Zuko, Avatar Hunter Budget Deck Tech

Zuko, Avatar Hunter | Art by Rafater

Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender set may be a few months away, but we've already gotten a glimpse of several powerful commanders it'll bring into the format. One such legend is none other than everyone's favorite honor-driven prince, Zuko, Avatar Hunter. This card perfectly captures his character in the early episodes of the series as he sets out with a ship full of Fire Nation soldiers, dead set on finding the Avatar.

Hey, Zuko Here

Hailing from the set's Jumpstart product, Zuko, Avatar Hunter can be your own personal army in a can. When I read that he creates a creature token whenever you cast a red spell, the main goal of the deck started to become clear: set yourself up for one big turn. If you're able lay low in the early game and then simply deploy a few payoffs before casting your commander, it can make for a mid to late game for the ages.

So, as we look through this deck, you'll notice there's a few ways to obtain incremental advantage in your set up phase, which will lead to big bursts of value when you're ready to go off. I highly recommend playtesting the deck on Archidekt once you're finished with this article to get a true sense of how powerful this strategy can be.

Speaking of power, there's something we need to get out of the way first and foremost...

The Infinite Combo

Even though this deck is budget-friendly, that doesn't mean it can't contain a nasty two-card combo. Grinning Ignus and Runaway Steam-Kin interact with each other in a very interesting way. Below is a brief overview of the combo, but you can read more about it here on EDHREC.

As you can see, this interaction will give you infinite Soldier tokens if Zuko, Avatar Hunter is on the board. That would squarely put this deck in Bracket (3) Upgraded, since those lists can contain late game two-card infinite combos. However, be sure to bring it up in your pregame discussion so your opponents aren't caught off guard.

This list already runs several cards that would close out the game right away if all the pieces are in place. When this combo is paired with effects that burn the table when creatures enter, you can reduce your opponents' life totals to zero on the spot. Also, if you have any haste-enablers, you can take everyone out with one big attack. Let's take a look at some of those spells now.

Burn Triggers

• Impact Tremors: a true Commander all-star, this enchantment is a cheap and efficient way to add damage to every creature that joins your ranks.
• Weftstalker Ardent: new from Edge of Eternities, this creature can spend turn after turn pinging your opponents if you cast it for its regular cost, or you can warp it in for a single turn when you need that burn damage the most.
• Molten Gatekeeper: here's another useful way to lower your foes' life totals, all while having that unearth option to temporarily get it back on the turn you're ready to close out the game.

Haste-Enablers

• Mass Hysteria: a simple and cheap way to add haste to your board, but it comes with a price: the entire table also gets that effect, so be sure to only cast this when you're ready to pop off with your deck.
• Roar of Resistance: even though this enchantment only gives haste to your tokens, that'll usually be the way you close out games with this list. Plus, it also offers some tricky combat politics with that pump effect, which can even benefit your opponents' creatures if they attack someone else.
• Bitter Reunion: this spell works great in the deck by giving you card selection in the early game and then granting haste to your whole board for only one mana in the late game.

What Makes up the Deck

Now it's time to focus on the rest of the deck and what makes up the 99. As stated before, the gameplan is to build up a big board of value pieces and then capitalize on it by chaining spells together once your commander is out.

Mana Advantage

• Cursed Mirror: not only is this a ramp spell that triggers your commander, but on the turn you're looking to go off, it can come down as a copy of the best creature on the board to assist you with closing out the game.
• Sunset Strikemaster: this creature fills two whole roles in this deck, providing ramp and even removal all on its own.
• Zookeeper Mechan: here's a brand-new mana dork that's a great blocker when you need it and even gives you a way to pump a creature if you really need it... I mean really, really need it, because that ability costs a lot to activate.

• Mana Geyser: when it comes time to close out the game, this spell will be your best friend. The sheer amount of mana this offers will give you all the fuel you need to chain your red spells together.
• Glittering Stockpile: this mana rock helps you cast spells as the game goes on, all while growing counters that can be cashed in for a burst of mana during the late game.
• Battle Hymn: if the deck is building out a big board, like I know it can, this spell could offer you a huge chunk of mana to keep your engine rolling when you need it the most.

Card Advantage

• Inspired Tinkering: a great mix of a ritual and card advantage, this sorcery is your best friend in the deck. On the turn you pop off, this gives you everything you need.
• Snort: something I consistently noticed while playtesting this deck is that after your deck pops off, you can sometimes be stuck with only a few cards in hand. This wheel effect will help ensure you don't get caught defenseless after a win attempt goes awry.
• Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner: not only does this legend offer evasion to your tokens, it also can make for a huge hand refill when all of them swing into your opponents.

• Dark-Dweller Oracle: sometimes your Soldier tokens will need to be sacrificed for the cause and get cashed in for card advantage. The Dark-Dweller is a great way to ensure you don't get stuck without action for your gameplan.
• Brazen Cannonade: since this deck is designed to be pretty aggressive, you're bound to have a lot of big combat steps during your turn. Not only does this make your opponents have tricky blocks, but it also gives you access to an additional card each turn.
• Ecstatic Beauty: three mana for the ability to play three new cards is a solid rate. However, in this deck, you can suspend this spell for only one mana and time it out to resolve on the turn you're ready to go off with your commander.

Bursts of Spells

• Invoke Calamity: this is a card I've wanted to build with for a while and this deck is perfect for it. It offers you three spells in one, which means you'll also create three Soldiers with Zuko.
• Mizzix's Mastery: if you cast this sorcery for its normal cost, you'll still get two casts for the price of one. However, if you overload it, that could make for a pretty impactful game-ender.
• Ignite the Future: here's another way to get access to a few cards for a limited amount of time while also having a mode that casts those spells for free if you flash this back.

Tricky Includes

• Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh: since this creature has a mana value of zero while still being red, Zuko will make you a Soldier when you cast this Kobold for free.
• Tarnation Vista: this land is incredible in the list and should be in a lot more mono-colored decks out there. Once you've assembled an army of creatures, it could generate you a huge burst of mana.
• Crown of Flames: while this doesn't go infinite, it can go a lot. For two mana in total, you can cast it and bounce it back to your hand. Repeat that process as many times as you want, and you'll get a Soldier each time.

The Full Decklist

In Closing

As you might have gathered from reading my article last week for The Cabbage Merchant, Avatar means a lot to me, and Zuko happens to be my all-time favorite character in the series. I wanted to do him justice with this deck and capture the reckless and bullish nature he had at the start of the show.

At this point in the series, Zuko was so loyal to the Fire Nation that he was willing to burn down cities for a family that sent him into exile and spend his whole life searching for something that could never be found.

As we see more cards from this set, I'm making it my mission to help bridge the gap between Magic players who aren't yet fans of the series and the amazing world from the show. If you want to learn more about Avatar and the meaning behind these cards, check out my YouTube channel where I made a video on just that topic.