Toph, Earthbending MasterToph, Earthbending Master | Art by Phima 

Dawn of the Second Week

Welcome back to this special mini-series! We're going through a box of ATLA Jumpstart packs as our advent calendar of the year. Last week, I explained the rules in detail, while going through the first five packs of our box (plus a few bonus games, and my initial impressions).

This week, we up our booster count to seven. After those, we'll be halfway through our calendar!

I can't wait to dig in, so let's commence!

Day Six

Not too much to write home about this one. In this pack, we got Zhao, Ruthless AdmiralZhao, Ruthless Admiral, who serves as a second hybrid black/red legend in the same vein as Zuko, Seeking HonorZuko, Seeking Honor. That said, the entire hybrid legend cycle put Zhao in the main set (remember, I've been giving big hints about this. More on that in a future article).

Our rare, Fire Nation OccupationFire Nation Occupation, is a pretty decent card, provided we can keep casting spells on our opponents' turns. Unfortunately, there's a part of me that confuses this with Obsessive PursuitObsessive Pursuit for some reason.

Day Seven

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

Our first green pack of the mini-series is an absolute banger. Headlining this pack is Toph, Earthbending MasterToph, Earthbending Master, who's sure to be a powerhouse in earthbending decks. With enough land-based ramp, we could rack up those experience counters very fast. What's more, Toph doesn't need to attack to get her earthbending trigger. So, she could sit tight if she wants to.

But, this is Toph we're talking about. Watch she doesn't sassbend our backsides into an active volcano.

Other cards include Solid GroundSolid Ground, which is essentially yet another Hardened ScalesHardened Scales, only except we earthbend when it enters. Note that the land will be affected by the card's effect as well, so it may as well read "earthbend 4." This is great in tandem with Tale of Katara and TophTale of Katara and Toph, an already good card on its own.

Lastly, Kyoshi Warrior ExemplarsKyoshi Warrior Exemplars is a card I'm interested in. I look forward to see how well it performs.

Day Eight

Another green deck? This color must be coming in with a metal chair to even the odds! The rare in this pack, Crystalline ArmorCrystalline Armor looks like a really cool card, and I definitely want to try it out. Moreover, the headliner card, Bumi, King of Three TrialsBumi, King of Three Trials is bound to do work on entry. We could be looking at a lot of Lesson cards in our graveyard, so reaching three won't be too difficult.

Weirdly, this deck also has a Food subtheme, which I think can work? I'd be curious to find out.

Day Nine

This is certainly an interesting pack, where the focus is more thematic than mechanical, but it's got its fair share of neat cards to cover. Firstly, we have a new addition to the GuttersnipeGuttersnipe family in Longshot, Rebel BowmanLongshot, Rebel Bowman (Guttersnipe.dec, anyone? We now have a commander for it). In addition, both Ty Lee, Artful AcrobatTy Lee, Artful Acrobat and Mai, Jaded EdgeMai, Jaded Edge have interesting abilities, and they might rub off on me in the future.

This time we have two rares instead of one. Firebending StudentFirebending Student is a neat card that gets stronger the more noncreature spells we cast. That, in turn, also empowers her firebending ability.

What would be a good payoff for all those spells? Why, the other rare, Storm of MemoriesStorm of Memories will do! As long as we have a graveyard full of potential targets, this could go wild.

Day Ten

About time we pull Suki, Kyoshi WarriorSuki, Kyoshi Warrior! I said last week that she would be the better choice to lead a green/white deck, and now we have her. In addition, this variant gave me both Jet, Freedom FighterJet, Freedom Fighter and Sokka, Lateral StrategistSokka, Lateral Strategist, bringing my hybrid legend count to eight. I'm only missing Dimir and Simic at this point.

Our rare from this pack, South Pole VoyagerSouth Pole Voyager reminds me a lot of Rumor GathererRumor Gatherer, and is certain to put in some great work in a dedicated Allies deck.

One card that I've been feeling decidedly mild on is The Duke, Rebel SentryThe Duke, Rebel Sentry. He's good at protecting our key pieces, but the trick is to give him some counters so he can do that. Outside of ATLA, it's a cakewalk. Otherwise, I'm hard-pressed to find ways of adding counters.

Day Eleven

The Boulder is pleased with this pack!

Speaking of The Boulder, Ready to RumbleThe Boulder, Ready to Rumble, his card plays nicely in what green in this set is trying to do: either earthbend, or do Gruul things with beefy creatures. Absolutely bovine! Also, Earth RumbleEarth Rumble is not a bad removal spell, if we can control a creature big enough and have it survive.

The rare in this pack, Master's GuidanceMaster's Guidance, is reminiscent of Colossal MajestyColossal Majesty. The exceptions being that this happens on end step on top of being an enabler. Power creep is real, yo. Toph, the Blind BanditToph, the Blind Bandit will get big for each counter we have on lands. So, keep earthbending, Twinkle Toes!

Day Twelve

Just when I was beginning to panic about blue not getting enough themes, it comes raring back with Wan Shi Tong, All-KnowingWan Shi Tong, All-Knowing in tow. He represents a deckbuilding challenge, namely to tuck cards into libraries, then swarm the board. Fortunately, there's a few cards that help enable him, like Accumulate WisdomAccumulate Wisdom and the conveniently reprinted BrainstormBrainstorm.

The contents are like a blueprint to build our own Wan Shi Tong deck (and I mean this one, not the other one from the main set). If we were looking to build that, this is where I'd begin.

With seven packs down, this'll mean a longer than usual review section. Buckle up.

A Second Review

Speaking of reviews, what a week this was! We hit our first two mythic rare variants with Toph and Librarian. Toph, Earthbending MasterToph, Earthbending Master herself is going for quite a hefty price tag on the secondary market, and is sure to make waves in decks where lands are a critical part of the game plan.

Green, this time, has made quite a comeback. That said, this came at the cost of blue beginning to look woefully underrepresented. The Librarian theme is nice, but we could do with more blue here to balance things out. Having eight out of ten of the hybrid legends is nice as well, but I wonder if we'll pull the other two colors.

Looking over the deck lists, Guru PathikGuru Pathik is the rarest, appearing in only two themes (a variant of Learning, and Shrines).

Two Down, One to Go

This week marks the halfway point through not just our box, but of our mini-series as well. With one more week of pack opening, will blue stage a comeback, or will my hopes be in vain (coming from a non-blue player, that's saying something)?

What other big pulls will we find? Will we even get to finish the hybrid legend cycle once and for all? We'll have our answers next week, so stay tuned.