The Inking Decision

Once per turn you may put one inkable card face down into your inkwell as ink. It sounds automatic — and early on it nearly is — but which card you ink, and the rare turns you don't ink at all, add up to a real skill.

Early game: almost always ink

In the opening turns, ramp is king. More ink means more options and a faster deck. Ink on turns 1 and 2 essentially every game, even if it costs you a card you like — being short on ink in the early game is a far bigger problem than being short one card. This is exactly why your inkable count matters so much.

Which card to ink

When you have a choice, ink the card you're least likely to want to play. A good priority order:

1. Extra copies of cards you already have enough of.
2. Situational cards that are dead in this matchup.
3. Expensive cards you won't reach for several turns (if your hand is otherwise fine).

Never reflexively ink your cheapest card — sometimes that 1-drop is exactly the early play you need. Ink by usefulness, not by cost.

When to skip inking

Yes, sometimes you should not ink:

• You're flooded on ink. Once you have enough to do everything you want, an extra ink does nothing — keep the card in hand to play it instead.
• Every card in hand is live. If inking would mean burying a card you genuinely want to cast, and you don't need the ramp, hold.

These turns are the minority, but recognizing them is what separates a tight player from an autopilot one.

The mid-game flip

There's a moment in most games where ramp stops mattering and deployment takes over. Before it, you ink to grow; after it, you spend every card to pressure the board. Spotting that turn — and switching from "ink something" to "play everything" — is one of the most important reads in Lorcana. Tie it together with smart turn sequencing and you'll waste far fewer resources.