March 7 is upon us as we make landfall onto Disney Lorcana’s newest expansion set scheduled for release, Archazia’s Island. It’s been quite the tempestuous ride since the debut of Azurite Sea back in November 2024, and as we move forward with both the game and the story of Disney Lorcana, we look back on the past three months and take stock of where we are now, as both Illumineers and as avid collectors or hobbyists.
In this article, we will do that by taking a peak at the most expensive cards to date from the Azurite Sea expansion.
5. Simba - Pride Protector
Kicking off our list is Simba - Pride Protector. This 5-ink cost amber prince started 2024 with an average cost of $12 that was afforded to him by his status as a legendary rarity card. Time, however, has not been kind to the young lion as his price stock saw a continuous dip in value where it sits at about $9 at present.
Alongside his ink cost, Simba has a modest design of equal fours in both strength and willpower, a shift cost of 3 making him cheaper to bring to the table, a lore value of 2 for respectable questing, and his ability to Understand the Balance that allows Simba’s controlling player to ready his allies at the end of the turn if Simba himself is in an exerted state by that time.
This will essentially protect his allies from one of the most conventional forms of damage and eventual banishment, being challenged by an opposing character. Unfortunately, Simba’s main downside is that he is an uninkable card, making him only usable if you can actually get him on the field and not as a resource to help fuel the rest of the deck.
Simba - Pride Protector had found his most recent and prominent success back in the Disney Lorcana North American Championship held in Anaheim, California last January.
4. Calhoun - Marine Sergeant
Next, we have a very popular choice in the Disney Lorcana competitive scene. Calhoun - Marine Sergeant can be seen as almost like an inverse to Simba - Pride Protector. Overall weaker stats (3 strength, 2 willpower) and a lower rarity level but still having the same uninkable category. This 2 ink-cost soldier secures her place in many steel-based decks as her affordability is surpassed by her capabilities.
Like many in her ink color, Calhoun enjoys the resist keyword that nets her a flat damage reduction of 1. That may not seem like much but if the opponent is unable to take Calhoun out in one strike, that resist +1 may effectively double her health. Not to mention that Calhoun herself likes to challenge other characters on the field. If she succeeds in banishing a character, her controlling player also reaps the benefits of gaining 2 lore each and every time this activates.
Calhoun’s present popularity can be seen in her card’s price trend, as she started her 2024 debut at around $5 and averaging out to $9 by the time of writing. Even some copies are fetching a $20 cost with more recent sales.
3. Genie - Wish Fulfilled
Another uninkable card joins the list as Genie - Wish Fulfilled whisps into the number 3 spot. Representing amethyst, Genie is a 4-ink cost card that treads the middle ground set by Simba and Calhoun. He is weaker than the former, a 2 in strength to Simba’s 4, but tougher than the latter, a 4 in willpower to Calhoun’s 2. When it comes to questing, Genie can go nonexistent-toe-to-existent-claw with a respectable 2 lore. His evasive keyword gives him moderate protection from opposing characters targeting him, and his What Comes Next ability makes him a constant irritation to opposing players as the moment he hits the field Genie lets his illumineer draw a card immedietely.
A fellow rare card from Azurite Sea like Calhoun, Genie - Wish Fulfilled saw a market trend with equal crests and valleys starting at $6 back at release before settling at around $10 presently. However, if you were to look closely, some very intrepid hobbyists have been able to push Genie to hit prices of $20 to $30.
2. Baymax - Armored Companion
Finally, an inkable card appears. Baymax - Armored Companion is a legendary rarity character who soared onto the scene with a $26 average before skydiving into a $16 average today. This empathic ball of sapphire ink mirrors his inspiration’s humility. While he doesn’t see a lot of play at the highest of competitive scenes like the Disney Lorcana Challenge(s) or other regional tournaments, Baymax sees a lot of play in local tournaments held by a Friendly Local Game Store (FLGs).
At 5 ink cost, Baymax has a modest 2 in Strength but he more than makes up for it with his beefy 6 in willpower. His 2 in lore is no slouch either, allowing him to keep pace with the likes of the previous three. Baymax’s ability, The Treatment Is Working, allows him multiple other avenues to gain extra lore for his controlling player when Baymax heals his allies, which is done by just playing Baymax initially and whenever Baymax quests.
More importantly, this character can help the rest of his deck by being a legal target for placement in the inkwell. Thus allowing Baymax to even support his allies from the backlines if his player so chooses.
1. Maui - Half-Shark
Splashing onto number 1, the undisputed king of the Azurite Sea expansion in price is this ruby behemoth. Maui - Half-Shark is a 6 ink cost inkable card with a skull-cracking strength of 7 and a robust 5 willpower. His natural vigor is further enhanced by the same evasive keyword shared with Genie - Wish Fulfilled, making him a natural predator when challenging enemy characters.
Speaking of challenges, Maui’s Cheeeehoooo! ability allows his player a form of recursion by returning an action card from the discard pile whenever he challenges another character. To rub the proverbial sea salt into the wound, while Maui - Half-Shark is in play, his Wayfinding ability lets his player gain 1 lore whenever an action card is played. This includes the very same action card he can fetch from the discard pile.
Maui - Half-shark started his story at a $30 price back in 2024, and while it saw a dip to a $24 average in the latter half of December, it has since climbed back up and has gone off to the $40 mark. Like his boisterous cinematic counterpart, Maui - Half-shark has received a lot of positive optics as he can be seen used in many tournaments. Most recently, Maui - Half-Shark could be found in a good amount of decks that were used in the DLC held in Melbourne, Australia earlier in February.
Now if there’s anything history has taught us, a card that sees general success in a regional tournament may see its stock price skyrocket to unprecedented levels at the drop of a hat. While Disney Lorcana may not be as demanding on a collector’s resources as other Trading Card Games (TCGs), it may still make anyone wince if they decide they need a full playset of 4 copies in their deck. This is further exacerbated by Maui - Half-Shark’s legendary rarity status making him even harder to find.
Archazia’s Island looms on the horizon, and although we are readying ourselves to sail off to a new frontier in the Disney Lorcana universe, we’re still not done with the Azurite Sea. Keep an eye out as we will look into the most popular cards found in this set next time.