Since Disney Lorcana launched in Aotearoa and Australia, I have been loving it. We started four sets behind and caught up quickly. Shimmering Skies was the first set to launch here with all the purchasing options, and now we have set six Azurite Sea.
So the question is whether it’s a good set and if you should pick up any of the fancy packs.
What even is the Azurite Sea?
Honestly, I have no idea. The story is so hard to follow as there isn’t a cohesive way to consume it. The teaser shows the Lumineers and the Glimmers heading towards and catching a sparkly thing, and then giant waves of water rise up to create a massive maze.
On the official site we get a couple of mini stories. One tells the story of Smee capturing Tink to make Captain Hook happy, and things go awry. The other story follows Alice and The Mad Hatter on their voyage. Both of the stories culminate in the water maze rising up.
There are so many interesting ideas here, but I want an easy way to consume the whole story.
On the plus side, we get the Rescue Rangers, and Big Hero 6! Two excellent franchises to bring heaps of awesome characters to the game. That’s always a plus.
What’s it like to play?
This is an interesting one. The new set doesn’t introduce too much new to the game. The set focuses a lot of energy on pirates and inventors as character types. As such, a lot of cards work well with each other. So as a set for sealed and drafting events, it’s heaps of fun.
The other thing the set has done is introduce some great cards for constructed decks. There were some great synergies you could quickly see working for established decks. My aggro deck may not be the strongest out there right now, but if I can get my hands on some copies of Simba – Pride Protector, things could get dangerous.
So as a set, it’s great, albeit not revolutionary.
How can you buy the cards?
As with any TCG, you can buy boosters. But that’s not interesting, so I will look at the rest, such as the starter decks.
As usual, there are two starter decks, which are good value. They come with a 60-card deck to play out of the box, a paper play mat, some cardboard damage tokens, an instruction guide, and a booster pack to open. The paper mat is only useful for the first time you play to help out, as it isn’t designed to last, which is fine. The booster pack alone helps boost the value in these, as for the cost of $32, you get a $10 booster pack, leaving you with $22 for a ready-to-play deck.
The Sapphire and Emerald deck is led by Gadget Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers and GoGo Tomago from Big Hero 6. I like some of the cards in this deck, but it doesn’t operate as well as I would like. The synergies aren’t that strong. On the flip side, the Amber and Ruby deck is great. This deck is led by the pirate version of Tigger and Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet, and it works well. The Amber and Ruby deck consistently smashes the Sapphire and Emerald deck, so if you’re going to grab one to play, I recommend Amber and Ruby.
But what about fancy things?
Buying stacks of cards or preconstructed decks is all well and fun, but what about the bling? Like with previous sets, there are Illumineer’s Troves. These come in a handy cardboard storage box with Azurite Sea art on it. Inside the box are eight booster packs, one cardboard lore counter, six cool card dividers, and six glittery damage dice. As far as value goes, it’s kind of on par. For around $110 you get about $88 worth of card packs and then the cool stuff added on. I like storing my cards in these boxes, and like the dice, so it’s worth it for me.
Then there is the new Stitch Collector’s Gift Set. This one is targeted at the Lilo and Stitch fans. It comes with a 252-card holding folder, four booster packs, and a Stitch promo card. For $110 this isn’t the best value package, as you get about $44 worth of packs, and a normal folder is worth around $35. The Stitch card isn’t the most valuable one, but it is stunning. It has been given a stunning foiling that is beyond beautiful. So, if you are a fan of Lilo and Stitch, then this suddenly becomes cool. The card folder has Stitch art all over it, the card is cool as hell, and you get some packs to crack. This would be a dope Christmas present for a Stitch fan.
Then, as normal, there are playmats, sleeves, and deck boxes. The deck boxes are perfectly fine, not great, not bad. The sleeves are also solid with a nice shuffle feel, the only question being how long they survive. But they come in two varieties. One has the cool Winnie the Pooh – Honey Wizard art on it, which I rate. The other has the Scar – Vengeful Kion is on it, which I love! They both look fantastic. The play mats have two varieties: one is Elsa-The Fifth Spirit, and the other is Donald Duck-Buccaneer. The mats are nice, high quality, and the art chosen for both looks amazing.
So should you buy Disney Lorcana Azurite Sea?
If you are buying packs to crack, there are some great cards in here. If you want to play draft or sealed, it’s a fun set to do so. The gift packs may not be the best financial value packages, but they are awesome. So is the set worth playing and buying? Hell yeah. I am looking forward to seeing Lorcana bring some new mechanics, but this is still a solid and fun set.
While not the best set, or revolutionary, it's a hell of a lot of fun to play.
Also, Stitch in a pirate hat!
