The Ultimate Guide to Avatar: The Last Airbender Draft

Bryan Hohns (Veveil) December 1, 2025 Deckbuilding, Draft, Limited, Strategy

Last updated on December 3, 2025

Avatar Destiny | Illustration by Flavio Girón

Greetings planeswalkers! “Book Two” of our Avatar: The Last Airbender guide series has finally arrived. The secrets contained within this scroll will help you to master the four elements and unlock your mythic chakra. I’ll build upon everything I covered in “Book One”, with a particular focus on how to draft specific archetypes and get the most out of every card.

Table of Contents show

My Experience with Avatar Draft

Avatar: The Last Airbender promotional art | Illustration by Toni Infante

This guide isn’t about me, but I thought I’d briefly share my experience preparing it. I wrote this guide after about a week of grinding the set on MTG Arena. Almost all of my experience with Avatar comes from Best-of-One Premier Drafts.

I hit Mythic fairly quickly, and then attempted to hit Mythic #1 to advertise this guide better (and please my ego). Unfortunately, I bounced around between #5-200 and then ultimately ran out of time to procrastinate on writing this.

You can view my event history with the set here, as you may find it helpful after reading this to review some of my drafts. I did play a lot of drafts on my phone though, so there are plenty of games missing.

Mechanics Revisited

Here I’ll briefly recap the set’s mechanics and touch upon how they’ve played out.

Firebending

Firebending is a useful mechanic that plays well in aggressive decks. You’ll generally dump your firebending mana into one of three things:

An on-board activated ability, often from the creature that just firebent (i.e., Fire Nation Cadets, Vindictive Warden)
Cracking Clue tokens to draw a card
Expensive instants like Lost Days

BR is the closest thing this set has to a firebending archetype, but it’s usually more of a bonus than the sole thing you’ll focus on.

Airbending

Airbending has really impressed me, as it’s a flexible mechanic and most cards that feature it are good. Aang, the Last Airbender, Glider Staff, and Airbending Lesson are some white’s best non-rares. Here are some nice things you can do with airbending:

Gain tempo by “bouncing” your opponent's stuff, either to slow down their offense or remove blockers.
Save your creatures from Watery Grasp and Path to Redemption.
Get rid of Clues and creature tokens.
Reset beneficial “enters” abilities like Forecasting Fortune Teller.

There isn’t really an “airbending deck” in the format, as there aren’t a ton of airbending cards in general. Still, it’s part of the reason why white is the best color in Avatar.

Waterbending

Waterbending is probably my favorite of the set’s mechanics. You can get a ton of equity out of this with Clues, 1/1 Ally tokens, or even blockers on your opponent’s turn. The latter play pattern makes waterbend cards like Katara, Bending Prodigy and Water Tribe Rallier safe win conditions in stalled board states!

Waterbending is relevant in most blue decks, and it’s also the easiest form of bending to build a deck around, most often in WU decks.

Earthbending

Earthbending provides some extra hasty bodies out of your lands. You can view “earthbending X” as kind of like “create a limited X/X creature with haste”. The reason the creature is “limited” is because that creature is still a mana source, so you won’t always be able to attack or block with it.

Here are some general tips for earthbending:

You can animate lands like Rumble Arena and Secret Tunnel for extra value.
Choosing when to earthbend is important; doing so earlier means the land won’t usually engage in combat for a few turns. Doing so later lets the land attack with haste, but it may also have no profitable attacks on a stalled board.
It’s often advantageous to earthbend onto the same land, rather than making new ones. This lets the land brawl better in combat and doesn’t force you to tap multiple creatures for mana.
On the other hand, small lands do make great fodder for cards like Deadly Precision, since they come back immediately.
Earthbent lands have a distinct vulnerability to blue removal, asWatery Grasp and Lost Days can both be quite punishing for them.

Earthbending shows up mostly in green decks, and BG is somewhat of an earthbending archetype as well (due to its +1/+1 counter synergies).

DFC Sagas

Not much to add about these other than that they’re all even better than advertised. When The Legend of Kyoshi is somehow the worst of this cycle (and still great), you know you’re dealing with some truly busted bombs.

Lessons

Lessons are an essential facet of Avatar Limited. Two archetypes play directly off of them (UR and GU), and there are enough lesson payoffs for them to matter in other color pairs, too.

Exhaust

Exhaust provides a nice mana sink and works wells with firebending. There’s not much else to say about the mechanic though, as exhaust cards vary from exceptional (Invasion Submersible to solid (Rebellious Captives) to filler (Hog-Monkey).

Clues

Clues are Avatar’s primary mana sink. You’re generally hoping to curve out first before you pop these, as having to fish for lands with Clues creates a tempo blackhole. Their synergy with waterbending and sacrifice cards also comes in handy often.

Clues are all over the place in this set, but they have their greatest presence in Esper colors ().

Shrines

I should have stressed that shrines are basically Draft only, as the odds of opening 4+ shrines in 6 packs are pretty dismal. Even in Draft though, I’ve found shrines to mostly be a trap.

Set Overview

Avatar is a decently balanced Limited set with lots of stuff going on. Allies and lessons are “The Big Two” in this set for me, as most decks will care about one or the other in at least some form. Allies decks are usually base white aggro decks, while lesson decks tend to be best as base blue tempo/control decks.

Color Balance

This brings me to how I rank each color in Avatar:

Blue
White
Red
Black
Green

The blue lessons core is in my opinion the best thing you can do in this set! I’ve had a ton of success with decks built around Lost Days, It'll Quench Ya!, and higher-rarity lesson payoffs like Accumulate Wisdom and Dragonfly Swarm. Blue is a strong color at common as well; all of its lessons are good, and Watery Grasp and Forecasting Fortune Teller are excellent defensive cards. It’s only lackluster commons are Rowdy Snowballers and Geyser Leaper, but you’ll have plenty of other options.

White meanwhile is primarily an aggressive color. Most white common creatures available are allies, and they’re all pretty even in power level. It’s easy to build a functional creature curve in white, which is essential. White also has two strong interactive spells (Path to Redemption and Airbending Lesson), which are its best commons. White’s worst cards are Curious Farm Animals and Rabaroo Troop, neither of which are allies.

Red has the single best common in Avatar: Firebending Lesson! It’s an excellent removal spell that has plenty of great targets available, both early and late. Red also has two other great commons in Lightning Strike and Yuyan Archers, and a powerful build-around common (Fire Nation Cadets). Unfortunately, red is otherwise fairly lackluster, especially in terms of creature quality.

Black does two things well in Avatar, which are removal and sacrifice synergies. Sold Out and Deadly Precision provide excellent answers to bombs and large creatures. Swampsnare Trap is also pretty solid, as -5/-3 answers or cripples most of the format. Black’s creature quality is somewhat poor except for Corrupt Court Official and Callous Inspector, which shine in WB decks.

Green is my pick for the weakest color in Avatar, though it’s hardly Battle for Zendikar levels of bad. Green’s main shortcomings are its generally bad lessons and lack of a killer common. I rarely ever cut Ostrich-Horse, but it’s no Galactic Wayfarer. Green decks tend to be pretty midrangey, which puts it in an awkward spot of being slower than white decks, while having less card advantage than blue ones.

It’s not all terrible for green though; Badgermole, Raucous Audience, and Walltop Sentries are pretty good creatures. The latter is great with Rocky Rebuke, which makes for a convenient in-color way to pick off bombs. Pillar Launch is also quite a nice combat trick if you can find a slot for it, and the untap aspect often catches people off guard.

Green’s worst commons are Earthbending Lesson and Cycle of Renewal. Earthbending Lesson is either a 4/4 tapped creature or 4/4 with haste, neither of which is efficient. It also gets embarrassed by Watery Grasp and Lost Days. Cycle of Renewal is pretty much a 3-mana Shared Roots, so you should only play it if you desperately need ramp/fixing.

Rare Re-evaluations

The Legend of Yangchen / Avatar Yangchen: Great to BOMB

“Great” was too tepid a rating, as The Legend of Yangchen is among the very best bombs in the set. It answers any other threat permanently, then it transforms into a powerful creature.

Phoenix Flight Airship: Build-Around to Great

Less of a build-around than I expected, as Phoenix Fleet Airship performs well with just Clues and dual lands. I’ve also seen it get to 8+ once, and it was completely unbeatable!

The Rise of Sozin: Great to BOMB

The Rise of Sozin is another elite mythic that deserved “BOMB” status rather than “Great”. I usually blind name removal spells like Sold Out or Lost Days with Chapter II.

Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong: Good to Great

I haven’t had Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong often, but it impressed me in the few drafts I did. “Great” seems more appropriate than “Good”, and I’d pretty much play this in any deck that wasn’t explicitly aggro.

Avatar’s Wrath: BOMB to Good

Avatar's Wrath is the first rare so far that I overrated. It’s more of a tempo play than a true sweeper, which means it won’t reliably catch you up from behind. I’d still usually play it, but be aware of its limitations and try to time it carefully.

South Pole Voyager: Good to BOMB

There are way too many allies in this set for South Pole Voyager to be merely “Good”. This is an actual bomb pretending to be Grizzly Bears.

Spirit Water Revival: Great to Good

Waterbending 9 is just a little too much for most games, even if the output is remarkable. “Good” is more appropriate for this in your average deck, although it can be truly great with the right support (i.e., Forecasting Fortune Teller).

Waterbender Ascension: Good to Bad

“Good” isn’t a word I’d use to describe this card, unfortunately. In practice Waterbender Ascension just does a whole lot of nothing, as it’s only useful if you’re already ahead. It also has poor synergy with itself; its first ability wants weak evasive creatures, and its second ability wants large non-evasive beaters. Don’t bother!

Obsessive Pursuit: Good to Great

For some reason I thought this card was rather than when I wrote the review. This is a steal for 2 mana, and definitely “Great” rather than “Good”. The lifelink aspect of Obsessive Pursuit has also been exceedingly relevant.

Raven Eagle: Great to BOMB

Raven Eagle is a super efficient threat that 2-for-1s at minimum and snowballs if not immediately answered. It’s a little below egregious cards like United Front and The Rise of Sozin, but I’ve been happy splashing it (which makes it a “BOMB” in my eyes).

Redirect Lightning: Good to Usually Not Good

Swerve is just really tough to use in practice, even when it costs 1 mana. Five life is also a substantial loss of life, and you’re more likely to be behind when you have Redirect Lightning rotting in your hand, too. I don’t hate the idea of this in Bo3, but don’t recommend playing it blind.

Diligent Zookeeper: Great to Good

It’s not hard to get some sizing bonuses here, but Diligent Zookeeper is a bit too vulnerable to removal to consider it “Great”. It also doesn’t work with most other allies, which tend to be humans.

Earthbender Ascension: Great to BOMB

As with Raven Eagle, this is just too efficient not to earn top marks. Starting a draft with P1P1 Earthbender Ascension is a wonderful feeling, especially if you end up playing three or more colors.

The Earth King: Great to BOMB

Avatar is a super bomb heavy set, it turns out. 6/6 worth of stats is just completely unreasonable for this set, and the added land bonus is awesome (especially with cards like Gather the White Lotus). The Earth King’s only flaw is its bear‘s vulnerability to airbending.

Katara, Water Tribe’s Hope: Great to BOMB

I missed how easy it is to use Katara, Water Tribe's Hope immediately after you play it. If you can save it for late game, you can immediately tap it, its token, your Clues, and the rest of your lands for a huge boost out of nowhere.

Earth King’s Lieutenant: Build-Around to Great

Once again, there are just too many allies in Avatar. Earth King's Lieutenant is a P1P1 worthy card, though be aware you may need to abandon it if white is cut.

Iroh, Tea Master: Bad to Great

Simply playing this and donating the Food token gives you a pair of 2/2s for , which is above average on its own. Iroh also has exceptional synergy with cards like Path to Redemption and Watery Grasp, which you can donate for tokens while still keeping creatures locked down. I’m sorry Iroh; I wasn’t familiar with your tea game!

Fire Lord Azula: Good to Great

The reward for pulling off Fire Lord Azula is massive, as few things feel better in this format than doubling up on Lost Days. I like it best in UR or UB base decks, which can play it alongside Octopus Form.

Katara, the Fearless: Great to Good

Despite the number of allies in Avatar, an ally Panharmonicon has felt surprisingly tame. Katara, the Fearless does have a high ceiling though with other rares, as I’ve seen this double up on Aang, at the Crossroads once….

Top Commons

After having played the set, was I right about each color’s best commons? Let’s find out!

White

I listed these four cards as white’s best commons:

I stand by 3/4 of these cards. Sandbenders' Storm was a clear miss though; the earthbending mode is just too inefficient, so the card is only good when Smite the Monstrous is good. It can be great as an anti-green sideboard card, but I’d maindeck one at most. Here’s my updated list:

Compassionate Healer is slightly better than Jeong Jeong's Deserters. Note that white is probably Avatar’s most balanced color overall; Glider Kids, Avatar Enthusiast, and Water Tribe Captain feel very close in power level.

Blue

I listed these four cards as blue’s best commons:

I stand by 2/4 of these cards. Waterbending Lesson and First-Time Flyer are both good cards that I’m happy to play, but they’re being edged out by It'll Quench Ya! and Watery Grasp. Here’s my updated list:

Quench plays well against Avatar’s bomb-heavy nature, and it provides a valuable lesson type cheaply. You can also use Clue tokens to conceal your intentions with it. Watery Grasp has overperformed for a blue removal spell, and it excels versus big creatures and earthbent lands. Lost Days was also upgraded to #1 as I consider it the second best common in the whole set!

Black

I listed these four cards as black’s best commons:

I stand by 3/4 of these cards. Callous Inspector is being edged out by Deadly Precision, but it’d be #5 here anyways. Here’s my updated list:

Deadly Precision should have made the first list, as black clearly has a bunch of ways to support it. It plays well with some creatures from other colors like Forecasting Fortune Teller and Kyoshi Warriors. You can also kick it if you’re flooded or short on fodder. Corrupt Court Official has outperformed Callous Inspector a bit, as it’s less dependent on sacrifice and the discard has felt very relevant.

Canyon Crawler deserves an honorable mention, as it’s been the best of the cycling creatures for me. It has huge stats and the Food token is great for stabilizing or fodder. Black also likes 6-drops a bit more than other colors, as it usually wants to grind and drag out games.

Red

I listed these four cards as red’s best commons:

I stand by 3/4 of these cards. Cunning Maneuver isn’t a terrible trick, but +1 toughness has felt a bit too small. Here’s my updated list:

Yuyan Archers is red’s best overall 2-drop. It hits pretty hard, trades with fliers like Cat-Owl, and provides valuable card filtering. Archers’ only drawback is that it attacks poorly into cards like Corrupt Court Official and Ally tokens. Fire Nation Cadets gets the #4 slot on account of how strong it can be in the right shell. I’d want 5 or more lessons for it (ideally 1- to 2-mana ones), and would only play it in proactive decks.

Red’s runner-up best commons are Treetop Freedom Fighters and Deserter's Disciple, which are both solid aggro cards. I also like playing the first copy of Bumi Bash in most decks, though it’s too clunky to be premium.

Green

I listed these four cards as green’s best commons:

I stand by 4/4 of those cards. I also wouldn’t change the order at all, although it’s worth noting how tiny the gap is between each of these. You should generally just take the one that suits your curve/deck the most.

Green’s runner-up best commons are Pillar Launch and Origin of Metalbending, both of which are pretty nice tricks. The latter is green’s only decent lesson, although I rarely prioritize combat tricks in Avatar. I also like Walltop Sentries in any deck that isn’t explicitly aggro.

Hybrid

I listed these four cards as the best hybrid commons in Avatar:

I stand by 3/4 of those cards. Phantom Monster just isn’t what it used to be, so unfortunately Cat-Owl has been demoted. In its place comes Wandering Musicians, which has been surprisingly good. Here’s my updated list:

Messenger Hawk excels in UB, but it’s playable in just about any blue or black deck. Poxbearers is similar, as its best in WB but acceptable for both Allies and black control decks. Abandon Attachments is an all-around decent lesson, especially with graveyard synergies (i.e., Accumulate Wisdom). Finally, Wandering Musicians is also playable in any red or white deck, and actively desirable in RW.

Top Uncommons

Uncommons were a rarity that I neglected in the last guide, though that was mostly due to the guide already being jam packed. With the benefit of experience, here’s a list of the set’s 15 best uncommons. Many of these make for ideal P1P1s, and some of them (cough Invasion Submersible cough) are still going criminally late on MTG Arena!

#1. Invasion Submersible

“Man-o'-War but it’s a 3/3 that enters tapped” would be a crazy sales pitch for a Limited card, and that’s essentially how Invasion Submersible plays. What’s even better is that Submersible bounces nonland permanents, including your own! Note that it can tap itself for waterbending, so it’s very easy to have this “enter” as a creature.

#2. Aang, the Last Airbender

I’m glad Avatar made its main character good! Aang, the Last Airbender effectively refunds via airbending, and it can also snipe Clues, tokens, and more. The lifelink aspect of this card is a useful bonus, so try to include a couple of lessons for it if you can.

#3. Earth Kingdom Jailer

As a 3/3 Fiend Hunter of sorts, Earth Kingdom Jailer is a top tier uncommon; just keep in mind it says “3 or more” not “3 or less”. I’ve seen opponents try to exile tokens with it!

#4. Water Tribe Rallier

Aang, Jailer, and this form of a triumvirate of busted white uncommons. I mentioned how Water Tribe Rallier can take over games, as it’s easy to draw cards off this while keeping blockers ready. You’ll probably be around 80% to hit in most decks as well, as “3 power or less” includes most creatures.

#5. Heartless Act

Heartless Act is even better in Avatar than it was in Ikoria. Just watch out for BG decks (and perhaps Azula Always Lies), as this is Terminate 90% of the time. Remember you can remove counters to deal with earthbent land creatures.

#6. Iroh’s Demonstration

Iroh's Demonstration is premium removal with an invaluable subtype. You’ll use this to deal 4 most of the time, but I have occasionally used the 1 damage mode to good effect versus tokens. It’s also sweet to copy with Jeong Jeong, the Deserter.

#7. Sokka, Lateral Strategist

Sokka, Lateral Strategist is an efficient creature with good base stats, free card draw, and a highly flexible mana cost. I’ve played it in a ton of different archetypes, and I’m almost always happy to do so. Sokka plays especially well with 2-drops and combat tricks, which help it to draw more frequently.

#8. Glider Staff

Glider Staff is quite efficient, as you’re basically getting an Airbending Lesson plus a better Kitesail. That makes it an all-in-one finisher and utility card. Glider is also one of the only airbending cards that can target earthbent lands, which can be clutch.

#9. The Cave of Two Lovers

The Cave of Two Lovers is a guaranteed 3-for-1 that essentially casts Raise the Alarm, Lay of the Land, and Earthbending Lesson back to back. It’s one of my favorite 4-drops in the format, and it can be a signal that red is open.

#10. Combustion Technique

This is a 2-mana Unmake in the nut lessons deck, and still solid with just a few of them. I take Combustion Technique highly in UR and RG.

#11. Epic Downfall

Another strong removal spell that I’m happy to take early. The only caveat with Epic Downfall is that it misses 2-drops like South Pole Voyager and Water Tribe Rallier.

#12. Allies at Last

The ability to choose two creatures makes Allies at Last very safe to use, and it’ll always cost 1 mana in the right deck. I’ve played this with just a few allies, but I’d take it highly for that dreamy discount.

#13. Foggy Swamp Spirit Keeper

UB has the honor of receiving Avatar’s strongest signpost uncommon. Foggy Swamp Spirit Keeper can churn out evasive spirits pretty consistently, and it has great base stats and lifelink to boot.

#14. Toph, the Blind Bandit

Toph, the Blind Bandit is a clean 2-for-1 on its own, and it scales with other earthbending cards. You don’t need to build around Toph for it to be good, but doing so makes it even better.

#15. Gran-Gran

Last but not least, Gran-Gran is another card that really surprised me. I expected it to feel like a mulligan, but it’s a great turn-1 play that scales into the late game with waterbending cards. Gran-Gran excels in the same kind of decks that Fire Nation Cadets does.

Archetypes

Archetype Tier List

Avatar’s archetype balance largely tracks with its color balance.

Tier 1 (best decks)

WU Fliers (Tempo)
GW Allies (Aggro/Midrange)
RW Allies (Aggro)

Tier 2 (great decks)

UB Draw-Two (Control/Tempo)
UR Lessons (Tempo/Control)
BW Sacrifice (Midrange/Control)

Tier 3 (decent decks)

RG Stompy (Midrange/Aggro)
BG Counters (Midrange)
BR Raid (Aggro/Midrange)
GUx Lessons (Ramp/Control)

Other Decks (varies)

Mono-colored strategies
Temur Lessons
Shrine piles

In terms of how much I’ve personally drafted each deck, I’d say most of my decks have been WU, UR, or UB. Mono-white has been my most commonly drafted mono-color strategy.

WU Fliers

WU is my pick for the best archetype in Avatar. It’s a hair better than other white archetypes, as it can lean the most into its secondary colors.

Payoffs

Despite being my #1 archetype, WU’s signpost (Air Nomad Legacy) is actually fairly mediocre. I like 2-for-1s and Favorable Winds, but most of the set’s fliers are mediocre on their own. Most WU decks will have at least some fliers, but how much you lean into it often depends on how many Legacies/good fliers you have. The other flying payoffs available are Momo, Friendly Flier and Teo, Spirited Glider.

WU does have two mega bombs though, in the form of Aang, Swift Savior and Katara, Water Tribe's Hope. Both are windmill slam P1P1s that are good enough to splash in other archetypes, so they aren’t really exclusive to WU or anything. I’ve particularly liked waterbending in WU, as Water Tribe Rallier pairs great with cards like Forecasting Fortune Teller and Lost Days.

Core Cards

WU’s greatest strength is how solid it is at common. You can get a lot done in this color pair with Forecasting Fortune Teller, Lost Days, Path to Redemption, and white’s solid creature base. If you have Air Nomad Legacy, here’s how I’d rate all the set’s common/uncommon fliers.

Great (happily play)

Good

Filler

Avoid

Geyser Leaper
First-Time Flyer (if you can’t support it)

Trophy Example

How to Play Against

Against skies lists, you’re either looking to race them (aggro decks) or grind them out (control decks). Green midrange will have to race and/or rely on reach creatures like Walltop Sentries or Earth Rumble Wrestlers. Just don’t expect them to block forever, as Path to Redemption and Lost Days can answer both.

GW Allies

While many color pairs can pull off ally synergies in this set, GW is the most focused on doing so. For this reason, most GW decks tend to be more white than green, as green is usually a support color.