Building your first Disney Lorcana deck is one of the more approachable deck-building exercises in the trading card game space. The Lorcana card system is intuitive, the six ink colours give clear direction, and the 60-card deck size is manageable compared to Magic's 100-card Commander format.
That said, there are real decisions to make and common mistakes to avoid. This guide walks through the full process from picking your ink colours to acquiring your cards, without assuming you already know the terminology.
A Lorcana deck is exactly 60 cards, uses two ink colours maximum, and contains a mix of character cards, action cards, item cards, and song cards. Start by choosing two ink colours that appeal to you, then build around low-cost characters for early Lore gain and high-cost characters for late-game power. Buying specific singles is almost always cheaper than opening packs to build a deck.
Start With a Starter Deck First
Before building from scratch, the most honest recommendation is to play a Starter Deck for 10–20 games first. The same advice applies here as with Magic Commander precons — playing an existing functional deck teaches you what good deck construction looks like in Lorcana before you start making those decisions yourself.
A Lorcana Starter Deck costs AU$25–35 and gives you a complete 60-card deck. After playing it, you'll understand the Ink system, you'll know how the Lore race plays out, and you'll have a feel for which strategies appeal to you. That experience makes your first deck-building decisions dramatically better than building cold from a card list.
If you've already played a Starter Deck and want to build your own, this guide covers the full process.
The Lorcana Deck Rules
60 cards exactly. No more, no less.
Two ink colours maximum. You can build a one-colour deck, but two is standard. Three or more colours is not supported by the rules — every card must match your chosen inks.
Up to four copies of any card. Unlike Magic Commander (one copy of each card), Lorcana allows up to four copies of the same card in your deck. Running four copies of your best cards is normal and expected.
The Inkwell. Cards designated as "Inkable" can be placed face-down in your Inkwell to generate Ink for playing other cards. Non-Inkable cards are typically more powerful but can't be used for Ink. Your deck needs enough Inkable cards (roughly 45–50 of your 60) to reliably fund your plays.
Step 1: Choose Your Two Ink Colours
Your ink colour combination determines your playstyle, your card pool, and your strategic identity. Here's a quick guide to choosing:
Amber/Steel: Protective big characters. Amber's support abilities keep your characters alive while Steel's powerful late-game characters generate large Lore. A slower, resilient strategy.
Ruby/Sapphire: Aggressive early with card advantage support. Ruby rushes Lore early while Sapphire draws cards and plays powerful items. One of the strongest competitive combinations.
Emerald/Amethyst: Control and manipulation. Emerald's evasive characters and Amethyst's action-heavy playstyle can be harder to interact with. Suits players who enjoy outmanoeuvring opponents.
Amber/Amethyst: Support and song. Heavy song card usage with Amber's team support. A popular combination for players who enjoy the song mechanic.
Steel/Sapphire: Big characters with card draw. Powerful but slower, relies on making each card count.
Ruby/Amethyst: Fast and disruptive. Combines Ruby's aggression with Amethyst's disruption tools.
These are starting points, not rigid prescriptions. As you learn more cards, you'll develop your own preferences for which combinations feel best to you.
Step 2: Understand the Card Types
Lorcana has four card types, and a functional deck needs a mix:
Character cards are your primary Lore generators and combat pieces. Characters have an Ink cost (how much Ink to play them), Strength (how much damage they deal in challenges), Willpower (how much damage they can take before being banished), and a Lore value (how much Lore they gain when you send them to quest). Characters are the backbone of your deck.
Action cards are one-time effects — draw cards, deal damage, move Lore, return characters. They're played and then go to your discard pile.
Item cards are permanent cards that stay in play and provide ongoing effects or abilities you can activate. Many competitive decks run several key items.
Song cards are a special type of Action that can be played for free by "exerting" (tapping) a character with an Ink cost equal to or greater than the song's cost. Songs are powerful because of their free-play potential.
Step 3: Build Your Mana Curve
The Ink cost of your cards determines when you can play them. A good Lorcana deck has a balanced spread of costs so you have plays available on every turn.
A rough starting framework for a 60-card deck:
Cost 1–2 characters (10–14 cards): Early plays that start questing immediately. These generate Lore in the early game and can challenge opponent characters to slow their Lore gain.
Cost 3–4 characters (12–16 cards): The mid-game backbone. Characters in this range have strong stats and abilities that define your deck's strategy.
Cost 5–7 characters (8–12 cards): Your powerful late-game threats. High Lore values per quest or strong challenge abilities that close out games.
Actions, Items, and Songs (18–24 cards): Your support package. Card draw, removal, and key items that support your character plan.
This isn't a rigid formula. Some strategies run more low-cost characters for aggressive early pressure; others run fewer early characters in favour of powerful mid and late-game plays. But it's a sound starting point.
Step 4: Build Your Support Package
Every Lorcana deck needs ways to draw cards, deal with opponent threats, and generate extra Lore. Your support package covers these roles.
Card draw: Running out of cards in hand is losing in Lorcana. Include cards that replenish your hand — Sapphire ink has the best card draw, but all colours have options.
Character removal: Ways to challenge or banish opponent characters that are questing for Lore. You can challenge with your own characters, but action-based removal gives you more flexibility.
Lore acceleration: Cards that gain Lore beyond just questing with characters — certain songs and actions can push you toward 20 Lore faster than raw questing.
Step 5: Check Your Inkable Ratio
Before finalising your deck, count your Inkable cards. You want approximately 45–50 of your 60 cards to be Inkable. This ensures you can reliably play Ink to fund your more expensive cards.
If your deck has too many Non-Inkable cards (say, 20 or more), you'll frequently have turns where you can't play anything because you don't have enough Ink. Non-Inkable cards are powerful but need to be used selectively.
Acquiring Your Cards in Australia
Singles from eBay Australia are the most cost-efficient way to build a specific deck. Search for the individual cards you need, check sold listings for current prices, and buy exactly what you want rather than opening packs hoping for specific cards.
Our eBay store stocks singles across all TCGs including Lorcana. Buying the specific cards you need costs a fraction of what opening booster packs to find them would cost.
Booster Displays and packs are a good way to explore the full card pool of a set you're interested in, but are rarely efficient for acquiring specific cards you've identified for a deck.
Trading with your playgroup or in Facebook groups and Discord servers can be extremely cost-efficient, particularly for lower-value staple cards.
Testing and Iterating
No first deck is perfect. Play your deck 10–15 games, then review:
Too slow starting up? Add more low-cost characters or Lore acceleration.
Running out of cards too often? Add more card draw.
Opponent characters questing unchallenged? Add more removal options.
Not reaching 20 Lore before opponent? Look at your Lore-per-quest values and whether your questing characters are surviving long enough.
Lorcana deck building rewards iteration. Each game teaches you something about what the deck needs.
Looking for Lorcana singles to build your deck? Browse our eBay store for singles with Australian shipping.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many of each card can I run in a Lorcana deck? Up to four copies of any card. Unlike Magic Commander (singleton), Lorcana allows full playsets of four. Running four copies of your best cards is standard practice.
Can I use cards from all Lorcana sets in one deck? Yes. Lorcana uses an Eternal format — all released sets are legal in the main constructed format. You can mix cards from The First Chapter, Whispers in the Well, and everything in between.
How much does it cost to build a competitive Lorcana deck in Australia? A competitive Standard Lorcana deck built from singles typically costs AU$80–200 depending on the archetype and which specific cards it requires. Budget decks using less expensive staples can be built for less.
Where can I find Lorcana decklists to reference? Dreamborn.ink and Pixelborn are the main Lorcana deck-building resources. They list tournament-winning decks, show card synergies, and track what's currently competitive.
Is it better to buy a Starter Deck or build my own first deck? Buy a Starter Deck first. Play it enough to understand the game. Then build your own with that experience informing your card choices. Building cold without playing experience produces weaker first decks.
Can I trade Lorcana cards with Pokemon or MTG players? Cards from different TCGs don't trade against each other for gameplay. But the buying and selling community overlaps — many TCG Facebook groups and Discord servers handle multiple games, and sellers on eBay often sell across multiple TCGs.