Table of Contents
Balance was broken. Mono Red is everywhere. Now the elements must unite…
Wizards has dropped a truly elemental set with Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I’m back with my picks for the top 10 cards you’ll actually want to play—especially if you’re a Commander fan like me.
This list covers only the main set—sorry, no Jumpstart extras like [[The Cabbage Merchant]] (amazing in cEDH by the way) or stunning alt-art reprints like [[Mystic Remora]]. Just the core benders and bruisers that are ready to make a splash at your next Commander night.
One quick PSA before we dive in: cards with Firebend (like [[Azula, Cunning Usurper]]) may show red mana symbols in reminder text, but they do not count as red for colour identity. Same deal as Extort on [[Crypt Ghast]]. Azula is Dimir, not Grixis. Don’t get caught out!
Right, with that cleared up… it’s time to limber up and bend our way into the top 10 cards from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
1: Day of Black Sun
https://scryfall.com/card/tla/94/day-of-black-sun
[[Day of Black Sun]] is my first pick — and for good reason. In the anime, the Day of Black Sun marks the solar eclipse that leaves all firebenders powerless. The card mirrors this perfectly, stripping abilities from all creatures and shutting down death triggers and extra value engines.
Because it’s an {X} spell, you also get flexibility. At higher values it can even function as a one-sided wrath, clearing the board while leaving yours intact. It’s not quite on the level of [[Toxic Deluge]], but it still sits surprisingly high among black board wipes.
Quick rules note: {X} is always treated as {0} when the card isn’t on the stack. That means [[Day of Black Sun]] has a mana value (MV) of {2} everywhere except while you’re casting it.
This matters because the card destroys creatures with MV {X} or less. So, for example, your [[Walking Ballista]] on the battlefield is always MV {0}, no matter how much mana you pumped into it. Tokens also have MV {0} — unless they’re a token copy of a creature, in which case they inherit the original MV.
Finally, transformed cards without a printed mana cost use the MV of their front face. Just something to keep in mind when you’re lining up your eclipse.
2: Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
https://scryfall.com/card/tla/78/wan-shi-tong-librarian
I can see [[Wan Shi Tong, Librarian]] working as a mono-blue commander, but I think it truly shines in the 99. Flash gives you that classic “gotcha” moment — something you lose when it’s sitting face-up in the command zone, telegraphing itself from a mile away. Of course, if your opponents have a fetch land, they’re going to get the trigger regardless…
In many ways, this feels like a blue upgrade to [[Archivist of Oghma]]. Flying and vigilance, plus becoming a growing threat, more than make up for the double-blue pips. The downside? You need to actually be playing blue — which not every deck at lower tables is.
At higher-power tables, though, where players are running a full suite of fetchlands and tutors, [[Wan Shi Tong, Librarian]] becomes much stronger. At B2/B3 you’ll still see ramp-heavy green decks, so it isn’t dead there either. Just don’t expect it to scale quite as quickly, and be ready to invest a bit more mana early on.
3: Fire Lord Azula
https://scryfall.com/card/tla/220/fire-lord-azula
[[Fire Lord Azula]] is another card with real cEDH potential — this time as a Grixis Commander. Grixis ({U}{B}{R}) is already one of the strongest colour combinations in the format, packed with fast mana, efficient tutors, and, of course, the infamous Thoracle combo.
What makes Azula particularly interesting is that she can enable a one-card Thoracle win. Because she copies the spell you cast while she’s attacking, a single [[Tainted Pact]] or even the riskier [[Demonic Consultation]] can get the job done.
The line works like this: Cast Pact/Consult → first copy finds [[Thassa's Oracle]] → second copy exiles your library. Then, in your second main phase, you simply cast the Thassa's Oracle and win. It’s riskier than casting your exile spell in response to the Oracle trigger, but it means you only need one piece instead of two.
If you prefer not to lean fully into combos, [[Fire Lord Azula]] also makes a fantastic value engine. Load your deck with instants and you’ll consistently generate extra copies and extra damage. With flash enablers like [[Leyline of Anticipation]], [[Valley Floodcaller]], or [[Vedalken Orrery]], things get even sillier — you can copy any spell while Azula is attacking.
And don’t forget the built-in bonus: the Firebend ability gives you {R}{R} whenever you copy a spell, helping to pay for more interaction or more haymakers. Just be warned — copied extra turn spells quickly push you into “bracket 4” territory.
4: Avatar Aang
https://scryfall.com/card/tla/207/avatar-aang-aang-master-of-elements
I don’t think I could make a Top 10 list without including [[Avatar Aang]]. It was the first card spoiled for the set and remains one of the most powerful. The back side — [[Aang, Master of Elements]] — has already caused several older cards to spike in price, especially buyback spells like [[Searing Touch]], which you can repeatedly cast to close out the game.
Without hands-on testing, it’s hard to know how difficult it will actually be to trigger all four bending abilities in a single turn. But even if you don’t hit all four, drawing a card whenever you do activate all four in a turn is usually strong enough payoff on its own.
My biggest issue with [[Avatar Aang]] is that it’s a fairly parasitic design. It only cares about bending mechanics — things we’re very unlikely to see again outside this set. This means your deck is naturally limited to what Avatar: The Last Airbender provides.
It’s even more restrictive than something like Infect, which at least interacts well with mechanics such as Proliferate. Individual bending abilities like Waterbend, Earthbend, Firebend, and Airbend can work outside the set, sure — but Avatar Aang himself becomes much harder to build around effectively, especially if your goal is flipping him consistently.
5: Long Feng, Grand Secretariat
https://scryfall.com/card/tla/233/long-feng-grand-secretariat
Speaking of combo commanders, here’s another one: [[Long Feng, Grand Secretariat]]. This card practically combos with a ham sandwich, and the most obvious partner is [[Basking Broodscale]].
The loop is simple: Sacrifice or kill one of your creatures → Broodscale gets a +1/+1 counter → you Adapt it to make a Spawn token → the Spawn sacrifices itself → Long Feng triggers → put the counter back on [[Basking Broodscale]]. Repeat this infinitely.
Yes, tokens do go to the graveyard before ceasing to exist, which is why they trigger Long Feng properly. This gives you infinite colourless mana and an infinitely large Broodscale.
Another easy combo route is through the Persist mechanic. Persist reads: “When this creature dies, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter.” Because +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters cancel out, you can create a loop with:
- Any free sacrifice outlet
- Two Persist creatures
You need two because Long Feng’s trigger requires a target as it goes on the stack — before the Persist creature returns.
The sequence works like this:
- Sacrifice Persist Creature A → Persist and Long Feng both trigger.
- Use Long Feng to put a +1/+1 counter on Persist Creature B.
- Persist Creature A returns with a -1/-1 counter.
- Sacrifice Persist Creature B → Persist and Long Feng trigger again.
- Use Long Feng to put a +1/+1 counter on Persist Creature A, cancelling its -1/-1 counter.
Now you can repeat the loop indefinitely. You just need a payoff — something that triggers on death or ETB, or a sac outlet like [[Phyrexian Altar]] for infinite mana.
If Wizards ever updates hybrid mana rules to “either/or” for colour identity, [[Long Feng, Grand Secretariat]] becomes even more versatile. It could then slot into decks like [[Marchesa, the Black Rose]] or the upcoming [[Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn]] from Lorwyn Eclipsed.
6: Sozin’s Comet
https://scryfall.com/card/tla/154/sozins-comet
If you like splashy spells, look no further than [[Sozin’s Comet]]. Much like [[Day of Black Sun]], this card represents a major story moment in the series. (Spoilers ahead.) The comet amplifies the power of firebenders a hundredfold. Sozin used it in his campaign of conquest, leading to the destruction of the Air Nomads, and a century later Fire Lord Ozai attempted to do the same.
Mechanically, this translates into giving all your creatures Firebend 5, which means a lot of mana if you’ve built even a modest board. Ending the game with a massive [[Fireball]] or [[Comet Storm]] becomes incredibly flavourful — and extremely achievable.
I also love the use of Foretell here. In the show, the comet’s arrival is predicted long before it appears. Foretell captures that perfectly: set it aside early, build your forces, and when the moment finally arrives… unleash devastation.
7: Badgermole Cub
https://scryfall.com/card/tla/167/badgermole-cub
Mum, can we have [[Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy]]? No, we have Kinnan at home. Kinnan at home: [[Badgermole Cub]]
Memes aside, I do see [[Badgermole Cub]] as a “worse Kinnan” — but that’s still a very high bar. [[Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy]] is one of the top cEDH commanders thanks to producing extra mana and having the ability to flip into non-humans. Badgermole Cub only gives you the extra mana side… but it does come packaged with its own mana dork thanks to Earthbend.
While [[Badgermole Cub]] isn’t legendary (so it can’t be your Commander), this is actually an upside in 60-card formats. Mostly Standard — though maybe Pioneer as well — where being non-legendary lets you run multiple copies, and yes, its abilities do stack.
This is especially relevant right now because [[Llanowar Elves]] is in Foundations and will be around for a good while, giving green ramp decks even more redundancy.
Overall, I expect [[Badgermole Cub]] to be one of the chase mythics of the set. It’s either this or [[Wan Shi Tong, Librarian]], but I suspect more players will be hunting Cub.
8: Diligent Zoo Keeper
https://scryfall.com/card/tla/171/diligent-zookeeper
[[Diligent Zoo Keeper]] is going to be a finisher in a lot of decks. The best part? It doesn’t even need to be in a Kindred deck like [[Coat of Arms]]. This is simply a straight-up buff to any non-Humans — which sadly means Changelings don’t get the automatic +10/+10 treatment.
I believe [[Burakos, Party Leader]] holds the record for the most creature types printed on a card by default… so it qualifies for the full +5/+5 bonus.
One thing to watch out for, especially with older cards, is how creature types have changed over time. For example, “Phyrexian” was added as a creature type retroactively, which mattered a lot for cards like [[Embiggen]] in Infect decks.
Another rules nuance: [[Diligent Zoo Keeper]] specifically checks creature types. This means [[Tough Cookie]] only gets +1/+1, because “Food” is an artifact subtype, not a creature subtype. Details like this matter when you’re trying to squeeze every point of power out of the card.
And for a bit of extra spice — [[Werewolf Pack Leader]] can make you lose the Human subtype. So if you can share that ability with your Changelings using something like [[Agatha's Soul Cauldron]], suddenly they get to enjoy all the buffs after all.
9: Abandoned Air Temple
https://scryfall.com/card/tla/263/abandoned-air-temple
[[Abandoned Air Temple]] is part of the rare land cycle in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Each land in the cycle enters untapped if you control a basic land — a very easy requirement — and then taps for its respective colour. Everything beyond that is just upside.
I chose the white version because it reminds me strongly of [[Gavony Township]], but in a mono-white shell. While Gavony has fallen out of favour in Modern, it was once a serious player, and this card captures much of that quietly powerful utility.
I think [[Abandoned Air Temple]] could genuinely shine in Standard if the format slows down after the expected bans. It synergises well with the white ally token strategies already present, and being mono-white makes it far easier to slot into a wide range of Commander decks.
This is the kind of land that just silently wins games — repeatedly putting +1/+1 counters on token armies until your board becomes overwhelming.
10: Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong
https://scryfall.com/card/tla/259/planetarium-of-wan-shi-tong
We’re ending on a banger: [[Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong]]. Yes, it costs six mana — but the ability is absolutely worth it. Free-casting spells has always been one of the strongest things you can do in Magic, and the reminder text clarifying that the trigger happens after you finish Scrying or Surveilling makes it even cleaner to set up.
The most natural home for this is [[Glarb, Calamity's Augur]]. Glarb already has built-in Surveil, meaning you can immediately dig for the card you want to cast for free. Seeing the top card before committing to the trigger makes this interaction even better.
[[Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong]] does have a “once per turn” clause — but crucially, it’s not limited to your turn. Cards like [[Opt]] let you hit a blind free spell for just one mana, since you’ll draw whatever you Scry. And Planetarium even provides its own Scry ability if you have the spare mana to activate it.
This is very much a build-around card, but it also slides neatly into Glarb lists as pure value. There are definitely other decks that would love this, but Glarb is the biggest standout.
Final Thoughts
It’s a shame that [[Nameless Race]] is on the Reserve List — it would have been a perfect callback in the special guest slot. It really does look like Zuko, but according to DiMartino in the Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Art of the Animated Series artbook, Konietzko originally designed Zuko as a “scary-looking kid with a scar over one eye” to act as a young villain opposite Aang. So the resemblance to the Nameless Race artwork is just a coincidence.
I also find it amusing that [[Nameless Race]] is the only non-Human creature in the entire game that doesn’t get a buff from [[Diligent Zoo Keeper]] because it has no creature type at all. The only card in Magic to do so!
This set is packed with powerful cards — far more than I could fit into a Top 10. I had to cut strong options like [[White Lotus Tile]]. While it’s a great card, it shines best in Kindred decks, and I wanted this list to focus more on general utility and standalone power. Still, White Lotus Tile is one to keep an eye on (and to pick up if you find it cheap), as UB cards often rise over time until they get in-universe reprints.
Another notable omission is [[Bumi, Unleashed]], which combos beautifully with [[Ashaya, Soul of the Wild]] for infinite combat steps — as long as Bumi deals combat damage to a player. Very cool, but again, something had to go!
Thank you for sticking with me to the end. I hope to see you again in 2026 with the release of Lorwyn Eclipsed. If you need any boosters, commander decks or Avatar The Last Air Bender sealed product, you can find them here at Gathering Games.
As always, good luck — and remember to have fun!
