At long last, the spoiler season for Magic’s take on Avatar: The Last Airbender has finally begun. While we got some powerful early spoilers that stand a chance in multiple formats, we can’t really say the same about today’s offerings. There are some incredibly powerful cards here, but much of what was spoiled today was unique build-arounds for Commander players, rather than competitive all-stars.
The Legend of Kuruk
As an Avatar super fan, it’s incredibly interesting to see Wizards of the Coast give characters from previous eras who did not really appear in any of the main Avatar shows a lot of attention. The Legend of Kuruk depicts a past Avatar with a rather tragic backstory involving Ko, the Face Stealer.
For Magic players, The Legend of Kuruk is undoubtedly the most flashy card from Avatar’s spoiler season kickoff. If this Saga gets a chance to flip, you get an extra turns generator, so long as you can pay 20 mana. Waterbending helps make this cost a bit less severe than it looks, but Exhaust means that you’ll need to pair Avatar Kuruk with some sort of flicker card to create an infinite stream of extra turns.
Even if you aren’t trying to create infinite turns, The Legend of Kuruk is a solid option for many Commander decks. Kuruk creating an army of unblockable Spirits is extremely enticing for any go-wide deck, and The Legend of Kuruk both provides card advantage and card selection for its first two modes. So long as you have enough time to reap the rewards of The Legend of Kuruk, it’s hard to go wrong with this Mythic.
Badgermole Cub
For two mana, Badgermole Cub is an absolute monster. Thanks to its enters ability, Badgermole Cub immediately replaces itself mana-wise by letting your Eartbended land tap for two mana. If you open the game with a turn one mana dork like Lanowar Elves, you get access to four mana on turn two, and, provided you make a land drop, six on turn three. Even making an impact on Modern isn’t out of the question for a card this powerful.
Once Standard bans hit the scene, Badgermole Cub should be prime for play across all kinds of MTG formats. The card certainly emulates Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy somewhat, one of the most powerful cEDH Commanders in the game. It’s not quite as strong as the Ikoria Legend, but Badgermole Cub’s ability to enable itself means that this could easily be the chase card from the set.
Aang, at the Crossroads
For five mana, Aang at the Crossroads probably plays a lot better than it looks. So long as your creature count is dense enough, this card will consistently offer two bodies for the price of one. This alone allows Aang to be considered in any number of creature-based Bant Commander decks, but Aang is also extremely easy to flip.
So long as a creature leaves play, Aang, Destined Savior can go even wider, turning your lands into additional creatures. Vigilance is an underrated buff, allowing you to attack and tap your Earthbended creatures for mana in the same turn. Five mana means that Aang, at the Crossroads probably won’t see play in competitive formats outside of post-ban Standard, but this card certainly offers enough value for Commander consideration.
Zhao, Ruthless Admiral
Zhao, Ruthless Admiral may just be an uncommon, but this card is incredibly exciting for Commander Aristocrat decks. So long as going wide is part of the plan, Zhao, Ruthless Admiral will end your opponents in short order. A lot of popular existing Commanders, like Fallout’s Caesar, Legion Emperor, will be fully capable of abusing Zhao to his fullest. This card is unlikely to see play outside Commander, but if you run into Zhao in a deck with a sacrifice theme, you should probably kill him quickly.
Azula, Cunning Usurper
We haven’t seen much of Avatar’s iconic crazy villain up to this point, but Azula, Cunning Usurper certainly represents Azula’s time in Ba Sing Se well. Unfortunately, while this card’s flavor is strong, its potential is another story.
Any Commander deck piloted by cards like Gonti, Canny Acquisitor will certainly be interested in Azula, but outside of that, there are strictly better cards in Standard that do similar things. Black Cat, Cunning Thief comes to mind from MTG Spider Man as a similar effect that gives a lot more selection in the cards that it steals. You also can’t cast stolen instants with Azula on your opponent’s turns, giving the card another knock.
We aren’t impressed with Azula, Cunning Usurper, but the card will find its home in some Commander decks.
Firelord Azula
Firelord Azula is a card you need to build around to maximize, meaning that it’ll probably find a home in players’ Command Zones. Azula provides mana for players to use her ability with, meaning that the card is quite powerful, so long as you get a chance to attack. Any spell gets copied when Azula attacks, making Flash creatures an interesting fit for this deck.
Outside of Commander, Firelord Azula is a hard sell in constructed. A four-mana creature needing to attack to generate value begs your opponent to hit Azula with removal early, meaning you get nothing for your troubles. That said, Azula has a unique enough effect in Commander that it will likely see some play there.
Iroh, Grand Lotus
As a fan-favorite character, Iroh, Grand Lotus is likely a card that many players are excited to see. The card is easily powerful enough to see play as a Commander, and in the right deck, could even break out as a mana-topping combo piece in weaker constructed formats.
Giving all of your Lessons Flashback for one mana is obscenely powerful, allowing Iroh, Grand Lotus to easily accrue a ton of value if you untap with him. Iroh’s Firebending alone means that you can cast two instant speed Lessons for free, so long as he attacks. Even then, in a ramp-focused strategy, you probably won’t even need this, as Iroh can just start casting a ton of Lessons as soon as he enters play.
With how much potential this card has, Iroh could even be a way for control decks to turn the corner in Standard or Pioneer, but that seems unlikely. Six mana is a massive cost, and to ensure you consistently get value out of Iroh before he gets removed, you need additional mana to cast Lessons. This card is extremely interesting, but its mana value may keep it out of competitive formats. Lier, Disciple of the Drowned had a very successful stint in these formats, however, so only time will tell for sure.
Sokka, Tenacious Tactician
Sokka, Tenacious Tactician is the Lord that Ally fans have been waiting for. Offering a juiced-up Monastery Mentor, Sokka Tenacious Tactician can end games in a flash, so long as you let him create lots of Ally tokens. Granting any Allies previously on the board Menace and Prowess can also help players push through damage without needing to untap with Sokka himself.
All of that said, since Sokka provides keywords to all your creatures, removing him is extremely enticing. Your Ally tokens are a lot less scary without Sokka in play, but many Ally creatures have snowbally payoffs that care about wide board states. This means that, so long as Sokka creates enough Allies, the damage might already be done. All in all, this is an instant add to any Ally Typal Commander deck, and if Allies becomes Standard viable, Sokka is probably going to be part of the reason why.
Dragonfly Swarm
Dragonfly Swarm is surprisingly strong, offering an upgraded version of past ‘Drake’ effects that care about the number of instants and sorceries in your graveyard. Not only does Dragonfly Swarm get stronger faster, but the ability for Swarm to replace itself is incredibly impactful on a must-remove creature. Ward 1 isn’t to be underestimated either, since this card commonly needs to be removed on the same turn it enters play.
Sadly, effects like this have become a bit too slow to keep up in competitive Magic. This means that, while Dragonfly Swarm is an upgrade, it might not be good enough in the end.
Azula, on the Hunt
Azula, on the Hunt is unlikely to make a splash outside of Limited. It’s very strong there, since you can sacrifice the Clues that Azula makes with your Firebending mana. This basically means Azula draws a card whenever she attacks, which is obscenely powerful in Draft. Sadly, outside of Clue Commander decks, Azula, on the Hunt is far too clunky to see any other play.
Badgermole
While Badgermole is primarily a Limited card, it does solve an important problem for +1/+1 counter Commander decks, and could see some light play as a result. Trample is one of the most important keywords for the archetype, since it’s common to create a massive creature that just gets chump-blocked by opposing tokens. Granting an extra creature with counters on it can synergize with other commonly played cards in the deck, like Hardened Scales, as well.
Zuko, Exiled Prince
Zuko, Exiled Prince isn’t going to see a lot of play outside of very specific Commander decks. The card seems ok in decks that want to play cards from exile, and if you can copy Zuko’s Firebending effect, the mana outlet he provides seems more enticing. Sadly, the need to play any exiled cards on the turn you exile them pretty much kills the card’s potential outside of Limited.
Invasion Tactics
Invasion Tactics is a surprisingly powerful enchantment for Ally-focused Commander decks. Offering a small Overrun on a draw engine is extremely enticing and can seriously go the distance in a go-wide strategy. That said, both effects that this card offers can be done far better by individual cards for less mana. This will likely make Invasion Tactics an interesting card for Ally decks to consider, but don’t be surprised if you end up cutting it eventually.
Leaves from the Vine
This is, by far, the most emotionally charged MTG Avatar spoiler we’ve seen so far. In addition to making lots of Avatar fans weep, Leaves from the Vine can provide a decent amount of value in the right deck, but its effects are a bit all over the place.
The card seems great in Limited, providing card draw and buffs for your creatures. If there’s a graveyard matters strategy, Leaves from the Vine can empower that, as well. Unfortunately, outside of an Iroh, Grand Lotus Commander deck, this is a very hard sell as it’s far too difficult to squeeze enough value out of this card’s three modes in more generic strategies.
Rabaroo Troop
It seems that we’ll be getting another cycle of Landcycling cards in Avatar Limited. Notably, Rabaroo Troop is not limited to finding Basic Plains with its Cycling ability, which could make it a niche option in very specific Commander decks that can utilize Rabaroo Troop’s creature side to strong efficiency. All of that said, this isn’t the best card in the world, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it just sticks to Avatar Limited.
North Pole Patrol
Our last card to show off, North Pole Patrol seems ok in decks that want to Waterbend. The card essentially functions as a flexible mana dork that can have additional synergies in the right deck. While North Pole Patrol’s activated ability is offered on cheaper alternatives like Kiora’s Follower, these cards can occasionally lead to infinite combos in focused strategies. If there is a place for North Pole Patrol, it’s likely from an effect redundancy standpoint.
Many of today’s Avatar spoilers aren’t the most impressive cards in the world, but they do offer Commander players lots of unique builds around cards dressed up as extremely popular Avatar characters. Badgermole Cub feels like the only MTG card that has a high chance of breaking out in competitive Magic that we’ve seen so far, but that’s enough for Avatar to make a significant impact on the game. Flavor-wise, this set has been a real treat so far, and as an Avatar fan, I’m excited to see everything else that Wizards of the Coast has in store.
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