Suki, Kyoshi WarriorSuki, Kyoshi Warrior | Art by: Yuhong Ding

Friendly greetings and welcome to an Upgraded (Bracket 3) deck tech for Suki, Kyoshi WarriorSuki, Kyoshi Warrior. I'm John Sherwood, and this deck tech combines two of my nerdiest passions: Avatar: The Last Airbender and self-imposed deckbuilding restrictions.

"I am a warrior..."

Suki is an important recurring heroine. Her costume and fighting style emulate Kyoshi, one of Aang's previous incarnations as the Avatar. Over the course of the series, Suki plays a crucial role in Sokka's character arc, teaching him humility and respect.

From her beginnings as a stalwart village defender, to her vital contributions in the final battle, Suki is an admirable example of discipline and compassion.

With power equal to creatures you control, and a triggered ability that makes a creature token, this card perfectly capture's Suki's leadership and martial artistry. This design strikes a harmonic power chord of lore and mechanics, and slots conveniently into a Selesnya aggro shell.

However, packing this deck with Selesnya good stuff would be too easy. I can do better, and this deck will be better, with a self-imposed restriction to mix things up. Because Suki's power is equal to the creatures you control, the obvious line is to play more creatures. That's why this deck won't have any other creature cards.

I've built one other deck with the commander as the only creature. My Feather, the Redeemed deck was inspired by Joey's Upping the Average video. I took apart my Feather deck because it was too linear, and too often the archenemy.

That said, the restriction of no creatures in the 99 was a refreshing deckbuilding exercise, and the gameplay challenged my skills piloting the deck. My vision for this Suki deck is to have my cake and eat it too, a deck that is both refreshing and challenging without being too linear or presenting a kill-on-sight target for my opponents.

"It's not about strength."

In Suki's first appearance on ATLA, she teaches Sokka to use his opponent's force against them. A few cards in this list align with that principle. Most of these spells are instants, with the potential to quickly convert other players' threats into a more favorable board presence.

FogFogs are underplayed in Commander, and ArachnogenesisArachnogenesis is the gold standard for fogs with upside. In a format that rewards greedy plays and big swings, any card that flips combat on its head is an ace up your sleeve. Entrapment ManeuverEntrapment Maneuver is another card in this same vein.

Although not technically a "fog," it's a niche answer to voltron threats, and it bypasses most forms of protection.

Sometimes playing one-for-one removal spells is a gift to other opponents. Aura MutationAura Mutation promises a better return on investment, by turning an opponent's permanent into friends for Suki. Imagine blowing up a pesky Rhystic StudyRhystic Study or Smothering TitheSmothering Tithe and netting some creatures for the trouble.

If destroying one enchantment isn't enough, then sweep multiple artifacts and enchantments off the board. Pest InfestationPest Infestation absolutely wrecks value engines, and yields plenty of value for the caster.

Meanwhile, graveyard decks are potent and prevalent enough that packing some graveyard hate is always a good idea. Release to MemoryRelease to Memory will keep a Reanimator deck in check, while providing a token or ten to punish them for even trying.

Wait For an Opening

I'm a firm believer that combat tricks are the secret to happiness in Magic: The Gathering.

Suki needs to attack, but that can be daunting in Commander for a creature with no evasion. Including a few tricks will keep the combat step from getting stale.

Hold up two mana and wait for the perfect opening with Selesnya CharmSelesnya Charm. Suki can use the trample on attack, or the second mode can deal with a problem. If those modes aren't needed, make a token on someone else's end step to make sure that mana doesn't go to waste.

Similarly, Rootborn DefensesRootborn Defenses and Assure // AssembleAssure // Assemble are both offensive and defensive, granting Suki indestructible and creating bodies which incidentally pump her power.

For those times when creating an opening is better than waiting for one, check out Windswift SliceWindswift Slice and Kamahl's WillKamahl's Will.

Both of these spells function as creature removal, with the potential to eliminate an opponent with Suki's commander damage. Use the removal aspects of these cards to get blockers out of the way, and power Suki up to lethal damage.

Getting Back Up

In the show, Suki is defeated several times and she always comes back from it. This deck needs to be resilient like the character.

Creature-focused strategies have a reputation for running out of gas and being fragile, but I blame deck builders for leaving recovery tools out of their decks. There are 34 instants and sorceries in this deck, without blue's propensity for recurring or drawing more of those card types. BearscapeBearscape can refine expended instants and sorceries into creatures in play.

Sometimes removal in unavoidable, or you need block to stay in the game. Mercy KillingMercy Killing can turn those disadvantaged situations into a setup for the next turn. Fungal RebirthFungal Rebirth is basic graveyard recursion with a bonus that can get this deck back on its fighting feet.

Along those lines, Yavimaya HollowYavimaya Hollow can keep Suki on the battlefield to try again. In a pinch, Suki could intentionally attack into blockers and regenerate while still making the Ally token. The cost of inclusion for protection on a land is too low to pass up.

Admittedly, the financial cost of this card is too high for many players. Let's just take a moment to give the Reserved List a well-deserved side-eye.

The Power of Friendship

Suki wins plenty of fights on her own, but her greatest victories came alongside her friends.

This deck is going tall with Suki, and wide with her friends. It's packed with cards that create creature tokens, and making those tokens will incidentally make Suki a force to be reckoned with. The general plan is to incrementally increase board presence with every possible game action.

Ramping with Scout the WildernessScout the Wilderness and Return from the WildsReturn from the Wilds comes with tokens. Land drops with Felidar RetreatFelidar Retreat and Retreat to EmeriaRetreat to Emeria come with tokens.

But attacking with Suki is the primary avenue to assemble the team, and there are a handful of Equipment that give Suki additional attack triggers to create more creature tokens. Captain's ClawsCaptain's Claws, Moonsilver SpearMoonsilver Spear, Seraphic GreatswordSeraphic Greatsword and Sigiled Sword of ValeronSigiled Sword of Valeron will all be force multipliers.

Equipped or not, Suki will also get an extra push from Valor in AkrosValor in Akros. The Ally she creates will get +1/+1, and Suki will effectively get +2/+1. Paired with other token generators, Valor in Akros can easily pump Suki up for some big swings.

Return the favor to Suki's friends by investing mana into Caretaker's TalentCaretaker's Talent. This talent is a nice flavor pick to, considering Suki's performance as one of Appa's caretakers in the episode Appa's Lost Days.

To make as many friends as possible, there's Anointed ProcessionAnointed Procession and Battle for BretagardBattle for Bretagard. One doubles tokens as they're created, and the other can double the number of tokens already in the battlefield. Additionally, Call the CoppercoatsCall the Coppercoats, Grand CrescendoGrand Crescendo, March of the MultitudesMarch of the Multitudes and Secure the WastesSecure the Wastes make late-game mana sinks to field all the friends we need to power Suki through for the win.

Turning all those 1/1 bodies into bigger Angels is another great way to win in combat. Divine VisitationDivine Visitation and Devout InvocationDevout Invocation both put 4/4 flyers on the field.

Suki, Kyoski Warrior Commander Decklist

Conclusion

Brewing Suki brought me back to some of my favorite moments in Avatar.

Meanwhile, goldfishing the deck got me thinking about sequencing and wishing for an opponent to counterplay. That's a good sign that you're avoiding the linear gameplay trap, because it doesn't just switch on autopilot. Also, I'm confident it will be a challenge in Bracket 3's creature-heavy arms race. Ultimately I am sure this version of Suki will be flavorful, fun, and rewarding to play.

Read More: