[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":261},["Reactive",2],{"post-/blog/tempo-vs-card-advantage":3},{"_path":4,"_dir":5,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":8,"description":9,"date":10,"tags":11,"author":14,"body":15,"_type":255,"_id":256,"_source":257,"_file":258,"_stem":259,"_extension":260},"/blog/tempo-vs-card-advantage","blog",false,"","Tempo vs Card Advantage in Lorcana","Two of the most important ideas in card games, explained for Lorcana. Learn when to push tempo, when to grind for card advantage, and how the inkwell changes the math.","2026-06-13",[12,13],"strategy","theory","FloodBorn",{"type":16,"children":17,"toc":249},"root",[18,27,48,55,94,100,112,118,157,190,196,206,229,243],{"type":19,"tag":20,"props":21,"children":23},"element","h1",{"id":22},"tempo-vs-card-advantage",[24],{"type":25,"value":26},"text","Tempo vs Card Advantage",{"type":19,"tag":28,"props":29,"children":30},"p",{},[31,33,39,41,46],{"type":25,"value":32},"Almost every decision in Lorcana trades between two resources: ",{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":35,"children":36},"strong",{},[37],{"type":25,"value":38},"tempo",{"type":25,"value":40}," (board\npresence and speed) and ",{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":42,"children":43},{},[44],{"type":25,"value":45},"card advantage",{"type":25,"value":47}," (how many cards you have to work with).\nUnderstanding the difference is what separates new players from strong ones.",{"type":19,"tag":49,"props":50,"children":52},"h2",{"id":51},"defining-the-two",[53],{"type":25,"value":54},"Defining the two",{"type":19,"tag":56,"props":57,"children":58},"ul",{},[59,78],{"type":19,"tag":60,"props":61,"children":62},"li",{},[63,68,70,76],{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":64,"children":65},{},[66],{"type":25,"value":67},"Tempo",{"type":25,"value":69}," is about ",{"type":19,"tag":71,"props":72,"children":73},"em",{},[74],{"type":25,"value":75},"time",{"type":25,"value":77},". A tempo play develops your board, gains lore, or\nforces your opponent to react. Rush attackers, cheap efficient questers, and\nbounce spells are tempo tools.",{"type":19,"tag":60,"props":79,"children":80},{},[81,86,87,92],{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":82,"children":83},{},[84],{"type":25,"value":85},"Card advantage",{"type":25,"value":69},{"type":19,"tag":71,"props":88,"children":89},{},[90],{"type":25,"value":91},"resources",{"type":25,"value":93},". Drawing extra cards, two-for-one\nremoval, and value engines put you ahead on raw material, even if they're slow.",{"type":19,"tag":49,"props":95,"children":97},{"id":96},"the-inkwell-twist",[98],{"type":25,"value":99},"The inkwell twist",{"type":19,"tag":28,"props":101,"children":102},{},[103,105,110],{"type":25,"value":104},"Lorcana adds a wrinkle most card games don't have: ",{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":106,"children":107},{},[108],{"type":25,"value":109},"you turn your own cards into\nink.",{"type":25,"value":111}," Every card you ink is \"spent\" for resources. That means card advantage is\nalways in tension with ramp — a value engine that draws cards is only good if you\ncan also afford to keep inking. Decks that draw too much without a plan just\nrefill a hand they can't deploy.",{"type":19,"tag":49,"props":113,"children":115},{"id":114},"who-wants-which",[116],{"type":25,"value":117},"Who wants which?",{"type":19,"tag":119,"props":120,"children":123},"pre",{"className":121,"code":122,"language":25,"meta":7,"style":7},"language-text shiki shiki-themes github-dark","Aggro      ████████████░░░░   mostly tempo\nMidrange   ████████░░░░░░░░   balanced\nControl    ░░░░████████████   mostly card advantage\n",[124],{"type":19,"tag":125,"props":126,"children":127},"code",{"__ignoreMap":7},[128,139,148],{"type":19,"tag":129,"props":130,"children":133},"span",{"class":131,"line":132},"line",1,[134],{"type":19,"tag":129,"props":135,"children":136},{},[137],{"type":25,"value":138},"Aggro      ████████████░░░░   mostly tempo\n",{"type":19,"tag":129,"props":140,"children":142},{"class":131,"line":141},2,[143],{"type":19,"tag":129,"props":144,"children":145},{},[146],{"type":25,"value":147},"Midrange   ████████░░░░░░░░   balanced\n",{"type":19,"tag":129,"props":149,"children":151},{"class":131,"line":150},3,[152],{"type":19,"tag":129,"props":153,"children":154},{},[155],{"type":25,"value":156},"Control    ░░░░████████████   mostly card advantage\n",{"type":19,"tag":56,"props":158,"children":159},{},[160,170,180],{"type":19,"tag":60,"props":161,"children":162},{},[163,168],{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":164,"children":165},{},[166],{"type":25,"value":167},"Aggro",{"type":25,"value":169}," spends cards for tempo, racing to 20 lore before card advantage\nmatters.",{"type":19,"tag":60,"props":171,"children":172},{},[173,178],{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":174,"children":175},{},[176],{"type":25,"value":177},"Control",{"type":25,"value":179}," trades tempo for cards, surviving long enough that its extra\nresources bury you.",{"type":19,"tag":60,"props":181,"children":182},{},[183,188],{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":184,"children":185},{},[186],{"type":25,"value":187},"Midrange",{"type":25,"value":189}," flexes: it pressures like aggro against slow decks and grinds like\ncontrol against fast ones.",{"type":19,"tag":49,"props":191,"children":193},{"id":192},"making-the-trade-at-the-table",[194],{"type":25,"value":195},"Making the trade at the table",{"type":19,"tag":28,"props":197,"children":198},{},[199,201],{"type":25,"value":200},"Ask yourself: ",{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":202,"children":203},{},[204],{"type":25,"value":205},"am I the beatdown, or am I behind?",{"type":19,"tag":56,"props":207,"children":208},{},[209,219],{"type":19,"tag":60,"props":210,"children":211},{},[212,217],{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":213,"children":214},{},[215],{"type":25,"value":216},"Ahead on board / racing?",{"type":25,"value":218}," Prioritize tempo. Keep questing, keep the pressure\non, don't slow down to grind.",{"type":19,"tag":60,"props":220,"children":221},{},[222,227],{"type":19,"tag":34,"props":223,"children":224},{},[225],{"type":25,"value":226},"Behind / under pressure?",{"type":25,"value":228}," Prioritize card advantage and efficient trades.\nStabilize the board, then let your extra cards take over.",{"type":19,"tag":28,"props":230,"children":231},{},[232,234,241],{"type":25,"value":233},"The best players switch roles mid-game as the board changes. A removal spell that's\na great tempo play on turn 3 might be a desperate card-advantage trade on turn 8 —\nsame card, completely different purpose. For more on this read-the-room skill, see\n",{"type":19,"tag":235,"props":236,"children":238},"a",{"href":237},"/blog/questing-vs-challenging",[239],{"type":25,"value":240},"questing vs challenging",{"type":25,"value":242},".",{"type":19,"tag":244,"props":245,"children":246},"style",{},[247],{"type":25,"value":248},"html .default .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}",{"title":7,"searchDepth":141,"depth":141,"links":250},[251,252,253,254],{"id":51,"depth":141,"text":54},{"id":96,"depth":141,"text":99},{"id":114,"depth":141,"text":117},{"id":192,"depth":141,"text":195},"markdown","content:blog:tempo-vs-card-advantage.md","content","blog/tempo-vs-card-advantage.md","blog/tempo-vs-card-advantage","md",1782391356582]