Table of Contents
The Azurite Sea Set Championship is well underway, showcasing the best constructed decks Disney Lorcana has to offer with the set's release. The first premier event of the year, the North American Championship held in Anaheim, California, has also recently concluded so there’s plenty of competitive lists to go over.
Below we take a look at how the latest Disney Lorcana set Azurite Sea has impacted the constructed meta and which decks have come out on top. Check out which ink mixes you’re likely to face in your next Illumineer meet.
| Tier | Deck | Meta Share |
| Tier 1 |   Amethyst Ruby Bounce Control | 17% |
 Ruby Sapphire Pawpsicle | 17% | |
 Amethyst Emerald Tempo | 12% | |
  Amber Steel Steelsong | 12% | |
| Tier 2 | Amber Steel Dwarfs’ Mine | 7% |
| Emerald Steel Discard | 6% | |
| Amethyst Steel Aggro | 5% | |
| Amethyst Sapphire Bounce | 4% | |
| Tier 3 | Sapphire Steel Items | 2% |
| Amber Amethyst Aggro | 2% | |
| Emerald Sapphire Muses Songs | 2% | |
| Amber Ruby Mufasa | 1% |
Meta Overview
On the whole, the current metagame seems to be a healthy one and there’s no single ink or ink combination that’s overly dominant. Over ten different ink pairs can be seen posting top finishes in Azurite Sea Set Championships around the world.
Amethyst Ruby Bounce Control winning the NA Championship heralded a surge in the deck’s numbers in the following weeks. It’s now as popular as Ruby Sapphire Pawpsicle, the most represented deck in said tourney.
Amethyst Emerald Bounce has quietly risen in the ranks as well, while Amber Steel Steelsong saw a dip in numbers. This is partially due to the aggressive Amber Steel Dwarf’s Mine decks grabbing a bigger share of the popular ink duo in recent events.
Tier 1
Amethyst Ruby Bounce Control
The solid core of Amethyst’s bounce package and Ruby’s control tools has once again proved their mettle in Lorcana. It has ever been a part of the top tier of the constructed meta and that hasn’t changed despite new sets and cards dropping in.
It also helps that the archetype is more budget-friendly compared to other top tier decks. Some recent lists leave out 006-053-genie-wish-fulfilled, 001-212-maui-hero-to-all, and 005-048-elsa-the-fifth-spirit for an even cheaper 60.
The winning NA Championship deck went lower to the ground with 12 one-drops to maximize 005-068-the-library-a-gift-for-belle. Though it hasn’t particularly caught on, it shows the range of options available for this powerful format staple.
Featured: Ol' Faithful by Kamil Gombos - 1st place at Azurite Sea Set Championships
Ruby Sapphire Pawpsicle
Azurite Sea brought a couple of new must-haves to this well-loved archetype. 006-163-sail-the-azurite-sea has proven to be an effective ramp action while 006-124-maui-halfshark gets you extra value with a big evasive body.
Other fairly recent additions from Shimmering Skies are 005-157-tipo-growing-son and 005-160-vision-of-the-future, which made the deck a lot more consistent. The items in the deck, including namesake 002-169-pawpsicle, are especially effective with 002-149-hiram-flaversham-toymaker and 001-159-tamatoa-so-shiny
The combination of early game ramp with powerful threats and versatile answers really ensures that Ruby Sapphire can resurface in any meta and post impressive results.
Featured: How Red, How Blue, How Beautiful by Ronte - 1st place at MultiVitamin Webcam Turnier #2
Amethyst Emerald Tempo
Compared to other decks in this tier list, Amethyst Emerald shows one of the highest variances in card choices, though the core Merlin, Madam Mim, and Ursula cards are essential.
New cards from Azurite Sea have made their way into some successful decks, particularly 006-073-go-go-tomago-darting-dynamo, 006-053-genie-wish-fulfilled, and 006-049-diablo-obedient-raven.
A lower curve with 1- and 2-drops that make up more than a third of the deck lets it build up tempo quickly and get ahead of the opponent’s game plan. 003-070-cursed-merfolk-ursulas-handiwork in particular is an annoying early game play that’s been finding its way into more recent lists.
Featured: Genie and Friends by Michael Beatty - 1st place at Timmy Mac's Azurite Seas Set Champs
Amber Steel Steelsong
This aggro deck combines talented Amber singers with powerful Steel songs to send the opponent reeling.
002-205-cinderella-ballroom-sensation, 001-002-ariel-spectacular-singer, and 004-025-ursula-vanessa can belt out 002-201-strength-of-a-raging-fire, 002-199-let-the-storm-rage-on, and 003-222-and-then-along-came-zeus to clear the opposing board.
Meanwhile, cheap threats like 003-184-mr-smee-bumbling-mate and 003-189-robin-hood-beloved-outlaw can start the early assault. 001-018-rapunzel-gifted-with-healing ensures you can keep on the pressure. And in case you’re running out of gas, you can find new hope with 001-195-a-whole-new-world.
Featured: Amber Steel by Kirsten Schilder - 1st place at Grapes Games Azurite Sea Set Championship
Tier 2
Amber Steel Dwarfs’ Mine
Unlike its same ink combination counterpart, Amber Steel Dwarf’s Mine has a pretty refined list with at most ten or so cards being different from deck to deck.
It has a similar core to the Steelsong deck but leans into the extra pinging power of 005-204-seven-dwarfs-mine-secure-fortress with 005-191-happy-lively-knight and 005-193-doc-bold-knight. 005-016-daisy-duck-donalds-date has also become an integral part of the deck’s early game aggression.
Two cards from Azurite Sea that fit perfectly into the deck’s game plan are 006-191-calhoun-marine-sergeant and 006-002-lilo-escape-artist, which gives it a missing late game inexorable win condition.
Featured: Amber/Steel Aggro by Andres Hernandez - 1st place at Card Cosmos Lorcana 1K
Emerald Steel Discard
A fast start backed by disruption via discard is Emerald Steel’s main game plan. Players continue to innovate on it and it seems the optimal list is slowly taking shape.
002-089-prince-john-greediest-of-all is an excellent payoff for 003-090-ursula-deceiver, 001-098-sudden-chill, and 002-098-hypnotize. 003-212-ursula-deceiver-of-all gets you double value for anything she sings, while 004-211-diablo-devoted-herald means endless cards.
An interesting addition to the deck from Azurite Sea is 006-196-im-still-here, which combos well with Ursula and of course 004-090-the-muses-proclaimers-of-heroes for an even more robust engine.
Featured: Suddenly Diablo by Lucas Valle-Hammer - 2nd place at Timmy Mac's Azurite Seas Set Champs
Amethyst Steel Aggro
The fusion of the Amethyst bounce package with Steel’s strong early game has steadily seen its presence in the metagame grow.
New cards 006-049-diablo-obedient-raven and 006-191-calhoun-marine-sergeant plus 003-184-mr-smee-bumbling-mate backed by 005-195-pete-games-referee can put significant strain on your opponent’s plans.
This early pressure often makes the difference in an Amethyst mirror, especially with ready answers to 006-053-genie-wish-fulfilled in the form of 005-048-elsa-the-fifth-spirit along with Steel direct damage songs.
006-040-the-white-rose-jewel-of-the-garden from Azurite Sea has been appearing in many lists, along with 004-036-belle-accomplished-mystic and 001-193-tinker-bell-giant-fairy.
Featured: Strength of a Raging Genie by Aarzen - 3rd place at Lore Keeper's Showdown
Amethyst Sapphire Bounce
Affectionately called Blurple, Amethyst Sapphire is essentially a control ramp deck, made up of mostly purple bounce cards with blue ramp cards.
006-163-sail-the-azurite-sea and 005-157-tipo-growing-son easily take your inkwell from two to four, where a lot of the deck’s power resides. Alongside the typical purple menagerie are 001-147-hades-infernal-schemer and 001-207-elsa-spirit-of-winter for late game board control.
The rest of the deck is simply tailoring to the pilot’s tuning, with copies of 004-048-magic-broom-illuminary-keeper, 001-154-mickey-mouse-detective, and 003-054-rafiki-mystical-fighter appearing in multiples in certain builds.
Featured: Blurple by Aleks Hudson - 1st place at Dave's Sports Cards Azurite Sea Set Championship
Tier 3
Sapphire Steel Items
Featured: Sapphire/Steel by Chuck - 1st place at Azurite Sea Set Championship
Amber Amethyst Aggro
Featured: Amber Amethyst by Andrew Wang - 2nd place at Azurite Sea Set Championships
Emerald Sapphire Muses Songs
Amber Ruby Mufasa
Featured: Redfasa by Fish & Chips - 2nd place at Azurite Sea Set Championship
Final Thoughts
It’s pretty exciting to see a lot more ink diversity in the current Lorcana constructed metagame. Azurite Sea Set Championships aren’t over, so hopefully you’ll find new innovations to try on your tournament from this tier list.
The next biggest event is the Disney Lorcana Challenge Melbourne for Illumineers in Oceania, with two spots for Worlds on the line. Join us in reviewing the aftermath of the tournaments as well as more Set Championship results on the next meta report.
