On theme with the Avatar: The Last Airbender television show, the Magic Universes Beyond set describes four primary "bending" abilities: Airbending, Firebending, Waterbending, and Earthbending. This breakdown of magical capabilities is reminiscent of Captain Planet, an old cartoon I used to watch as a young kid (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Heart). Anyway, I digress...

Of the four new bending mechanics, Earthbending is up there (alongside Firebending) as the most prevalent in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Without being familiar with the television franchise, I suspect Earthbending was a more frequent occurrence based on the prevalence of the ability in Magic. Whether my hunch is true or not, the fact still stands that there are over 30 cards in this new set that enables or synergizes with Earthbending.

What Exactly Is Earthbending?

Earthbending is a keyword action that will include a number associated. For example, a card may say "Earthbend 3." When you earthbend, you choose target land you control - that land becomes a 0/0 creature with haste that's still a land. Then you put X (in this case 3) +1/+1 counters on the land. When the creature land dies or is exiled, it returns to the battlefield tapped.

Let's take a look at a simple example to bring this to life: Earthbending Lesson.

This is a Green sorcery spell that costs four total mana. When it resolves, you Earthbend 4. That is, one of your lands becomes a 0/0 creature with haste that then receives four +1/+1 counters. Effectively, to earthbend X is to turn one of your lands into an X/X creature or to place X +1/+1 counters on a land that's already a creature. More on this later.

In older versions of land animation, if an opponent killed your land-creature, you would end up down a resource - one of your lands would be destroyed. This is how most previous creature lands are templated. With Earthbending, you have a little insurance. When an earthbended land dies or is exiled, it returns to the battlefield tapped under your control. You won't have the creature anymore, but at least you don't lose the critical mana-producing resource at the same time.

Here are a couple more rules nuances associated with Earthbending:

• If an opponent steals your creature land and that creature dies or is exiled under their control, you still get the land back when it reappears.
• The delayed triggered ability of earthbending a land must resolve in order for you to have that land-destruction insurance. If the land leaves the battlefield in response to the earthbending ability going on the stack (e.g., your opponent uses Strip Mine on your land), you don't get your land back.
• When choosing the land, you can animate a non-creature land or you can target a land that is already a creature. In the latter scenario, you'd put X +1/+1 counters on the creature land that gains the delayed trigger ability of returning to play.

Some Noteworthy Earthbend Cards

Across the three dozen or so Earthbend cards in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a handful of noteworthy cards have risen on players' radar.

First and foremost, the most valuable card of the set happens to be an elegantly simple Earthbend card: the adorable Badgermole Cub.

On its own, you receive 3/3 worth of stats across two creatures for just two mana - this places Badgermole Cub's power level based on rate alone. On top of this, the second ability is what really makes this a powerhouse in Standard. Creatures that tap for mana add additional when tapped. That applies to your Llanowar Elves and Molt Tenders as well as your earthbended lands! When you add this all together, Badgermole Cub is like a Grizzly Bears that also gives you a Llanowar Elves land with a Wild Growth enchanted onto it. Now that's value!

So much value, in fact, that Badgermole Cub made its way into World Championship 31's Top 8! Check out Shaun Henry's Temur Otters deck list from the recent competitive event:

Arne Huschenbeth also made the Top 8 playing Temur Otters, and his list features the full playset of four Badgermole Cub!

While no Earthbending card has had as profound impact on Standard than Badgermole Cub, a number of cards with this ability have become powerhouses in Limited. Ba Sing Se, for example, is a nonbasic land that can singlehandedly take over a game of Limited.

While three mana and a tapping activation may seem like a steep rate for a simple 2/2 creature, the versatility and robustness of Ba Sing Se makes this a repeatable "army in a can." If you need perpetual chump blockers, Ba Sing Se can provide you with a 2/2 that comes back every turn. If you want to go wide, you can earthbend onto a different land each turn. If you want to go tall, you can earthbend on to the same land repeatedly, creating a massive creature in just a couple turns.

While the majority of earthbending cards are Green, other colors do have access to this useful mechanic. White, for example, offers a modal instant that can either destroy a large creature or Earthbend 3 with Sandbenders' Storm.

Conditional removal spells are often risky to play because you're not always guaranteed a target. By offering a secondary option to Earthbend 3, your removal spell suddenly has life again by becoming an instant speed 3/3 creature (or +3/+3 to an existing creature land).

Red can also Earthbend, although it does it best in partnership with Green. For example, Bumi, Unleashed is a Gruul legendary creature that packs a major punch for its casting cost:

For just five mana you receive a 5/4 trampler and a 4/4 earthbended creature! That's 9/8 worth of stats for just 5 mana! (Hello, power creep). That's not all - if Bumi manages to deal combat damage to a player, you untap all your lands and receive a second combat phase! Sure, only land creatures can attack that second phase, but the key is that you untap all your lands - in other words, you can attack with your creature lands and then untap them to cast spells (or attack again). This card is an absolute bomb in Limited.

Toph, Hardheaded Teacher is another Gruul creature who embraces Earthbending in a big way.

While not as powerful as Bumi, Unleashed, Toph, Hardheaded Teacher allows you to Earthbend 1 every time you cast a spell! Any spell! Chances are in a game of Limited, you'll be casting more spells throughout the game. Every single one of them gives you an Earthbend trigger - lesson spells essentially make it Earthbend 2!

There's a Naya version of Toph (Toph, the First Metalbender) that also includes repeated Earthbending. It seems Toph and Earthbending go together like peanut butter and jelly!

Technically, Black has access to Earthbending in a couple rare cases, including Fatal Fissure and Dai Li Indoctrination. Those cards are less exciting, however, so I want to conclude with a much splashier mythic rare that involves Earthbending: The Legend of Kyoshi.

The Legend of Kyoshi starts as a Saga - it draws you a bunch of cards, Earthbends X where X is the number of cards in your hand (presumably a lot because of Chapter I), and then transforms into Avatar Kyoshi. Avatar Kyoshi is a 5/4 legendary avatar creature that grants your lands trample and hexproof - that means your earthbended creatures will pack a more powerful punch and be extremely difficult to deal with! She also taps for a billion mana, making it easier to cast all those cards you recently drew. The Legend of Kyoshi is a powerful way of rewarding decks with a bunch of Earthbending.

Wrapping It Up

I love the Earthbending mechanic because it reminds me so much of older cards with similar effects (only better thanks to that insurance). We've had creature lands in Magic since one of the game's earliest expansions - Mishra's Factory in Antiquities. We've also had cards that turn lands into 0/0 creatures with +1/+1 counters time and again (my favorite is Nissa, Who Shakes the World). Awaken N is a mechanic from Battle for Zendikar that does something very similar - paying the alternative Awaken cost animated a land into a 0/0 with N +1/+1 counters on it.

Thus, animating a land and placing counters on it is not new. What is new is the fact that the land comes back into play tapped should it die or become exiled. It sounds like a small effect, but that added insurance clause is the key to protecting your lands from spot removal. This was a brilliant addition by Wizards of the Coast, making Earthbending a dynamic, versatile mechanic sure to make waves in Magic. I'm not sure if we'll see the mechanic outside of an Avatar set given the affiliation with the franchise. We will see lands become animated into creatures in the future, however, and I hope Wizards of the Coast considers adding the occasional removal insurance introduced by Earthbending.