Summary

• My first TCG tournament taught me a lot about the competitive play, etiquette, and financial investments that new players might not know.
• Research and preparation for your deck is crucial - even with a well-crafted strategy, drawing duds can lead to failure.
• Competitive TCG is a ruthless environment, with no concessions made for age or experience levels - it's all about winning.

I've been playing video games since I was a kid, but competitive trading card games were almost entirely new to me when I signed up for a competitive Disney Lorcana tournament at my local game store. As such, I didn't really know what to expect, but the less-than-stellar experience definitely taught me a few lessons for my next event - if I ever feel brave enough to return, that is.

Disney Lorcana shares a lot of similarities with Magic: The Gathering, though instead of aiming to reduce your opponent's life total you're building up your own supply of Ink, with the aim of reaching 20 Lore before your opponent(s). As a fairly new release from Ravensburger (first launching August 2023), I was in on the launch from day one, picking up tips online and building out a deck and strategy that felt right for me. After a few months of deck tweaks and practice with friends, I was ready for a tournament. Or at least, I thought I was. Here's what I learned.

6 I Didn't Know The House Rules

Key Components Of Polite Play

Having only played Lorcana with friends and watched others play online meant I missed out on key etiquette for competitive TCG play. My Round 1 opponent patiently explained what "cutting the deck" was as we swapped decks and sliced them in half. He was also very kind in offering me one of his (many) dice when I realized I hadn't brought enough damage counters to tolerate his barrage of attacks, and he also insisted on shaking hands when we were done.

While not knowing the very basics of polite play in a competitive TCG certainly wasn't the end of the world, I do feel it undermined me as a competitive player. When we sat down and I didn't know the etiquette, I gave off a clear sign to my opponent that I wasn't going to be serious competition for him. From that very moment, I wasn't to be taken seriously. Lesson learned: next time, I'll be the one offering the dice.

5 My Deck Simply Wasn't Ready

Doomed To Fail

At the time of the tournament I had a nicely refined Amber/Amethyst deck which I was quite proud of. I'd done my research and I knew the majority of players would be using either Ruby/Amethyst or the ever-popular SteelSong (Amber and Steel) - both tough decks to beat. However, I prepared accordingly, building my deck based on those that had already seen tournament wins via deck lists that had been shared online. While an Amber/Amethyst was a less popular deck for competitive play, I was quietly confident in my creation, which used subs of some of the rarer and pricier cards fo a budget-friendly version.

I expected that the level of research I'd put into my deck would be sufficient to at least present a challenge to my opponent, but when I sat down for Round 1 and kept drawing duds I realized a fatal flaw of my deck that the internet hadn't prepared me for: if I didn't draw those 1-cost cards early enough, I'd be out before I knew it. Sure enough after a rough two turns for me, my opponent sped ahead and took the win before the contestants on the left of me were even halfway through. My deck buckled under the pressure of my opponent's Ruby/Amethyst, and my confidence took a real hit.

4 Investing In Your Deck Is Key

I Hadn't Put My Money Where My Mouth Was

When I moved onto Round 2 with a new opponent, I was surprised to see she had the same deck type as me: Amber/Amethyst. Immediately, she suffered the same problem I did in not pulling the cards her custom deck was built for, and I started to speed ahead and rack up Ink quickly. The finish line was in sight for me when she suddenly lined up the cards her deck was created for: three of four Rapunzel - Gifted With Healing cards came out in quick succession, healing some of her heavies and allowing a near-infinite card draw for her.

It was close, but she got the win. Her Rapunzels came in just in time to bring me down. More important than her win was what I learned: my opponent had put down some real money when investing in her deck. Each Punzie was going for around £25 - 30 GBP ($31 - $38 USD) at the time, and those were just four of her cards. Some quick math on my part put her deck valued at over £200 GBP ($254 USD) from only the cards I'd seen, whereas mine was less than a quarter of that thanks to some of my budget-friendly subs. I learned that competitive play doesn't come cheap, and if I really wanted to continue pro play, I'd need to start investing.

3 My LGS Had Real Pros

Some TCG Players Are Gods Among Men

One of the main reasons I decided to go to a Lorcana tournament was the newness of the game. Unlike the now-decades old Pokémon and MtG, I felt Lorcana would have a more even playing ground. I assumed everyone was starting in the same place knowledge-wise. This was a mistake. My local game store already had a defined hierarchy of competitive players at the time I signed up, and the Top Dogs were well-established by the time I rolled in.

During Round 1 I was seated next to the two pros of previous Lorcana tournaments and the chat between my opponent and them quickly showed that these two players were undefeatable. They were both seasoned MtG players with years of TCGs under their belts, and Lorcana was a breeze for them. They'd built up a reputation as the revered players of each LGS event, the two that nobody else wanted to be paired with because even sitting opposite them meant a sure-fire Lorcana loss.

I was told they took home the prizes every week, and that they were already growing bored of Lorcana because of how "easy" they found it. For new TCG players like me, they made a win impossible, which in turn made me feel more defeated than I was already starting to feel. Maybe if I'd known more going in, this fact wouldn't have felt like the blow it was.

2 Competitive TCG Is Ruthless

No Concessions For Anyone

While competitive Lorcana was a new realm for me, I did have one round of professional Pokémon TCG when I entered the Pokémon League for one single game at around the age of 10. I won that game, but I can't help but wonder if the staff member I'd played against let me have the win on of being a child. My first Lorcana tournament knocked that sentiment right out of me when I saw a young girl repeatedly get wiped out by her opponents.

Around the age of 9 or 10 and dressed up in her finest Disney gear, this young Lorcana fan started out the event the same way I did: beaming and raring to go. She didn't quite leave the same way I did (more on that below), but the last time I saw her at the event she looked ready to cry. I had hoped those she got paired with might let her have a win to cheer her spirits and maybe help continue to motivate her along her competitive TCG journey, but no. When I later checked the scores via the very helpful app, she'd lost all three games.

I understand that competitive TCG is just that - competitive - but I also believe that younger people trying new game hobbies should be encouraged. Especially if those hobbies are something as brave as a competition against a bunch of unfamiliar adults. I really hope she's still playing Lorcana - hopefully at a less ruthless local game shop.

1 And Then They Asked Me To Leave

Game Over

When I entered the tournament I assumed I'd leave a winner or a loser, preferably the former. I expected to have met some nice people, played some games, and left on good . That's not quite how it played out. When I went to the desk to find out my opponent for Round 3, I was told that someone had left and that there was no-one for me to play in Round 3. I didn't actually know this was a possible outcome, and when I later relayed the story to friends, I was told that typically a staff member would step in so I could at least have played the three games I'd signed up - and paid - to play. Unfortunately I wasn't given that option.

Instead, I was told I could sit and wait for everyone else to play Round 3 and then watch the results and prizes being given out, but that even with a Default Win from this unfortunate occurrence, I was told I wouldn't rank myself due to my abysmal score. I asked when the prizes might be given out and was told it would be in around 90 minutes, so I decided to just pack up my deck and leave. It was a really disappointing end to an event that I learned a lot from, but didn't necessarily enjoy.

Will I Enter A Competitive TCG Tournament Again?

I haven't yet polished off my bruised ego and returned for another Lorcana tournament, but now with four sets released and hundreds of cards, I feel like I'd never be able to devise a deck and strategy to give me an edge against my local pros. That's not to say I'll never play a competitive TCG again though - my experience taught me a lot, and I'd love another shot at the big leagues. I ended up playing two very fun games of Lorcana with two people who were a pleasure to play against, but maybe I should be sticking to casual play and card collecting for a little longer.

05/31/2024 Article correction from "Ink" to "Lore."