This year has been an interesting one when it comes to Magic: The Gathering and Universes Beyond. With 3 UB sets there was plenty of reasonable and fair criticism. Personally, I like UB and absolutely adored the Final Fantasy set. I liked a lot about the Spider-Man set, even if it didn’t achieve what I felt it could have. Fortunately the new Avatar set that has been released is much more on the Final Fantasy end of the spectrum, and I am digging the hell out of it.
What’s it like to play?
Avatar, like Final Fantasy, is kind of a slam dunk of a set when it comes to gameplay. The biggest new mechanics are the bending techniques. Fire bending gives you extra mana when you go to combat, air bending gives you the ability to phase creatures out to exile to be replayed later, water bending has many different effects that are all paid with extra costs which can also be convoked, and earth bending turns your lands into creatures. All of these are fun mechanics, which don’t force you down a specific archetype. A good earthbending card can totally work in a firebending deck, for example. What this means is you can play some highly synergistic decks, but you can also play the best cards you get. With my first draft, I had an absolute blast with it, and I suspect that when Lorwyn Eclipsed rolls around, I will still be having a blast drafting it.
The flavour is also fantastic, with characters having abilities to fit inside, side characters earning their places, and fantastic cards like Sokka’s Haiku, which is as silly as it is brilliant. It is super clear that someone who loves Avatar was in control of this set. As such, it wins on gameplay and flavour.
What about the art?
The new cards in the set have fantastic art. The iconic characters and creatures look fantastic. There are a bunch of new alt art treatments too. One of the styles is the creatures that have been given a design like the sketches in Bloomburrow. These cards look absolutely gorgeous! Even the cards I don’t have a use for are absolutely bloody stunning!
The bonus sheet, called Source Material, is an interesting one. There are some absurdly good cards in here, like Dockside Extortionist, the Great Henge, and Force of Negation. Reprints of these are always welcomed and add some chaotic fun to drafts. Like Final Fantasy using original concept art and then Spider-Man using iconic comic covers, Avatar is also using source material. The problem is the source material consists of screenshots from an animated series that isn’t exactly HD. Now I will admit, it’s easy to get into the online culture where you look at blown-up pictures of these, and they look terrible, but in person they look much better. It still isn’t fantastic, but it’s far from bad, and the cards themselves are sick.
So how can you buy Magic: The Gathering | Avatar: The Last Airbender?
You can of course buy Play Boosters, which come with some random cards and are the way to play formats like draft and sealer. Or, you know, crack them for fun and see what you get. Then for those who like more shiny things, Collector Boosters, which are far more expensive. They come with more rares and mythics and also have exclusive alternate arts.
This set, like Foundations last year, includes a Jumpstart option. Jumpstart is a cool concept where you buy two packs, shuffle them together, and then play some games. These have varied from fantastic, like Foundations and the 2022 set, to the less good ones like LOTR and MOM. Jumpstart Avatar is full of awesome unique cards which aren’t standard legal.
If you want to get a bunch of boosters and some bonuses, then the bundles are the way to go. There is the normal bundle, which comes with a cool spin-down dice, a bunch of lands, a cool alt art Momo, a Friendly Flier card, nine play boosters, and the card box that it comes in.
Even better is the Commander Bundle. Instead of dropping Commander decks, they have opted for this route. Like a normal bundle, it comes with nine boosters, a bunch of lands, and a super cool hardcover box. But instead of a spindown die, it comes with a life clicker, which is way better and perfect for Commander. On top of that, it has a Collector Booster, a special art Sol Ring, Swiftfoot Boots, Arcane Signet, and then two random Commander Staple promo cards. These vary from solid price cards to very expensive ones. I like this bundle, as at worst you get good value on the packs and promos, and at best get a steal on some of the high-priced cards. This might be my favourite sealed product from the set.
There is also a beginner box. This comes with a bunch of stuff to get you first playing, including some prechosen Jumpstart decks and other stuff to help you play. I haven’t opened one of these but I really like the one in Foundations, and this looks to be the same.
There is also a scene box which has six cards that all combine to make a cool scene, and then three play boosters. If you love the art on them, then it’s cool, but if you are looking for value, it’s not necessarily there. But this is subjective, as I loved the Lord of the Rings scene boxes.
Should you play Magic: The Gathering | Avatar?
This is such an easy recommendation! Do you like Avatar? Then hell yeah! Do you like Magic: The Gathering? Then hell yeah! It’s an excellent set for both fandoms, and so much fun to play. So just life Final Fantasy, it is Universes Beyond at its best.
I rwally don;t think there is anything else I could ask from this set. Fun cards, awesome art, and respect for Magic and Avatar. It's just excellence!
