Toph, the First MetalbenderToph, the First Metalbender | Art by Eilene Cherie | Fire Lord AzulaFire Lord Azula | Art by Fahmi Fauzi | Fire Lord ZukoFire Lord Zuko | Art by Jo Cordisco | Avatar AangAvatar Aang | Art by Fahmi Fauzi | Iroh, Grand LotusIroh, Grand Lotus | Art by Fahmi Fauzi

Hey nerds! Today we're having fun ranking all of the rare and mythic Avatar: The Last Airbender commanders. Given the number of commanders in this set, I'll be splitting the fun ranking up between the main set and Avatar: The Last Airbender Eternal. So tune in next week for the other fun ranking!

Of course, each person's definition of fun differs, so I might rate a commander lower or higher than you. That doesn't mean I think it's bad or that you're bad for playing them, and, to be clear, this is for casual EDH only. Also, I won't be covering any uncommon commanders here.

And make sure to checkout EDHREC's Avatar: The Last Airbender deck techs.

The ranks are as follows:

• Want to Build: I'm interested in building these commanders. Their effect could be unique or a new take on an old mechanic I like.
• Fun: These are close to wanting to build, but I'm not going out of my way to brew a list for myself.
• Could Be Fun: These commanders are powerful and don't pull you in a single direction, but because of that, it allows you to build weird strategies with a powerful engine, or have unique build paths that could work.
• Fun in the 99: Sometimes commanders are printed for 60-card Magic or to support a theme. I don't want to call them not fun, since they usually are fun. But just not fun as the leader of a deck.
• Not Fun: This is usually reserved for older commanders who are seven-mana vanilla creatures, something way too jank, or are too salt-inducing for my taste.

Appa, Steadfast GuardianAppa, Steadfast Guardian

A powerful, blink commander. I love that Appa is both an enabler and protection spell from the command zone. And he works great with other airbending creatures like Aang, Airbending MasterAang, Airbending Master or Aang, the Last AirbenderAang, the Last Airbender.

Fun Rank: Fun

Bennie Smith's deck tech here

Hakoda, Selfless CommanderHakoda, Selfless Commander

This is a great role-player in the 99 of an Ally deck. Several multicolored Ally commanders in the set are more interesting than Hakoda. He'll be perfect in the 99 of those decks. But it's underwhelming as a standalone commander.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

Momo, Friendly FlierMomo, Friendly Flier

A weak, but cute flying matters commander. The cost reduction is only during your turn, which is unfortunate. And he doesn't receive counters, just +1/+1 until the end of the turn. I'd rather see Momo in the 99 of a deck instead of at the helm. Also, you can SkullclampSkullclamp him.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

Tyler Bucks' deck tech here

Suki, Courageous RescuerSuki, Courageous Rescuer

I was getting excited reading Suki until the end. I don't love when an ability can only trigger once each turn. And on top of that, this ability is restricted to only your turn. Sadly, she'll be relegated to the 99 of decks instead of at the helm.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

The Mechanist, Aerial ArtisanThe Mechanist, Aerial Artisan

A simple but powerful artifact-focused commander. There're several effects that turn your mountain of Clues into creatures. Notably, Rise and ShineRise and Shine or Cyberdrive AwakenerCyberdrive Awakener are great cheap finishers.

Fun Rank: Fun

The Unagi of Kyoshi IslandThe Unagi of Kyoshi Island

A great card for the 99 of Sea Creature decks.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

Ty Lee, Chi BlockerTy Lee, Chi Blocker

An absolute powerhouse in limited, but not so much as a commander. There are more interesting and powerful Voltron commanders.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

Wan Shi Tong, LibrarianWan Shi Tong, Librarian

I'd bet money that Wan Shi Tong is the next mono-blue staple. It scales with the power of the table, as lower-powered decks don't search often. I could even see them as a Land Destruction commander that forces opponents to shuffle their decks.

Fun Rank: Could be Fun

Yue, the Moon SpiritYue, the Moon Spirit

Do you love OmniscienceOmniscience and One with the MultiverseOne with the Multiverse? Well, do I have the commander for you. You can't cheat in Eldrazi or Blightsteel ColossusBlightsteel Colossus, but that's okay. Just get Omniscience into play, then cast Ulamog, the DefilerUlamog, the Defiler.

Fun Rank: Could be Fun

Alejandro Fuentes' deck tech here

Koh, the Face StealerKoh, the Face Stealer

I love that you aren't forced to exile nontoken creatures. You can't stack abilities, but you can pay one life to swap between abilities. If you have an undying creature and Walking BallistaWalking Ballista in exile with a sacrifice outlet in play, you can go infinite, assuming you can gain life.

Fun Rank: Fun

Mai, Scornful StrikerMai, Scornful Striker

A mono-black group slug commander that also pings you. It's cheap enough to cast several times during the game, and the life loss, while small, will add up over several turns. Notably, it's only noncreature spells.

Fun Rank: Could be Fun

The Fire Nation DrillThe Fire Nation Drill

The salt shaker of doom! It'll go directly into the 99 of Vehicle decks, but not as a commander.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

Ran and ShawRan and Shaw

As standalone commanders, they aren't the worst. I can't wait to try these in the 99 of a Dragon or Lesson deck.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

Zhao, the Moon SlayerZhao, the Moon Slayer

If you've ever wanted to run Blood MoonBlood Moon as a commander, for some reason, now you can. I thought his activated ability was downright awful, until I remembered you can firebend to pay for it. However, I don't think having a Blood Moon in the command zone leads to fun experiences.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

The Earth KingThe Earth King

If you love ramping ForestForests and playing big dumb creatures, The Earth King should be right up your alley. Unlike a lot of these effects, it cares about how many creatures you're attacking with. If you earthbend your lands, you can ramp using lands. Plus, the flavor of an earthbending Earth King deck is on point.

Fun Rank: Fun

Aang, Swift SaviorAang, Swift Savior

Reminds me of Venser, Shaper SavantVenser, Shaper Savant, and is the only card that airbends spells. The back side of Aang is the most interesting commander and what I'd focus on building. I do like having an instant speed way to disrupt your opponent or airbend your own creature. And the back quickly becomes a big beat stick.

Fun Rank: Fun

Katara, Water Tribe's HopeKatara, Water Tribe's Hope

This ability, while restricted to your turn, isn't restricted to sorcery speed. If you want to build Katara, I'd highly recommend Tetsuko Umezawa, FugitiveTetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive. You can make all your creatures into 1/1s, then, before damage, waterbend again and buff the team.

Fun Rank: Fun

Azula, Cunning UsurperAzula, Cunning Usurper

Quick rules note: the reminder text for Azula doesn't count towards the color identity of the commander, so this Azula is strictly Dimir (). With that in mind, this is a card for the 99. If you wanted to build this, I'd suggest you blink or use Feign DeathFeign Death effects to trigger her enters ability.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

Ozai, the Phoenix KingOzai, the Phoenix King

This is effectively four mana for a 7/7 with some powerful keywords. It'll be trivial to get six red mana to turn on his second ability, at which point you start knocking people out left and right. Getting infinite combats will be a breeze with Aggravated AssaultAggravated Assault and firebenders.

Fun Rank: Fun

Zuko, ConflictedZuko, Conflicted

We've seen this effect before on commanders like Sol'Kanar the TaintedSol'Kanar the Tainted. My biggest concern is that we don't have access to blue for blink effects. But he comes down early, provides some advantage, and then you can sacrifice him to High MarketHigh Market or Phyrexian TowerPhyrexian Tower. Okay, you could also use Homeward PathHomeward Path to steal him back.

Fun Rank: Fun

Bumi, UnleashedBumi, Unleashed

Get an Ashaya, Soul of the WildAshaya, Soul of the Wild into play to watch your opponents cry. Gruul has plenty of protection and haste enablers to combo seemingly out of nowhere while keeping it safe. Even if you don't get Ashaya out, giving Bumi double strike lets you get two additional combat steps, and you untap your lands twice. I'm down to smack people with trees and rocks.

Fun Rank:  Fun

Toph, Hardheaded TeacherToph, Hardheaded Teacher

The first ability is solid, allowing you to rummage when she enters. This is one of the weird times I wish an ability were a bit more restrictive. I'd lean into the Lesson theme to put more counters on my lands. And if I'm reading her ability correctly, if you have Hardened ScalesHardened Scales in play and cast a Lesson, the land would get four counters in total. Two from the initial earthbend, then two more from it being a Lesson since they are separate instances.

Fun Rank:  Want to Build

Sokka, Bold BoomerangerSokka, Bold Boomeranger

We've seen this style of commander several times in the last few years. Sokka isn't anything special and is easily replaced. He's a great roleplayer in the 99 of an artifact or Lesson deck.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

Kara Blinebry's deck tech here

Iroh, Tea MasterIroh, Tea Master

The range of Iroh decks is going to be massive. You'll have your friendly Iroh, who'll give away tokens. There'll be rude versions that give away Nine LivesNine Lives style cards. And the most interesting option is building an Iroh Aura deck. If you give your creature All That GlittersAll That Glitters then give it to an opponent, your creature is still enchanted.

Fun Rank: Could be Fun

Cooper Gottfried's deck tech here

The Lion-TurtleThe Lion-Turtle

A mana dork in the command zone. Nothing super inspiring here, even if you're a Lesson deck. Only adds one mana and has fine stats.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

Fire Lord AzulaFire Lord Azula

Unlike the first Azula, this one is actually Grixis. I love that her effect is restricted enough that you need to work for it, but not so bad that it's impossible to trigger. It can copy permanent spells, not just instants or sorceries. You'll want to include some haste enablers so you can get value as fast as possible.

Fun Rank: Fun

Toph, the First MetalbenderToph, the First Metalbender

This Toph is a unique combination of artifact and land commander. Your Mishra's BaubleMishra's Bauble triggers Lotus CobraLotus Cobra and Tireless TrackerTireless Tracker, which is why she specifies nontoken artifacts. And just because your artifacts don't tap for mana as lands, that doesn't mean you can't use Chromatic LanternChromatic Lantern to give them that ability.

Fun Rank:Fun

Owain Roberts' deck tech here

Aang, at the CrossroadsAang, at the Crossroads

My biggest concern with Aang is the delayed trigger. He doesn't transform immediately, so you'll need to wait a full turn to use his back side. And his back isn't interesting enough for me to put him in the command zone.

Fun Rank: Could be Fun

Joshua Wood's deck tech here

Katara, the FearlessKatara, the Fearless

Doubling triggers is a powerful and fun effect, especially when the set is full of Allies with enters abilities. The issue I have is there is only one way to build this commander. You'll put 32 of your favorite Allies into the deck, and it'll be good.

Fun Rank: Fun

Jeremy Rowe's deck tech here

Fire Lord ZukoFire Lord Zuko

I don't consider flavor for this ranking, but the flavor here is incredible. I'd want to lean hard into the theme by loading up on air and firebenders. Even if you don't embrace the theme, Mardu blink or cascade isn't something you see often.

Fun Rank: Want to Build

Josh Nelson's deck tech here

Iroh, Grand LotusIroh, Grand Lotus

Six mana is a lot for a commander, but giving all your Lessons flashback for is insane. You can cast a Mascot ExhibitionMascot Exhibition for a ton of value or Reckless BlazeReckless Blaze to clear the board. There are 49 Lessons in Temur colors, which is more than enough to pick the best 20 or 30.

Fun Rank: Want to Build

Bennie Smith's deck tech here

Sokka, Tenacious TacticianSokka, Tenacious Tactician

If you've ever wanted a Monastery MentorMonastery Mentor in the command zone, well, now you can. Sokka is great even if you focus on Allies instead of noncreature spells. Or you can use airbending creatures to get the best of both worlds by airbending your noncreature spells.

Fun Rank: Want to Build

Avatar AangAvatar Aang

This set's five-color mechanic-matters commander. Now, this is better than some of the other options we've seen. And after looking at the entire set, it'll be trivial to transform Aang. If you do plan on building Aang, pick up a copy of MoonmistMoonmist. It's a fog that can transform him at instant speed. Maybe toss that under an Isochron ScepterIsochron Scepter for extra value?

Fun Rank: Fun

The Walls of Ba Sing SeThe Walls of Ba Sing Se

Big wall. Blocks good. Dies to OverkillOverkill.

Fun Rank: Fun in the 99

Conclusion

Overall, Avatar: The Last Airbender is a Universes Beyond set done well and right. The setting makes sense for Magic's traditional setting. There isn't a single card here I'd hate to see across from me. The only exception might be Zhao, but that's because I have greedy mana bases.

My Fun Rank for the set as a whole is Fun. There are several commanders I want to build, many I can't wait to see in the wild and even more cards that will find homes in my decks.