Aang and KataraAang and Katara | Art by Brian Yuen

I have to say, I'm more excited about Avatar: The Last Airbender than any Universes Beyond set in a long while! The TV show had memorable and fun characters to make legendary creatures out of, and the fantasy setting and magic system fits quite well into the overall Magic: The Gathering vibe.

Today I'm bringing a Commander deck tech built around Aang and KataraAang and Katara, a card that represents two of the major characters from the show.

The evolving relationship between the waterbender Katara and the last airbender Aang is one of the sweetest parts of the show, and this card beautifully depicts the "and they lived happily ever after" ending that we all hoped for.

What Does Aang and KataraAang and Katara Do?

You know I love higher mana commanders! Aang and KataraAang and Katara costs six mana, but it's certainly worth the wait. Whenever Aang and KataraAang and Katara enter or attack, create X 1/1 white Ally creature tokens, where X is the number of tapped artifacts and/or creatures you control. Usually you'll first cast them after attacking with some number of creatures, netting you a handful of Ally tokens, and then each time you attack you'll get to make even more.

Blink effects can be handy too in order to make even more tokens before your untap step.

There are other commanders with a similar attack trigger, though each of these require a bit of setup before they get really out of hand, while Aang and KataraAang and Katara just look for tapped creatures and artifacts. But I don't see any that get that big trigger upon entering as well, which accounts for the higher mana cost due to the extra ability.

Aang and KataraAang and Katara's token ability supports a go-wide strategy, where you're looking to swarm your opponents' defenses. You could lean hard into token synergies, but I opted to fill out the deck with Ally creatures and Ally synergies that will get turbo-charged from Aang and KataraAang and Katara's trigger.

Key Cards for Aang and KataraAang and Katara

The first cards I went looking for were other versions of Katara and Aang for flavor that would also fit well into the strategy.

Katara, the FearlessKatara, the Fearless doubles Ally triggers which can really get things cooking. The waterbend of Katara, Water Tribe's HopeKatara, Water Tribe's Hope is a nice way to tap down creatures and artifacts outside of combat to maximize Aang and KataraAang and Katara's trigger.

Similarly, Katara, Bending ProdigyKatara, Bending Prodigy and Aang, Swift SaviorAang, Swift Savior have very useful waterbend abilities too.

I went looking for more waterbend cards, and Waterbender AscensionWaterbender Ascension went right into the deck. Going wide should charge up the quest counters quickly and turn it into a sweet card drawing engine, and being able to make Aang and KataraAang and Katara unblockable is very useful.

Yue, the Moon SpiritYue, the Moon Spirit is an excellent way to deploy one of the more expensive Ally cards before casting the commander. Waterbender's RestorationWaterbender's Restoration is a fantastic way to protect your commander or other key creature from removal.

Spirit Water RevivalSpirit Water Revival is an excellent way to refill your hand, while Crashing WaveCrashing Wave and Water WhipWater Whip are fantastic ways to tap down blockers before attacking with the commander.

I next went looking for convoke cards since that's another way to tap creatures outside of combat. Wand of the WorldsoulWand of the Worldsoul is cool because it can give any spell convoke, while Web of Life and DestinyWeb of Life and Destiny can potentially tap eight creatures down to pay its mana cost and then sit around generating value each turn.

Obelisk of UrdObelisk of Urd is perfect in a typal deck that wants to go wide, boosting each Ally by +2/+2. Nissa's ExpeditionNissa's Expedition can tap a bunch of creatures to cast and later help you pay the commander tax on Aang and KataraAang and Katara if something unfortunate happens.

I could have played a lot of creatures and artifact mana sources that tap for mana, but the deck is already going to be vulnerable to sweepers, so I instead looked for some cards that grant mana abilities to whatever creatures are on the battlefield, like Great Divide GuideGreat Divide Guide and Cryptolith RiteCryptolith Rite. Elven ChorusElven Chorus does that and then provides extra goodness too.

Crewing Vehicles is another way to tap creatures for profit, so I peppered in a few. Lifecraft EngineLifecraft Engine happens to also boost typal go-wide strategies too. Thunderous VelocipedeThunderous Velocipede is another Vehicle that boosts your creatures, while Golden ArgosyGolden Argosy is a way to blink Aang and KataraAang and Katara and get more triggers.

I went looking for other ways to blink the commander, and so Momentary BlinkMomentary Blink and EphemerateEphemerate made it into the deck. Airbender AscensionAirbender Ascension works well too: you can cast it after you attack with Aang and KataraAang and Katara to airbend them, and then cast them again for two mana, easily generating a bunch more Ally tokens and fully charging the enchantment to blink them again.

See, the deck isn't all just Katara's waterbend!

Avatar: The Last Airbender has a lot of support for Ally typal decks. Allied TeamworkAllied Teamwork brings a friend and boosts all your Ally creatures by +1/+1. Invasion TacticsInvasion Tactics enters and provides a significant boost, and then sticks around and lets your Ally creatures that deal combat damage to opponents draw you a card. South Pole VoyagerSouth Pole Voyager gains life and draws an extra card here and there.

United FrontUnited Front is another new card that fits well, providing a bunch of Ally triggers and boosting your team. Then there are classic Ally synergy cards like Harabaz DruidHarabaz Druid for mana and Sea Gate LoremasterSea Gate Loremaster for card draw.

Speaking of Ally triggers, there are a bunch of awesome ones from earlier Magic sets. Ondu ClericOndu Cleric can gain a ton of life, while Kabira EvangelKabira Evangel can make it difficult or impossible for opponents to block your attacks. Turntimber RangerTurntimber Ranger can find Wolf tokens to join the Ally pack, while growing larger and larger.

Hero of Goma FadaHero of Goma Fada's trigger makes your team indestructible for the turn, and Lantern ScoutLantern Scout giving your team lifelink is an excellent way to race.

Talus PaladinTalus Paladin is another way to give your team lifelink, while growing itself larger and larger. The new Earth Kingdom ProtectorsEarth Kingdom Protectors is an excellent way to protect Aang and KataraAang and Katara from destroy effects.

Allies provide a ton of synergy already, but I added a few more typal support cards that seemed worth it in RealmwalkerRealmwalker, Renewed SolidarityRenewed Solidarity, and Distant MelodyDistant Melody.

Typal decks, especially go-wide versions, suffer worse from battlefield sweepers, so I've got a few ways to protect the team with Hakoda, Selfless CommanderHakoda, Selfless Commander and Duty Beyond DeathDuty Beyond Death.

How Does This Aang and KataraAang and Katara Commander Deck Win?

As per usual, I built this deck to thrive in a chill Bracket 2 (Core) Commander pod, where games have time to breathe and creature combat wins games. In many go-wide creature strategies, you'd play Craterhoof BehemothCraterhoof Behemoth as your game-ending haymaker. Unfortunately, the 'Hoof isn't an Ally, so putting that in the deck would offend my typal sensibilities.

Lucky for us, we have "'Hoof at Home," with Ally cards Appa, the VigilantAppa, the Vigilant and Tajuru WarcallerTajuru Warcaller each combining with the commander Aang and KataraAang and Katara's trigger to 'Hoof us to victory. I mean, Bison have hooves, right? Yip, yip!

There's also the powerful Akroma's WillAkroma's Will that can do a pretty good job of ending games in one smashing good combat step; but even if you don't win on the spot, the life swing will put you and your crew in a dominating position to bring balance to the elements and victory over tyranny.

Aang and KataraAang and Katara Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Aang and KataraAang and Katara makes for a powerful and fun commander that shouldn't be too strong or oppressive if your opponents plays a reasonable amount of interaction and creature control. Otherwise, like most typal strategies, things will eventually snowball your way to victory. The waterbend elements give the deck a pretty sweet gameplay dimension you don't typically see in go-wide strategies.

I did want to point out that I'm running the indestructible dual-lands Thornglint BridgeThornglint Bridge, Tanglepool BridgeTanglepool Bridge, and Razortide BridgeRazortide Bridge because each one will count as an extra Ally for Aang and KataraAang and Katara triggers, assuming they are tapped. I didn't run more artifact lands because I didn't want to make myself more vulnerable to a sweeper like VandalblastVandalblast.

Which other cards would you run in a Commander deck built around Aang and KataraAang and Katara? Would you be leaning into the Ally synergies, or push further into token-making strategies?

Read More:

Learning Lessons With Iroh, Grand Lotus in Commander

The Best New Commanders From Avatar: The Last Airbender