Hello everyone! I'm Levi from The Thought Vessel, and this is Commander Kryptonite, the series where we look at some of the strongest commanders in the format, how they work, their strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately how to beat them. Today we're looking at a new commander from the set releasing on November 21, Avatar: The Last Airbender. There are some hot commanders from this set packing plenty of firepower, but no one turns up the heat quite like Fire Lord Azula. (I promise I'm done with the Fire Nation puns. I'm not sorry.) But why is this commander drumming up so much interest, with over 3,600 decks to her name before the set is even out? Let's dive in and find out.

The Commander: Fire Lord Azula

Fire Lord Azula is a four-mana 4/4 creature with firebending 2 and "Whenever you cast a spell while Fire Lord Azula is attacking, copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copies." This means any spell you cast while attacking is doubled. That includes ramp, card draw, removal, and value engines. Dark Ritual? With the right timing, this can bury opponents in value or strip the battlefield of resources. The scary part is that this deck has the tools and colors to do both.

The Deck

The deck plays much like you'd expect. The game plan is to move Azula into combat and cash in on double spellcasting. It'll usually want flash enablers so any spell can be cast during combat, including creatures, artifacts, or even sorceries. There can also be copy synergies with cards like Twinning Staff. One removal spell could hit three or four targets at once. Fire Lord Azula uses this to clear out lethal blockers and stay safe from combat damage. Once the casting is online, everything becomes doubled and the value that is collected from this is usually going to be enough to get the win. Here is an example of a Fire Lord Azula deck you might come across at your local game store.

Fire Lord Azula | Commander

• Commander (1)
• 1 Fire Lord Azula

• Creatures (17)
• 1 Archmage Emeritus
• 1 Ashling, Flame Dancer
• 1 Azula, Cunning Usurper
• 1 Dualcaster Mage
• 1 Electro, Assaulting Battery
• 1 Etali, Primal Storm
• 1 Faerie Mastermind
• 1 Firebending Student
• 1 Goblin Electromancer
• 1 High Fae Trickster
• 1 Nightscape Familiar
• 1 Ozai, the Phoenix King
• 1 Snapcaster Mage
• 1 Storm-Kiln Artist
• 1 Valley Floodcaller
• 1 Veyran, Voice of Duality
• 1 Zuko, Firebending Master

• Artifacts (10)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Izzet Signet
• 1 Lightning Greaves
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Talisman of Creativity
• 1 Talisman of Dominance
• 1 Talisman of Indulgence
• 1 Twinning Staff

• Enchantments (3)
• 1 Firebender Ascension
• 1 Leyline of Anticipation
• 1 Rhystic Study

• Instants (21)
• 1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
• 1 Big Score
• 1 Brainstorm
• 1 Chaos Warp
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Dark Ritual
• 1 Deadly Rollick
• 1 Deflecting Swat
• 1 Demand Answers
• 1 Fated Firepower
• 1 Frantic Search
• 1 Lightning Bolt
• 1 Narset's Reversal
• 1 Pyretic Ritual
• 1 Redirect Lightning
• 1 Seething Song
• 1 Snap
• 1 Swan Song
• 1 Thrill of Possibility
• 1 Unexpected Windfall
• 1 Waterlogged Teachings

• Sorceries (10)
• 1 Borne Upon a Wind
• 1 Bulk Up
• 1 Crackle with Power
• 1 Demonic Tutor
• 1 Electrodominance
• 1 Fists of Flame
• 1 Jeska's Will
• 1 Mana Geyser
• 1 Sozin's Comet
• 1 The Last Agni Kai

• Lands (35)
• 1 Blood Crypt
• 1 Bloodstained Mire
• 1 Crumbling Necropolis
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Dragonskull Summit
• 1 Drowned Catacomb
• 1 Emergence Zone
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 5 Island
• 1 Luxury Suite
• 1 Morphic Pool
• 5 Mountain
• 1 Polluted Delta
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Scalding Tarn
• 1 Shivan Reef
• 1 Steam Vents
• 1 Stormcarved Coast
• 1 Sulfur Falls
• 5 Swamp
• 1 Training Center
• 1 Watery Grave
• 1 Xander's Lounge

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Strengths

This deck can function as both a control deck and a value engine through its ability to copy spells. A major strength is how flexible Azula's trigger is, allowing for a wide variety of card choices. It could be a pile of efficient removal, or an artifact brew with Shimmer Myr that floods the board with a copied robot army. The options are nearly endless, and that versatility is what makes the deck powerful.

Weaknesses

I once had a friend who played a Yarok deck. It had some landfall synergies, but at its core, it focused on blinking creatures. The problem with having a doubler in the command zone is that it's hard to justify playing your best payoff cards before your commander hits the field. Since Yarok cost five mana, the best way to beat the deck was to remove Yarok on sight. Without it, the deck didn't do much until it could be recast around turn seven, by which time everyone else already had strong boards. I think we'll see similar issues with Azula.

Because Azula doubles spells only during combat, it doesn't make much sense to hold up mana for other players' turns. Constantly tapping out is a great way to learn what the bottom of a Craterhoof Behemoth's foot feels like. But if Azula holds up mana for interaction, she loses efficiency. It's a bit of a lose-lose situation for a deck that's supposed to thrive on flash-speed play.

Cards to Look Out For

1. High Fae Trickster - Flash enablers are king here since they let Azula copy every spell. Even this creature entering the battlefield is copied, putting a total of eight flying power on the board. Flash enablers are what really make this deck scary, so keep them off the board whenever possible.
2. Etali, Primal Storm - One of the scariest things about Azula is that her ability doesn't specify that the spells have to be your own. When Etali attacks, if every player has a nonland card on top, that's eight free spells. Hilarious as long as I'm not sitting at that table.
3. Deadly Rollick - This applies to any removal spell, but Deadly Rollick stands out since it's free to cast with your commander out. It would be copied to remove two creatures at once, and if Twinning Staff is in play, the effect becomes even more brutal. Be ready to protect your key pieces.
4. Electrodominance - This card answers the question, "What if our flash enabler also punched the opponent in the face?" Nobody asked that, but when this spell is cast for X, Azula gets to cast a free spell from her hand. Twice.
5. Veyran, Voice of Duality - Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery, any triggered ability will trigger again. This includes Azula, meaning every spell would be copied twice.

How to Extinguish the Flame (This one was in the header. It doesn't count)

The key to beating this deck is understanding that combat has consequences. Make sure players can hold up lethal blockers, whether through size or deathtouch. If Azula attacks to double her spells, she risks losing her commander and spending her next turn recasting it. From there, focus on keeping flash enablers off the board. Limiting the pool of valid targets for combat-cast spells will slow the deck down fast. Between good blockers and denying flash-speed plays, the deck will eventually run out of momentum and turn into a generic Grixis pile with limited synergy. That's much easier to handle.

Commander Kryptonite

If the Fire Nation is still giving you trouble, consider adding these cards to your 99.

1. Teferi, Time Raveler - Teferi restricts players to casting spells only at sorcery speed. Since Azula needs to cast during combat, this completely shuts down her strategy.
2. Meekstone - Since Azula doesn't have vigilance, she'll stay tapped and unable to attack. These decks usually struggle with artifact removal, so Meekstone can really slow them down.
3. Oko, Thief of Crowns - Oko is infamous in Commander, but turning Azula into a 3/3 Elk stops the deck cold.

Wrapping Up

And that's how to beat Fire Lord Azula. If you've got a commander that's terrorizing your local game store and want advice on how to take it down, send me an email at thoughtvesselshow@gmail.com. Until next time, happy gaming!