Sozin's CometSozin's Comet | Art by Salvatorre Zee Yazzie

All of the cards from Avatar: The Last Airbender have been revealed! There's a lot to be excited about. During spoiler season for any set, non-creature spells are always the cards I'm keeping the closest eye on. I'm always on the lookout for minor optimizations I can make in my interaction suites or nifty spells that play well in my favorite strategies.

In this article, I'll be going over the best instants and sorceries from Avatar!

White

Avatar's WrathAvatar's Wrath is an incredibly interesting board wipe. Airbending away opposing creatures and locking them in exile for a turn is usually going to be worse than just destroying or exiling them. However, a board wipe that doesn't cause its controller to permanently lost access to all the creatures on their board is incredibly appealing.

Blink decks, like Brago, King EternalBrago, King Eternal or Yorion, Sky NomadYorion, Sky Nomad, will have a field day getting to play all of their creatures with powerful enters abilities again for just two mana each.

It isn't just Blink decks that benefit from a mass-airbending spell like Avatar's WrathAvatar's Wrath. Any commander with a relevant enters trigger, like Atraxa, Grand UnifierAtraxa, Grand Unifier, can get extraordinary amounts of value from this board wipe.

I'd even be heavily considering including this card in any white deck that's already playing Drannith MagistrateDrannith Magistrate and a couple ways to tutor it.

Tale of MomoTale of Momo is a new typal tutor card with one of the most heart-wrenching arts I've seen on a Magic card to date. I can't bear looking at it for too long. Apart from making me cry, Tale of Momo searches the library or graveyard for an Ally card and puts it to hand. This set has a lot of Ally creatures and a lot of Ally focused synergy, and I'm expecting this to be an automatic inclusion in many of the new commanders from Avatar.

Katara, the FearlessKatara, the Fearless, Hakoda, Selfless CommanderHakoda, Selfless Commander, and Sokka, Tenacious TacticianSokka, Tenacious Tactician are the first of those commanders that come to mind.

Tale of Momo is also fantastic for people, like me, who like including Bruse Tarl, Boorish HerderBruse Tarl, Boorish Herder in their Voltron decks! That use case is a little too narrow, but I can guarantee that it will come up for me at least once.

I'd really like to see a deck that includes Tale of Momo and a small package of high-utility Ally cards to search for. I'd love to see some suggestions for good Ally cards to make that happen with in the comments!

Blue

I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting counterspells for my dozens of blue Commander decks. Katara's ReversalKatara's Reversal is an admittedly over-costed counterspell that counters up to four target spells or abilities and untaps up to four creatures or artifacts.

My mind was immediately drawn to using this card in a High TideHigh Tide-based storm deck that can use the untap part of the card to generate mana while protecting against opposing interaction. Teferi, Temporal ArchmageTeferi, Temporal Archmage has long been my go-to for such a storm deck, but Eluge, the Shoreless SeaEluge, the Shoreless Sea, Tatyova, Benthic DruidTatyova, Benthic Druid, or any number of Izzet () spells commanders provide less antiquated options for that strategy.

Decks that are really good at casting counterspells, like Baral, Chief of ComplianceBaral, Chief of Compliance, could also make good use of Katara's Reversal. Who needs to combo out with High Tide when Katara's Reversal can just untap a Sol RingSol Ring and a few IslandIslands to prepare to cast the next counter spell?

Secret of BloodbendingSecret of Bloodbending is a pretty sweet take on a MindslaverMindslaver effect. Four blue pips in the casting cost renders this sorcery pretty difficult to justify in decks that have more than one or two colors, but the upside is massive. Hijacking the player with the biggest board's combat step in the later stages of the game can easily be a game winning play that can force weird plays out of opponents and buy that last little bit of time needed to secure a win.

Waterbend is a pretty unrealistic additional cost in most decks that would be looking to play Secret of Bloodbending. I'd mostly treat that part of the card as flavor text.

Secret of Bloodbending is most at home in decks that can copy it to target additional opponents, but it should be seriously considered in any blue deck that's played in a combat heavy metagame. Zevlor, Elturel ExileZevlor, Elturel Exile in particular is the best fit. I'd be thrilled use Zevlor to take control of the entire table's combat steps for a full turn cycle!

Black

As with Avatar's WrathAvatar's Wrath, I love a good board wipe that can circumvent indestructible and Blood ArtistBlood Artist effects! Day of Black SunDay of Black Sun is just that. Ideally, this card should be included in a deck with a high density of high mana value creatures to take make it as asymmetrical as possible.

Another way one could maximize this sorcery's utility is by including it in decks that can search for two-mana spells, since Day of Black Sun has an unusually low converted mana cost for a board wipe. For that reason, I can see it slotting nicely into SpellseekerSpellseeker packages or decks that play Muddle the MixtureMuddle the Mixture as a tutor already.

It's no secret that flexibility is the trait I value the most in utility spells, and Desperate PleaDesperate Plea has utility in spades. In a deck that wants to sacrifice creatures, Desperate Plea is a way to sacrifice a creature, a ReanimateReanimate, and a removal spell, all for just two mana. That's a strong sales pitch.

Aristocrats commanders like Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIERSephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER and Yawgmoth, Thran PhysicianYawgmoth, Thran Physician will love this one.

Red

Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning was also featured in our Avatar: The Last Airbender cEDH set review, and for good reason. This Lesson is a versatile piece of interaction, particularly for decks that aren't blue. For high power, high budget decks, Redirect Lightning acts as a second or third copy of Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat, and as a suitable replacement in lower budgets.

Unlike Bolt BendBolt Bend, Redirect Lightning doesn't ask for any prerequisites. It's just a one-mana redirect spell, with a mostly trivial additional cost of five life. I'm a big advocate for decks having a strong suite of protection spells and this one should be seriously considered for any red deck.

It's been a while since Spellslinger decks have been gifted a new storm card to play with. Storm of MemoriesStorm of Memories is an awesome blend of Mind's DesireMind's Desire and Mizzix's MasteryMizzix's Mastery. Storm decks that play a high quantity of cheap cantrips and rituals should absolutely consider this card.

Veyran, Voice of DualityVeyran, Voice of Duality is the deck I'm most excited to see put this card to use, as storm copying the spell also triggers magecraft. Other Spellslinger commanders with magecraft, like Zaffai, Thunder ConductorZaffai, Thunder Conductor and Ashling, Flame DancerAshling, Flame Dancer, will also get to string together pretty sweet turns with Storm of MemoriesStorm of Memories.

Green

Elemental TeachingsElemental Teachings is just a Realms UnchartedRealms Uncharted that puts the lands the opponent doesn't choose directly into play rather than in the hand. This easily makes up for the additional two mana it costs to cast. Of all the cards on this list, this just might be the one I'm the most excited to put in my decks.

In cEDH, Elemental Teachings is just another way to find Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle. At lower power levels, this tutor's versatility really shines. Assembling Urza's TowerUrza's Tower, Urza's MineUrza's Mine, and Urza's Power PlantUrza's Power Plant, finding Dark DepthsDark Depths and Thespian's StageThespian's Stage, or simply grabbing a few fetch lands to set up big Landfall turns are all potential uses for Elemental Teachings, and I'm so excited to start theory crafting potential piles for it.

Time to start digging out my copies of Echoing DeepsEchoing Deeps!

Szarel, Genesis ShepherdSzarel, Genesis Shepherd is the clear winner for this card. Szarel being a Crucible of WorldsCrucible of Worlds in the command zone completely neutralized the "downside" of sending two of the lands to graveyard. I've written about Szarel a couple of times here on EDHREC, and I would highly recommend taking one of my lists and swapping out just about any of the mid-tier land tutors, like Sylvan ScryingSylvan Scrying, with Elemental Teachings.

Szarel isn't the only lands matter commander that will enjoy Elemential Teachings, of course. The NecrobloomThe Necrobloom nullifies the downside of discarding two of the lands by giving them dredge. Omnath, Locus of CreationOmnath, Locus of Creation will refund four of the five mana spent to cast Elemental Teachings from the two landfall triggers.

The list is neverending.

Seismic SenseSeismic Sense is a one-mana cantrip that, in the mid to late stages of a game, can see an unholy amount of cards. Green has no shortage of similar cards, but none of them, short of Pillage the BogPillage the Bog, can look at the sheer quantity of cards that this cantrip can. That makes this sorcery more than worth mentioning.

There isn't really a specific green deck that I'm thinking of for Seismic SenseSeismic Sense, but any deck that puts a lot of lands in play and already plays similar green cantrips should consider swapping one of them out for this card.

Conclusion

I'm so excited for Avatar: The Last Airbender. This must be how Final Fantasy fans felt during preview season for that set. Every card feels so lovingly designed and I'm really excited to mess around with the new mechanics, like airbend.

There were a handful of exciting cards that didn't quite make this list, like Uncle's MusingsUncle's Musings. I'm excited to read about all the exciting cards that I missed in the comments!

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