Most-built new Avatar commander
Fire Lord Azula
Attack, make mana, then copy every spell you cast while Azula is still in combat.
- Why it ranks: Current adoption supplies the ordering signal, while the deck plan and failure point decide whether that popularity is useful for your table. EDHREC currently reports 37,024 decks.
- Build toward: cheap instants and permanent spells, flash enablers, attack triggers, combat protection.
- Pressure point: Azula has to attack and survive while you cast. One removal spell can shut off the entire copy turn.
- Card text: Firebending 2 (Whenever this creature attacks, add {R}{R}. This mana lasts until end of combat.) Whenever you cast a spell while Fire Lord Azula is attacking, copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy. (A copy of a permanent spell becomes a token.)
Commander pick 2
Toph, the First Metalbender
Turn nontoken artifacts into lands, then earthbend every end step to build an artifact-land army.
- Why it ranks: Current adoption supplies the ordering signal, while the deck plan and failure point decide whether that popularity is useful for your table. EDHREC currently reports 32,126 decks.
- Build toward: nontoken artifacts, landfall payoffs, +1/+1 counters, land recursion.
- Pressure point: Turning artifacts into lands makes them vulnerable to land removal, while earthbent lands also die to creature removal.
- Card text: Nontoken artifacts you control are lands in addition to their other types. (They don't gain the ability to {T} for mana.) At the beginning of your end step, earthbend 2. (Target land you control becomes a 0/0 creature with haste that's still a land. Put two +1/+1 counters on it. When it dies or is exiled, return it to the battlefield tapped.)
Commander pick 3
Avatar Aang // Aang, Master of Elements
Cycle through all four bending actions for cards, then transform into a five-color cost-reduction engine.
- Why it ranks: Current adoption supplies the ordering signal, while the deck plan and failure point decide whether that popularity is useful for your table. EDHREC currently reports 19,734 decks.
- Build toward: repeatable airbend, waterbend, earthbend, and firebending enablers, five-color fixing.
- Pressure point: The front face needs four different bending actions in one turn. Without a dense, cheap enabler package, Aang never reaches the payoff.
- Card text: Avatar Aang: Flying, firebending 2 Whenever you waterbend, earthbend, firebend, or airbend, draw a card. Then if you've done all four this turn, transform Avatar Aang. // Aang, Master of Elements: Flying Spells you cast cost {W}{U}{B}{R}{G} less to cast. (This can reduce generic costs.) At the beginning of each upkeep, you may transform Aang, Master of Elements. If you do, you gain 4 life, draw four cards, put four +1/+1 counters on him, and he deals 4 damage to each opponent.
Commander pick 4
Iroh, Grand Lotus
Use the graveyard as a second hand during your turn, with one-mana flashback for Lessons.
- Why it ranks: Current adoption supplies the ordering signal, while the deck plan and failure point decide whether that popularity is useful for your table. EDHREC currently reports 14,703 decks.
- Build toward: Lessons, self-mill and looting, cheap instants and sorceries, graveyard protection.
- Pressure point: Graveyard hate switches off the flashback engine, and six mana makes commander tax painful.
- Card text: Firebending 2 During your turn, each non-Lesson instant and sorcery card in your graveyard has flashback. The flashback cost is equal to that card's mana cost. (You may cast a card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.) During your turn, each Lesson card in your graveyard has flashback {1}.
Commander pick 5
Fire Lord Zuko
Cast from exile to grow the whole team while Zuko's attack funds the next spell.
- Why it ranks: Current adoption supplies the ordering signal, while the deck plan and failure point decide whether that popularity is useful for your table. EDHREC currently reports 13,053 decks.
- Build toward: impulse draw and other cast-from-exile effects, Allies, power boosts, combat protection.
- Pressure point: The deck needs exile effects, a wide board, and a safe attack. Drawing the wrong half makes Zuko look ordinary.
- Card text: Firebending X, where X is Fire Lord Zuko's power. (Whenever this creature attacks, add X {R}. This mana lasts until end of combat.) Whenever you cast a spell from exile and whenever a permanent you control enters from exile, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
Commander pick 6
Sokka, Tenacious Tactician
Every noncreature spell makes an Ally and gives the entire team a combat keyword package.
- Why it ranks: Current adoption supplies the ordering signal, while the deck plan and failure point decide whether that popularity is useful for your table. EDHREC currently reports 11,160 decks.
- Build toward: cheap noncreature spells, Allies, token payoffs, protection from sweepers.
- Pressure point: The deck needs creatures and noncreature spells in balance. A sweeper removes the Allies that turn prowess into a clock.
- Card text: Menace, prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.) Other Allies you control have menace and prowess. Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, create a 1/1 white Ally creature token.
Commander pick 7
Katara, the Fearless
Double every triggered ability from an Ally and build around the strongest repeatable triggers.
- Why it ranks: Current adoption supplies the ordering signal, while the deck plan and failure point decide whether that popularity is useful for your table. EDHREC currently reports 9,863 decks.
- Build toward: Allies with strong triggered abilities, blink effects, token makers, protection.
- Pressure point: Katara does nothing without Allies that have useful triggers. Removing her before those triggers resolve cuts the payoff in half.
- Card text: If a triggered ability of an Ally you control triggers, that ability triggers an additional time.
Commander pick 8
Ozai, the Phoenix King
Bank red mana across phases, attack immediately, and keep six mana floating for protection.
- Why it ranks: Current adoption supplies the ordering signal, while the deck plan and failure point decide whether that popularity is useful for your table. EDHREC currently reports 7,681 decks.
- Build toward: combat-speed mana sinks, X spells, instant-speed interaction, power boosts.
- Pressure point: Six mana is a serious starting point. Removal before combat loses both the attacker and the firebending turn.
- Card text: Trample, firebending 4, haste If you would lose unspent mana, that mana becomes red instead. Ozai has flying and indestructible as long as you have six or more unspent mana.
Commander pick 9
Hei Bai, Forest Guardian
Find a Shrine on entry, then turn legendary enchantments into an unblockable Spirit board.
- Why it ranks: Current adoption supplies the ordering signal, while the deck plan and failure point decide whether that popularity is useful for your table. EDHREC currently reports 6,910 decks.
- Build toward: Shrines, legendary enchantments, five-color fixing, Spirit payoffs.
- Pressure point: Five colors and a high Shrine count pull the mana and card packages in different directions. The deck needs disciplined fixing.
- Card text: When Hei Bai enters, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a Shrine card. You may put that card onto the battlefield. Then shuffle. {W}{U}{B}{R}{G}, {T}: For each legendary enchantment you control, create a 1/1 colorless Spirit creature token with "This token can't block or be blocked by non-Spirit creatures."
Commander pick 10
Aang, at the Crossroads // Aang, Destined Savior
Animate lands, grow them with counters, and turn the mana base into the deck's main threat package.
- Why it ranks: Current adoption supplies the ordering signal, while the deck plan and failure point decide whether that popularity is useful for your table. EDHREC currently reports 6,449 decks.
- Build toward: creatures with mana value four or less, blink and airbend effects, land-creature support.
- Pressure point: The deck can expose creatures and animated lands to the same sweeper. Keep recursion and noncreature interaction in reserve.
- Card text: Aang, at the Crossroads: Flying When Aang enters, look at the top five cards of your library. You may put a creature card with mana value 4 or less from among them onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. When another creature you control leaves the battlefield, transform Aang at the beginning of the next upkeep. // Aang, Destined Savior: Flying Land creatures you control have vigilance. At the beginning of combat on your turn, earthbend 2. (Target land you control beco...