The 50 Best Cards in Avatar: The Last Airbender Ranked

Last updated on December 22, 2025

Iroh, Grand Lotus | Illustration by Dalton Pencarinha

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a breath of air after the disaster that was Marvel’s Spider-Man. Not fresh air, mind you, since I’d still rather visit a multiverse set than remain in Universes Beyond, but Spider-Man was stifling, and Avatar’s actually kind of rad.

You know the drill though: New set, 60,000 new cards to talk about, and we’re going to narrow them down to the absolute best. This will have a Commander focus, but I’ll be sure to point out cards for other formats when they stand out. I’m also avoiding reprints, since there are so many of them with the bonus sheet and the Jumpstart add-on, and I really want to focus on newcomers.

Honorable Mentions: Lessons

Interestingly, Avatar brings lessons back into the fold, but not learn, so Standard players won’t be able to wish for these like we could back in Strixhaven. That said, if we get solid learn cards in Secrets of Strixhaven, almost all the lessons are worth a second look. The ingenuity of lesson/learn is that almost every lesson becomes playable when you don’t have to put it in your mainboard.

The lesson subtype won’t affect my evaluation of many cards included on this list, but the whole collective could get better early next year.

#50. Sokka’s Haiku

I’ll focus on power level for everything else on this list, but I’m not letting Sokka's Haiku slip through because it’s one of the most ingenious cards in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Using the game mechanics to form a haiku in the rules text is a brilliant bit of card design that deserves praise. Let’s do a limerick next time, eh WotC?

#49. Overwhelming Victory

Overwhelming Victory looks like a cheeky wincon for go-wide red decks; Jetmir, Nexus of Revels comes to mind. Ideally, you’ll aim this at an X/1 to give everything +4/+0, at instant speed no less, and you can even target your own 1/1 token to make things easier.

#48. The New Shrines + Hei Bai, Forest Guardian

Shrines are highly parasitic; you almost never see any of them unless they’re surrounded by the others in a Go-Shintai of Life's Origin deck. These will see play, but in an almost predetermined way. It’s nice to see Hei Bai, Forest Guardian give Go-Shintai some competition, but I’ve already outlined why I think it’s worse as a shrine commander. They’ll always show up together, at least.

#47. Suki, Kyoshi Captain

Similar to the shrines, Suki, Kyoshi Captain has one home, but it’ll be a new staple of decks themed around warriors.

#46. Lo and Li, Royal Advisors

Another advisor commander, eh? Lo and Li, Royal Advisors were clearly made to support Persistent Petitioners decks, though it’s odd that the payoff for milling your opponents is to pump your team. These decks don’t normally care about combat or creature sizing, but I guess L&L gives you a reason to care. This way, you can focus on milling one opponent out, then have a swole team of advisors to take down the others.

#45. Fire Nation Occupation

Fire Nation Occupation starts off below-rate but pays you off after just one trigger. It plays well in flash shells like Nymris, Oona's Trickster and Alela, Cunning Conqueror, and it’s a fun reminder to people that firebending doesn’t affect the color identity of a card, since reminder text isn’t factored into color identity. In other words, you don’t have to play red to run this card in Commander.

#44. Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong

Here’s a quick TLA hack: Anything that mentions Wan Shi Tong is awesome. Our last attempt at a scrying-matters card didn’t work out too well (The Temporal Anchor), but Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong has much higher upside: It lets you cast spells for free rather than just stockpile extra cards. Adding on surveil is a great touch too. I’m afraid this will end up a clunker, but it’s one of the splashier cards in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

#43. Fire Nation Cadets

This little common might fall completely flat, or it might break Standard wide open. Firebending 2 on a 1-drop is dangerous, though it requires that you bin a lesson to really matter. TLA/TLE is full of lessons, and a simple curve of Fire Nation Cadets into Iroh's Demonstration lets you chain together spells very early in the game.

#42. Raven Eagle

This is what you get when two football teams shake hands and put aside their differences. Raven Eagle isn’t flashy at all, in name, art, or effect, but it’s a nice package of abilities and stats to make it competitively viable. Graveyard Trespasser was a mainstay during its Standard run, though it was admittedly better, and part of a less powerful environment.

#41. The Walls of Ba Sing Se

Hilarious. Colorless commander, toughness-matters, Darksteel Forge for everything. People will find a way to break The Walls of Ba Sing Se and all 30 of its toughness. Maybe that’s Jaws of Defeat, maybe it’s Jokulhaups.

#40. Koh, the Face-Stealer

Holy Ravenous Chupacabra, I clearly don't know much about Avatar… when did No-Face show up in the series? Koh, the Face-Stealer is a big 2-for-1 with a bizarre activated ability. It's basically a build-your-own-combo card, but also has the very unique effect of taking on the triggered abilities of other cards, something I only recall seeing on Idris, Soul of the TARDIS. What abilities are you assembling with this?

#39. Bison Whistle

The bison text here is funny, but changelings work just as well as Appas. Even without cutesy creature types in your deck, this is a fine way to either draw extra creatures or fill the yard, though I’d probably want my graveyard to matter before I get really excited to play Bison Whistle.

#38. Suki, Courageous Rescuer

Suki, Courageous Rescuer looks solid enough, though it’s easily outclassed by Cosmogrand Zenith unless the ally typing really matters (and even then, probably). An anthem plus token generation is a nice mix, something we usually see on much more expensive cards like Maja, Bretagard Protector.

#37. United Front

United Front and United Battlefront both printed in the same year is a minor annoyance I’ll get over.

The question to ask is at what X value are you happy with United Front? X=1 is pretty bad, X=2 is serviceable, and anything from X=3 and up seems actively strong. It’s another anthem and token generation combo like Suki, but it scales up in a meaningful way and supports ally decks incredibly well.

#36. Phoenix Fleet Airship

Not sure what the significance of the number eight is here, but Phoenix Fleet Airship is just another cool, interesting design from the set. It really takes off if you can cast it using Treasure early on, which gives you two zeppelins on turn 3 pretty easily. Set up the trigger on the following turn and you'll have four, and beyond that the blimps can actually start attacking without having to be crewed.

#35. Tectonic Split

Maybe it’ll end up another Bootleggers' Stash or A Realm Reborn, but Tectonic Split looks busted, which probably means that it is with the right support pieces. Eight lands in play is the break-even point where you can cast this “for free”, though you could always run it out earlier, hope it sticks around for a turn cycle, and untap with something like 10 to 12 mana from lands alone.

#34. The Earth King

Here’s a nice spread of stats and ramp for 4 mana. The Earth King is at its best when you can curve a cheap 4-power creature into it, perhaps Surrak, Elusive Hunter in Standard. Ramp doesn’t sound like the most enticing reward on an aggressively slanted creature like this, but you can always find a use for more lands.

#33. Katara, Waterbending Master

Jumpstart Katara is one of a handful of new experience counter legends, and this one builds up fast. With the right flash support, Katara, Waterbending Master becomes the world’s greatest Scroll Thief, and it doesn’t even have to connect in combat to draw a handful of cards.

#32. Fire Nation Salvagers

Fire Nation Salvagers mixes a bunch of different themes together, but it has some promising potential. Spread out counters, slip through in combat, and reanimate creatures/vehicles from opponents’ yards. That’s enticing, but also a lot of qualifications before you’re rewarded.

#31. Bumi, Unleashed

A lot of Bumi, Unleashed’s promise comes from its combo potential if you’re able to turn it into a land somehow, mainly with Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. This not only lets Bumi earthbend itself, but it also sets up infinite combats since it’ll be counted as a land creature. Earthbending a creature also means you can sacrifice it to something like Zuran Orb and have it re-enter immediately, which is a separate combo that also results in various infinites.

#30. Wan Shi Tong, All-Knowing

Part Air Elemental, part Man-o'-War, Wan Shi Tong, All-Knowing isn’t as hyped up as its main set counterpart, but it’s still a strong disruptive tool. I also really like this “putting cards into libraries” trigger, which isn’t something I recall ever seeing before.

#29. Iroh, Grand Lotus

Iroh, Grand Lotus gets points for carving out unique space for Temur () decks as a lessons-matter commander. It’s also just kind of Lier, Disciple of the Drowned with more colors, and some storm potential with a deck full of spells. Also, my impression is that people love Iroh, which means I love Iroh.

#28. Obsessive Pursuit

Here’s the “new Phyrexian Arena” of the set, and it’s got my attention. In fact, I almost like the artifact/token generation on Obsessive Pursuit more than the prospect of sacrificing Clues for card draw. I could take or leave the +1/+1 counter clause, but I suppose I’ll take it if you give it to me as a bonus.

#27. Earthshape

Always gotta pay attention to these new mass protection spells. A Heroic Intervention for little guys sounds useful, and animating a land in the process gives you some nice blowout potential. You can always fire it off to blank something that targets you, too, since it gives a player hexproof in addition to small creatures.

#26. Secret Tunnel

Yeah, yeah, yeah, get it out of your system now. Secret Tunnel looks like a direct replacement for Rogue's Passage, but hold on there, tiger! This must target two creatures you control with an overlapping creature type, so it really is more of a typal payoff than a staple upgrade to Passage. The unblockable text is also hilarious to see on a land that isn’t a creature land, but it makes sense alongside earthbending in the same set.

#25. Great Divide Guide

Great Divide Guide doesn’t straight-up replace Harabaz Druid, but it’s going into every ally deck you’ll ever build, and it’s generically playable outside allies. It even throws in the Prismatic Omen text for good measure, which makes it a core part of General Tazri and 5-color ally decks moving forward.

#24. Appa, Steadfast Guardian

Here’s our obligatory Restoration Angel callback of the year. Appa, Steadfast Guardian gives you some wrath insurance, blink synergy, and outs to an easy one-two infinite combo with Aang, Airbending Master. Rock-solid when played fairly, and capable of unfair things, too.

#23. Momo, Friendly Flier

Momo, Friendly Flier is a potent turn-1 play. Immediate cost reduction is huge, even if it only applies to fliers. Think of this like an evasive Isamaru, Hound of Konda (sometimes bigger) and a Pearl Medallion that only costs 1 mana upfront and slots right into the command zone.

#22. Secret of Bloodbending

I’m still indecisive about the expensive waterbending costs, but the ability to tap both artifacts and creatures leads me to believe they’re very achievable. The ceiling on Secret of Bloodbending is quad- for a Mindslaver, and you can always screw around with someone’s combat phase if nothing else.

#21. Spirit Water Revival

And here’s another waterbending spell with an expensive additional cost. The baseline of for Divination is quite bad, but spiking seven cards for potentially 3 to 5 mana and some taps from your permanents seems worth pursuing. I’m assuming artifact token decks will be the best home for these pumped-up waterbending cards.

#20. Avatar’s Wrath

Avatar's Wrath is a cool answer to how you’re supposed to squeeze board wipes into your blink decks. Those decks don’t want to wrath their ETB creatures away but still need answers for opposing boards, and you can only play so many Cyclonic Rifts. Airbending everything but your key piece in play sounds like the perfect solution that lets you redeploy all your ETB dorks while it sets your opponents back.

#19. Firebending Student

I gushed about Tifa Lockhart in Final Fantasy, and I’m getting similar vibes from Firebending Student. I just expect firebending to be really good, especially when it scales like this. This monk’s poised to set up some awesome turn-3 kills in Standard alongside certain red pump spells, though it’ll be a glass cannon strategy, as we’ve seen with Tifa.

#18. Aang, Swift Savior / Aang and La, Ocean’s Fury

Making Spell Queller a human and letting it target anything is nice, though airbending is only a temporary solution. Where Aang, Swift Savior really excites me is in conjunction with cost reduction creatures like Quantum Riddler. Airbend a warped creature and cast it for instead of full cost. Aang and La, Ocean's Fury is also a meaningful upgrade, even if it’s pricy to transform and doesn’t have the biggest payoff for doing so.

#17. Toph, Earthbending Master

Landfall is probably the single easiest way to accumulate experience counters, which makes Toph, Earthbending Master a sort of Evolution Sage with bonus earthbending text. I’d be interested to run this in the 99 of other experience counter decks like Ezuri, Claw of Progress.

#16. Fated Firepower

Now that’s flashy! There are times when you’ll prefer Fiery Emancipation to Fated Firepower, but flash is a big deal on a damage amplifier, and this seems much better in big-mana decks like Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient or Neheb, the Eternal.

#15. Mai, Scornful Striker

This is just an elegant design, and something we’re familiar with on comps like Eidolon of the Great Revel. Mai, Scornful Striker might be sideboard material at best, but I expect it to matter a ton against spell-based matchups.

#14. The Cabbage Merchant

They really beat The Cabbage Merchant joke to death, with a Jumpstart card, the main set Unlucky Cabbage Merchant, and a whole Secret Lair of reprints that feature the beloved peddler of cabbages. The main set card is a fine ramp piece, but this rare version is where it’s at. You should stay well-fed with all the Food this makes, and your Foods can tap for mana, which is always way stronger than it seems (see: Jaheira, Friend of the Forest).

#13. Sozin’s Comet

Sozin's Comet reads like it’s busted, and it’ll probably play out that way. Toss it into any go-wide deck and pair it with an instant-speed fireball like Comet Storm, and watch the sparks fly. I also really like the synergy of foretell with other firebending cards (you can foretell at any point during your turn, even during combat).

#12. Avatar Aang / Aang, Master of Elements

The most intriguing part of Aang, Master of Elements is that the cost reduction actually affects generic costs, which cards like this almost never do. That’s a storm commander if ever I’ve seen one, though the need to master all four elements with Avatar Aang is quite the challenge. Even more so considering we’ll probably never see the bending mechanics again in future sets, so an Avatar Aang Commander deck will probably feel stagnant after a while.

#11. Avatar Destiny

Avatar Destiny is a spicy take on reanimator in green. It’s giving Pattern of Rebirth vibes, though it could miss on the mill trigger. This is an awesome way of portraying the Avatar cycling through different lives, and a cool dream to live, made all the better by getting a stat bump up front.

#10. Firebender Ascension

The Ascensions are nice little callbacks, and Firebender Ascension really stands out. This is a card for Isshin, Two Heavens as One all the way, and the firebender it gives you on ETB is a huge step towards getting it online. Double attack triggers for 2 mana is pretty spicy, even if it takes time to build up.

#9. Katara’s Reversal

In the right deck, Katara's Reversal will play out like a super-Rewind. It requires artifacts and creatures with useful tap abilities to really take off, but there’s an artifact deck out there just waiting for someone to put a spell on the stack. It’s “up to” four spells too, so you can fire this off with no other targets just to untap a bunch of stuff. Storm card, anyone?

#8. The Unagi of Kyoshi Island

Consecrated Sphinx, is that you? Not exactly, but The Unagi of Kyoshi Island does a good impression without being broken like the Game Changer sphinx. Using waterbending as a ward cost is also just cool tech (though admittedly worse than just having ward instead).

#7. Fire Nation Palace

Fire Nation Palace isn’t as crazy as it seems on first read, but it’s still a great red land that’s easy to slot into decks. It essentially lets you turn 3 mana into 4 ( plus tapping this land), but you have to target something that’s able to attack, and actually get to attack. Plus, you have to use the firebending mana right away, but that should be easy to do with Clues, firebreathing abilities, or just flash spells. Or, combine it with mana storage effects like Electro, Assaulting Battery and save it up for another turn.

#6. Fire Lord Zuko

Let’s go ahead and string together a few of the new commanders with the most potential. I don’t know much about Avatar, but I love the way Fire Lord Zuko’s exile text plays with airbending, which seems like an intentional nod to his eventual partnership with Aang. It’s also really easy to break, as all you need is two creatures that can flicker each other, which not only produces infinite +1/+1 counters on your creatures, but also scales firebending up to make infinite mana when Zuko attacks.

#5. Toph, the First Metalbender

I’m intrigued by how many different directions you can go with Toph, the First Metalbender. Lean into artifacts, landfall, land creatures, etc. That’s a lot of versatility for a Naya commander (), and this is just a great representation of Toph, one of the few elements of ATLA that I know a bit about. Hehe, elements….

#4. Fire Lord Azula

Surely Fire Lord Azula ends up one of the most popular commanders from this set, right? It reminds me of Kalamax, the Stormsire, but so much cooler. Note that this can copy any spell that comes in mid-combat, and it even spots you extra mana with firebending. My mind immediately goes to flash creatures and enchantments, though you can always stick to Grixis () spellslinging.

#3. Wan Shi Tong, Librarian

People are freaking out about Wan Shi Tong, Librarian for cEDH, and it’s not hard to see why. Imagine Hydroid Krasis, but instead of lifegain, you get vigilance, flash, and an extra +1/+1 counter and card draw whenever opponents search their library. Just paying to respond to a fetch land or Rampant Growth puts you up a card, and you can force the issue with mandatory search effects like Field of Ruin.

#2. Redirect Lightning

I’m still a fan of Bolt Bend even with Deflecting Swat dethroning it so hard, but I’d happily pay the 5 life on Redirect Lightning to get access to another cheap redirection spell. These don’t always work, but they often have great targets, whether that’s effectively countering a counterspell, pointing removal towards someone else’s creature, or best case, making a Time Warp target you instead.

#1. Badgermole Cub

Badgermole Cub looks absurd, and it fits the trend of the offspring outperforming the parents (compare Displacer Beast to Displacer Kitten).

Mana doublers just shouldn’t cost this little, even with restrictions. Especially when they create their own mana dorks via earthbending. I expect people to try this alongside Craterhoof Behemoth in Standard, and you better believe it’ll show up in EDH, at minimum in every Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy deck out there, and many more places, too.

Wrap Up

Sokka, Swordmaster | Illustration by Jason Kiantoro

There, you feel like you’ve mastered all the elements of Avatar: The Last Airbender now? This set is surprisingly packed with interesting, powerful, and even just fun designs, given how parasitic the mechanics are (shrines, lessons, allies, etc.). This has had the reverse effect that Spider-Man had, and I almost want to learn more about the Avatar universe now. Is Universes Beyond working on me? Am I part of the problem now?

I’m excited for this set given the slump we’re coming off of, and I’m glad some more niche archetypes are getting love. My only wish is that Secrets of Strixhaven pays us off with a batch of playable learn cards to make all these lessons more interesting for Constructed and Cube. I have to imagine that’s the case, but we’ve got a few other sets between now and then.

Anything you’re looking forward to from TLA? Does The Legend of Kora have enough material for a follow-up MTG set? Let us know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord.

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