Lorcana – Keywords Guide

Why Keywords Are More Than Rules Text

Disney Lorcana Keyword Guide: Mastering Bodyguard, Rush, Ward, and More

Disney Lorcana keywords aren’t just flavour text. They are the levers of tempo, survival, and inevitability. They shape the rhythm of matches by deciding which characters matter most, how long they last on the table, and when victory conditions come online. For new players, understanding them cuts down on misplays. For competitive players, they are the difference between building a clever deck and building a winning deck.

Below is a breakdown of the most impactful Lorcana keywords, with practical advice on how and when to use them.

Bodyguard

• What it does: Opponents must challenge a Bodyguard character first if it is exerted.
• Why it matters: Think of Bodyguard as your insurance policy. It shields high-value lore generators or fragile combo pieces, buying time for bigger turns. Decks that want to set up over several rounds live and die by this keyword.

Challenger

• What it does: A character gains a Strength boost when it initiates a challenge.
• Why it matters: Challenger pushes aggressive decks into the driver’s seat. It allows precise board control, enabling you to trade into larger threats without losing momentum. Midrange lists also love it for keeping the board tidy while still pushing forward.

Evasive

• What it does: Only other characters with Evasive can challenge them.
• Why it matters: Evasive is your ticket to inevitability. If your opponent has no answer, these characters quietly rack up lore while the rest of the board becomes a distraction. Every deck needs a plan to deal with Evasive units, or the game ends faster than expected.

Ward

• What it does: Prevents opponents from targeting the character with abilities or actions.
• Why it matters: Ward is a nightmare for control players relying on spot removal. It forces them to either find area-wide effects or let your key piece live. This is how decks protect lynchpins like lore engines or synergy enablers.

Rush

• What it does: Lets a character challenge the same turn it enters play.
• Why it matters: Rush is pure tempo. It enables surprise trades, answers “safe” enemy plays, and lets aggressive decks stay relentless. Dropping a Rush unit often flips the board state in your favour on the spot.

Resist

• What it does: Reduces incoming damage by a set amount each time it is dealt.
• Why it matters: Resist makes characters sticky. It forces your opponent to spend more resources than they want, often making their attacks inefficient. Control and stall decks prize it, but even aggressive decks benefit from Resist to keep threats alive through multiple exchanges.

Support

• What it does: When questing, adds its Strength to another chosen character.
• Why it matters: Support extracts value from every stat on the board. Small questers can boost big hitters, letting you advance lore while still threatening challenges. It turns “filler” characters into versatile tools that swing momentum.

Other Notable Disney Lorcana keywords

• Reckless: Can’t quest and must challenge each turn if able. A blessing for aggression, a curse if you’re trying to stall.
• Shift: Lets you play an upgraded version of a character on top of its earlier form for a reduced cost. It is efficient deck compression and a way to keep the board state evolving.
• Singer: Allows lower-cost characters to sing higher-cost song cards. A neat trick for getting to your game-defining plays earlier.

The Cheat Sheet

Here’s a section to screenshot for your deck box:

• Bodyguard: Protects allies by absorbing attacks.
• Challenger: Strength boost when initiating a challenge.
• Evasive: Only challenged by other Evasive characters.
• Ward: Untargetable by opponent actions or abilities.
• Rush: Can challenge the turn it is played.
• Resist: Reduces incoming damage each time.
• Support: Adds Strength to another character when questing.
• Reckless, Shift, Singer: Specialist mechanics for aggression, upgrades, and songs.

Strategic Takeaways

• For beginners: Keep the Disney Lorcana keywords cheat sheet handy. The faster you absorb keywords, the quicker you stop second-guessing and start making confident plays.
• For competitive players: Use keywords to frame your deck identity. Rush and Challenger feed tempo decks. Bodyguard and Resist power control lists. Evasive and Ward deliver inevitability.
• For organisers: Print and share keyword sheets at events. They cut down on rules debates and speed up learning curves for new players.
• Useful Link – lorcana-keywords-abilities

Whats next?

Lorcana is more than Disney nostalgia. Its depth lies in how a single keyword changes the battlefield. Master these mechanics and you stop playing reactively. You start building turns with intent, closing games not with luck, but with foresight.