This year is proving to be a thrilling one for fans of Magic the Gathering. With IPs such as Final Fantasy and Spider-Man bringing a slew of new players to the scene, the next crossover set is now in the spotlight - Avatar: The Last Airbender. If any of you can remember this show when it aired on Nickelodeon back in the early 2000s, it was a hit with kids across the world. Well now, those kids are adults (including us!) and they're hyped for some of their favourite characters from childhood to land in one of the most popular TCGs around!
Universes Beyond is Magic's way of expanding their player base and bringing fresh gameplay to their TCG, and it's proven incredibly popular. Back when Warhammer and Lord of the Rings were introduced - these sets were not Standard Legal. But with the release of Final Fantasy, Universes Beyond sets are now exactly that - Standard Legal! This was mainly to make legality of cards easier to understand for players, particularly any that were joining because of these crossovers.
What's New with this set?
Avatar: The Last Airbender will be arriving with us on the 1st of November, and this time around the products are looking a little different. Firstly, we have our core products such as your Play Boosters, Collector Boosters and Bundles. But much like Spider-Man, we are not getting Commander Decks! Instead, we're seeing a new product introduced named the Commander's Bundle. But what is it?
The Commander's Bundle is in essence a Gift Bundle. Inside you'll find 1 Collector Booster, 9 Play Boosters, 5 Borderless cards, 30 Land cards (15 foil, 15 non-foil), 1 Click Wheel life counter and of course the storage box. But why is it called the Commander's Bundle? Well, the 5 Borderless cards you'll receive inside this bundle are popular in Commander - this is a stark difference from most other Gift Bundles where you'll get 1 or 2 cards from a possible selection.
These cards in the Commander's Bundle are split into two options; 3 of the most popular cards in Commander (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet and Swiftfoot Boots) which all feature Borderless Avatar: The Last Airbender artwork, and 2 of 10 possible Borderless classic spells. It's a shame that WOTC decided not to do Commander Decks this time around, as we feel it would have been quite interesting to see these decks themed around the elements and their respective benders (Aang, Katara, Zuko, Toph, Azula etc) or even a non-bender deck for the Kyoshi Warriors or Sokka. Nevertheless, we're excited to see what the artwork for these reskinned cards will be!
You'll also be able to pick up two Scene Boxes depicting the Jasmine Dragon Tea Shop and the Black Sun Invasion (when the Fire Nation invaded during the eclipse). As usual, these Scene Boxes will contain 3 Play Boosters, 6 Art Cards with a Display Easel and 6 Scene Cards. You can check out the scenes in the gallery down below.
We're also seeing the return of the Beginner Box, which debuted with Foundations. Much like when it first launched, the Avatar: The Last Airbender Beginner Box will contain two 20 card decks featuring Aang & Zuko with a step-by-step guide on how to play, eight 20 card themed decks, 2 playmats and 2 Spindown life counters. This is truly a great way to not only get your friends into the game, but also get your hands on some staple cards for your decks.
Finally, you'll also be able to grab yourself some Jumpstart Boosters. We haven't seen these included in a set since Foundations, so it's nice to see this product come back. For those of you who don't know, Jumpstart is a format that mashes together themes and skips straight past the deck building. Players open two half-deck packs and get straight to it - and it can be absolutely insane!
Headliner, Mechanics and more!
MTG have introduced a Headliner card for the past few sets, and Avatar: The Last Airbender is no different. Introduced with Innistrad Remastered back in January, the Headliner card is essentially the most sought after card in a set and only available in Collector Boosters. You can, of course, get variations of the Headliner card that will show up more frequently - but the good stuff is a lot harder to get. Sometimes they're serialised, sometimes they're not (as seen with Sothera, the Supervoid in Edge of Eternities).
Avatar: The Last Airbender's Headliner card is, well, Avatar Aang of course! This raised foil card features artwork by one of the show's co-creators Bryan Konietzko, and is only available in English-Language Avatar: The Last Airbender Collector Boosters. One side features Avatar Aang, who then transforms into Aang, Master of Elements.
|
Avatar Aang Legendary Creature - Human Avatar Ally Flying, firebending 2 Whenever you waterbend, earthbend, firebend or airbend, draw a card. Then if you've done all four this turn, transform Avatar Aang. "It's easy to do nothing. It's hard to forgive." 4/4 |
 |
Aang, Master of Elements Legendary Creature - Avatar Ally Flying Spells you cast cost At the beginning of each upkeep, you may transform Aang, Master of Elements. If you do, you gain 4 life, draw four cards, put four +1/+1 counters on him, and he deals 4 damage to each opponent. 6/6 |
The most important question to answer now is how does bending the elements fit into Magic the Gathering? We'll break it down for you. In the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender there are 4 elements that one can bend - with subcategories stemming from that (Waterbending allows Bloodbending, Earthbending allows Metalbending, etc). These have been adapted to fit the Magic the Gathering gameplay in the following ways:
| Keyword |
Mechanic |
| Airbend(ing) | This is a keyword action that captures airbending's evasive and disruptive nature. When you airbend a permanent, it is exiled. However, the owner may pay  to cast it from exile as long as it is exiled this way. |
| Waterbend(ing) | This is an ability word which is attached to activated abilities and the cost of spells. Similarly to convoke and improvise, creatures and artifacts you control can be tapped to pay for  in the cost of a waterbend ability. |
| Firebend(ing) | This is a triggered keyword ability on creatures that represent firebenders' ability to draw power from aggression. Whenever a creature with firebending X attacks, its controller adds X  which they don't lose between steps and phases until the end of combat. |
| Earthbend(ing) | This is a keyword action that symbolises earthbenders' ability to take advantage of the terrain around them. When you earthbend X, target land you control becomes a 0/0 creature with haste in addition to its other types, and you put X +1/+1 counters on it. When that land dies or is exiled, you return it to the battlefield tapped. |
You can see from the explanations above that WOTC has adapted each bending style to match the gameplay of each Mana type. Firebending's aggression matching that of Red Mana, Waterbending is all about control (and if they include Bloodbending in this set, that thought is terrifying) much like a lot of Blue Mana's characteristics, Earthbending matches the token creation of Green Mana, and Airbending is all about evasiveness and disruption much like White Mana. It'll be interesting to see how many of these cards develop as the reveals are dropped!
If you're interested in keeping up with any Universes Beyond: Avatar: The Last Airbender news be sure to check back here regularly - or join our Discord! Avatar: The Last Airbender releases on the 1st of November.