Tell me about Sorcerers!

[MrInfinity]

Ok so we've never done the Sorcerers Quests - What can you tell me about them?

For comparison, we've done the P&F cell-phone challenges at Epcot, and loved those... so cool all the things you activate... and then we did the Pirate maps on our last trip and those were a blast too.

Find 4 shards... But do as many missions as you want... is that find 1 shard per mission? In 2012, the P&F was keep the cell phone all day and do as many missions as you want (cool) but in 2014, they got strict and said you had to bring the phone back after each one. And the Pirate ones you can keep going back and getting new maps with new places to go. How does the Sorcerers one work in comparison to these?

Do they sell out? Is this something to get to early, or can we come back to the park after lunch, walk up to the Fire House, and expect to get started on some of these? Any tips / suggestions?

Do they take you around all the lands or does it center you on Main Street and Fantasyland?

Thanks!!

 

[marauder]

You go to Liberty Square or the firehouse on Main St.

You pick up a deck of cards, you get one deck per admission/Magic Band. In addition to the deck you get a Key Card. They will show you how to use it when you get it. They will also give you a map that shows you the park and all the portal locations.

Basically the first portal at the start point will tell you which where to go. An example is they will show you the Dole Whip location in Adventureland. The assignments are based on current crowd levels going to that location but there is no requirement that you go there immediately. You will not be able to go to any other location until you go there, every other location you go to will basically tell you "Ooops, you are at the wrong location, you should have gone here instead." Each adventure is about 4 locations within the same land, once you complete all the locations they will give you the option of going to another area. It is up to you whether you continue or not. You can keep the cards, trade with others, whatever you want.

Personally never heard of them selling out, they do have special cards for special events.

Portals are in Fantasyland, Main St, Liberty Sq, Frontierland and Adventureland.

Currently in P&F you don't have to return the phone after every mission. Now at the end of the mission it says basically "Do you want to do another mission?" If you say yes it assigns you another one that needs to be completed within a time window, if not it shows you where in your current area you can drop off the phone.

 

[JaimeK]

My boys loved the cards and we picked up cards each day we went to the MK.

Tips
- the line for cards is almost always shorter in Liberty Square than the main street firehouse. At Liberty Square it's on the side of the Christmas shop near where the Tiana M&G is.
- you need to play (and I think complete a mission) before you can get more cards the next day.
- you get a pack of cards for everyone in your group each time even if you're all playing together.
- When you complete a mission you can start another right away. It will tell you where to go next, just like it does mid-mission. You don't get to choose which area it sends you to.
- some people have huge binders of cards! It's fun to watch others play too as there are different storylines.


We did P&F in Epcot a few weeks ago and we could keep the device as long as we wanted. Probably depends on availability. And we didn't start until around 3-4pm.

 

[MrInfinity]

Ok, so hit it up in Liberty Sq, good to know! Saves going over to the Firehouse which is kind of out of the way. Neat that you get a deck of cards to take home with you each day. Thank you! This will be one of our firsts on the upcoming trip.

 

[disneydude365]

its one of my favorite attractions and you can play on and off all day, so say love gotten 2/4th of the way. you see a ride with short wait time or a character!! no time limit you're free to enjoy the park while you play

 

[KristinU]

DH and I played it last minth and had fun with it! But a question we had was whether or not the cards we used really made a difference in the came, or if it was basically personal preference at the moment. Anyone know the scoop on that?

 

[BrianL]

- you need to play (and I think complete a mission) before you can get more cards the next day.
QUOTE]

One thing, you do not have to complete a mission, you just have to have played one portal (this is a relatively new policy). You can get one pack of cards per admission per day. You can also get a bonus pack of cards if you finish the entire game (that's each villain, several trips to all the lands). The difficulty also increases after that.

Also, this is only needed at higher levels, you can cast more than one card at once...this is where the binders with a 9-card page come in handy.

 

[marauder]

DH and I played it last minth and had fun with it! But a question we had was whether or not the cards we used really made a difference in the came, or if it was basically personal preference at the moment. Anyone know the scoop on that?

It depends on how often you play the game. The more you play the game the harder the game gets. Above certain levels you need multiple cards to defeat the characters. From what I have seen if it is your first day playing you usually can defeat the characters pretty easy, at most you will probably need to cast two different spells. I watched some seasoned players using 4 cards at one time.

 

[MinnieMOH]

I don't think the cards make much difference on the beginner level but they do as you advance.

 

[letsgoreds]

It is fun, and some people just enjoy collecting the cards vs. playing. My boys both enjoyed opening/collecting the cards (great to do when waiting in line), and DS8 really enjoyed playing the game.

Each park ticket/person will receive a pack of 5 cards, which will include one star card (#1-22) and 4 other cards (#23-60, different symbols, less rare as you go up in #). Trading is very common, don't be shy! The unwritten rule is that you trade like symbol for like symbol. Honestly, really only important when looking to trade for star cards, because you only get one in a free pack, and special cards (lightning bolt cards...purchased in SOTMK card packs sold at MK/online, and party cards...specialty cards only given out at holiday parties at MK).

At a minimum I would bring a ziploc baggie to hold the cards while you are at the park, the next step up would be to pick up a $4 Ultra Pro 4 card/page book at Walmart/Hobby Lobby, etc. We went this route, wrapped the card book in a brown paper bag (old style), and brought a sharpie to use for character meet and greets. I even added a SOTMK emblem (just google images) to the front for the boys. We kept the small binder and sharpie in a gallon ziploc bag to keep together/avoid rain.

Each card has a different spell/graphic that will be read at the portals. You can play up to 4 cards at one time...we always use 2. Both graphics will usually display if read properly.

I prefer the Firehouse for new player setup. It is right at the entrance to the park, next to the barbershop/customer service. We've never seen a long line...but avoid busy periods. Near the Christmas Shoppe also gets the job done. There are several FB groups for people trying to complete a deck (1-60), and many very generous people looking to help 'new sorcerers', so consider joining a group and sharing when/where you will be at the park. They love to meet up. The one I like is Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Helpers on FB. Tortuga Tavern (if not open for service) is the preferred trading spot, but don't be afraid to approach people in line at portals.

You don't really have to worry about what card you play for what villan until you level up. You start at easy, then medium, then hard. As non-locals, we have always played at easy. If you want to dedicate time to this game, then definitely join the FB group mentioned before, and read up on the documents/tips and tricks. Have fun!!!

 

[kwdw]

I love doing SOTMK! Both collecting the cards and playing the game. Beginner level is easy - one card almost always works - but sometimes you need two.

I'm only at the intermediate level because I don't go often and I don't really focus on play.

I hit the main attractions at rope drop, and then as standby lines get long and I don't have FP's - I play. I just find the closest portal because I can never remember where I'm at between visits - play a round or two - and then when the timing is right based on the rest of my daily plan - pick up my new cards.

So - while the first day we did this we played seriously for about 3 hours - now we just include it as "thing we do" as part of our entertainment.

I keep a binder of cards at home - but I just bring my cards in a plastic bag when I go to the parks. You can hold up two cards at once - which should be good for easy and the moderate level. Moderate level is definitely a bit harder - and there are some tricks to "do better at it" - ie listening to the storyline for picking your cards. Don't know yet myself if more than two cards will be needed for the next level!

If this is a once in a lifetime trip - I probably wouldn't recommend it as it isn't necessary. But - for folks who go about once a year or more - it's a nice addition to things you can do in the park.

Someone mentioned a "star" card. Cards have symbols on them - least common, common, most common - is kinda a way to think about it. Star cards are rare - hence hard to get. So - it is good to know this going into the game. If you are interested in trading cards - you do want to trade like for like - otherwise you are getting scammed by someone looking for a rare card they don't have and taking advantage of a newbie. I have given away some duplicates I've had to newbies - since I had folks do that for me when I first started. And if you see someone with a binder - some of those folks are happy to tell you alot more about the game and card collecting. Others clearly aren't interested - you can usually tell by body language if it's someone who'd like to engage in talk vs. just minding their own business.

Next time is the first time I might try trading - I've got enough now that finishing out the set is a goal of me.

As you can probably tell - this is all for FUN for me. I don't take it terribly seriously - but I've enjoyed how it's added to my trip. Last time - the most fun I had was letting a girl (maybe 7) try it out with my cards - she was THRILLED. Her excitement made my day. I think to go start their own game was the grandparents next stop in the park (grandma was tired of staying in lines and was looking for other entertainment!)

 

[bell_bella_bellatrix]

Does anyone know if the portals go in a pattern? For instance if I'm defeating cruela devil will her portals always go in order on mainstreet?

 

[rlovew]

Does anyone know if the portals go in a pattern? For instance if I'm defeating cruela devil will her portals always go in order on mainstreet?

No any portal in each area can play any part of the story for villians in that section- the portal you are sent to at the end of each part of the story is based on which portals you haven't done and the least busy portal at the moment. Cruela will always be on main street but can start on any main street portal and be played in any order.

 

[butsy113]

As you move up in levels the cards change what they do and how much they do depending on how much you power them up. On our trip last Jan my kids each beat Easy, Medium, and made it half way through Hard. It was neat to watch how the cards advanced. For example, we have the MVMCP card of Huey, Duey, and Luey. At first they throw 1 snowball. Now my son's card throws an avalanche of snow. His Woozle card changed to plaid and was stronger. This website helped me understand,sotmkblog.com ,also talk to people in line. Different types of cards work for different villains as you get to harder levels.

My son is much better at the game than my daughter. He beats the villains in one try while my daughter often takes 2-3 more tries. It doesn't just let you win as you advance.

 

[bell_bella_bellatrix]

@rlovew thank you so much for the info!! It helps A LOT!!!