Avatar Roku, FirebenderAvatar Roku, Firebender | Art by Toni Infante

We just wrapped up Avatar: The Last Airbender preview season, and there's tons of cool new cards being printed, from Turtle-DuckTurtle-Ducks to Tiger-SealTiger-Seals. But we're here today to talk about a Human Avatar.

Avatar Roku, FirebenderAvatar Roku, Firebender, a 6/6 for six mana, is a unique design that's sure to spice up our Commander games. This mono-red commander asks us to control the combat step, spend lots of mana, and build towards a fiery finish. 

Let's see what Roku can do!

What Does Avatar Roku Do?

For , we get a 6/6 with two strong abilities. First, whenever a player attacks, we get to add . This is a spin on one of Avatar's staple mechanics: firebending, which adds a certain amount of red mana when a creature with firebending attacks.

Then, for , we get to give any creature +3/+0 until end of turn (like triple firebreathing). Assuming players are attacking every combat, we'll be getting six extra mana to play with each turn. That means we can activate Roku's second ability twice, cast spells at instant speed, or sink mana into other fun activated abilities.

Key Cards for Avatar Roku, FirebenderAvatar Roku, Firebender

We'll fill this deck with cards that force our opponents to attack, ensuring that we always get to add mana on each of their turns. Then we'll add in plenty of ways to spend our mana at instant speed.

Finally, We'll leverage the chaos on the board to whittle our opponents' life totals down and cruise to victory!

The most important cards in this deck are those that let us spend our excess mana easily. One of the most impactful ways to do this comes to us from my favorite set of all time, Dragons of Tarkir. Dragon WhispererDragon Whisperer is an unassuming 2/2, but it can make a 4/4 flyer every turn if we've got our commander on the battlefield.

This Shaman is a perfect fit. It's got two power, meaning its formidable ability will be online with Roku on the board. Plus, the six that our commander makes slots perfectly into this creature's activated ability.

And, as the name implies, The Legend of RokuThe Legend of Roku's flip side is similarly effective. For just more, we get a 4/4 flying Dragon with firebending 4. That lets us add when it attacks, making it strictly better than the token that Dragon Whisperer creates.

Ancient Stone IdolAncient Stone Idol is another stellar include, as we'll usually be able to cast it with just the mana our commander makes. We'll be forcing our opponents to attack with a lot of creatures, so this 12/12 will routinely cost or less.

How Does This Avatar Roku Commander Deck Win?

There's a few special cards that accelerate the pace of the game significantly. Spectacular ShowdownSpectacular Showdown and Avatar of SlaughterAvatar of Slaughter both give all creatures on the battlefield double strike and force them to attack, meaning the game ends in short order after they resolve. These cards will ensure that Avatar Roku triggers during each combat step and that damage is being thrown around.

We've also got two damage amplifiers that we can flash in at instant speed, meaning we turn an ordinary combat into a bloodbath with just one spell. Dictate of the Twin GodsDictate of the Twin Gods will double all damage from all sources, making it risky to cast at times. But, it'll certainly end games quickly once its on the board.

There's also Fated FirepowerFated Firepower, which just amplifies the damage that we deal to our opponents. With the six mana that Roku provides to us each turn, we can usually cast this enchantment for a pretty big value.

Outside of these splashier spells, we're aiming to make our opponents hit each other until they're all dead. Bothersome QuasitBothersome Quasit, Fumiko the LowbloodFumiko the Lowblood, and The Sound of DrumsThe Sound of Drums will all force our opponents to attack with their best creatures. We've also got cards like Spider-PunkSpider-Punk, Soulbright FlamekinSoulbright Flamekin, and even Ancient Stone IdolAncient Stone Idol to ensure that we're in full control of the combat step.

We don't just want our opponents to attack with their creatures, we also want to ensure that they're actually dealing combat damage to each other.

There's also a whole bunch of cards that we can cast at instant speed for powerful effects. Mysterious StrangerMysterious Stranger, for example, can grab us a powerful spell from a graveyard on ETB. Granted, it's random, but a free spell is hard to beat.

The duo of Big ScoreBig Score and Unexpected WindfallUnexpected Windfall are fantastic too. They let us store mana in the form of TreasureTreasure tokens while also granting us some card selection. Then, control pieces like Return the FavorReturn the Favor, Tibalt's TrickeryTibalt's Trickery, and Untimely MalfunctionUntimely Malfunction can let us redirect removal or stop opposing game plans.

I can't talk enough about how much I enjoy casting Untimely MalfunctionUntimely Malfunction. Especially in a combat-focused deck like this one, each of its three modes are useful. I think this instant is, sneakily, one of the best cards from last year.

We'll be targeting our opponents and their permanents a lot, so we can make even more 4/4 flying Dragons with Magda, the HoardmasterMagda, the Hoardmaster. Her ability to turn crimes into money is both powerful and flavorful, so I'm a big fan of this iteration of Magda.

And, because we'll be goading a lot of creatures, Vengeful AncestorVengeful Ancestor and Baeloth Barrityl, EntertainerBaeloth Barrityl, Entertainer are both all-stars. These creatures will hand out tons of damage and make us tons of Treasures, respectively.

Hot PursuitHot Pursuit, from Murders at Karlov Manor's Blame Game preconstructed deck, is a neat way to finish out 1v1 games. This enchantment is sneaky good in goad decks, and I expected it to be a staple of the archetype from the moment it was printed.

Finally, there's some more generic red staples that happen to work extremely well in our 99. Grenzo, Havoc RaiserGrenzo, Havoc Raiser can give us more combat control or some extra cards to play with. We're only running 22 creatures in our main deck, but we make enough evasive tokens that we'll be triggering this Goblin Rogue's abilities frequently.

Trumpeting CarnosaurTrumpeting Carnosaur is also a fantastic fit for Roku. This Dinosaur costs , meaning we can cast it and get to discover 5 off of our commander's attack trigger. And should we need instant-speed, nigh-uncounterable removal, this card gives us access to a slightly more costly Lightning BoltLightning Bolt.

Rounding out this group is Legion WarbossLegion Warboss, a low-cost Goblin Soldier that provides us with the disposable attackers we'll need to trigger Roku on our own turn. Many of our creatures have strong abilities, so we won't want to risk them in combat. This creature can hit the battlefield before our commander and ensure that we've got a steady stream of attackers ready to trigger him when he arrives.

Avatar Roku, Firebender Commander Deck List

Conclusion

This deck isn't the strongest; it likely can't compete well beyond Bracket 2. But it's certainly a ton of fun. Mono-red decks that focus heavily on combat can often lead to swingy games, where pilots either find themselves snowballing towards a quick victory or out of the game entirely. With the consistent mana production Avatar Roku provides, this deck should provide a more consistent experience.

Before you go, though I wanted to shout out a few cards that supercharge our commander. Ashling, Flame DancerAshling, Flame Dancer and the newly printed Electro, Assaulting BatteryElectro, Assaulting Battery both let us store the mana that Roku makes from turn to turn, meaning we can make a total of 24 mana per turn. And, these creatures are both valuable outside of their mana storage. They'll both give us a little something extra when we cast any one of the 17 instants and sorceries in this deck!

And, because our commander costs a whopping , we'll need lots of ramp to cast him ahead of schedule. Bender's WaterskinBender's Waterskin, Victory ChimesVictory Chimes, and even Staff of CompleationStaff of Compleation are neat three-drop mana rocks that help us accelerate. But, they also can be untapped during each of our opponents' turns, meaning we'll more easily be able to do impressive things as the game rages on.

Staff of Compleation is one of my favorite cards in this list, primarily because of its flexibility. It can provide almost anything a Commander player would want, so long as they're willing to pay the price (which we most certainly are).

That's all for now, but I'll see you all again next week for another deck tech!

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