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Hello all and happiest of days to each of you! I hope that you are having a great day today, one of the best in your life! If not? It will be soon! Today I want to give you my first slate of Top cards from the MTG: Avatar set for you all! Now, here is the thing I will admit up front! I haven't watched the show this is based on. Sorry. I was like three years into working at Eastern Michigan Univ and 28 years old. I did see the 2010 movie by M. Night Shyamalan. Don't remember it much though - sorry.
I cannot speak on flavor or anything else too. Just the power of these cards for casual like multiplayer, Commander, theFive Color one, Highlander, Type Four and tons more! But mostly multiplayer.
We'll be doing a few of these lists here and there.
Honorable Mention #1. (#21. Overall) - Sokka, Tenacious Tactician
Hello and happiest of days Jeskai fans! This four-drop Hill Giant with menace and prowess is first! Then this Human Warrior Ally also gives those abilities to all of our fun Allies. Then we cast a noncreature, we'll make one at a 1/1 size! Enjoy and embrace it too!
#20. Katara, the Fearless
This Bant three-drop also Human Warrior Ally with 3/3 lady is next; she's also an Ally leader since here she'll double their abilities from ETB to attack and more! Embrace your inner Ally here with two of the same colors as the one above! I have called her as a Commander so you should be seeing her soon!
#19. Avatar Destiny
Do you enjoy Rancor's ability to be the first good Aura that came back? (A few others were made here and there too). Do you enjoy the game-winning powerhouse of Lhurgoyf too? Have you ever said to yourself that you want them combined into one tight Aura that busts up the game? Welcome to your new best friend! This four-drop Aura will give your enchanted dork your graveyard count in creatures! But when it dies, you'll mill equal to its power and then Regrowth one dork milled too. That's just all of the good sauce in all of the right spots too. It's best in big deck formats with tons of stuff too.
#18. Yue, the Moon Spirit
This broken Commanderable mono-Black lady is next! She's either a Phantom Monster if you remember that or a flying Hill Giant if not. She adds vigilance - nasty good. She can tap with five and waterbend to free cast any non-dork from our hand! Now waterbend can be spent normally or with the tapping of artifacts too, ideally Treasures or token dorks. Any free spell enabler is just nasty good in all of the places! But that taps so you've got a turn to answer her and then takes fives mana too or artifacts. That's why she's here on my first list, but in the back side of stuff.
#17. The Shrine Cycle
Ever since one of my favorite sets and the first flavor first one in Champions of Kamigawa, I have loved and run them from a real life Commander brew to more! You should also see my next Commander with these five easier this week. I still run Honden of Seeing Winds in tons of places, not even with Shrines. We've had a few visits by Shrines since, this is now the fourth. The first where the upkeep Hondens. Then the next were a Core Set in the pre-combat Sanctum ones. Then the last were on enchantment dorks that triggered in our end step but required a one mana activation cost called Go-Shintai. Now these five have a nasty, right now, ETB thing! You aren't waiting until later either! But just the once, so they aren't as strong over time. Then as others arrive you can make one trigger too.
The four-drop White one will toss a counter on each of our dorks equal to our Shrine count! Then the Blue one for three will draw for our Shrine count too. The cheapest one at one-mana Black one drains life from each foe and can win con too to our Shrine count. The uncommon four-drop Red one goes wide with 1/1 Monks and yep! They've got prowess too! Then that also four-drop Green one ramps tapped basics wich can be tons fast. Nasty good in all of the Shrine loving spaces. I do think these work better with Go-Shinai of Life's Origin for a free ETB copy then the one from this set too.
#16. The Earth King
Get ready symetry fans! This four-drop 2/2 legendary Human arrives with a 4/4 Bear. That's a total of 12 power and toughness combined for just four mana. And did you see it? His name has 12 letters too! Then when your dorks with a four power or more get their swing on you can ramp a basic land tapped. That is so good in all of the places! You gotta swing before you get the ramp first, and then that helps everyone else too lose their life and advance the game while ramping you too. I went to call and build around this fun unique dork but it had just been called a few minutes prior, so enjoy their take!
#15. Hermitic Herbalist AND Raucous Audience
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Ever since the first set gave us Birds of Paradise and Mana Elves casual players like me have really embraced them! They can swing after you are past ramp needs, block to keep you alive, grab a piece of equipment and then add to your density of dorks too! This two-drop Simic cutie Human Druid Ally is nice size at 2/3 and then taps for any color! Two if a Lesson was spent. I also like the common mono-Green two-drop 2/1 that taps for Green and then two if a bigger power dork is out and about! These two are so strong at the good stuff!
#14. Iroh, Grand Lotus
This three-color dork is our only one with three colors that cares about Lessons in our Temur colors for a firebending 2 six-drop okay size 5/5. Only on our turn we can flashback non-Lesson spells from our graveyard or drop Lessons from there by a mana too - which all seems pretty strong from where I am standing, n'est pas? Oui!
#13. Foggy Swamp Visions
This fun three-cost sorcery game winner in Black is next! When you cast it, it basically has X with waterbend too. Then exile X dorks from graveyards. You'll also make a token copy of it for the turn before it gets sacked. Note they don't have haste, and then they can be from anyone's graveyard too. That's also good at ending graveyard abuse too by our foes. You might put yourself into a great place with ETB triggers and then swing for wins with Anger or stuff giving them haste too. Don't forget this nice fun win-con.
#12. Fated Firepower
This fun flashing fated fire X cost three Red to start enchantment is next! Great! When it arrives, you can toss X counters here. Then all of our damage to opposing stuff or their players? It's increased by this amount too. Note that's not us or things. So that's often better than doubler or tripler for small stuff. Like an Arc Lightning or such. Although, for X spells and such you'd prefer one. Then that is instant speed so you could drop it out after attacking or being attacked to blow out dorks that were there or kill off foes or planeswalkers too. This with a Pyroclasm seems sweet, and note this works for all damage not just Red or spells or dorks and such. This is nasty good in tons of places from Tokens to Aggro to Burn to Spellslinger.
#11. Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
And now a flashing legendary X cost dork for Commandering is next! With a double Blue to start and then a 1/1 flying and vigilance size it arrives with X size in counters! Then it also arrives with half of that in card draw. You can also draw and toss a counter here when our foes search, so while that's on the stack just drop this and draw and then again too. It even flies as a surprise kill outta nowhere for one that attacked and then also has vigilance to swing and hold defenses too. There is pretty much nothing this doesn't do! Hence it hitting here.
#10. Avatar Aang // Aang, Master of Elements
Next up is our title leader. As you can see this four-drop four color on curve 4/4 with flying and firebending 2 is here. You'll draw when you do any bending, and then flip when all four are done. Then the 6/6 flyer arrives. All of our stuff drops in cost by one of each color - pretty rare here. And then if you need to dig four, gain four life, make him +1/+1 bigger with four counters or kill foes for four too? Just transform him back in any upkeep - not just yours. Nasty. In multiplayer you could do that once on your turn with firebending, and then the others, then flip him next turn after getting your swing on and dropping cost, and then again on your next one too. That's a strong loop that pretty much anything would work with too.
#9. The Five Saga-Flip Cycle
This fun but pushed in power Avatar cycle of five cards that flip into a powerful colorless one after just breaking open the board in our direction is next! The Legend of Yangchen costs five, on the first two chapters will have everyone exile an opposing pricery thing, then you and a foe can draw 3. Then you can Flip to the Avatar with a 4/5 flying body and then your 2nd spell cast each turn will get in some airbend action. Then The Legend of Kuruk will Scry 2 and then draw on each chapter! Then flip to a 4/3 one that as we cast any spells, not just instants or sorceries we can make an unblocking and unblockable 1/1 Spirit save for that type. You can also exhaust for 20 mana waterbend for another turn.
The Rise of Sozin arrives with a sweeper Damnation for everything - that's my favorite. Then you can Cranial Extraction him next turn. Then flip him to a 5/5 menacing body and then with three firebending too! Then when you deal combat damage to player, you can pay mana to reanimate their stuff. Remember that sweeping earlier to get them there? My fave. The Legend of Roku will exile and then impulse cast three from our library's top and until next turn too. Then make a free mana on that next turn to help with it. Then flip this into a 4/4 firebending four and then you can spend eight to make a 4/4 flying and firebending 4 Dragon and you don't tap for that, so that's a great mana sink over time and then place for your firebending stuff too.
The Legend of Kyoshi arrives with cards drawn equal to our highest power dork - easy to do. Then earthbend X equal to our cards in hand which should be big next. Then you flip and lands have hexproof and trample too when they swing and hexproof is great to shut down targeted interaction. Then you can tap this to make mana equal to our greatest power too. Again, that's so strong, right?
#8. Bumi, Unleashed
This Gruul game-winning powerhouse combines two cards into one combo and is a five-drop legendary 5/4 with trample and earthbending four on arrival is next! When it deals damage, you can untap our lands! Like say, Sword of Feast or Famine. Then you get another combat phase this turn! Like, say, Aggravated Assault! But only our lands can bring the heat. But you could just activate the Assault instead with the mana, or use it to make more land dorks with earthbend and such. Nasty I know, in one legendary Commander-eligible card!
#7. The Land Cycle
Our highest scoring cycle is the lands. They are here because they are lands. They are easy to add to brews and then harder to interact with too. Each arrives untapped unless you've got a basic, taps for one mana, and then with mana to do their thing. In color order, Abandoned Air Temple taps with four for a +1/+1 counter on all of our dorks, which feels a little win-con-light. Agna Qel'a taps with three to Loot! Realm of Koh is my fave since it taps to make a hard to block or be blocked 1/1 Spirit and then Fire Nation Palace taps for just two to firebend four! Then Ba Sing Se taps with three to earthbend two.
#6. Fire Lord Azula
Our last card before the Top 5 is a bit bonkers as a Commander. This four-drop Grixis on-curve 4/4 legendary lady is next! She has firebending 2 as well. Then she has one of the most powerful game swinging abilities in the set (note "swinging" is used both since she attacks and then the game too)! When she attacks, you can copy everything you cast! Things with flash or instants? With Vedalken Orrery she's just so good. Don't use her; she's too bonkers.
#5. THREE Good Sweepers
This set arrives with three good sweepers! The four-cost Avatar's Wrath will let you keep one dork out you need and then airbend the rest! Then Day of Black Sun will destroy all of these things with that mana or less. They also lose all abilities too, to get past indestructible. You can sculpt that to keep some of your stuff out. Then Destined Confrontation will force everyone to sac their stuff save for up to four power for each player. That'll also get past indestructible. That's just good for the answering of dorks, especially the middle and last since they don't exile, they won't shut down decks that need to go wide without the ability to come back.
#4. Zhao, the Moon Slayer
I'm shocked they printed something this good in a Standard set. Modern legal? Commander one? Sure! But here? Let's unpack it to find out why! This Red Rare Bear with evasion in menace is on curve and can smash with evasion everywhere even if the other stuff doesn't work. Then all nonbasic lands arrive tapped, yours too, which we are playing around. Then you can spend seven mana to toss a counter here and now he's a Blood Moon! That's pretty strong, which I can see all the way back here from the cheapseats, right? You can see where my Shockage comes from I hope.
#3. Secret Tunnel
This fun and cute Cave is next for your Cave stuff. It cannot be blocked if it's a dork and arrives untapped and then taps for one too. And it's colorless too. Then you can tap it with four like Rogue's Passage and then it says here you'll make...two of our creatures unblockable! Just they'll need to be sharing a creature type - which seems to be pretty easy. Now note these have to be worse a bit - so you cannot target foes to gang up and kill a mutual baddy or just one instead, but that's so worth it.
#2. Ozai, the Phoenix King
This great to skate six-drop big bad Rakdos7/7 with all of the abilities with trample, haste to swing now and then evasion too! Then make some mana with firebending four too! Then all unspent mana becomes Red and we keep it too like Omnath the First. Then give this nasty leader both flying and indestructible with at least six mana there. Flying and trample is nasty, and then haste and indestructible too! He's broken, don't build around him or break people's decks and board position too. Just move on.
#1. White Lotus Tile
Mad-mana-makers-must-make-first! This colorless four-cost artifact arrives tapped! Then it'll tap it for mana equal to our greatest creature type number! Note that unlike many of these you don't even need to choose a type too so that can change as the board does too. Run this fun mana maker for kindred stuff, or just other things too like Humans or tokens and stuff too.
There we go! Please let me know your thoughts and such too about all of this fun stuff. What Avatar stuff do want to check out and grab? Just let me know your thoughts and then other stuff too. Embrace and enjoy your new cards!
