set of unopened booster packs from which they will build their deck.
• The minimum number of booster packs to be provided for Sealed tournaments is six per player, from the set(s) of the tournament organizer's choice. Each player begins with the same number of booster packs from each set selected.
• See the Tournament Rules for the time limits.

Preconstructed

The Tournament Rules (6.3) state:

• In a Preconstructed tournament, players are provided with a random starter deck from the set chosen for the tournament.
• Players may add or exchange any number of cards between the preconstructed deck and the booster pack included in their starter deck box. Since the provided preconstructed deck is 60 cards, the deck must be a minimum of 60 cards after the deck construction period. Limited-format decks may contain cards of more than two inks.
• Preconstructed events are only Casual tournaments.
• See the Tournament Rules for the time limits.

Draft

Draft is usually played with a pool of 8 players, but you can do it with less. Once all players built their deck, the games are played 1vs1 in a mini tournament format.

Your (limited) card pool is built as follows:

1. Every player receives a number of closed booster packs, usually 4. Therefore, you’ll need 1 booster box to play Draft with 6 players. The booster packs are usually of the same set, but as in Sealed, you can be flexible about that. Rule of thumb – every player gets the same number of booster packs of each set to avoid power creep issues between sets. Unless you throw that caution in the wind and go for a Chaos Draft where anything combination goes!
2. The players keep their booster packs closed and sit around a (long) table.
3. Each player opens their first booster pack, looks through all the cards in it, puts the promo or art cards aside and selects 1 card. Then they pass on the remaining cards face down to the player to his left. Each player picks up the face down cards they just received from the player to their right, looks and them, selects 1 card, and then passes the remaining cards again to their left. Repeat until the last card is picked.
4. After all cards of the first booster pack are picked, each player opens the second pack, does all the same as in the first round, but passes the remaining cards to the player on the right instead of the left. Repeat until the last card is picked.
5. For the third and fourth booster pack, do the same, and switch the pass direction each round. Pack 1: Left -> Pack 2: Right -> Pack 3: Left -> Pack 4: Right.

Once you have your cards, the deck building rules are straightforward and the same as Sealed. From the Tournament Rules:

• Draft decks must contain at least 40 cards. There is no maximum deck size, except that decks are limited in size by the card pool they’re built from.
• Limited decks aren’t restricted in how many ink types they may contain.
• Limited decks may contain any number of copies of any individual card. For example, if a player in a Sealed tournament opens six copies of Genie – The Ever Impressive, they may play all six in their deck.

Picking cards in Limited is a skill on its own. While picking cards, keep in mind that you’ll have to build a deck with only 2 colors, however, watch out for tunnel vision and restricting yourself very soon to only 2 colors. You may get good cards in those colors in round 1, but in round 2 they may dry up because another player picked them before you could. The best Draft players try to stay open until they see which colors are open and then commit to them.

TCG tradition states that every game you play, you must start with your initial deck.

The Tournament Rules (6.4) state:

• The minimum number of booster packs to be provided for Draft tournaments is four per player, from the set(s) of the tournament organizer's choice. Each player begins with the same number of booster packs from each set selected.
• Players are seated into random groups called pods. The number of people in each pod is at the discretion of the Head Judge, although these guidelines should usually be followed:
  • Each pod should have as close to eight players as possible.
  • Each pod should have at least six players.
  • There should be no more than one pod with an uneven number of players.
• Following these guidelines, here are the recommended pod sizes for smaller tournaments:
  • 6-11 players: 1 pod
  • 12-14 players: 1 pod of 6, 1 pod of 6 to 8
  • 15-16 players: 1 pod of 8, 1 pod of 7 to 8
  • 18 players: 3 pods of 6
  • 19-20 players: 2 pods of 6; 1 pod of 7 to 8
  • 21 players: Pod of 6, Pod of 7, Pod of 8
  • 22 players: Pod of 6, 2 Pods of 8
  • 23 players: Pod of 7, 2 Pods of 8
• In Casual Draft tournaments, players may be paired against any other player in the tournament.
• In Competitive Draft tournaments, players must be paired against players in their own pod.
• See the Tournament Rules for the time limits.

Pack Rush

These are the official Disney Lorcana Pack Rush Rules Version 11 November 2024 also available on the official website:

THE RUSH IS ON!

Introducing Pack Rush, a quick, new way to play the Disney Lorcana trading card game using just a couple of booster packs! Featuring a faster pace, Pack Rush is the perfect way play between rounds at your local game store, make a game out of opening a booster display at home, or just a fresh way to enjoy Disney Lorcana anywhere.

To play, follow these setup instructions:

1. Each player needs two unopened Disney Lorcana booster packs. These can be from the same set or a mix of your favorite sets.
2. Determine the first player using any method that’s convenient and comfortable for you. Examples include rolling dice, flipping a coin, taking turns naming Disney Princesses until someone can’t, etc.
3. Open your booster packs. It’s best if you don’t look at the cards yet. That way the game can be a surprise for everyone.
4. Set aside the marketing/puzzle cards. You’ll need them later.
5. Shuffle all the cards from your two booster packs together, again taking care not to look at them. There is no rule against mixing ink types in Pack Rush— you can play with them all!
6. Set your lore tracker to 0.
7. Draw 5 cards for your starting hand. If you want to alter your hand, you can do that now.
8. Remember those two marketing/puzzle cards you set aside? Alakazam— they’re ink cards! Put them into your inkwell in the ready position. You start the game with 2 ink ready to go!

Once these steps are completed, the game begins. From this point on, Pack Rush uses the normal Disney Lorcana rules (which you can find here), with a couple of important exceptions:

• The first player to reach 15 lore or more wins the game.
• If you need to draw and you’ve run out of cards in your deck, shuffle your discard and place it facedown as your new deck.

For even more adventure, try drawing your two booster packs at random from a mix of different sets—or developing your own takes on this fast-paced version of the game. When it comes to creativity in Disney Lorcana, the sky’s the limit. Good luck, Illumineers!

Illumineer's Quest: Deep Trouble is currently a unique Disney Lorcana product as it brings its own play format where you team up with up to three friends to beat a boss deck (Ursula). Yes, 1 to 4-player PvE co-op!

Each player uses a Core Constructed deck. They don't play against each other, but instead play together against the Scenario deck. The game is played following the Deep Trouble rules sheet (included in the product). Those additional rules specify which rules apply on top of the Comprehensive Rules (e.g., how the boss turn is played).

The future will tell if there will be more Illumineer's Quest products and if they'll follow the same rules. Fingers crossed!