[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":254},["Reactive",2],{"post-/blog/card-draw-engines":3},{"_path":4,"_dir":5,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":8,"description":9,"date":10,"tags":11,"author":15,"body":16,"_type":248,"_id":249,"_source":250,"_file":251,"_stem":252,"_extension":253},"/blog/card-draw-engines","blog",false,"","Card Draw Engines: Refueling Your Hand","Running out of cards loses games. Learn how card draw works in Lorcana, why the inkwell complicates it, and how to build a sustainable draw engine.","2026-04-28",[12,13,14],"strategy","deckbuilding","card-advantage","FloodBorn",{"type":17,"children":18,"toc":240},"root",[19,27,41,48,60,66,142,154,160,203,209,221,227],{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":22,"children":24},"element","h1",{"id":23},"card-draw-engines-refueling-your-hand",[25],{"type":26,"value":8},"text",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":29,"children":30},"p",{},[31,33,39],{"type":26,"value":32},"You draw one card a turn by default. In a grindy game, that's not enough — whoever\nruns out of cards first usually loses. ",{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":35,"children":36},"strong",{},[37],{"type":26,"value":38},"Card draw",{"type":26,"value":40}," is how you refuel, dig for\nanswers, and keep presenting threats. But Lorcana's inkwell makes draw trickier than\nin other games.",{"type":20,"tag":42,"props":43,"children":45},"h2",{"id":44},"the-inkwell-complication",[46],{"type":26,"value":47},"The inkwell complication",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":49,"children":50},{},[51,53,58],{"type":26,"value":52},"In most card games, extra cards are pure upside. In Lorcana, you turn cards into\nink — so drawing more cards is only good if you can ",{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":54,"children":55},{},[56],{"type":26,"value":57},"afford to play or ink them.",{"type":26,"value":59},"\nDraw three cards on a turn where you can't deploy them and they just clog your hand.\nThe best draw effects come attached to a body or are cheap enough to leave ink for\nthe cards you find.",{"type":20,"tag":42,"props":61,"children":63},{"id":62},"types-of-draw",[64],{"type":26,"value":65},"Types of draw",{"type":20,"tag":67,"props":68,"children":69},"table",{},[70,89],{"type":20,"tag":71,"props":72,"children":73},"thead",{},[74],{"type":20,"tag":75,"props":76,"children":77},"tr",{},[78,84],{"type":20,"tag":79,"props":80,"children":81},"th",{},[82],{"type":26,"value":83},"Source",{"type":20,"tag":79,"props":85,"children":86},{},[87],{"type":26,"value":88},"Feel",{"type":20,"tag":90,"props":91,"children":92},"tbody",{},[93,110,126],{"type":20,"tag":75,"props":94,"children":95},{},[96,105],{"type":20,"tag":97,"props":98,"children":99},"td",{},[100],{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":101,"children":102},{},[103],{"type":26,"value":104},"On a character",{"type":20,"tag":97,"props":106,"children":107},{},[108],{"type":26,"value":109},"Value stapled to a body — efficient if the body is fine",{"type":20,"tag":75,"props":111,"children":112},{},[113,121],{"type":20,"tag":97,"props":114,"children":115},{},[116],{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":117,"children":118},{},[119],{"type":26,"value":120},"On an item",{"type":20,"tag":97,"props":122,"children":123},{},[124],{"type":26,"value":125},"Repeatable engine; sticky and hard to remove",{"type":20,"tag":75,"props":127,"children":128},{},[129,137],{"type":20,"tag":97,"props":130,"children":131},{},[132],{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":133,"children":134},{},[135],{"type":26,"value":136},"On a song/action",{"type":20,"tag":97,"props":138,"children":139},{},[140],{"type":26,"value":141},"One-shot burst; great for digging at the right moment",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":143,"children":144},{},[145,152],{"type":20,"tag":146,"props":147,"children":149},"a",{"href":148},"/blog/items-in-lorcana",[150],{"type":26,"value":151},"Items",{"type":26,"value":153}," make the best engines because they keep drawing\nevery turn and dodge character removal.",{"type":20,"tag":42,"props":155,"children":157},{"id":156},"how-much-draw-do-you-need",[158],{"type":26,"value":159},"How much draw do you need?",{"type":20,"tag":161,"props":162,"children":163},"ul",{},[164,175,185],{"type":20,"tag":165,"props":166,"children":167},"li",{},[168,173],{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":169,"children":170},{},[171],{"type":26,"value":172},"Aggro:",{"type":26,"value":174}," very little — a couple of cards to refill after you empty your hand.\nYou'd rather have another threat.",{"type":20,"tag":165,"props":176,"children":177},{},[178,183],{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":179,"children":180},{},[181],{"type":26,"value":182},"Midrange:",{"type":26,"value":184}," a few sources to avoid running dry in long games.",{"type":20,"tag":165,"props":186,"children":187},{},[188,193,195,201],{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":189,"children":190},{},[191],{"type":26,"value":192},"Control:",{"type":26,"value":194}," a real package — draw is a core pillar, since you win by having more\nresources than the opponent. (See ",{"type":20,"tag":146,"props":196,"children":198},{"href":197},"/blog/tempo-vs-card-advantage",[199],{"type":26,"value":200},"tempo vs card advantage",{"type":26,"value":202},".)",{"type":20,"tag":42,"props":204,"children":206},{"id":205},"quality-of-draw-not-just-quantity",[207],{"type":26,"value":208},"Quality of draw, not just quantity",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":210,"children":211},{},[212,214,219],{"type":26,"value":213},"\"Draw a card\" is fine. ",{"type":20,"tag":34,"props":215,"children":216},{},[217],{"type":26,"value":218},"\"Look at the top few and take what you need\"",{"type":26,"value":220}," is better —\nselective draw smooths your curve and finds your answers without flooding you.\nFiltering effects that let you bin the cards you don't want are often stronger than\nraw card count, precisely because they fight the inkwell clog problem.",{"type":20,"tag":42,"props":222,"children":224},{"id":223},"the-bottom-line",[225],{"type":26,"value":226},"The bottom line",{"type":20,"tag":28,"props":228,"children":229},{},[230,232,238],{"type":26,"value":231},"Don't build a deck that wins the long game but has no way to ",{"type":20,"tag":233,"props":234,"children":235},"em",{},[236],{"type":26,"value":237},"reach",{"type":26,"value":239}," the long game's\npayoff. A few well-chosen draw effects keep your hand full of options — and in a\nclose, grindy match, options win.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":241,"depth":241,"links":242},2,[243,244,245,246,247],{"id":44,"depth":241,"text":47},{"id":62,"depth":241,"text":65},{"id":156,"depth":241,"text":159},{"id":205,"depth":241,"text":208},{"id":223,"depth":241,"text":226},"markdown","content:blog:card-draw-engines.md","content","blog/card-draw-engines.md","blog/card-draw-engines","md",1782391356678]