Iroh, Grand LotusIroh, Grand Lotus | Art by Fahmi Fauzi

This week on Beyond the Multiverse, the series where I brew decks using only Universes Beyond cards, I'm doing one last deck tech from Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA). The character I'm showcasing today is one that could mostly be built from the set itself, barring one or maybe two other sets. He's one who, to the surprise of no one, is a fan favorite to everyone who's watched the show.

Who is it that I'm covering? Iroh, Grand LotusIroh, Grand Lotus.

Iroh, Grand LotusIroh, Grand Lotus

Zuko's uncle (and honestly, a better father than Ozai ever was) has much wisdom to give, be it to other characters in the show, or even to us. This is best showcased with a subtype that, before ATLA, showed up exactly one set before it.

I speak of Lessons.

Lessons got a massive boost with the set, providing an incredible amount of utility rather than being the draft chaff that it was in the past. With Iroh, he can recur them again for a single colorless mana. However, we also need other instants and sorceries to better support those Lesson cards.

Having said this, the natural direction for an Iroh deck is Spellslinging.

Key Cards for Iroh, Grand LotusIroh, Grand Lotus

Lessons to Be Learned

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Iroh's flashback-granting ability only applies on our turn, so we can't do any shenanigans on our opponents' turns. That said, we can still take advantage of this drawback. Like I said, Lessons tend to gravitate around being more utility-based.

Shared RootsShared Roots is a great example of this. It's a spell that's identical to Rampant GrowthRampant Growth, but it's also a Lesson, which is something Iroh can make cheaper when cast from the graveyard.

We also have Lesson spells that aren't clones of older spells, but rather unique ones. Whirlwind TechniqueWhirlwind Technique and Reckless BlazeReckless Blaze have effects that didn't exist in older sets, especially the former and its airbending ability. These are welcome additions to our Lesson repertoire, expanding what they could already do.

Chakra MeditationChakra Meditation ensures we don't need to discard cards if we have enough Lessons in the graveyard, yet letting us draw. It gets crazy when paired with Iroh, and enough Lessons to flash back in one turn (more on this soon).

Also, to better protect Iroh himself, as he sits at a hefty six mana, Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning will help keep removal off his back.

Other Homework

Of course, we'll need to complement those Lesson cards with non-Lesson instants and sorceries, whose main roles will essentially be filling in the blanks. That said, Iroh will have us pay full price for these, so I went with as many cheap non-Lessons as I could.

On the one hand, there's cheap cantrips like OptOpt and ConsiderConsider, which are easily castable from the graveyard with Iroh's ability. On the other, we have Wreck and RebuildWreck and Rebuild, which will either give us a land (while fueling the yard for Iroh!) or destroying an artifact or enchantment.

The main deckbuilding advice I'll give about Iroh is exactly all this. We need to keep our non-Lesson spells cheap. That way, we can easily flash them back with Iroh.

In addendum, what the Lesson cards don't cover, our non-Lesson cards should cover the rest of the bases.

Iroh, Grand Lotus Commander Deck List

Experience Is the Best Teacher

Remember the point I said I'd come back to? Basically, it's how we win. Not only do we have effects like Longshot, Rebel BowmanLongshot, Rebel Bowman, but also casting multiple spells in one turn gets us there. We'll eventually have enough instants and sorceries to flash back that we could pull off an explosive turn. During that time, we'll have finished setting up. The trick is to get enough Lesson cards in the bin to make this possible.

Since Iroh only reduces Lessons to a single mana, we'll need enough of them to make it happen. Alternatively, we have cards like Storm, Force of NatureStorm, Force of Nature and Storm of MemoriesStorm of Memories.

Secondly, the other way is through the likes of GuttersnipeGuttersnipe and its ilk. I already mentioned Longshot, who's among the best of these, but Fiery InscriptionFiery Inscription is just as good. In addition, Erebor FlamesmithErebor Flamesmith has a weaker effect, but can come out sooner. So, too, does Exalted Flamer of TzeentchExalted Flamer of Tzeentch, but that also recurs your spells to use again.

Spreading Our Teachings

Expanding our horizons into in-universe sets gives us some major boons. Above all, the most important card to add is Storm-Kiln ArtistStorm-Kiln Artist. With this, we can keep chaining Lessons with Iroh by using the Treasure tokens the Artist makes.

In addition, Birgi, God of StorytellingBirgi, God of Storytelling functions in an identical fashion. So, too, does Doc Aurlock, Grizzled GeniusDoc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius, except the Lesson cards will be free. Not only that, but the non-Lesson cards become much cheaper, too!

Meanwhile, we get access to the remaining Lesson cards. However, a lot of these aren't worth it. There's a few standouts, like Introduction to ProphecyIntroduction to Prophecy, but nothing significant to write home about. But, it'd still be at home with Iroh. I can only imagine what a deck would look like if we ran just Lesson cards for our instants and sorceries.

Our win conditions get much better here, too. Examples include Ignite MemoriesIgnite Memories and Brain FreezeBrain Freeze. So, once you finish setting up, and your opponents can't stop you, go nuts (without the squirrels, of course)!

Class's End

I doubt this'll be the last time we'll get a stronger focus on Lessons. Perhaps we'll see them in a certain in-universe set this year?

Coming soon is Lorwyn Eclipsed, and that set's looking really cool. That next one won't be our traditional Universes Beyond article, but instead, it'll be 100 percent in-universe. But that won't mean I don't have some restrictive shenanigans in place. Tune in next week to see what I have in store for you.