I kinda want to try to get into it with my son but from a first glance it looks like it's just been taken over by hardcore MTG types and there's no place to play online even on webcam. The stuff I have seen looks really fast paced and confusing. Like way too intense for something based on cartoon princesses.
Does anyone play? What has your experience been and what's the best way to try it out for someone with zero tcg experience?
Haven't played, but from what I hear, they solved the mana screwing problem by making it so any of your cards can be used as mana (ink) instead of as the playable creature. Which is interesting, but fuck Disney. Fuck Hasbro too, while we're at it.
Mana screw is a feature, not a bug >:)
Edit: I didn't know Lorcana went that direction. I really, really hate the TCGs have all become "What if we made Magic, but better?" instead of figuring out new mechanics. They all reinvent MtG and then discover the same problems Magic figured out 20 years ago.
Can't really comment. I am smoll bean, only been playing magic since Midnight Hunt. It's the only TCG I play and only with my small pod.😅
I started in Portal/Mirage, so longer than some players have been alive 🙃.
Mana screw/flood exist on a spectrum. You can completely eliminate mana screw with decks like Lands. Others, like Oops! All Spells and Belcher, will never flood. The same is true with mulligans. Some decks mulligan really well (Dredge, Tron) while others never want to mulligan but they rarely need to (Burn). In younger formats (Standard, Pioneer), eliminating mana screw/flood or mulligans is less viable because of the smaller card pool. As you venture into older formats, those options become available.
A lot of TCGs forget they're card games and instead copy what MtG has already done. They're basically "You want to reduce your opponent's life total which is done by paying resources to play stronger cards most of which are creatures that attack." This doesn't actually eliminate mana screw/flood, it just shifts where the randomness occurs. Except now you don't have the spectrum and you've eliminated decks that prey on greedy mana bases (MUD, Death & Taxes) or ignore mana disruption (Oath, Dredge).
Eventually designers in those games figure this out. But they would have known this if they were more familiar with Magic's history and competitive scene. It's a giant red flag when they haven't played Legacy, Vintage, or Cube and are jumping into card game design from kitchen table Magic or Standard.