The Rise of Sozin Is a Powerhouse… But Expensive

The Rise of Sozin

• The Rize of Sozin 4BB
• Enchantment – Saga
• 1. Destroy all creatures.
  2. Choose a card name. Search target opponent’s graveyard, hand, and library for up to four cards with that name and exile them. Then that player shuffles.
  3. Exile this Saga, then return it to the battlefield transformed under your control.
• 5/5

This card is powerful.

Chapter One is a Day of Judgment in black… But it’s six mana.

Chapter Two is a “free” Cranial Extraction. So you overpaid for your Wrath of God effect by two… But then you got four mana back! That can be very cool. Like you can take away the opponent’s potential counter-play, regardless of their archetype. And it’s not like you’re tapping four (or six) mana on your own turn again.

So here’s the thing: You basically have Fire Lord Sozin on “Suspend 2”.
The overall package is super mana efficient.

The question is if that super efficient total kit is worth the bridge of overpaying for your sweeper up front.

Patrick thinks The Rise of Sozin is so great that we’ll build our decks to make six mana cheap enough!

Black in Avatar: The Last Airbender Has LOTS of Powerful Threats

Phoenix Fleet Airship

• Phoenix Fleet Airship 2BB
• Artifact – Vehicle
• Flying
  At the beginning of your end step, if you sacrificed a permanent this turn, create a token that’s a copy of this Vehicle.

  As long as you control eight or more permanents named Phoenix Fleet Airship, this Vehicle is an artifact creature.

  Crew 1

• 4/4

This card is so easy to snowball.

What if it’s turn three and you already had a Treasure token in play?

You sacrifice the Treasure to make a black mana, get this Vehicle in play. And by that we mean two Vehicles.

Phoenix Fleet Airship demands a little planning, but it can go wider and wider just by doing the things you were going to do anyway, like sacrificing an Evolving Wilds to get your lands in play.

Mike thinks Phoenix Fleet Airship is so breakable that it will define how other colors choose their cards. We just got done talking about The Rise of Sozin… But for example in white? Mike thinks Split Up and Day of Judgment will give way to Ultima.

Oh… And there’s the actual cross-format Staple that is going to come out of black. It’s going to kick all kinds of butt in Pioneer, Modern, and maybe even Legacy! Which card is it? Find out in our full black review of Avatar: The Last Airbender!

Accumulate Wisdom Might Be Really, Really Good…

• Accumulate Wisdom 1U
• Instant – Lesson
• Look at the top three cards of your library. Put one of those cards into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. Put each of those cards into your hand instead if there are three or more Lesson cards in your graveyard.

The basic analysis is basic as heck. On its face, Accumulate Wisdom is 3/4 of an Impulse (for the cost of an Impulse). That’s probably not good enough in 2025 (or 2026). After all, there are cards like Consult the Star Charts available for 1U. But looking at the top three cards of your library isn’t the worst for 1U.

While obvious, it might bear mentioning that this card is itself a Lesson.

Weirdly, Mike claims he would be more likely to try this card if it didn’t have the third sentence. Which is crazy. But hear him out: If you have the third sentence you’re kind of obligated to play a lot of Lessons in your deck! Which isn’t the worst because…

Accumulate Wisdom is Kind of an Ancestral Recall

The catch, of course, is that you have to have a critical mass of Lesson cards in your deck (at least four). So if you had only the four copies of Accumulate Wisdom, you’d theoretically be able to draw three cards. But that’s not so crazily exciting. Are there other good Lessons?
We’ve already talked about playable Lessons like It’ll Quench Ya! in our Pop Quiz / Pauper episode; and lots in the our white episode.

There are lots!

But Here’s the Thing…

Accumulate Wisdom probably isn’t even the best blue card in the set.
Have you considered Wan Shi Tong, Librarian?

• Wan Shi Tong, Librarian XUU
• Legendary Creature – Bird Spirit
• FlashFlying, vigilanceWhen Wan Shi Tong enters, put X +1/+1 counters on him. Then draw half X cards, rounded down.Whenever an opponent searches their library, put a +1/+1 counter on Wan Shi Tong and draw a card.
• 1/1

Wan Shi Tong, Librarian is strong and richly layered; and will likely see broad play in formats as wide and powerful as Legacy.
Consider this play…
Your opponent breaks a Polluted Delta on turn two. In response you pay UU for the Bird Spirit with X=0. You’ll get a 1/1; but then Wan Shi Tong, Librarian will “see” the Polluted Delta fetch, go up to 2/2 and draw a card. This card will be meaningful in Standard; if nothing else as a powerhouse Hydroid Krassis WITH FLASH.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is just stacked with playable, and potentially format-changing cards. Blue has some of the best. Check out our full set review here:

Appa, Steadfast Guardian is Like an Airbending Restoration Angel

Appa, Steadfast Guardian is kind of like a Restoration Angel… It has the same casting most more-or-less, and a similar ability. Only on steroids!

Instead of “Blinking” only one creature you can airbend as many as you want. And not just creatures! You can exile any number of permanents. Incoming Wrath of God or Day of Judgment effect? Appa can save your whole team and let you get them all back at a discount. Obviously you’re going to be playing lots of cards with “enters” / 187 abilities, and Appa is going to set those [back] up for you. For two.

Actually… It’s Like ALL the White Cards…

Well maybe not ALL of them.
But a shocking amount of this color from Avatar: The Last Airbender seems really good, or at least playable.
Take Aang’s Iceberg for instance:

This card has a lot of Banishing Light or Oblivion Ring DNA… But at instant speed! Not only that, but you might actually want to target your own creature.

Imagine the dastardly opponent has targeted your poor creature with removal. You can Aang’s Iceberg to save it; and then use the waterbending ability later to not only get it back, but scry 2 while you’re at it. But mostly this is an instant speed Oblivion Ring for the cost of an Oblivion Ring and that should be more than good enough for Standard play.

Lots of Lessons are great. Tons of synergy. You’ll really be excited for airbending. This goes on for like two hours. ALL the white cards! (and we’re just getting started)

Give white a listen, and get ready for Blue!