Katara, Waterbending MasterKatara, Waterbending Master | Art by Yueko

Welcome to a deck tech for Master of WavesMaster of Waves! Wait a minute, that's not quite right. Let's try that one more time... Welcome to a deck tech for Katara, Waterbending MasterKatara, Waterbending Master!

Katara, despite almost sharing a name with a beloved Merfolk, is actually a fantastic new commander that was printed as part of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Eternal release. I think she's the most powerful of the "bending master" cycle from that product, so I'm super excited to write an article about her.

What Does Katara, Waterbending MasterKatara, Waterbending Master Do?

For , Katara is a 1/3 Human Warrior Ally. Whenever we cast a spell during an opponent's turn, she gives us an experience counter. Then, whenever she attacks, we may draw a card for each experience counter we have before discarding one card.

Considering how easily -based decks can cast spells at instant speed, we'll rack up a ton of experience counters to draw more cards than we know what to do with.

To make the most of our commander, we'll cast a ton of spells on our opponents' turns. That means counterspells and removal, of course, but we've also got some more interesting includes to ensure we're not too mean to our tablemates over the course of the game.

If you're a true mage, or just like playing the game on other people's turns, this deck is for you. Let's get brewing!

Key Cards for Katara

Lucky for us, Wizards of the Coast have provided increasingly high quality flash threats for -based decks.

Creatures like Faerie VandalFaerie Vandal can hit the board early, both triggering Katara and growing larger as the game goes on. Sicarian InfiltratorSicarian Infiltrator and Faerie MastermindFaerie Mastermind can act as sweet card advantage engines, and both creatures let us dump mana into them as the game goes on for a bigger effect.

We've got one more card from Avatar here too: The Unagi of Kyoshi IslandThe Unagi of Kyoshi Island. This is a better version of Faerie Mastermind, albeit at a much higher mana cost.

We've got some more unique effects too, like a Fish Horror that steals ETB abilities. Aboleth SpawnAboleth Spawn is one of the strangest creatures printed in Commander Legends: Baldur's Gate, but it's one of the most powerful too. This is the second week in a row that I've included this creature in one of my deck lists, so I hope that my feelings towards this creature are clear.

We've also got a trio of clones that we can cast at instant speed. Malleable ImpostorMalleable Impostor, Mocking DoppelgangerMocking Doppelganger, and Stunt DoubleStunt Double are all riffs on the classic CloneClone that let us get experience counters with Katara's ability.

And, given our deck's color identity, we've got access to some of the best control pieces in all of Magic. One of my favorites is Misleading SignpostMisleading Signpost. While I'm typically not the biggest fan of three-mana rocks, this card does enough to warrant inclusion in most any monocolored deck.

Redirecting an attacker, à la Portal MagePortal Mage, can save our life in a close game. Especially in a deck like this, I'll happily trade Portal Mage's 2/2 stat line for access to an extra mana every turn. Recently released cards like Floodpits DrownerFloodpits Drowner pair well with older staples like Brazen BorrowerBrazen Borrower to give us answers to most any threat our opponents bring to the table.

I've also included Reenact the CrimeReenact the Crime for a bit of graveyard hate. I like to include at least one such piece in each of my decks, given just how frequently Commander decks make at least mild use of the graveyard. It's admittedly somewhat of a "silver bullet," meaning it'll be incredibly effective against specific deck archetypes while having minimal use against others, but it makes me feel more comfortable including it in my 99. This instant is a sort of Magic security blanket, if you will.

The majority of this deck's power is wrapped up in our commander. She provides us with the card advantage we'll need to win, and will therefore be a prime target for opposing interaction. Plus, in order to actually draw cards with her, we need to attack with a vanilla 1/3. So, let's talk about the ways this deck has to protect her.

First up is Lost in the MazeLost in the Maze, which pulls double duty as a light removal spell and protection for Katara. This enchantment is pretty cool, but finds itself in only 0.5% of eligble decks on EDHREC. That's likely because of its initial printing in Murders at Karlov Manor, a deeply unpopular release.

Speaking of mazes, Maze of IthMaze of Ith can help protect our commander too. By untapping Katara and removing her from combat after we've gotten her attack trigger, we can ensure an opponent doesn't just kill her with a blocker. Then we've got one of my favorite cards, Fae FlightFae Flight. Also printed in MKM, this Aura provides protection from opposing interaction and provides evasion to our commander. While this enchantment is far from the strongest way to make a creature hard to block, I think it's a great include in low-color decks looking to protect their commander in and out of combat.

I want to touch on a few cards that accelerate our experience counter production. Sure, it's nice to get a counter whenever we cast a spell on an opponent's turn, but we can do better than that.

Dreamtide WhaleDreamtide Whale and Aetheric AmplifierAetheric Amplifier, for example, can repeatedly boost the number of experience we have. Although Dreamtide Whale does have vanishing, we're unlikely to ever actually need to sacrifice it due to how prevalent double spelling is in Commander. I've also chosen to include Serum SnareSerum Snare and Karn's BastionKarn's Bastion, cards that provide us with things that every commander deck needs (removal and mana, respectively) while also proliferating our counters.

How Does This Deck Win?

After casting a bunch of spells and drawing a ton of cards, how can we actually win the game? Well, we've got a whole bunch of ways to turn card advantage into other forms of advantage. In the mid-to-late game, when we're drawing five or more cards with each Katara trigger, cards like Ominous SeasOminous Seas and Psychosis CrawlerPsychosis Crawler become real, game-ending threats. Ominous Seas' 8/8 tokens, and Psychosis Crawler's life loss can make quick work of our opponents.

And, even in earlier stages of the game, Alandra, Sky DreamerAlandra, Sky Dreamer can make us a few evasive 2/2s to swing in for damage with. Plus, when we're drawing extra cards later, she can turn those tokens into lethal attackers.

Failing that, I've also included a cheeky alternate win condition in our 99. Twenty-Toed ToadTwenty-Toed Toad's 20-card-in-hand requirement for victory may seem lofty, but we're a mono- deck that's focused explicitly on drawing cards! We'll be able to get a hold of those cards quite easily, meaning we simply need to attack with the Frog Wizard to win.

By controlling the board at instant speed, and drawing a ton of cards with our commander, this deck can close out games easily.

Katara, Waterbending Master Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Before you go, I wanted to talk a bit more in-depth about a special Avatar card in this deck. Wan Shi Tong, LibrarianWan Shi Tong, Librarian is a near perfect fit for this list. The owl is a crazy strong card advantage engine that can be flashed in on an opponent's turn, and it's my pick for the strongest card in the whole Avatar set.

I think it may even see cEDH play, filling a similar role as Archivist of OghmaArchivist of Oghma. Its casting cost means it can even be a way to spend extra mana, if we've got any on hand.

Overall, this set seems to have landed well with the Magic player base. From cool cards like Wan Shi Tong to silly references like It'll Quench Ya!It'll Quench Ya!, the set has a little something for everyone.

Avatar is one of my favorite Universes Beyond products to date. I'm far from the biggest fan of UB, but have enjoyed this product more than I did some other releases this year. It feels closer to an in-universe Magic set than many other external IPs have, which I think plays a big role in its success.

But what do you think? What's the most powerful card from this set? Do you even like the set in the first place? Please do let me know your thoughts in the comments below. And I'll see you all again next week for another article!