Disney Lorcana TCG Set Release Notes: Whispers in the Well

Hello, Illumineers! Welcome back to another installment of the Disney Lorcana TCG set release notes, this time covering the mysterious new set Whispers in the Well. These release notes go over any rules changes, new mechanics, and features of the game introduced with this set and offer context for why the adjustments are necessary.

For more detailed game information beyond these release notes, visit DisneyLorcana.com/Resources to check out the Comprehensive Rules, tournament rules,
and more.

 

Game Updates

These are the exciting updates coming with Whispers in the Well, along with brief explanations on how they work and what that means for you, the player.

Demona – Scourge of the Wyvern Clan

Amethyst character

Storyborn • Villain • Gargoyle • Sorcerer

6 cost, inkable

5/6/2

\Ad Saxum Commutate\ When you play this character, exert all opposing characters. Then, each player with fewer than 3 cards in their hand draws until they have 3.

\Stone by Day\ If you have 3 or more cards in your hand, this character can’t ready.

 

Characters from Disney’s Gargoyles are joining the Disney Lorcana TCG as new glimmers!
To reflect their gargoyle nature, many of them share a new static ability. This new Stone by Day ability reads, “If you have 3 or more cards in your hand, this character can’t ready.” Whether you’re planning to ready that Gargoyle at the start of your turn or through an effect, this static ability can stop you in your tracks.

So how can you get around this? Here’s one method: If you have 3 cards in your hand and then play a card that readies your characters, you would be able to ready any Gargoyles in play that have the Stone by Day ability, because you’d have only 2 cards in your hand when the effect resolves.

Judy Hopps – On the Case

Sapphire character

Storyborn • Hero • Detective

3 cost, inkable

4/3/1

\Hidden Clues\ When you play this character, if you have another Detective character in play, you may put chosen item into its player's inkwell facedown and exerted

 

Whispers in the Well is all about investigating, and we have a squad of new Detective characters on the case. These detectives work especially well as a team, bolstering each other’s abilities, giving you extra card draws, and even making it easier to bring more Detective characters into play. So get out there and start uncovering all the possibilities with this strategic troop!

Daisy Duck – Sapphire Champion

Sapphire character

Dreamborn • Hero

5 cost, inkable

5/6/1

\Stand Fast\ Your other Sapphire characters gain Resist +1. (Damage dealt to them is reduced by 1.)

\Look Ahead\ Whenever one of your other Sapphire characters quests, you may look at the top card of your deck. Put it on either the top or the bottom of your deck.

 

For the first time in the Disney Lorcana TCG, we have card abilities that directly reference specific ink types.

Glimmers of Disney’s Sensational Six (Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Goofy) serve as champions for the six Disney Lorcana ink types, with abilities tied to the unique characteristics of each ink. For example, Daisy Duck – Sapphire Champion makes your other Sapphire characters more resilient by giving them Resist +1.

Be sure to check out all six champions to get a look at all of their abilities!

Cri-Kee – Good Luck Charm

Sapphire character

Storyborn • Ally

2 cost, inkable

3/2/1

Alert (This character can challenge as if they had Evasive.)

 

Evasive characters, beware. There are new glimmers with sharp eyes and quick reflexes on the lookout. With the new Alert keyword ability, some characters are able to challenge Evasive characters, even without having Evasive themselves. Variations of this mechanic have appeared in the game before, and now we’re giving it an official place in the pantheon of keyword abilities.

It’s important to note that Alert is not Evasive, so an ability that gives your Evasive characters +1 {S} won’t affect characters with Alert. However, a character with Alert can still gain Evasive from an ability that grants it.

Simba – King in the Making

Amber character

Storyborn • Hero • Prince • Whisper

7 cost, inkable

5/5/3

Boost 3 {I} (Once during your turn, you may pay 3 {I} to put the top card of your deck facedown under this character.)

\Timely Alliance\ Whenever you put a card under this character, you may reveal the top card of your deck. If it's a character card, you may play that character for free and they enter play exerted. Otherwise, put it on the bottom of your deck.

 

Mysterious characters called whispers have arrived in the realm of Lorcana, but they need the help of an Illumineer to be boosted to their full potential. (See what we did there?) In exchange for some ink and the top card of your deck, characters with Boost can be granted new abilities or help other characters in play.

Each instance of Boost on a card is followed by a number and the {I} symbol, showing how much ink is needed to use the ability. For example, Boost 3 {I} means you’d need to pay 3 ink to use this ability.

When you pay the cost by exerting the ink cards, you take the top card of your deck and put it facedown under the card with the Boost ability you used. Simple as that! Some effects care whether there’s a card under a character, while other effects depend on the act of putting a card under a character. You can only use each Boost ability once per turn, so choose your moment wisely.

Just like with cards in a player’s inkwell, cards that are facedown under characters can’t be looked at by any player at any time. No peeking!

Along with Boost, there are some other effects that put cards directly under others, even cards without Boost. To that end, we looked at some of the mechanics of what it means to be under, on top, and even just in play. Which brings us to . . .

 

Clarified Rules: Conditions

Disney Lorcana cards can be in a variety of different conditions during a game, such as ready and exerted. Now that you can use Boost to put cards under other cards facedown and one of
The Black Cauldron’s abilities to put cards under itself faceup, we needed to clarify the rules for some particular card conditions as well as add to the list of conditions.

In short, cards that are under others aren’t considered to be in play. Think of them as
stowed-away cards that can’t be interacted with but aren’t completely gone. Let’s look at The Black Cauldron to help illustrate this.

The Black Cauldron

Amber item

3 cost, uninkable

\The Cauldron Calls\ {E}, 1 {I} — Put a character card from your discard under this item faceup.

\Rise and Join Me!\ {E}, 1 {I} — This turn, you may play characters from under this item.

 

We wanted to clarify the rules around “put” and “under” and therefore made the
following updates:

• Cards that are under other cards aren’t considered to be in play.
• Putting cards under other cards is not playing them.
• Cards are considered to be in play only if they’re in the Play zone, don’t have any cards on top of them, and are faceup.

Check out the Disney Lorcana TCG Comprehensive Rules for more info and the latest updates.

 

Minor Rules Updates

With this new set we’ve made the following general updates to the Disney Lorcana TCG Comprehensive Rules:

• 6.1.2.2. Added the following classifications: Colossus, Gargoyle, Ghost, Hunny, and Whisper.
• 7.7.8. Added a rule to clarify that multiple instances of the same replacement effect can’t apply to the same event.
• 8.2.4.–8.2.4.1. Added rules detailing how to move one or more stacks of cards when putting cards in any order on the top or bottom of a player’s deck.
• 10.10.3. Adjusted the language to clarify the conditions that a shifted character has when placed on top of another character. 

 

Quality-of-Life Updates

These updates are adjustments to language and word usage within the rules for more clarity.

• 8.5.2. Modified language to align more closely with card text.

 

Rules Glossary Updates

Sometimes glossary updates clarify past entries, and sometimes they include newly introduced terms. With the release of the latest set we clarified and added the following:

• facedown: A card in the play area with its back facing up toward the players and its front facing down toward the play surface. No player can look at the front of a facedown card at any time, not even their own. A facedown card is never considered to be in play. 
• faceup: A card in the play area with its back facing down toward the play surface and its front facing up toward the players. A faceup card is publicly known and can be looked at by any player at any time.
• in a stack: 2 or more cards that are in play and in a single pile, comprised of a top card and all cards under it. If the top card in a stack moves to a specific zone, all cards under that card move to the same zone, and these cards are no longer considered to be in a stack.
• in play: A card in the Play zone without any cards on top of it. If a card is under another card, it’s not considered to be in play. If a card is facedown, under another card, or is in any other zone than the Play zone, it isn’t considered to be in play.
• on top: When a card has one or more cards under it.
• under: When a card has one or more cards on top of it. A card that’s under another card and in the Play zone isn’t considered to be in play. Any player can look at a faceup card that’s under another card at any time. No player can look at the front of a facedown card that’s under another card at any time, not even their own. 

 

Card-Specific Notes

The following are answers to a few questions that might come up when playing specific cards from this new set. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list, but we hope it’s a helpful guide for some of the more complex cards.

The Horned King – Wicked Ruler

Amethyst character

Floodborn • Villain • King • Sorcerer

4 cost, inkable

3/4/2

Shift 2 {I} (You may pay 2 {I} to play this on top of one of your characters named The Horned King.)

\Arise!\ Whenever one of your other characters is banished in a challenge, you may return that card to your hand, then choose and discard a card.

 

Q: If I choose not to return a card to my hand, do I still have to discard a card?
A: No. If you choose not to do the “may” part of an ability, nothing in the sentence after that happens, which includes the effect to choose and discard a card.

Rapunzel – Ready for Adventure

Amber character

Dreamborn • Hero • Princess

2 cost, inkable

1/2/1

Support (Whenever this character quests, you may add their {S} to another chosen character's {S} this turn.)

\Act of Kindness\ Whenever one of your characters is chosen for Support, until the start of your next turn, the next time they would be dealt damage they take no damage instead.

 

Q: How does Rapunzel’s Act of Kindness ability work?
A: Act of Kindness is a triggered ability that creates a static replacement effect whenever you choose one of your characters for Support. This static effect lasts until it’s used or until the start of your next turn, whichever comes first. A static replacement effect exists independently of the character it was chosen for, so if another effect causes the character to lose all abilities, the static replacement effect is unaffected.

 Q: If multiple instances of the replacement effect generated by Act of Kindness can apply at the same time, do they stick around if they’re not applied the next time damage is dealt?
A: No, if an event would be affected by multiple instances of the same replacement effect, their player chooses which one to apply and the other effects cease to exist. For example, if there are two static replacement effects generated from Act of Kindness, they could both apply to the next damage event to that character. The character’s player chooses which one to apply and the other effect ceases to exist.

The Black Cauldron

Amber item

3 cost, uninkable

\The Cauldron Calls\ {E}, 1 {I} — Put a character card from your discard under this item faceup.

\Rise and Join Me!\ {E}, 1 {I} — This turn, you may play characters from under this item.

 

Q: Does putting a card under The Black Cauldron count as playing that card?
A: No. A card that’s been put under The Black Cauldron isn’t considered to have been played or to be in play. Therefore, putting a card under The Black Cauldron with its The Cauldron Calls ability won’t cause any “whenever you play” abilities to trigger.

Q: Can I look at cards put under The Black Cauldron with its The Cauldron Calls ability?
A: Yes. Any player can look at faceup cards under any card at any time.

Nana – Canine Caregiver

Amethyst character

Storyborn • Ally

3 cost, inkable

3/3/1

\Helpful Instincts\ When you play this character, you may choose and discard a card to return chosen character with cost 2 or less to their player's hand.

 

Q: If I don’t have any cards in my hand when I play Nana – Canine Caregiver, can I still choose to return a character to their player’s hand?
A: No. You need to choose and discard a card when you play her in order to return a character to their player’s hand. Discarding a card is a cost you have to pay in order to get the effect. If you don’t discard a card, nothing in the rest of the sentence happens.

Beast – Aggressive Lord

Ruby character

Storyborn • Hero • Prince • Whisper

2 cost, inkable

3/2/1

Boost 2 {I} (Once during your turn, you may pay 2 {I} to put the top card of your deck facedown under this character.)

\That's Mine\ Whenever he challenges another character, if there's a card under this character, each opponent loses 1 lore and you gain 1 lore.

 

Blessed Bagpipes

Emerald item

2 cost, inkable

\McDuck Heirloom\ When you play this item, you may put the top card of your deck facedown under one of your characters or locations with Boost.

\Battle Anthem\ Whenever one of your characters or locations with a card under them is challenged, gain 1 lore.

 

Q: If my Beast – Aggressive Lord challenges a character with a card under them and my opponent has a Blessed Bagpipes in play, what happens if they’re at 19 lore?
A: When you declare Beast as a challenger, both his triggered ability and Blessed Bagpipes’ triggered ability go into the bag. The active player chooses and resolves their triggered abilities first, so you resolve Beast’s ability and gain 1 lore while your opponent loses 1 lore, bringing their lore total to 18. With no more triggered abilities in the bag for you to resolve, your opponent then resolves the Bagpipes’ ability and gains 1 lore, which brings them back up to 19. This all happens before damage is dealt.

Hercules – Mighty Leader

Ruby character

Storyborn • Hero • Prince • Deity

4 cost, uninkable

5/3/2

\Ever Vigilant\ This character can't be dealt damage unless he's being challenged.

\Ever Valiant\ While this character is exerted, your other Hero characters can't be dealt damage unless they're being challenged.

 

Q: Does Hercules’s ability Ever Vigilant apply when he’s challenging, too?
A: No. The difference between a challenging character and one that’s being challenged is whether they’re the active player’s character or the opponent’s character. The active player declares which of their characters is the challenger, and the opposing character they chose is the one being challenged. So Ever Vigilant doesn’t make Hercules immune from all challenge damage. He can’t be dealt damage when he’s challenging (or outside of a challenge), but he can be dealt damage if he’s being challenged.

 

Have further questions about any cards? Join the community at discord.gg/disneylorcana and ask away! We’re a friendly bunch.