Disney Lorcana is a collectible trading card game published by game maker Ravensburger North America featuring characters that have been licensed from the Walt Disney Company. In Lorcana, players will assemble decks of trading cards and engage in head-to-head play using point-based cards with characters, locations, and powers to defeat their opponent.
Collectible trading card games that are similar to Lorcana include Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game and the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
“Inks” are a key feature of cards used for the Lorcana game and are an essential part of the game’s rules system.
Lorcana Cards Have One Of Six Ink Colors
Cards used in Lorcana play have one of six different ink colors attributed to them. The ink colors are: Amber (yellow), Emerald (green), Sapphire (blue), Amethyst (purple), Ruby (red), and Steel (grey).
In a game of Lorcana, players (who are called “Illumineers”) use inks as the power source to summon Disney character cards for use in the game. These cards are officially referred to as “glimmers.”
The official description for Lorcana explains: “As an Illumineer, you’ll wield six magical inks to summon glimmers of Disney characters. Glimmers can appear as familiar friends or in fantastically reimagined forms. Recruit glimmers to your team as you travel through the world of Lorcana.”
Each card in Lorcana is assigned a color reflecting a particular theme. In the first seven Lorcana cards that were released at the 2022 D23 Expo, these were the cards and their affiliated colors: Mickey Mouse – Brave Little Tailor (Ruby), Cruella De Vil (Emerald), Captain Hook (Steel), Maleficent (Red), Robin Hood (Sapphire), Elsa (Amethyst), Stitch (Amber).
The official rules for Lorcana say that each deck in the game can only utilize two colors of ink. The limitation means that within Lorcana there are 36 possible combinations of ink available.
Here are the official descriptions for each Lorcana ink.
Amber: “Amber glimmers are purposeful. Patient and dedicated, they’re able to pursue causes and ambitions with single-minded persistence. They often work within communities, either from above as a leader or from within as a healer, bodyguard, or just a loyal follower.”
Example Amber cards: Stitch (Rock Star), Moana (Of Motunui)
Amethyst: “Amethyst glimmers are wondrous, for this is the otherworldly ink of sorcerers, sages, animated objects, and other glimmers who use their special powers to achieve their aims. They are incredibly powerful when they have access to their amazing abilities but may land in trouble if they’re stripped of those or tap into power they can’t control.”
Example Amethyst cards: Elsa (Snow Queen), Mickey Mouse (Wayward Sorceror)
Emerald: “Emerald glimmers are flexible. Gifted with the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, they are never caught off guard. Quick-thinking but not necessarily book-smart, they navigate their environment—whether physical or social, natural or artificial—with ease.”
Example Emerald cards: Cruella De Vil (Miserable As Usual), Jumba Jookiba (Renegade Scientist)
Ruby: “Ruby glimmers are daring. They use their speed and bravery to defy the odds. They are often warriors, explorers, and daredevils.”
Example Ruby cards: Maleficent (Monstrous Dragon), Aladdin (Heroic Outlaw)
Sapphire: “Sapphire glimmers are intellectual. Intelligent and creative, they excel at strategy, invention, and the arts. They can almost always know something, plan something, or invent something that will win the day.”
Example Sapphire cards: Robin Hood (Unrivaled Archer), Aurora (Dreaming Guardian)
Steel: “Steel glimmers are strong. Large and imposing, armored, or just plain powerful, Steel glimmers can apply huge amounts of brute force to get the job done.”
Example Steel cards: Captain Hook (Forceful Duelist), Simba (Returned King)
Similarity To Magic The Gathering Colors
Magic the Gathering, the most popular trading card game (TGC), categorizes its playing cards with a color system similar to Lorcana. But unlike Lorcana’s six colors, there are only five card colors in Magic. The Magic colors are: white, blue, black, red, and green.
Each color in magic is connected to a different type of “land” card, which is drawn from a player’s hand and laid on the gaming surface to determine the “mana” (points) that can be used in each round of Magic. Mana points allow players in the game to determine which cards can be played in each round of Magic.
Ryan Miller And Steve Warner, who co-designed Lorcana for Ravensburger, both worked at Wizards of the Coast. Wizards of the Coast is the company that publishes Magic and both men also developed expansions and accessories for Magic.
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.