Iroh, Tea MasterIroh, Tea Master | Art by Brian Yuen

"Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing!" Welcome to a Commander deck tech focused on the man everyone wants to have tea with: Uncle Iroh! He's depicted on five different legendary creatures (and one Lesson), making him one of Avatar's most popular characters.

Today, we'll be brewing a deck with the most unique of the bunch: Iroh, Tea MasterIroh, Tea Master. This card asks us to be generous with our permanents, and rewards us for doing so by creating Ally creature tokens. It's a thematic, powerful commander. Let's get brewing (no pun intended) and see what Iroh can do!

What Does Iroh, Tea Master Do?

For , Iroh is a 2/2 Human Citizen Ally that creates a FoodFood token when he enters the battlefield. And, at the beginning of our combat step we can DonateDonate a permanent we control to an opponent. If we do, we get a 1/1 creature token and put a +1/+1 counter on that token for each permanent that we've given to our opponents.

I'm reminded of a few other commanders, and used their EDHREC pages to aid in the deckbuilding process. First, and most obviously, my mind went to Zidane, Tantalus ThiefZidane, Tantalus Thief. This recently-released Human Mutant Scout also benefits us when we donate things to our opponents. He was the first card to go in my 99.

I also took some inspiration from Blim, Comedic GeniusBlim, Comedic Genius' and The Beamtown BulliesThe Beamtown Bullies' lists, because they're full of permanents that will hurt our opponents. Some of the deck's best (or worst, depending on who you ask) cards came from these commander's EDHREC pages.

To that end, it feels much better to give our opponents something that actively damages their game plan (or is of little consequence to it) than it does to give them something that will help them advance towards victory. So, we'll load our deck up with permanents that we won't mind donating to our opponents and permanents that we actively want to give them.

We'll also include some ways to make good use of the buffed-up allies we create. These tokens will often serve as our win condition, so it's important that they're as strong as possible.

Key Cards for Iroh, Tea MasterIroh, Tea Master

First, let's talk about the permanents we'll be giving to our opponents. Cards like Steel GolemSteel Golem, Grid MonitorGrid Monitor, and Bronze BombshellBronze Bombshell will all instantly hurt our opponents when we donate them. Steel Golem and Grid Monitor are particularly potent against the Bracket 2 lists that this deck is likely to play against, as they'll be chock full of creature cards.

By far the most evil permanent that we can donate is Aggressive MiningAggressive Mining. While some decks will be able to sacrifice the creatures that we lend to them, far fewer opponents will be able to get rid of enchantments like this one. If we hand this to an unlucky opponent early enough in the game, it can hamstring their entire game plan.

Sure, it lets them sacrifice lands to draw extra cards, but that's of little consequence when they can't access enough mana to cast spells!

There's also a few creatures that'll hurt our opponents over time. Akroan HorseAkroan Horse, for example, will let everyone but one unlucky opponent make 1/1s on each of our upkeeps. These 1/1s can attack, block, and even be targets for later donation with Iroh.

Rust ElementalRust Elemental is another spicy include that can be particularly detrimental if we give it to the right opponent. Against all but the most dedicated artifact decks, this Elemental will ping an opponent for four life on each of their turns.

Should we need to donate something that's basically useless to other players, we can give them Goblin CadetsGoblin Cadets. This one-drop will usually be passed around the table with little impact on the combat step, but it contributes to the number of +1/+1 counters that Iroh puts on our creature tokens regardless of which opponent controls it.

There's a few other creatures that'll change hands without Iroh's help. Yes Man, Personal SecuritronYes Man, Personal Securitron is one of the more interesting designs from the Fallout Commander decks, and fits right in here. It passes itself to our opponents, gives us extra cards, and can even make us a whole bunch of 1/1 Soldier creature tokens when it leaves play. That's a lot of value for a card.

Humble DefectorHumble Defector is a fun creature from Tarkir that introduces some fun decision-making to the game. If our opponents pass the creature back and forth between each other, then Iroh will give us bigger creature tokens during combat. But, if they give it back to us, we get to draw extra cards. It's sure to make for some interesting games.

Khârn the BetrayerKhârn the Betrayer is similar, but its 5/1 stat line makes the combat step even more fun.

Notably, the creature tokens that we'll make on each of our combats are Allies. There's quite a few creatures from the Zendikar era with the keyword rally, meaning they'll trigger when other Allies enter the battlefield. There's a few cards from the Avatar set that have similar effects, just without the keyword ability.

An oldie but a goodie, Tuktuk ScrapperTuktuk Scrapper acts as removal for our opponents' best artifacts and a way to take some chunks out of their life total. It's rare for a creature to destroy valuable permanents and burn our opponents, but this Ally does both for just .

Resolute BlademasterResolute Blademaster is another old card, first printed over 10 years ago, but it still has a slot in this deck's 99. Notably, it gives all of our creatures double strike (regardless of their typing).

The last Ally-focused card I want to spotlight is the brand-new Sokka's ChargeSokka's Charge. This enchantment is cheap when compared to the likes of True ConvictionTrue Conviction, and will make our best creatures into terrifying attackers. Even a 2/2 or 3/3 Ally token is scary when it's got double strike and lifelink, meaning this new card is a slam dunk include.

How Does This Deck Win?

To make sure our Ally tokens are able to beat down our opponents, we've got even more ways to give them combat-relevant abilities. Double strike from Chocobo KnightsChocobo Knights and Urdnan, Dromoka WarriorUrdnan, Dromoka Warrior, lifelink from Abzan Battle PriestAbzan Battle Priest and Envoy of the AncestorsEnvoy of the Ancestors, and even the ability to tap down our opponents' best blockers with Elite ScaleguardElite Scaleguard.

My favorite, though, is Goro-Goro, Disciple of RyuseiGoro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei. This two-drop gives our creatures haste, and can even make us 5/5 flyers if we've got some extra mana during combat. Given this deck's color identity, that's about as good as it gets for +1/+1 counter synergies.

Other win conditions include the underplayed Forth Eorlingas!Forth Eorlingas!, which is one of the best gold cards ever printed. It can put a truly absurd amount of power and toughness onto the battlefield, and will often let us draw an extra card through the monarchy on our end step.

Dollmaker's Shop // Porcelain GalleryDollmaker's Shop // Porcelain Gallery is another superstar, letting us make tokens to give away in the early game before turning each of our creatures into huge beaters in the late game.

And, as a pseudo-OverrunOverrun effect, we've got Appa, the VigilantAppa, the Vigilant. The big guy can buff up our best creatures and give them evasion, meaning we can smash in for victory easily.

As the game goes on, we can grab the permanents we've donated to our opponents back with BrandBrand, Parting GustParting Gust, or Homeward PathHomeward Path for one big swing. Each of these cards has a low deckbuilding cost. Brand can be cycled away for just if we don't need it, Parting Gust can act as a creature removal spell in a pinch, and Homeward Path is a land that taps for .

Iroh, Tea Master Commander Deck List

Conclusion

That's it for this week, folks! I have to say, I'm really happy with the direction that Wizards of the Coast is taking . It was, up until relatively recently, a color combination known for little more than attacking. But, beginning in Strixhaven, we've seen some innovation for the color pair.

It cares about artifacts (Sami, Wildcat CaptainSami, Wildcat Captain), Equipment (Nahiri, Forged in FuryNahiri, Forged in Fury), legendary creatures (Djeru and HazoretDjeru and Hazoret), and even impulse draw (Pia Nalaar, Consul of RevivalPia Nalaar, Consul of Revival).

Recent releases have been pushing the Boros envelope more and more. While Iroh is far from the most powerful Avatar commander, he does provide an interesting base for deckbuilders to start from. I'm sure that as Magic explores more external IPs, we'll receive more ways to donate things to our opponents. The recent Final Fantasy set had Moogle shopkeepers that let players donate permanents to their opponents, and I'm sure that other video game-themed sets in the pipeline will have similar callouts for their in-game shops.

The future is bright for one of Magic's least beloved color pairs!

I'll see you all next week for yet another article!