Avatar: The Last Airbender will be here before we know it! There are four new keywords coming to Magic that represent the four ways characters are able to bend the elements. Today I am focusing on the masterful art of Airbending. Airbending is a powerful bending type that allows characters to play very defensively while also dealing a huge swing of damage. This keyword translates perfectly for Magic. Airbend exiles a nonland permanent and its owner may cast it for 2 generic mana instead of its normal cost. This means you could airbend one of your opponents game pieces away OR protect your own from your opponents. This keyword relies heavily on casting spells out of exile, which has been a theme of cards that Magic has been getting as of late. Let's soar through some cards that we already have in the card archives that work perfectly with Airbending.

10. Sisterhood of Karn

Sisterhood of Karn is a card from the Dr Who set. Dr. Who cared a ton about casting spells out of exile and a lot of them work extremely well with Airbend. Sisterhood of Karn will grow in power whenever you cast a spell from anywhere other than your hand. Airbending your own permanents is more defensive, however, if you gain a huge creature like Sisterhood of Karn for playing on the defensive, that will help you get an edge over your opponent.

9. Vega, the Watcher

Vega, the Watcher is a very simple draw engine that you can take advantage of with Airbend. Vega will draw you a card whenever you cast a spell that isn't in your hand. There are lots of ways to trigger this, Flashback, Jumpstart, Suspend, but now you can do it with Airbend. Three mana card advantage engines are perfect for formats like Commander and this bird goes perfectly in a deck focused on Airbend.

8. Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival

Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival is a great piece for exile focused decks. Creating a flying thopter with haste each time you play a spell out of exile doesn't seem like a lot of advantage, but when you can make multiple thopters a turn with a creature like Appa, Steadfast Guardian, you will have a small army out of nowhere. I really like that Pia Nalaar gives the thopters haste since you can use them right away and try to take down your opponents as fast as possible. Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival came from March of the Machine: the Aftermath, which a lot of players might have just glanced over. Don't glance over this Pia Nalaar for exile focused decks moving forward!

7. Flaming Tyrannosaurus

Flaming Tyrannosaurus is a huge Timmy creature that cares about casting spells from exile. Airbend allows you to recast your spells by exiling them. Each card that you Airbend and cast from exile will trigger Flaming Tyranosaurous, burning down your opponents life totals, and leave you with a massive dinosaur as well. Flaming Tyrannosaurus is a great late game piece since its death trigger could possibly knock out multiple opponents at once. If you are struggling to find a finisher for a deck focused on exile, look for this dino.

6. Ghostly Pilferer

Ghostly Pilferer is the first card that will benefit from you Airbending your opponent's permanents. Ghostly Pilferer is a low to the ground spirit creature that draws a card whenever your opponents cast a spell from anywhere other than their hand. This includes: the graveyard, exile, and even the Command Zone! It also is a discard outlet and has the option to draw some cards when it untaps. Airbending exiles a permanent and then allows the player to recast the airbended permanent from exile. This exchange will draw you a card if you have a Ghostly Pilferer in play. Since this creature is only two mana and can do so much, I think it will be an automatic inclusion for Airbending decks that are splashing in Blue.

5. Aerial Extortionist

Aerial Extortionist is my favorite card on this list. This creature is a repeatable removal spell on a creature that also will draw you a lot of cards. Aerial Extortionist draws you a card just as Ghostly Pilferer does, however, if you do not have a way to Airbend your opponents board, Aerial Extortionist will put cards into exile for you. Whenever it enters or attacks it exiles a permanent and that permanent can be cast on a later turn from exile. It also makes the controller of the exiled permanent pay the full cost of the card instead of Airbending which allows the player to only cast it for 2 generic mana instead. If you have not tried this menace in Commander yet I highly recommend it!

4. Kellan, the Kid

Kellan, the Kid is a huge haymaker for any deck focused on casting spells from anywhere but your hand. Kellan will allow you to cast a spell from your hand for free if you cast a spell from somewhere else. Airbending will allow you to cast spells for a measly 2 generic mana, then you can cast a huge spell from your hand with Kellan for free! This legendary creature does not get enough attention and it seems to be an extremely powerful card, especially in the Command Zone. If you are interested in the brand new Airbend mechanic and are looking for a Commander to house your idea, Kellan the Kid is a great option.

3. Passionate Archaeologist

Passionate Archaeologist is one of the best payoffs for casting spells from exile that we currently have. Since this background is only two mana, getting in down in the early game is a breeze. I am a huge fan of using backgrounds when you are playing Partner Commanders, that way your backgrounds trigger twice! Passionate Archaeologist doesn't seem to be a game ender, but that damage can add up extremely fast when you are casting lots of spells out of exile. Airbend only makes you pay 2 mana instead of the printed mana cost of a card, but this background will still deal damage equal to the printed mana cost of the card.

2. Nalfeshnee

Nalfeshnee is the best card for taking advantage of exiling your own permanents with Airbend. Nalfeshnee will create a hasty token of whatever you are casting from exile and allow you to keep it for a turn. Each spell you Airbend now will enter with a second copy! This amount of value can snowball out of control extremely fast. This card is 6 mana though, so it makes sense that its effect is rather strong. If you are looking at exiling a lot of your own cards with the brand new Airbend ability, Nalfeshnee is the way to go.

1. Drannith Magistrate

The top of this list should surprise nobody. Drannith Magistrate is secretly the best Airbender alive and he doesn't even come from the Avatar universe. Drannith Magistrate doesn't allow your opponents to cast spells from exile. When you Airbend a permanent you put it into exile to cast again later. Drannith will prevent your opponents from having that choice and it will sit in exile forever until Drannith gets removed. Drannith Magistrate is a boogeyman when it comes to Commander and now it has a brand-new keyword that works perfectly with it.

That wraps up looking at ten cards to synergize with Airbend. Hopefully this article got your gears turning about what crazy shenanigans to cause with this brand new mechanic!

See you on the battlefield!

-Nigel