Hama, the BloodbenderHama, the Bloodbender | Art by Le Vuong

I've built two decks from Avatar: The Last Airbender already, but I still think there's more to unpack here. Scrolling through the uncommon creatures, I see multiple strong commanders, but one in particular has caught my eye.

Hama, the BloodbenderHama, the Bloodbender is a creature all about stealing spells, and for me specifically, that's really appealing. The thing is, I love Pauper, but I don't actually have a Pauper pod. Most people just prefer to play Commander with all the cards, so I'm kind of on my own when it comes to playing commons, and that means I typically run my PDH decks against three other decks with much stronger cards in them. So if I can take those cards for myself, I can raise the power of my deck to match the table.

Regardless of the circumstances, Hama is always gonna be a powerful commander. Casting spells by tapping artifacts or creatures? Hama is basically turning all your artifacts into mana rocks, which we can hopefully use to cast some crazy spells. I see a lot of potential in this commander, and I think this Pauper Commander deck is gonna come together with ease.

Blink and You'll Miss Me

But... all of its abilities are just on an ETB, which means we have to recast Hama over and over again if we want that effect. Man, if only there were a super easy way to retrigger enter the battlefield abilities without replaying our commander.

Ok, obviously there is: blink spells. Blue has six or seven really great ones, like Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker, DisplaceDisplace, and Teferi's Time TwistTeferi's Time Twist, but that's not quite enough.

To supplement this strategy, we'll have to lean into my favorite Pauper hack: treating Not Dead After AllNot Dead After All like a blink spell. This is a strategy straight out of Modern, from when players would evoke GriefGrief and cast Undying MaliceUndying Malice on it, getting a free creature and two triggers off its ETB. We can do the same here with Hama and Not Dead After AllNot Dead After All, or Undying MaliceUndying Malice, Undying EvilUndying Evil, and Supernatural StaminaSupernatural Stamina.

The only difference is that we have to find a creative way to sacrifice our commander.

Normally I'd rely on Carrion FeederCarrion Feeder for this part, because it's easy to cast, and it allows us to sacrifice our commander at literally any time, but I think there's a better alternative here. Deadly DisputeDeadly Dispute is already a great card, but in this deck it makes a mana rock in addition to drawing two cards! Top notch value, and we've got a good amount of functional copies.

Fanatical OfferingFanatical Offering also makes a functional mana rock, while Corrupted ConvictionCorrupted Conviction and Village RitesVillage Rites are just one mana for two cards. Pair these with our revival spells, and it's two or three mana to blink our commander, steal from our opponents, and draw several cards. Absolutely spectacular card advantage, and it's pretty consistent.

Plus, these cards are all instants, so we can do this right before our turn, leaving our resources up along with a response to removal.

Reuse and Recycle

That's pretty much everything we need to repeatedly use our commander, just a lightweight blink package. That leaves us plenty of space for the artifacts we need to cast big spells. Our goal is simply to have a huge mass of random artifacts on the board that can pay for anything, and it's honestly super easy to do that, because Wizards prints artifact cards like they're landfill waste.

But then they also print cards that treat artifacts like gold? I mean, Hama literally lets us use ScrapScrap like an Arcane SignetArcane Signet. Well, we'll take advantage of it.

Now, we probably shouldn't fill our deck with cards that are useless without our commander, but we'll definitely skirt that line. Cards like Prized StatuePrized Statue, Nimblewright SchematicNimblewright Schematic, and Blood FountainBlood Fountain are great, bringing in two bodies for just one card in hand. We'll continue that theme with Goldvein PickGoldvein Pick and Prying BladePrying Blade, Equipment that can continuously churn out artifacts if we've got a decent attacker. That's not guaranteed, but creatures like Ornithopter of ParadiseOrnithopter of Paradise can do the job.

To make sure that these cards aren't actually junk without our commander, we'll play a few spells that can take advantage of them in other ways. I already mentioned Deadly DisputeDeadly Dispute and Reckoner's BargainReckoner's Bargain, which can sacrifice them for card draw, but there's also Cranial PlatingCranial Plating, which will make a creature terrifying, or Moonsnare PrototypeMoonsnare Prototype, which simply produces mana.

The best card, however, is definitely ThoughtcastThoughtcast, which will draw two cards for just a single blue pip. Then we'll support all those artifacts with Etherium SculptorEtherium Sculptor and Foundry InspectorFoundry Inspector, often reducing their costs to zero.

See what I mean about Wizards treating cards mean to be junk like gold? The artifact strategy is overpowered no matter where you go, and I'm quite enjoying it.

Looking in Dimir

Finally, we've got to top this deck off with removal and responses. That's gonna be no trouble at all, because we're in the colors of murder and manipulation.

Arcane DenialArcane Denial, CounterspellCounterspell, and NegateNegate are all classics when it comes to being a massive jerk, and we can back them up with Go for the ThroatGo for the Throat, Feed the SwarmFeed the Swarm, and OublietteOubliette.

But in the interest of not being a terrible person, we can dilute our removal with some on-theme cards like Contract KillingContract Killing. See? We're just killing their creatures for the Treasures. Therefore blue-black is a totally fair color combo.

Hama, the Bloodbender Pauper Commander Deck List

This deck's strength depends on what your opponents are playing. I feel very confident that this library can implement its strategy very well, because all it needs is Hama on the battlefield, a blink spell in hand, and artifacts on the board. But if your opponents' decks are full of cards that care about Elves, you're a bit screwed.

Unfortunately, that's the fate of any theft deck, and all you can really do is hope. But hey, there will absolutely be games where you snatch an OmniscienceOmniscience, and that's the kind of thing I live for when playing Magic.