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A new card type called locations is coming to Disney Lorcana with the upcoming set, Into the Inklands. Locations promise to bring a whole new level of complexity, fun, and excitement to the game.
Locations act like items or characters in that they are permanent card types that stay in play. Some are inkable, some are not, and all have an ink cost to put into play. They enter play horizontally which is also “exerted” so they can be challenged on your opponent’s turn right away. They are never “readied” at the start of the turn and remain horizontal throughout the game.
While in play, you can move characters to locations. Why do you want to do this? Well, generally the location itself or the characters there will gain an additional benefit from being “at a location.” Think of locations in this way like mini-combos within your deck. Some characters are MUCH better when they are at locations (arguably unplayable without this mini-combo). So how do you move to locations?
How to Move to Locations in Lorcana
Well, the number on the left side of a location card (when looking horizontally) is the cost to move characters to that location. Characters can only be at one location at a time, but if a second location is in play, they can move to that one from the first one. Again, there is no inherent reason to “move to a location” or “be at a location”. The only benefit gained is whatever is written on the cards themselves. Characters are not “protected” at locations, they can still be challenged if exerted, or targeted by effects. You are simply placing a character at the location to signify they are “there” but it only has benefit if the cards themselves give you a benefit.
We know of several ways of reducing the cost to move to locations. You have Map of Treasure Planet that lets you play locations for less ink while also allowing your characters to move there at a discount. Jim Hawkins - Space Traveler moves to any played location for free (and allows you to play one right away, gaining immediate value). Voyage also allows you to move two characters to the same location for free. This can gain you as much as four ink worth of resources for one cost, a huge savings!
Challenging Locations in Lorcana
Locations also have a Willpower stat and they can be challenged or damaged similar to characters. They cannot be targeted by cards that have “damage to a character” effects. They can only be damaged by cards that specifically says they can damage a location like And Then Along Came Zeus. This means they are generally more difficult to deal with compared to characters. Although there is a lot of the set yet to be revealed which should increase the answers to locations (hopefully being flexible like the above song). A location being banished does not affect the characters that are there, unless a card specifically mentions it.
Locations may also have lore symbols on them. This means that at the start of your turn (during "set" in the "ready, set, draw" sequence), you gain lore equal to all of the lore counters on your locations. You do not need a character at a location to gain the lore, it simply occurs at the start of each turn. This sets up a lot of passive lore gain that must be dealt with. Some locations give you abilities when in play or when characters are there, in addition to passive lore.
Disney Lorcana Locations FAQs
Several questions have been asked in various media regarding locations so I wanted to give you a high level FAQ that we have been building:
- You can have multiple locations in play at the same time.
- You cannot just leave a location if you don't have another location in play to move to. Once you move a character to your only location in play, they are “stuck there”.
- If the location your characters are at is banished, they "fall off" of the location, but remain in play.
- Locations are not characters and you need to read the card you are using to see the type of card or cards it references. For example, Bodyguards do not protect locations and Rapunzel - Gifted with Healing cannot heal locations.
- Characters do not have to be "ink dry" to move to locations. You can immediately play and pay the move cost to move them to a location the turn the character is played.
- Moving does not exert the character. When they arrive at the location they can still quest/challenge/sing/etc.
- There is no limit to the number of characters at a single location.
With around a quarter of Into the Inklands revealed we are starting to form an understanding on the strategic implications of locations, but we are very far from understanding their full impact.
In my opinion, the locations that have both passive abilities for characters there as well as lore are going to be the most powerful. So far we have seen Motunui - Island Paradis, Fang - River City and Tiana's Palace - Jazz Restaurant that fits these requirements. The Sorcerer’s Tower – Wondrous Workspace also gives characters there additional lore. Even though you can still deal directly with those characters, any increase in lore (along with seven Willpower) should not be ignored.
Conclusion
I love the strategic implications of a new combo-oriented card type in Disney Lorcana. Locations open up different play patterns and deck building considerations for new and veteran players alike. So be sure to keep all of these rules in mind, as we continue to travel Into the Inklands!
