Sokka, Tenacious TacticianSokka, Tenacious Tactician | Art by Robin Har

In a world where people can bend the very elements, its hard for regular people to feel like they have a chance. Sokka, a member of Team Avatar, has never let that be something that's stood in his way. While he might not be able to bend the waves like his sister, nor split the ground and the sky like Toph or Aang, the team would never have won without Sokka's very own super power, his mind.

Sokka, Tenacious TacticianSokka, Tenacious Tactician depicts the Day of Black SunDay of Black Sun, a multi-part invasion of the Fire Nation Capitol by the allied forces. This force consisted of returning characters like HaruHaru, Sokka's own Father HakodaHakoda as well as nameless soldiersnameless soldiers who, while not in the limelight, were instrumental in the plans execution.

Their numbers were incredibly limited, as only five submarines full of people and supplies could make it to the shore, so Sokka, the planner of the entire invasion, had to be smart and selective with the numbers he had, applying people and their skill exactly where they were needed most.

This is the mindset that this Ultimate Sokka Deck will be built with! I'm Kurohitsuki, and as a huge fan of the flavor and lore in Magic, I go into each deck with the goal of making it feel like something the Commander would be proud to lead. Sokka's brightest, shining moment was this near flawless invasion, executed to the letter, by people from all over who had each other's backs as they fought for a new dawn.

So with those vibes in mind, lets dive into The Day of Black Sun Part II

Sokka, Tenacious TacticianSokka, Tenacious Tactician

Sokka, Tenacious Tactician is great, lets just start there. With a cost of , this Human Warrior Ally 3/3 gives menace and prowess to every Ally you control. He then grows the amount of Allies you have every time to cast a non-creature spell.

So as we build the deck lets remember these two big things: We are rewarded for playing Allies, as they'll require two or more creatures to block them; and with just one spell we can ruin our opponents' combat math thanks to prowess.

Not only that, but if we're lacking in the Ally department, we'll get more of them simply for casting those very spells.

Allies

Allie are a creature type from the original Zendikar sets that represented beings from all over the world who, upon meeting a fellow Ally, would always lend a hand without question. Upon entering the battlefield, Allies would bring their skills to the table, like Bala Ged ThiefBala Ged Thief and Hagra DiabolistHagra Diabolist each adding their -centered talents to the cause.

The same is true for the Battle For Zendikar block, where the rally mechanic extended the Ally synergy with more creatures that gave wider abilities to your whole board.

So seeing that Allies are all about entering the battlefield, we want to make sure that we're casting quite a few of them, which is easy enough, but not every Ally in Jeskai colors are very good for a Commander game plan, as most Ally decks in the past have been with General TazriGeneral Tazri.

So as we pick our cast, we want to make sure they're worthwhile creatures with abilities that keep the invasion plan safe.

Just like Sokka, we have limited troops and limited time. So Allies like Kazandu BlademasterKazandu Blademaster, Hada FreebladeHada Freeblade, and Avatar EnthusiastsAvatar Enthusiasts are out. They'll take too long to really hit their stride. Sokka needs leaders that change the whole game with just one trigger applied at the right time instead of those that are better with constant growth. That's more for a deck based around his sister Katara, the FearlessKatara, the Fearless.

Noncreature Spells

Jeskai is no stranger to prowess; in fact prowess is the original mechanic of the Jeskai clan in original Tarkir and for Sokka to have and share this ability as well, means that we've seen what doing an all-spell Jeskai deck looks like.

We could simply replace the average NarsetNarset or ElshaElsha with Sokka and go for an infinite creature loop. But if we're trying to follow along with the scrappy vibe of the Day of Black Sun, we won't easily have the ability to flood the Fire Nation Capitol with a million goobers. So we're treating noncreature spells less as means for an infinite, but just like how Sokka would: as ways to protect the Allies, and insert more troops exactly when and where they're needed.

Noncreature spells give us creatures when Sokka is out, and these creatures trigger the abilities of the creatures that we cast. So our cheap spells like BrainstormBrainstorm and OptOpt aren't just draw spells, but are shock troops that trigger all of the ETB abilities of our Allies, which is how we're going to treat each cast throughout the entire deck.

The Squad Leaders

The low-drop creatures that we're going to want as early as possible are these good two-drops that will inform how the rest of the game is going to go for us. Once Highland BerserkerHighland Berserker is out, from then on first strike is just something we'll have access to and will matter at the perfect time for us.

Earth Kingdom ProtectorsEarth Kingdom Protectors, a vigilant guaranteed protection for SokkaSokka or even Inspired InsurgentInspired Insurgent as threatenable removal for the problematic Rhystic StudyRhystic Study.

The Squad Captains

At three and four mana we start hitting the big game changers for the army.

Sokka's beloved SukiSuki lords the field while replacing a fallen soldier when needed. Jet, Rebel LeaderJet, Rebel Leader starts putting some valuable Allies into play as a nice surprise during combat. Longshot, Rebel BowmanLongshot, Rebel Bowman makes our noncreature spells cheaper and gives us some free damage along the way.

SmellerbeeSmellerbee lets us spend our entire hand safely and then refresh it on attack while giving the rest of the board haste. Tuktuk ScrapperTuktuk Scrapper is a real spicy card, giving us a shockingly strong removal source for artifacts while also dealing free damage that no opponent would be prepared to see.

Squad captains are the core of the strategy in these decks, and with them our opponents will start looking at us as a true threat.

The Generals

Now rounding out the top end to the deck are some choice five- and six-mana creatures that will end the game in our favor within our flavor.

Kazuul WarlordKazuul Warlord gives each Ally creature a permanent +1/+1 counter and haste every time a new one comes into play. Kor EntanglersKor Entanglers opens up or even saves us from combat by tapping enemies down whenever an Ally shows up. Sea Gate LoremasterSea Gate Loremaster is a huge draw engine for us as we get to fully restock our hand based on how well we keep to the game plan of building an army and protecting it.

Murasa PyromancerMurasa Pyromancer gives the power to start blapping creatures out of existence. Hero of Goma FadaHero of Goma Fada is actually the linchpin of the whole deck since when he's out, every single noncreature spell plus our commander means that we have an indestructible board.

Appa

Appa, The Vigilant is the true top end, and we either win the game with a flying, vigilant, buffed strike force or we at least get close to it. Appa is the be all cap to the plan, much like in the show, and we need to make sure he's coming out when its time to alpha strike the throne room of Fire Lord OzaiFire Lord Ozai himself.

Home Base

We have our creatures and their roles laid out. So now lets talk about the supportive piece we have to make this deck run smoothly. The basic Jeskai mana rock package is the right way to go here, as few other mana sources are particularly helpful here. However, Bender's WaterskinBender's Waterskin is a new mana source that allows us to use it during our turn and then untap it so that we have at least one mana up for the instants we'll need to keep the army growing during our opponents' turns.

Urza's IncubatorUrza's Incubator does numbers for how much easier it makes the higher costed Allies to come out; just beware that if you're doing The Last Airbender themed games, this card will lower your foe's Ally costs too. So swap it with a Herald's HornHerald's Horn if a KataraKatara deck is in your playgroup

The enchantments in the deck are truly supportive and incredibly needed. Tocasia's WelcomeTocasia's Welcome will draw us cards for those 1/1 Ally tokens we'll have coming out. Retreat to EmeriaRetreat to Emeria enables our free ETBs just for playing lands, with fetch lands being particularly powerful combat tricks.

And Kindred DiscoveryKindred Discovery give us cards on our Allies entering and attacking, both of which are the point of the deck.

SokkaSokka's Tricks

As I mentioned before, we want to play creatures in this deck for their enters the battlefield abilities. However, we know that creatures are fragile and tend to get removed all the time, so decks like this are risky. Thankfully, we are Jeskai, and therefore have all the counterspells and indestructibles that we need.

Hit the combo piece with the timely It'll Quench Ya!It'll Quench Ya!, get rid of the problem creature with Path to ExilePath to Exile, and prevent the entire winning turn with the unexpected Orim's ChantOrim's Chant.

Yet just countering everything isn't actually the best plan! Sokka understands that creatures are the winning strategy, and if we spent all game countering one person's Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Acts, each other enemy keeps their boards too. So the right call would be to survive the Wrath of GodWrath of God instead of breaking our back to counter it.

If one player is kind enough to remove would-be blockers, Clever ConcealmentClever Concealment and Flawless ManeuverFlawless Maneuver will keep us safe and primed to swing out next turn.

So now that we have the full invasion plans laid out, lets look at the full roster.

Sokka, Tenacious Tactician Commander Deck list

Conclusion

Now that's a list Sokka would feel proud to lead; put valuable captains and generals in the right place then keep them safe with your well-laid plans and counters!

This list takes the lore of the show and mixes with its beautiful translation into Magic: The Gathering. As more Universes Beyond sets come out, we'll keep getting commanders that challenge us to play on flavor and theme versus the more typical value, and I believe Sokka, Tenacious TacticianSokka, Tenacious Tactician is a perfect example of one.

I hope you've enjoyed a look at what you can expect from a Kurohitsuki deck tech! Tune in next time for a new and improved list as we add a ton of brand new rebels to Otharri, Suns' GloryOtharri, Suns' Glory.