Zuko's ExileZuko's Exile | Art by Eiji Kaneda

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Rise of ExtusRise of Extus is the only hybrid card in the game that can go get a card from outside the game?)

Avatar: The Last Airbender brought us quite a few mechanics, but sprinkled in with it was an old one that's always been a bit underloved in Commander: Lessons.

I am sad to say, however, that despite this new crop of Lessons, and commanders to support them, I don't see an incoming explosion of this mechanic. The reason? There just aren't enough Lessons in the colors of commanders who care about them.

The number one commander we'll see doing the Lesson thing will undoubtedly be Iroh, Grand LotusIroh, Grand Lotus. Not because it's the best, or the most interesting, or anything like that. Simply because Iroh is the only three-color Lesson commander, meaning he has access to 49 lessons total. That's 16 more than Toph, Hardheaded TeacherToph, Hardheaded Teacher or the more mundane Uncle IrohUncle Iroh has in Gruul, 15 more than Sokka, Bold BoomerangerSokka, Bold Boomeranger in Izzet, and 13 more than Guru PathikGuru Pathik and The Lion-TurtleThe Lion-Turtle have in Simic, to say nothing of the multiple single-color Lesson commanders that have access to a fraction of that (return readers will note that I didn't even mention Lessons when I wrote about Gran-GranGran-Gran last week).

Forty-nine Lessons is enough to make a deck, although with the general quality of Lessons, it's barely gonna crack Bracket 2. Anything less than that and you're solidly in Bracket 1 territory (not that there's anything wrong with that).

If you did want to push the envelope a little, however, you would have two options. First, you could go find a five-color commander that might be decent with Lessons, even though it won't say the actual word on it.

Well, that's not what you'd call a jam-packed list. Which brings us to option two: cheating.

Strixhaven brought us the original Lesson mechanic: Learn. Learn goes and gets Lessons from "outside of the game," aka, in every other format, the sideboard.

Now, to be clear, we're talking about cheating here, so it is imperative that I state that there are no sideboards in the Commander format. However, if you're willing to have a rule zero conversation, then most players would surely let you run one anyhow to play a subpar fun Lessons deck.

Which raises not only the question of which are the best Lessons, but which are the best Lessons to have in a Wishboard?

Top 10 Lessons (For a Wishboard)

Criteria: Lessons. As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score.

10. Aang's JourneyAang's Journey

(2.29K Inclusions, 0.14% of 1.62M Decks)

Let's be honest: Aang's JourneyAang's Journey is not great. Two mana to go get a land to hand, when you could be paying two mana to get a land on the battlefield is just not a rate that many folks are interested in. What it is, however, is versatile. You can play it in any color, and it can fix your mana, to say nothing of what it can do for Shrine decks (the actual reason it's made the list so quickly).

As for the second part of our question, though: Is Aang's JourneyAang's Journey a sideboard Lesson? No. You have a card in a Wishboard in case it's a silver bullet for a specific situation, or in extreme cases, because it's your main game plan. This card is neither of those things.

If you don't have a land in your opening hand, mulligan. If you're trying to end the game, you don't need a basic.

9. Pest SummoningPest Summoning

(2.51K Inclusions, 0.17% of 1.51M Decks)

Pest SummoningPest Summoning is the rare Strixhaven Lesson that isn't colorless, and yet is still seeing play. It's also fairly well costed, at three mana for two 1/1s, and those tokens are versatile, given that they also gain life.

In other words, this Lesson has been seeing play because of several different kinds of decks, whether that be life gain, Aristocrats, or Token Storm. Which is all well and fine, but it still isn't the kind of card you'd want in a pinch.

8. Earthbending LessonEarthbending Lesson

(2.88K Inclusions, 0.39% of 736K Decks)

I'm a little confused as to why this one has climbed the ranks so quickly, given that it's more or less a 4/4 for four (five if you count the land you attack with). It looks like almost half of these inclusions come from Toph, the First MetalbenderToph, the First Metalbender decks (an area I dabbled in that was doing a lot more than earthbending), but to be honest, I still don't get it.

Toph does allow you to put the counters on artifacts, which then makes them come back from the dead, but her end step trigger already does this? Color me confused as to why any deck wants this card.

7. Illuminate HistoryIlluminate History

(3.28K Inclusions, 0.09% of 3.60M Decks)

And finally, we got there. Getting tokens isn't a thing you reach into a sideboard for, but a pseudo-wheelwheel? That's something you could absolutely find yourself tutoring for.

Got a hand full of lands? Discard them and draw useful cards. Need removal, or a final piece of the puzzle to get you there? Discard the cards that aren't getting you what you need, and see what's on top! All in all, Illuminate HistoryIlluminate History is exactly what we're looking for if we're going to pull the trigger on an illegal Wishboard.

6. Reduce to MemoryReduce to Memory

(3.40K Inclusions, 0.10% of 3.37M Decks)

Did I say wheel for removal? Why not just tutor it directly? Sure, Reduce to MemoryReduce to Memory costs more than your average Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares, or even your average Soul PartitionSoul Partition. But it does the job and is eminently reachable, provided you aren't playing strictly by the rules of the game.

That makes card number two of fifteen in our Wishboard here, and so far, Boros () colors.

5. Expanded AnatomyExpanded Anatomy

(4.59K Inclusions, 0.06% of 7.27M Decks)

Expanded AnatomyExpanded Anatomy is another one I just don't get. Three mana for two +1/+1 counters and not-even-permanent vigilance? Nah, man, we can do better in every capacity.

4. Introduction to ProphecyIntroduction to Prophecy

(12.1K Inclusions, 0.17% of 7.27M Decks)

Worse DivinationDivination not only isn't something you would tutor for, it's something only the most hard-up decks are going to play. That said, Lessons decks are pretty hard-up with the limited card pool, so I do actually expect this to keep seeing play. I'd just put it in the 99, not in the 15.

3. Environmental SciencesEnvironmental Sciences

(12.7K Inclusions, 0.17% of 7.27M Decks)

Oh hey look, it's Aang's JourneyAang's Journey, but without the kicker option to go get a Shrine! One of the things that's been obvious since the very beginning of Avatar spoilers is that the quality of Lessons has increased, if not exponentially, then at least cumulatively.

With that said, Environmental SciencesEnvironmental Sciences is another one of those cards that will still see play, if a bit begrudgingly, as Lessons decks explore the small card pool. That said, I wouldn't be at all surprised if I did this list again in a year, and our number three card wasn't even on it.

2. Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning

(13.9K Inclusions, 1.68% of 826K Decks)

Unlike Reduce to MemoryReduce to Memory, Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning is removal you can go get that can be played at instant speed. The question is, how relevant is that, given the cards we can go fetch Lessons with? Well, let's see!

Top 10 Learn Effects That Can Be Used at Instant Speed

1. First Day of ClassFirst Day of Class
2. EyetwitchEyetwitch
3. Divide by ZeroDivide by Zero
4. Academic DisputeAcademic Dispute
5. Overgrown ArchOvergrown Arch
6. Enthusiastic StudyEnthusiastic Study
7. Dream StrixDream Strix
8. Study BreakStudy Break
9. Pop QuizPop Quiz
10. Arcane SubtractionArcane Subtraction

In similar fashion to the Lessons they're going to be grabbing, I wouldn't call any of these cards amazing, but nonetheless, there are options to go grab our interaction in response to whatever you're trying to interact with.

The real question is, at the power level we're going to be playing at, is Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning likely to get much action?

1. Introduction to AnnihilationIntroduction to Annihilation

(16.5K Inclusions, 0.23% of 7.27M Decks)

In comparison to Reduce to MemoryReduce to Memory, Introduction to AnnihilationIntroduction to Annihilation doesn't seem like it's going to win any awards. What we haven't talked about yet, however, is colors. I said that our sideboard so far was in Boros colors, but that doesn't actually have to be true, thanks to this colorless option. Which is good, because reviewing the list of commanders that care about Lessons, there actually aren't any that include Boros colors. Awkward.

What's worse for Intro to Annihilation, however? Zuko's ExileZuko's Exile now exists.

Honorable Mentions

Okay, so Boros isn't an option, unless we go five-color. So, what are the possible options to put together a Wishboard? Well, to find out, why not just put together some Wishboards and see?

Let's start with what's sure to be the most popular option.

Now, astute readers will notice here that this is not a complete deck. Even more astute readers will notice that the Wishboard has more than the legal(?) 15 cards. Obviously, this is not a completed experiment. That said, it does show you the options for what's possible with what will probably end up being the most popular Lesson commander in Iroh, Grand LotusIroh, Grand Lotus.

There is removal to be had, Learn cards abound, and there are even some WishWishes thrown in in case you want to get even spicier with your Wishboard. The real potential here, however, is in the game-ending Lessons you can have access to: Reckless BlazeReckless Blaze, which can kick off a Storm turn if you have a crazy amount of tokens out; Overwhelming VictoryOverwhelming Victory, which can turn a bunch of creatures into an alpha strike while removing a blocker; and Secret of BloodbendingSecret of Bloodbending, which can let you take over an opponent, whether that be their entire turn or simply starting a combat that you know will be catastrophic for all of your opponents.

With that said, it's not like Iroh is going to be the only Lesson commander, and there's quite a few other color options out there to explore. There's even one that has a color he doesn't!

Katara, Seeking RevengeKatara, Seeking Revenge is a commander that will see almost no play without a Wishboard option, because, as you can see, the Lesson card pool in Dimir is very small. Twenty-one total Lessons is all I could find that was even a little bit playable, and of those, several wouldn't be if you had to put them in the main deck.

As it is, it's a good thing that Death WishDeath Wish, Cunning WishCunning Wish, and Fae of WishesFae of Wishes are available, as there's still four more cards needed to fill out the 15-card sideboard.

There was a card I originally had in the 99 that I feel like defines what this deck could be, however: EnergybendingEnergybending. While at first it seemed like a terrible cantrip in a two-color deck, on the level of Aang's JourneyAang's Journey and Environmental SciencesEnvironmental Sciences, after a moment I realized that in Dimir, it could be downright back-breaking.

EnergybendingEnergybending allows you to abuse the various cards that care about basic land types, and in Dimir, that is both High TideHigh Tide and about a dozen "cares about Swamps" cards. While certainly not the only direction that you could go with this deck, Dimir is also pretty good at reusing spells repeatedly, so it's absolutely where I would go. Just be careful not to get targeted into the ground when you try to resolve an Isochron ScepterIsochron Scepter.

So, we've done the popular three-color choice that mentions Lessons, and the odd color-pairing that mentions Lessons, but what about the legacy commander that was probably supposed to be about Lessons but doesn't say the word on it anywhere?

The Strixhaven learn effects are more based in Mardu than any other color combination, with the major issue being that the Lessons in Avatar aren't. With that said, that actually isn't that big a deal with Extus, Oriq OverlordExtus, Oriq Overlord, as he doesn't specifically care about Lessons. In other words, he's happy to cast some learn instants and sorceries to recur creatures repeatedly (that can also learn, in many cases) to go grab Lessons to cast to recur creatures repeatedly.

As for how you kill the opponent with all this nonsense? Well, rituals and GuttersnipeGuttersnipes would be my choice, but I'll leave that eventuality up to you.

Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.

What Do You Think?

And finally, what is your favorite Lesson? Would it be better in your deck, or in the sideboard?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the smaller table slightly adjoined to the larger table.