White

Common: Airbending Lesson

AKA "The White Repulse," Airbending Lesson is extremely flexible, at a minimum. Airbending Lesson can "hit anything" at instant speed, messing up combat; breaking up combos; and even potentially setting up your own combo as a catalyst. I wouldn't be surprised if there were mid-range Standard decks that played up to all four Airbending Lessons in the same way that Exclude and Repulse were four-ofs in the Tokyo-winning deck their first Pro Tour out. I also wouldn't be surprised if the card were a more surgical number, or mostly supported Lessons-centric strategies, though.

Uncommon: Aang, the Last Airbender

The hot take choice here is Invasion Reinforcements, as that Allies-centric thematic reprint already fits into established strategies AND gives such obvious support to a linear Allies deck. But let's look at Aang, the Last Airbender a second. The namesake hero of the story - with the namesake title - is a 3/2 flyer for four mana that sometimes has lifelink. Nothing to write home about, really. But like some Rare and Mythic Rare chase cards that will be mentioned in this same article, Aang airbends upon entering. He's not the "best" at it. He's not similar stats (and flash) for less mana. He's not mega-airbending for essentially the same mana. But he is "more" Airbending, which means that he provides redundancy when you're trying to set up a three-card combo. What three-card combo you ask? Skip ahead to this color's Rare section in exactly one paragraph why don't ya?

Rare: Aang's Iceberg

Oblivion Ring effects have been at least Role Players in formats as broad as Extended in the past. Right now a vastly inferior Banishing Light is seeing Standard play because 1) some players just don't want to give their opponents Maps, and 2) you do get some positive interaction with Yuna, Hope of Spira and her whole team. Add flash (and even a little Waterbending?) and it's a whole new game of Quidditch.

Mythic Rare: Appa, Steadfast Guardian

Even if this card weren't one-third of what is going to be a format-sweeping three-card combo, Appa would already be one of the best cards in Avatar. He's Restoration Angel (and more!) against point removal... Simian Grunts in combat, a team-saver (or at least most of one) against sweepers... Oh, and he makes a million power at the end of the opponent's turn.

If you have Doc Aurlock in play, your own airbent creatures cost 0... Not just your plotted ones. This combo is literally 2-3-4 if you want it; with Appa coming down on the opponent's end step due to flash and making for a heck of a next turn.

Essentially Aang is already in play; Appa airbends him. You play Aang from exile for 0 (triggering Appa's Aliies creation), airbend Appa... And then play Appa for 0, airbending Aang again. All in all this creates infinite enters triggers, infinite Allies, and itself will likely trigger multiple bans. Besides which Doc Aurlock was already a good card [that now invalidates your opponent's offensive airbending] and both Aang and Appa would be A+ cards without the combo.

Aang, the Last Airbender can stand in for either of the Rare / Mythic Rare Legends for infinite loop purposes, but won't himself make Allies. So, you need to gain infinite life or something; which is not a problem in this set.

Blue

Common: It'll Quench Ya!

I've already written a little about this one. Even before we saw a lot of the other exciting Lessons stuff (i.e. the next card) from ATLA. Common Lesson for Pauper. Playable Lesson for Standard Lessons-matter. Priced to move.

Uncommon: Accumulate Wisdom

You do kind of need to play this in a dedicated Lessons deck, but luckily it is not difficult to find 30+ playable Lessons for Standard. I think you're likely going to be annoyed if you have to play Accumulate Wisdom "un-kicked" in the same way that you kept a two-land hand because you had a Consult the Star Charts... And are then annoyed when you have to cast the Consult the Star Charts for two to find your third land. Luckily this card is going to hit for three much of the time in a deck with, again, 30+ Lessons. Which means that it's going to dig you to more and more Ancestral-level Accumulate Wisdoms. Because that's what happens when you start drawing 4+ cards in a turn.

Rare: Spirit Water Revival

There is a strong possibility that this card displaces some number of Stock Ups for long game decks in Standard. It's not as good to digging to your fourth and fifth lands; or finding your crucial Wrath of God effect under pressure... But Spirit Water Revival completely changes the ceiling on Control decks, and how any given game will play out, tactically. There's nothing else like it in Standard. Gaea's Blessing and Library of Leng in one card if you grok.

Mythic Rare: Wan Shi Tong, Librarian

In a long game, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian is comparable to Hydroid Krassis... A card that was so good despite not having flash it was played in a deck called Simic Flash. Of course Wan Shi Tong, Librarian does have flash, so you're going to see it come down for on turn two in response to a fetch land in Legacy and that's just going to be a disaster. Sub that in for some matchups where Evolving Wilds or earthbending matter in Standard and you'll be reaching for your Boomerang basics to go again and again. Just an A+ fast card and S-Tier powerhouse finisher both.

Black

Common: Dai Li Indoctrination

The "Distress" aspect of this card isn't zero. It isn't great, but it isn't zero. I'd expect to see Dai Li Indoctrination as a test card in Pop Quiz decks trying to figure out how much mana they can get away with spending, as a result.

The big thing getting this Common over the hump is earthbending 2. This ability is cheap in Green but not so in Black. On turn three you can turn a Fabled Passage into quite the Rampant Growth... For more-or-less the cost of a Rampant Growth. Which is novel for the color.

Uncommon: Heartless Act

It's not perfect, but Heartless Act is poised to become one of the best Doom Blades in Standard. Certainly, it will be in the rotation against Shoot the Sheriff, which is also not perfect in a different way.

Rare: Mai, Scornful Striker

The best back card from ATLA, the real question is how broadly we are going to see Mai's play. Is she going to be in the multicolored Allies deck? I'd default to Bant, but if you have 12+ painless Cities of Brass what's a Black pip between bitter enemies? Mai might never trigger on your side in an entire game! Maybe your deck is just 36 Allies! Your opponent... Probably not as lucky. This card is a very Eidolon of the Great Revel-kind of card with better combat stats. Look for Mai to produce wins in bigger formats than Standard, where her speed is going to prove a major asset.

Mythic Rare: The Rise of Sozin

Wrath effect: I want it. Cranial Extraction effect: I might want it. Some people want it so hard they Collect Evidence with Deadly Cover Up with no creatures in play just to get it. Giant monster: Who doesn't want an essentially "free" giant monster? No one is paying six for Fire Lord Sozin, but the whole point is you get him for free.

Everyone wants the Wrath. When you don't want the Wrath the Cranial Extraction might be on point. In fact, no one wants a Cranial Extraction in matchups where the Wrath is good; but once you've Wrathed them, Cranial Extracting all their haste guys or Lynxes or whatever starts sounding pretty good (especially if you don't have to pay for it).

The problem is that the Wrath costs six. The solution is that the sum will be so good on this card that people will build their decks to live long enough to over-pay for a Wrath by two.

Red

Common: Burst Lightning Firebending Lesson

Kind of a bad Burst Lightning, except when its a weirdly better Burst Lightning. Look for this card to justify Fire Nation Cadets in some decks, but more importantly, as a support card in basically every Lessons theme deck that ever gets built. It's not the best card for the job, but it has the right typing to set up your Ancestral Recall. You're welcome.

Uncommon: Iroh's Demonstration

Red decks tend to be into dealing 4 damage to a creature at sorcery speed, even some aggro decks! This card gives you flexibility against tokens that no one would typically pay for, but everyone is happy to have on a card that they were going to play anyway. It's a Lesson for your deck, but is going to see broader play outside that strategy than Firebending Lesson or Combustion Technique.

Rare: Ran and Shaw

On the subject of getting paid to play Lessons... This card is literally cheaper than Broodmate Dragon and has more upside. Way more upside.

Mythic Rare: The Legend of Roku

Probably my favorite Avatar Saga of the set... Chapter One gives you a Showdown of the Skalds-type effect, and Chapter Two helps you pay for whatever you flipped over. Just an incredibly good payoff to spending four mana; and secretly a pretty good target for your own airbending.

Green

Common: Origin of Metalbending

If I recall, we invoked the holy name of Kai Budde when last discussing Origin of Metalbending. It's still just better than a Staple-level card in Naturalize, with some Counterspell-esque and damage-dealing / combat add-ons.

Uncommon: Haru, Hidden Talent

If you hadn't heard yet, Patrick Chapin absolutely broke this one, and broke it all down last week. Personally, I thought this was a 1/1 for 2 mana that was never going to trigger meaningfully, but it turns out the card is Splinter Twin in Pioneer!

You need these two cards in play:

Now you play one of these two cards:

You can play whatever lands from Streets of New Capenna, but I chose the ones that make both White and Green mana because those are probably the ones you would want in your deck.

When your say Brokers Hideout enters, it creates multiple triggers. Stack its sacrifice under Retreat to Emeria's trigger. Resolve Retreat to Emeria's Ally-making one and get yourself a 1/1.

That 1/1 now triggers Haru, which will allow you to earthbend the Brokers Hideout that is still in play. It will not still be in play for very long, but earthbending will bring it immediately back, which will allow you to do it all over again.

What happens next?

1. You gain lots of life.
2. You make lots of 1/1 Kor Allies.
3. You probably Ramp a ton of Forests and Plains out of your deck. You don't have to, and the combo works even if you never get a single one! But you probably do, as drawing an extra 20 lands (that are not clogging your hand) will probably be pretty good if your opponent can deal with the 1,000,000,000 power you just made. No comment on the 1,000,000,000 life you now have.

One reason folks might have been sleeping on Haru, Hidden Talent is that you need to use the New Capenna lands to set it up because earthbending would return a conventional Evolving Wilds-type to the battlefield tapped; whereas tapped-ness doesn't matter to the Hideout or Courtyard.

Rare: The Earth King

This card is just a rate monster. Six power and toughness across two bodies for four mana would be worth a second look... But you also get a Ramp effect that can trigger multiple times per turn? Just a fantastic "fair" card that will often get an extra bonus the turn it hits play. The distribution of power and toughness (most of it on the Bear token) is also perfect for purposes of self-airbending.

Mythic Rare: Badgermole Cub

Not a surprise to anyone who has been watching this set... Just a great bundle of abilities and source of cheap earthbending for very little mana. All I'll say is I do think it's funny how less spectacular Green's best card is to most of the other colors and that it is arguably not as powerful as another 2-drop, given the impact Haru, Hidden Talent might have in broader formats.

Gold / Multicolored

Common: Abandon Attachments

Having this effect at instant is potentially novel for Red... But probably won't crack Mono-Red in Pauper just because it has less upside than Grab the Prize and less downside than Romantic Rendezvous at Sorcery. This is a new ability for Blue, though; and one that we're likely to see in a lot of places as a result. The Standard Lessons deck is going to like putting multiple Lessons in its graveyard quickly in a race to three, and the deck looks to be full of creature removal that it just doesn't want in some matchups, so filtering will be at a premium.

Uncommon: Dragonfly Swarm

Just an incredible potential finisher for Lessons in Standard AND a worthy sidekick to Ran and Shaw. Dragonfly Swarm is not overpowered (even if it will likely hit hard)... It's good because it's relatively cheap and will typically replace itself.

Rare: Aang, Swift Savior

Probably the best card in the entire set, and probably by design. We already talked about how this version of Aang will set up a powerful three-card combo with Doc Aurlock and Appa... But what if there were no such combo?

Aang would still probably be the best card!

I played a lot of Standard when Spell Queller was legal; and let me tell you... It sucked to be the non-Spell Queller player. On balance, they actually banned Reflector Mage in Standard! Aang has a lot of DNA from those cards. He's fast; he has flash; he's beyond flexible... And you can play him with his wife for double triggers. Aang is at worst the second-best Ally, but will make opponents miserable from any number of different kinds of decks.

If one-third of the combo gets banned, I'm guessing it will be Doc Aurlock, but the good Doctor has been around for quite a while without ruining anything. We know who the real problem child will have been!

Mythic Rare: Ozai, the Phoenix King

This is more an indictment of other gold Mythic Rares than an endorsement of Ozai... But he is actually a lot better than he looks. I mean you are paying six mana so he should be pretty good. But he's better than he looks.

Colorless

Common: Aang's Journey

Not the best on rate. Basically, a Lay of the Land for twice the cost! But the life is potentially meaningful, especially if Aang's Journey sees play in Pauper Pop Quiz. Mark my words though: If we see the return of Learn in the next Strixhaven set, everyone is going to have at least one Aang's Journey in their sideboards, and probably two.

Uncommon: White Lotus Hideout

Probably going to be great in a variety of Lessons decks. If there is a three-color Lessons deck that is not base Green, it will certainly lean on this card; and even Green ones might play a few.

Rare: Ba Sing Se

Imagine you have a Traveling Chokobo and Sazh's Chokobo already in play. Ba Sing Se combined with a Fabled Passage is going to look pretty good there, right? Or sometimes you've gone wide and you could just use another attacker to make defense difficult. Ba Sing Se gives you one that is naturally synergistic with Bristly Bill. All great, right? And particularly so on a card that doesn't use up a spell slot!

That's the superficial look at Ba Sing Se, and one where it is arguably stronger than Fire Nation Palace (which is underrated) and Abandoned Air Temple (which looks great, but is probably a little overrated). The most important tiebreaker for me was that if your Green landfall deck gets swept, just having Ba Sing Se in play means that you can start attacking again, even when you don't topdeck a threat. Having multiple copies of Ba Sing Se in play in a deck that has way too many lands means you can actually form a plan once everything comes off the rails. All of Fire Nation Palace and Abandoned Air Temple function when you've got guys to buff. Besides just doing more different things, Ba Sing Se also helps you win even when you don't.

Mythic Rare: How about I refuse to answer this question? There have been so many other great and exciting and potentially multiple format defining cards! Okay, okay. It's Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong. But in this case, "best" doesn't really make it good.

LOVE

MIKE