Guru PathikGuru Pathik | Art by Dee Nguyen

Entering Meditation

Welcome back to another edition of Beyond the Multiverse! As of writing, Avatar: The Last Airbender spoilers are in full swing, revealing all sorts of new stuff. Today, we're exploring a new option that was among those previewed. Something different and refreshing for once (a bit I'll get to momentarily) So, without further ado, let's get meditating... I mean get into the deck tech.

Meeting the Guru

Pathik was a minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender season two, where he helped Aang achieve the Avatar State.

...Ok, Azula. Slow down. I know you're foreshadowing something, but you can calm down. Sheesh.

Anyway, Pathik guided Aang into helping him prepare for his fateful fight with Fire Lord OzaiFire Lord Ozai. That said, he reappears in Aang's hallucinations from being extremely tired. An episode which, by the way, featured the legendary duel between Momo and Appa. Better for you to watch it than me tell you how that went down.

With Simic decks, you're going to ramp and draw, hoping to bore your opponents to death, winning that way. Heresy! Heresy, I say! We're going to focus on an archetype that should've been more at the forefront of Simic's domain: +1/+1 counters! However, Pathik has a twist to this, needing you to run Lessons, Sagas, and Shrines. Unfortunately, we only have a couple of Shrines available to us (more on that later), but the other two subtypes are more plentiful.

Dreaming of a Tale

Firstly, we'll cover the more populated subtype of the three. The Clone SagaThe Clone Saga's second chapter means you can make a second copy of Pathik (or any other creature you need. Two Summon: BahamutSummon: Bahamuts is outright terrifying!), though the first chapter is useful before you cast him. The noncreature Sagas serve more as utility rather than roleplayers.

However, special shout out to the Saga creatures from Final Fantasy. They mean Pathik will put any of these you choose to our hand, and they'll trigger his second ability, putting a +1/+1 counter on a creature we have. I do want to stress that you'll need different colored dice (or different kinds of dice) to designate what are lore counters and which ones are +1/+1 counters.

Learning a Lesson

With the release of the Avatar: The Last Airbender set, Lesson cards return for the first time since 2021, back in the Strixhaven: School of Mages set. That said, Lessons are only in one set for the time being: this one. We still have plenty to work with, though. Cycle of RenewalCycle of Renewal is ramp, while EnergybendingEnergybending fixes our mana for a turn. We even get colorless removal in Zuko's ExileZuko's Exile, which will come in handy against permanents that we can't typically remove.

Other Lessons of note include Sokka's HaikuSokka's Haiku (fun fact: the rules text is a haiku), which counters, cantrips, and untaps a land. While we won't be paying the kicker cost in a Universes Beyond-only iteration of this deck, Aang's JourneyAang's Journey makes sure we don't miss a land drop. Beyond those, again, they provide utility rather than anything too special. Perhaps a break from the typical Commander staples, no?

Count On

Now we get to the meat and potatoes of the build. Selesnya has hijacked a lot of Simic's +1/+1 design space in recent years, I feel, but switching out white for blue can be worth our while. For instance, Lyla, Holographic AssistantLyla, Holographic Assistant puts counters on creatures for each card we draw, while Fathom MageFathom Mage nets us a card for each counter put on it. Going in blue also gives us access to proliferate shenanigans, but I'll cover that later.

On top of the above, we have no shortage of token-doubling effects, and similar. Hardened ScalesHardened Scales and The Earth CrystalThe Earth Crystal will increase +1/+1 counter output, making our creatures monstrously huge. Speaking of monstrous, Maester SeymourMaester Seymour will dump counters each combat if he's got enough on him already. Meanwhile, both Bred for the HuntBred for the Hunt and Marcus, Mutant MayorMarcus, Mutant Mayor will draw us cards if a creature with at least one +1/+1 counter connects. In the latter case, Marcus will put a counter on that creature if it had none.

Lastly, Duskshell CrawlerDuskshell Crawler, Sphere GridSphere Grid, and Spider-Man, Miles MoralesSpider-Man, Miles Morales will give trample to all of those big creatures we've been building up, making it that much easier to close out games.

The Guru's Syllabus

Breath, and Focus

Ending the game with this deck should be a piece of cake. It's a case of simply bludgeoning our opponents into pancakes. The question is simply "with what?" While we accumulate counters as quickly as possible, there's a few all-stars that kick this game plan into overdrive. I already mentioned Maester Seymour earlier, but an even better one is Arwen, Weaver of HopeArwen, Weaver of Hope. As long as you put a bunch of counters on her (perhaps Forgotten AncientForgotten Ancient will help), any creature we cast will be monstrously huge as well.

While not related to +1/+1 counters, Secret of BloodbendingSecret of Bloodbending can tip the scales if timed well. Don't try to achieve the additional cost; it's impossible with this deck (unless Chasm SkulkerChasm Skulker somehow survives long enough to get 1o counters on it), but just altering someone else's combat step can swing things into your favor. Four blue mana is a hard ask for decks that use three or more colors, but it wouldn't be much of a problem here.

Finally, we have Sin, Unending CataclysmSin, Unending Cataclysm, which will pull all counters from multiple permanents, making it rival even the likes of Marit Lage. While it will take every counter from a given card, it has a special use with Sagas, allowing you to reuse each chapter, keeping them around longer. This is especially useful with the Saga creatures, since we can attack with them, too. Unfortunately, Sin doesn't have haste, so we have to hope he sticks around so you can attack with it.

Dreaming Beyond the Universe

Stretching our card pool to accommodate in-universe cards yields some benefits. Firstly, and most noticeable, is that our collection of Shrine cards skyrockets. We gain access to no less than six additional Shrines, but the answer always seems to be to run them all, be it with Go-Shintai of Life's OriginGo-Shintai of Life's Origin or the new Hei Bai, Forest GuardianHei Bai, Forest Guardian. Pathik would fit in the 99 of this deck, if you ask me.

Another major influx comes from Lesson cards. Again, we only have one other set dealing with them, but who knows? They might return in Secrets of Strixhaven. In any case, Introduction to AnnihilationIntroduction to Annihilation is colorless removal when we want it. Speaking of removal, Containment BreachContainment Breach is artifact/enchantment removal when it's warranted. If it's cheap enough, we get a token for the trouble.

Lastly, I need not tell you about the flood of Saga cards that would be available to us. It's down to utility and/or personal preference when it comes to them. Again, people should play with their favorites.

Back to the Waking World

While Pathik is a card that'll likely see play in the 99 of Commander decks, having it as a commander can be a nice, if easy, deckbuilding challenge. It certainly beats defaulting to some five-color glorified pile of good stuff, right? I will definitely be on the lookout for more cards from Avatar: The Last Airbender, including next week. Come back then when we cover...the Fire Lord.

Wait, there's three cards with the title? Can you guess which one I'm tackling next?