There is a much more positive undertone to all the cards revealed for the Avatar set for Magic: The Gathering compared to Spider-Man, with fans praising how well the IP seems to fit into MTG's world and card mechanics. With four interesting core mechanics tied to the types of elemental bending from Avatar, the new Magic: The Gathering set has plenty of combo potential within itself and also with other sets and fan-favorite cards. As an Eternal format, this can be particularly true for Commander, which already features incredible combos like the infamous Thassa's Oracle + Demonic Consultation. Now, a new commander from Avatar is on the rise, and it can be quite powerful.

MTG's Katara, Waterbending Master is an OP commander for mono-Blue decks, and cards like Aang, at the Crossroads are already contending for the spot of best commanders from the set. Some cards are equally great in the 99, proving to be versatile in any Commander deck. One such card is the newly revealed Wan Shi Tong, All-Knowing, which could easily become the best commander from the Avatar set, or the best card to fit in the 99, if not both. This is due to a few reasons:

  • Wan Shi Tong has synergies with many Commander staples (especially in cEDH), such as:
    • Sisay, Weatherlight Captain can tutor for it and/or use it to boost itself.
    • Valley Floodcaller untaps it due to its bird subtype and also gives it +1/+1 whenever a noncreature spell is cast.
    • Infinite mana sink in decks like Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy, or Flubs, the Fool.
    • Combos with Hullbreaker Horror for infinite card draw.
    • Powerful synergy with Tymna, the Weaver, which is one of the most powerful and played commanders in the game.
    • Amazing reaction card to use versus fetchlands or tutor cards, thanks to its flash ability.

  • Wan Shi Tong can ideally be cast during an opponent's turn, even for just 2 Blue mana, as it can get multiple +1/+1 counters in a turn cycle in Commander games due to how many tutor-like abilities are played.
  • MTG's Rhystic Study can make for a powerful stax combo with Wan Shi Tong due to the former drawing cards and the latter getting more powerful whenever a tutor is used.
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It's worth noting that, as a Commander, Wan Shi Tong is not immune to the so-called "Commander Tax," meaning that the extra mana needed to cast it from the zone can't be diluted into the X portion of its cost. If it was removed once, for example, players need to pay 2 generic and 2 Blue to cast it, and then add X mana as they please.

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Magic: The Gathering's Most Hyped Avatar Commander May Do a 180

The Avatar set coming to Magic: The Gathering on November 21 already has a fan-favorite commander, but its mechanics may backfire.

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Say Hello to Magic: The Gathering's Best Commander Card in Avatar: The Last Airbender

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The reason that Wan Shi Tong can be so strong as a commander lies in the fact that it's immediately available to cast from the command zone. Since most Commander decks feature at least a few tutor-like cards (i.e., fetchlands, ramp cards that fetch lands from the library, proper tutor cards like Demonic Tutor, and tutor-like abilities like that of Sisay), it's going to be very unlikely that Wan Shi Tong doesn't become bigger and more powerful in any given Commander game. Given that it also has both flying and vigilance, Wan Shi Tong can be a fantastic attacker and blocker in combat once it's powered up.

How to Play MTG's Wan Shi Tong, All-Knowing in Commander

Much like some of the best commanders in MTG, Wan Shi Tong can work wonders with various combos and strategies. It could be built as a bird tribal deck, it could act as a potential candidate for Voltron strategies, it could fuel any strategy with card draw that is easily accessible in the command zone, and it could work perfectly in artifacts-matter decks.

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A powerful Voltron card in MTG to consider for Wan Shi Tong is Commander Plate, which, for 1 generic to cast and 3 generic to equip, would give it +3/+3 and protection from White, Black, Red, and Green.

The possibilities with Wan Shi Tong are endless, and since it doesn't cater to a specific playstyle, it remains very flexible. Still, since this is a mono-Blue commander, it is inherently bound to play interaction spells like Flusterstorm, Fierce Guardianship, and other counterspells in MTG, which are necessary to keep it alive in the face of removals, so that it can keep on growing in power.

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Magic: The Gathering Arena
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Digital Card Game
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PC-1
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Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 81%
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Released
September 27, 2018
ESRB
T for Teen // Blood and Gore, Mild Fantasy Violence
Developer(s)
Wizards of the Coast, Wizards Digital Games Studios
Publisher(s)
Wizards of the Coast
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