Most Expensive Cards From Union Arena’s UE01: Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Set

Key Takeaways

• Renji Abarai ($25.10) – Aggressive card for purple Bleach decks with double damage ability.
• Rukia Kuchiki ($30.55) – Draw engine for Purple decks, crucial to deck strategy.
• Toshiro Hitsugaya ($192.20) – Essential for green decks, cool design and voice actor signature.

Move aside Weiss Schwartz, Bandai’s entry into the card game space is here to take the anime throne! Union Arena features incredible properties from beloved anime and gaming series like Bleach, Hunter x Hunter, and Jujutsu Kaisen, ready to duke it out in a makeshift MUGEN-like fight.

One of the first two sets in the game features Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, the last arc in the incredible Tite Kubo series. With popular characters like Ichigo Kurosaki, Byakuya Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, and some of the most stunning signature chase cards, this set is sure to please collectors all over the globe.

10 Renji Abarai (SR*) – $25.10

The Fiery Soul Reaper

Purple Bleach decks can be extremely aggressive at times and this Renji card is no different. Every turn that Renji is on the board, your opponent will have to set up blockers to stop his double damage ability.

The regular art of this card is already incredible, but this one-star SR is so much better. The black and white art makes the slight pop of color of Renji’s hair stand out even more and it’s beautifully paired up with a gorgeous gold foil on it.

9 Rangiku Matsumoto (C*) – $29.96

Excellent Energy Generator

Although Rangiku is not one of the best cards in the set, it is clear why this card is still quite valuable. Bleach fans LOVE Rangiku, especially with incredible art like this one. Most alternate art cards in the set feature similar styles. A splash of color of the archetype that they belong to, paired with a subtle outline of the character in gold foil.

Not only is Rangiku a decent card to include in your Bleach deck to generate energy, but it will look amazing in your binder.

8 Rukia Kuchiki (SR*) – $30.55

Draw Engine For Purple

Rukia is always going to be one of the most important card in your deck. There’s a reason why Graceful Charity is still banned in modern Yu-Gi-Oh!, digging three cards deeper into your deck and discarding two is really strong, especially if your deck relies on having pieces in the trash.

Rukia is a Graceful Charity on legs and it enables other aspects of the deck by making your characters even stronger by filling up your trash, or Sideline as its known in Union Arena, for other card effects.

7 Rukia Kuchiki (R*) – $31.20

Draw Cards With A Low Rarity Rukia

Just like the SR Rukia, the set also includes an R version of the soul reaper, albeit with less draw power. This card, unlike her SR equivalent, can draw you cards every time it attacks and with Union Arena’s rules to not be able to attack opposing characters, you’ll be able to keep Rukia for a long time.

This art of the Rukia card features the classic gold foil of one of the best girls from the beloved anime series. Even though the SR Rukia is a higher rarity, the playablilty of this R version will keep the price on it steady for sets to come.

6 Ichigo Kurosaki (SR*) – $43.32

The Protagonist Is Here

So you’ve filled up your sideline with plenty of cards with Rukia’s effect? Now what? Well, your trusty friend, Ichigo Kurosaki, local soul reaper, can help. With this card, you can easily reduce your opponent’s character’s BP down to zero with enough cards in your sideline.

Not only is this card one of the best boss cards to include, but the art on it is incredible, featuring Ichigo in his iconic Fullbring form. No one will question your dedication to Bleach when they see this card in your arsenal.

5 Jugram Hashwalth (SR**) – $90.90

For Fans Of Yellow Decks

While the purple Bleach deck focuses more on aggro and filling up your trash quickly, yellow Bleach wants to control the pace of the game a bit more. Jugram is one of the best cards for that strategy with its ability to rip cards out of your opponent’s hand.

Stern Ritters is a popular faction in Bleach, so if you love Quincies, then Jugram will be an easy add to the collection. This card is also signed by the original Japanese voice actor, Yuichiro Umehara.

4 Byakuya Kuchiki (SR**) – $169.44

“Senbonzakura Kageyoshi”

Defeating your opponent’s characters through combat is always going to be your go-to move when playing an aggro deck. And Byakuya will be the card to enable that strategy. With its blanket effect to make your opponent’s characters lose 1,000 BP will make his Impact ability close out games easily for you.

As one of the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squad, Byakuya has a menacing look, paired with Ryotaro Okiayu’s coveted signature, making this an excellent card to own and maybe even send out for grading.

3 Toshiro Hitsugaya (SR**) – $192.20

The Captain Of The Tenth Division

Everyone loves a serious, slightly edgy, and spiky anime boy and Toshiro is one of the bests. With his alternate art card, this two-star SR, is one of the coolest of the booster set. Even though the card’s color is green, Toshiro’s blue scarf has a fun pop of color next to the gold signature.

If you love Romi Park’s work as a voice actor, but you’re also looking for a competitive deck, and you’re tired of purple decks, having this card will be great, as it is one of the cornerstone pieces of the green deck.

2 Ichigo Kurosaki (SR**) – $288.20

A Pricey Chase Card

There are various reasons why this card is so expensive: First, it’s Ichigo Kurosaki. The highly underrated member of the ‘big three’ in Shonen anime. Second, it has the signature of famed voice actor, Masakazu Morita, and third, it is hands-down one of the best cards in the set competitively speaking.

This card is quite pricey, so it will most likely be out of most collectors’ budgets, but if you somehow end up pulling it, make sure you sleeve it up right away.

1 Ichigo Kurosaki (SR***) – $800.00

One Of The Most Expensive Chase Cards

This card has only had a single sale on TCGPlayer for $800 and the lowest listing as of posting is $1,098.72.

Even though all of the signature cards are considered chase cards, there is only one three-star SR card in the booster set, and it could only be the protagonist himself, Ichigo Kurosaki. This card’s price is outrageous, even compared to some of the manga rare cards from the One Piece Card Game.

Given that Union Arena operates on a set by set, series by series model, there won’t be a reprint of the Bleach set, making this card one of the most sought-after pieces in the booster set.