On Tuesday, August 12th, Magic: The Gathering's WeeklyMTG stream previewed many cards from Avatar: The Last Airbender. This stream covered the mechanics and showcase treatments of the set, which officially debuts on October 28th with a November 21st release. But what exactly did we see, and, of similar importance, are there any Commander decks? Read on! Yip yip!

Spoiler Alert for the Nickelodeon Show

Of major note, this First Look at Avatar: The Last Airbender contains a megaton of prolific and major spoilers for the show. This includes episodes all the way through to the very end.

Yes, it initially aired twenty years ago, which, while I don't want to admit, was a while ago. However, many Magic: The Gathering players will inevitably begin watching the show because of this set, and many have already started, most likely. So, if you don't want spoilers for this two-decade-old show, please make sure you revisit this article when you feel ready enough.

Mechanics for Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avatar: The Last Airbender has four new mechanics. They're just a bit tricky to explain altogether, but I'll do my best:

Airbending

According to a press release coinciding with the Tuesday Twitch stream:

Airbend is a keyword action that helps you control the board without getting violent. When you airbend a permanent, you exile it. As long as it remains exiled, its owner may cast it for {2} rather than its mana cost. While Appa only airbends your permanents, you'll have to wait and see if there are any cards that airbend your opponent's permanents.

It seems that there will, in all expectations, be a card that airbends your opponents' permanents. Temporary removal is tame enough to be useful, albeit probably at higher rarities. We can't wait to see what kind of card this could be! Perhaps it will be an inexpensive monowhite board wipe? Time will tell.

Waterbending

Waterbending is an activated ability that generally costs mana to activate, some of which is generic. To pay the generic costs, waterbending's key feature is that it allows you to both tap artifacts and/or creatures in place of spending mana. To further clarify, the press release reads:

Some spells and abilities have you waterbend as part of their costs. The activated ability of Katara, Water Tribe's Hope requires that you waterbend . You must pay , and for each generic mana in that cost, you may tap an untapped artifact or creature you control rather than pay that mana.

Most likely, not all waterbending abilities will contain an cost. But it's also probable that they'll all have a generic aspect of their mana costs. Again, time will tell how far Wizards of the Coast will push the mechanic.

Earthbending

Earthbending [N] is a mechanic that animates a land as a 0/0 creature with haste and puts N +1/+1 counters on it. When that land creature dies, it returns to the battlefield tapped. It's no longer a creature, but it'll be ready to animate again later.

For the sake of further explanation, Wizards of the Coast mentions in their release:

Earthbending is a keyword action. Much like how Earthbenders turn the terrain into weapons, you can do the same with the help of spells and abilities that instruct you to earthbend. Toph, the First Metalbender lets you earthbend 2, which turns a target land you control into a 0/0 land creature with haste, then puts two +1/+1 counters on that land. And don't worry; when that land dies or is exiled, it returns as a tapped noncreature land.

Granted, Toph also works artifacts into this equation, which ever-so-slightly complicates matters for a first look, but if the resulting creature dies or is exiled, it'll return as a tapped nonland, noncreature artifact. However, we must wait for the eventual rules document for Avatar: The Last Airbender before we can definitively confirm that. Moving on!

Firebending

Whoops, spoiler alert! This is the card that I was most surprised to see in this WeeklyMTG stream. In Avatar: The Last Airbender, we don't see Fire Lord Zuko until the very end of the first series. This entire card is a huge walking spoiler.

In any event, firebending is relatively easy to explain in theory, but harder to practice. When you attack with a card with firebending [N], you produce N , which is only usable during that combat step. It's useful for activated abilities and spells that you cast at instant-speed. Ideally, there will be a large enough amount of instant-speed cards usable in some form with the firebending mechanic, because that seems very strong.

As for what Wizards of the Coast put about firebending, their press release says this:

Firebending is a keyword ability that turns your aggression into a source of power. That's very flavorful for Firebenders! When a creature with firebending N attacks, you add N . That mana doesn't go away until the end of combat, letting you use it on any instant-speed activated abilities or spells.

So, in essence, the same thing I said above that press release's quote. Nevertheless, these mechanics will be interesting to see in Standard play.

Showcase Treatments, With a Disclaimer

So, I'll admit that I'm writing this article a little ahead of the WeeklyMTG stream. Nobody is infallible, and Wizards of the Coast is included in that. As such, while Wizards provided many of the renders of cards shown in showcase frames, the cards they sent are decidedly in the basic, regular frames. Therefore, please excuse us as we don't have the shiny showcase treatments handy for you.

With that out of the way, here are descriptions for the many showcase treatments you might find in Avatar: The Last Airbender:

• Raised Foil Avatar Aang: Harness the elements and transform Avatar AangAvatar Aang into Aang, Master of Elements! This stunning borderless version of Aang brings the artwork of one of the series' creators, Bryan Konietzko, to Magic for the very first time. As Aang fulfills his cosmic destiny to bring balance to the four nations, this raised foil treatment draws inspiration from past Booster Fun designs to create the ultimate Avatar: The Last Airbender collectible. This version of Avatar Aang appears only in raised foil and only in English-language Magic: The Gathering | Avatar: The Last Airbender Collector Boosters.
• Borderless Double-Faced Sagas: By the time we meet Aang in the original series, the prior Avatars and their foes are mythical figures. We're depicting their stories on a cycle of mythic rare borderless Sagas. These Sagas, upon reaching their final chapter, transform into powerful legendary creatures worthy of their fables. Borderless double-faced Sagas appear in non-foil and traditional foil in Play Boosters and Collector Boosters.
• Borderless Field Notes: The world of Avatar: The Last Airbender is full of friendly (and sometimes frightening) creatures. We're depicting some of our favorite creatures and creations on borderless field notes cards. This artwork looks straight out of an explorer's sketchbook. The marginalia even points out some of the features and quirks of the Avatar: The Last Airbender world. Borderless field notes cards appear in non-foil and traditional foil in Play Boosters and Collector Boosters.
• Elemental Frame Cards: Combining the in-universe aesthetics of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series with the Magic card frame, elemental frame cards depict your favorite characters and moments in Booster Fun style. With different etchings in the text-box frame depending on the element being depicted, this treatment complements the artwork of the series beautifully. Elemental frame cards appear in non-foil and traditional foil in Play Boosters and Collector Boosters.
• Full-Art Appa Lands: Yip yip! Take flight alongside Appa on this series of full-art Appa basic lands. Depicting various moments during Aang's journey, these lands let you follow Appa's path across the skies of Avatar: The Last Airbender's world. Can you name the moments from the original series that each card depicts? Full-art Appa lands can be found in Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Bundles, Commander Bundles, and Jumpstart Boosters in non-foil and traditional foil.

Product Details

Finally, there are a plethora of different sealed products for this set. As it stands, however, there are no Commander decks! This information is bound to shock some players, as the four-precon model would have been perfect for this set. However, we journalists are but simple messengers, so please don't shoot us down for this!

Avatar: The Last Airbender has the following products associated with it:

• Play Booster Displays contain 30 packs, each with 14 cards.
• Collector Booster Displays contain 12 packs, each with 15 cards.
• Jumpstart Booster Displays contain 24 packs, each with 20 cards.
• Bundles contain 9 Play Booster packs, 15 nonfoil basic lands, 15 foil basic lands, a foil promo card, and a spindown life counter.
• Commander's Bundles contain 9 Play Booster packs, 1 Collector Booster pack, 5 nonfoil promo cards (3 of which are the same consistently throughout Commander's Bundles, and 2 of which are randomized), 15 foil basic lands, 15 nonfoil basic lands, and a click-wheel life counter.
• Scene boxes contain 3 Play Boosters, 6 promo cards, which together form a scene, 6 art cards, and an easel to put the scene together.
• Beginner Boxes contain 10 themed Jumpstart tutorial packs, to use for beginner-level play, 5 nonfoil token cards, 2 boards for use as playmats, 2 spindown die life counters, 2 "How to Play" guides, a reference guide booklet, and 2 reference cards.
• Prerelease Kits contain 5 Play Boosters, 1 seeded Play Booster, themed after a notable character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, 2 tokens themed to your seeded booster, 1 stamped promo card, and a spindown die.

Card Gallery

Finally, because we don't have the showcase treatments for these cards, we have to show these cards down here. Hopefully, they will satisfy your curiosity and interest. Here are those cards:

With that, we open the floor to you, dear readers. What do you like about the mechanics of Avatar: The Last Airbender so far? What cards strike you as the hottest to grab when the set releases on November 21st? And, as stark a reminder as it is, how do you feel about this First Look coming so long before Marvel's Spider-Man releases? Sound off below!