Lost in Translation: Avatar Deck

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a franchise loved by many, especially those of my age group. As a kid, I grew up with the original show and Legend of Korra. However, as an adult, I can now appreciate the deeper philosophy of the show. The anime inspired cartoon draws inspiration from lighthearted humor all the way to Daoist philosophy. For those who aren't familiar, these shows take place in an ancient Asian setting, where once in a generation someone is endowed with the spirit of the Avatar. There are people who can wield certain elements, however, the Avatar can wield every element and has a sole purpose of protecting the world from extreme harm. I could gush on and on about the show, but what really makes this show a great subject for a Magic Blog is actually the concept of elements. 

The Avatar universe is bounded by four elements: water, earth, air, and fire. These are the elements wielded by those in the show, and what guide the environment. However, there are also subcategories, such as lightning bending from fire, or metal bending from earth. I find that these elements have really good crossover with the five guiding colors of Magic. Fire, earth, and water corresponding to red, green, and blue respectively. White is a little trickier, but I see it corresponding well with air, especially with creatures such as the flying bison. Black doesn't necessarily have a connection to an element, but rather to the villains of the show. Black is a color of greed, self-sacrifice, or even a lust for power. Splashing black with red could make for a great resemblance of Azula or Fire Lord Ozai. Another example comes from the Dimir combination (blue and black) to create a Magic version of Unalaq. 

It seems pretty straight forward, right? What's the catch– there's obviously a catch. Building theme decks can be fun, but they can also be limiting. Throughout the blog, I have and will be talking about the cool aspects of building on themes. However, these deck-building attempts taught me some lessons that I hope will help others too.

The Aang Attempt 

Since my partner is obsessed with Avatar, I thought it would be fitting to make them Avatar themed decks to play with. With that thought in mind, I tried to craft Azula and Aang. For the Aang commander deck, I chose Taigam, Ojutai Master. He is a great Aang, embodying the elements most personal to his story, and is also being a human monk creature type. The play style of the deck would be to sling instants and sorceries everywhere, and using two dragons to symbolize the ones he and Zuko met in the episode “The Firebending Masters” towards the end of the The Last Airbender. The fact that spells couldn't be countered and could gain rebound felt like a fitting touch, maybe even referencing the power of the Avatar State. 

So what went wrong? Theme decks not only require an extremely specific strategy, but specific cards as well. I tried to brew this with the cards I had on hand, and the results were extremely underwhelming. The deck did work, and it wasn't a bad deck by any means, but it didn't feel like Aang. There wasn't anything to symbolize Appa, or I didn't feel a sense of free flowing cantrips and spell maneuvering. Even the Narset Planeswalker I used for Katara felt a bit half-hearted. Sometimes, theme decks can be done from a collection. Nonetheless, it is clear now that these elements (no pun intended) can't be forced, just like the “Avatar State” episode in Book Two. When building on theme, it might be best to purposefully select and even purchase cards for the deck. I hope that someday Gem can continue where I left off.

The Azula Attempt

For Azula, I went about it in a unique way, and received unique results. I picked Ayara, First of Locthwain for the commander. Yes I know, no red color identity anywhere. Where’s the fire??? I sacrificed that (killing the puns today) for a more metaphorical reference to the character. Using intense combos, sacrificing creatures and life-manipulation, I felt I could nail the brutality of Azula's character. I see her as ruthless, devoid of compassion, and down-right angry at the world. Using my collection, I went for a build I not only personally wanted to craft, but would execute opponents with brutal precision.

So, what went wrong here? This aspect might be obvious, but I should've added red to the color identity and found a different commander. Without the lighting bolts, fire balls, and fire wizards, the deck was heavily lacking in flavor. It felt as if it were simply a combo deck, which feeds into the second issue. The deck was WAY TOO STRONG compared to the Aang deck. When building decks that belong in a pairing, you should test them against each other. It would suck if you created a cycle of Power Rangers decks (which I fully plan on doing) and next thing you know the Pink Ranger deck wins 7 times out of 10 while the Blue Ranger deck can't survive past turn 5. Games should be even, relying purely on the player's skills and the heart of the cards. 

This post is a bit shorter, but it is a great way to show that even though creative deck-building can be fun. There is a level of effort that is needed to really solidify the builds. I recommend using a service like Cockatrice to test the decks in the group against each other with a friend, and to budget yourself accordingly to the build. Be aware that you may have to buy specific cards, and you will have to do some digging on how to nail the theme. Hopefully soon, I can come back with fully-fledged Azula and Aang decks. But until then, I'm gonna keep crafting. 

-Harland 

Editor: Gemini Díaz Velázquez