Disney Lorcana Builds on Multiplayer Format With Into the Inklands

Disney Lorcana's growing card list is good news for players who enjoy the game's multi-opponent format. One of the unique aspects of Disney Lorcana is that the game's rules supports both a 1v1 and a multi-opponent format with almost no variation in game rules. While other card games (like Magic: The Gathering) have vastly different formats to support multiplayer play, the only difference in Disney Lorcana's rules is that the active play rotates from player to player instead bouncing back and forth between two players. All of Disney Lorcana's rules and the abilities found on cards remain unchanged, a deliberate design philosophy incorporated from the starty. 

"We knew from the start that we wanted to make sure Disney Lorcana TCG was something that could be enjoyed with family and friends," said Steve Warner, Game Design Manager and Disney Lorcana TCG Co-Designer, Ravensburger North America, in an email to ComicBook.com. "These are beloved characters and we wanted to make sure anyone coming to the game could experience it the way they wanted to with no confusion. A lot of people prefer playing TCGs in multiplayer mode, which in many cases, isn't an option in most from the start. Instead, its added in later on, with new rules changes to make it work, which can confuse players."

While Disney Lorcana's rules don't differ between its 1v1 and multi-opponent format, certain card abilities become more potent because they either stay in play longer or because they impact more than one player. A character card ability that steals Lore from opponents becomes twice as powerful in a 3-player game than it does in a 2-player game, simply because it targets more players in the multi-opponent format. "Ursula – Power Hungry from The First Chapter is already in Amethyst decks, but her power actually allows her to take lore from every opponent and also draw a card for each lore lost," Warner said. "In one on one, that's just one card and one lore, but in multiplayer, she that could easily add up to two or three in multiplayer."

Likewise, a Bodyguard character or a card with Resist (which reduces damage anytime a character is targeted) become much more valuable in multi-opponent format, as both increase a player's likelihood that their characters won't be banished before their next turn. 

The new set, Into the Inklands, includes several cards that are particularly potent in multiplayer play. Kida – Protector of Atlantis reduces all characters' strength by 3 until the start of her player's next turn, which can keep vulnerable characters in play for an extra rotation. Additionally, Cursed Merfolk – Ursula's Handwork forces each opponent to choose and discard a card when challenged, which adds an extra wrinkle in multiplayer format as any opponent can set off that card's ability. Not only is the card's ability an effective ward, it also provides an opportunity for any other player to sabotage their opponents (save for the one who has Cursed Merfolk in play) with the card discard ability. Sure, it would be a pyrrhic move since the triggering player also has to discard, but sometimes a player has to make sacrifices to sabotage an opponent. 

Another new wrinkle in Into the Inklands is Location cards, which provide passive boosts to character cards that move to that location and also produce a steady stream of Lore at the start of a turn."Locations can be tricky in multiplayer since all opponents have the opportunity to deal with them," Warner explained. "That said, opponents who deal with them leave their characters vulnerable to challenges in subsequent turns. So sometimes you'll find locations get left alone because there's too many other things going on to deal with them safely." Again, the addition of multiple opponents add new layers to Disney Lorcana's gameplay, with the prospect of more damage, more targets, and more avenues for attack all coming into play.

Disney Lorcana doesn't necessarily favor differ cards in its different formats, but a lot of card abilities feel a lot more potent as a result of having multiple opponents. "The inks all bring their own strengths to multiplayer," Warner said. "Some inks will come across as more threatening, while others may feel more defensive – and it's important to take into account how the other players may react to that. Multiplayer as a whole is about knowing how to play your opponents against each other just as much as it is about playing the game itself."

Disney Lorcana's newest set Into the Inklands is available now at both hobby stores and mass retailers.