Disney Lorcanaseems to have made it through a painful teething period. Now that cards are finally flowing into players’ hands in quantities large enough to turn away speculators, the fun can really begin. The next set, Into the Inklands, drops on Feb. 23 at local retailers, and Polygon had an early look at its two new starter decks. If you can only pick up one of these $16.99 decks, the choice is clear: Drop a lucky dime on Scrooge McDuck and friends.
Into The Inklands offers two preconstructed starter decks: an Amber and Emerald deck featuring the gangs from 101 Dalmatians and Peter Pan as well as a Ruby and Steel deck featuring Moana and Scrooge McDuck. While that first deck will likely appeal to collectors and fans of stunt decks, it’s the Inklands’ Ruby and Steel that packs the best punch out of the box. It all has to do with the game’s resource system, which stands out in contrast to systems in competitors like Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon Trading Card Game.
One of the most common frustrations I’ve had with Lorcana starter decks is that I tend to burn through my hand of cards fairly quickly. The problem is that I’m inclined to generate ink (the game’s version of mana) on every turn, which burns one card from my hand right off the top. Not having enough resources to deliver more powerful cards late in the game is a risk in any TCG, but here it’s been especially challenging. Even if I have enough ink, sometimes I’m out of cards to play, leaving some decks looking strong out of the gate only to taper off near the endgame. Even if enough cards show up, getting a bad draw late can mean that it’s fairly easy for my opponent to catch up, land a haymaker or two, and then saunter off to finish her algebra homework.
The card called Scrooge McDuck, Uncle Moneybags solves the problem of not having enough ink on hand with its Treasure Finder ability. Whenever you send this billionaire on a quest, he makes the next card you play to the table one ink cheaper. That means
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