Commander blueprint · Avatar: The Last Airbender

How to build Katara, the Fearless

Katara, the Fearless makes each triggered ability on your Allies fire twice and has none of her own, so this list is chosen one trigger at a time. Thirty of its thirty three Allies have something for her to double.

Art by Hisashi Momose

More than a third of the Allies in her colors give her nothing to double

Her text says triggered ability, and that one word does most of the deckbuilding. A triggered ability is a line that starts with when, whenever or at. Of the Allies a green, white and blue deck can play, more than a third have no such line. Sea Gate Loremaster draws a card for each Ally you control, but it does so by tapping, so it draws exactly as many with Katara as without her. White Lotus Reinforcements gives your other Allies +1/+1 for as long as it stays, which is a static ability and gets nothing. Veteran Warleader, the cohort Allies from Oath of the Gatewatch and the Avatar cards that waterbend for their effect are all in the same position. Each one is still an Ally, so it still sets the others off, but next to an Ally that triggers it is half a card.

Thirty of the thirty three Allies in this list trigger. The three that do not are here for mana and cards. Great Divide Guide gives every land and every Ally you control a tap for one mana of any color, so each Ally token becomes a mana source from the turn after it arrives. Harabaz Druid taps for one mana of a single color for each Ally you control. Realmwalker, naming Ally as it enters, lets you cast Allies from the top of your library, which is card advantage that needs nothing to trigger.

Five cards in the list ask you to name a creature type, and the answer on all five is Ally. Human would cover more of the printed creatures, but it leaves out Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Appa, the Vigilant, Turntimber Ranger, Tajuru Warcaller, Kor Entanglers and every 1/1 Ally token, and those tokens are the creature this deck makes most often. Naming Ally leaves out four creature cards: Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, Spark Double and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines.

Every changeling is an Ally, and three of the best came out of Lorwyn Eclipsed

Changeling makes a card every creature type in every zone, so a Shapeshifter is an Ally as far as Katara is concerned, and its triggers double like any other. Six of the thirty three Allies here are changelings. Mutable Explorer makes a tapped Mutavault token when it enters, and under Katara it makes two, which is two lands from a three mana creature. Chomping Changeling destroys up to one artifact or enchantment, so it takes two. Flock Impostor has flash and flying and returns up to one other creature you control to your hand, and it does that twice: save two creatures from a wipe, or pick up two Allies whose arrival you want to see again. All three are from Lorwyn Eclipsed.

Irregular Cohort is the one that feeds everything else. Its token is a 2/2 Shapeshifter with changeling, which makes the token an Ally, and Katara makes the Cohort's trigger fire twice. So one four mana card puts three Allies onto the battlefield, and each of the three sets off every Ally that is watching for another one. Unsettled Mariner punishes an opponent's spell or ability that targets you or one of your permanents, and with two triggers they pay twice or lose it.

An Ally that makes an Ally is doubled twice, and that is where the damage comes from

Rally is the Battle for Zendikar name for an ability that triggers whenever that creature or another Ally you control enters, and Katara doubles every one of them. That alone is a fair deal. It becomes a large one when the arriving Ally has a trigger of its own that makes another Ally, because she doubles the token trigger and then doubles each rally trigger the tokens set off.

Walk one through. Tajuru Warcaller is out, and you cast Kyoshi Warriors. The Warriors entering triggers Tajuru Warcaller twice. The Warriors' own trigger goes on the stack twice as well, and each copy makes a 1/1 white Ally token. Each of those tokens triggers Tajuru Warcaller twice more. That is six rally triggers of +2/+2, so every creature you control gets +12/+12 until end of turn. Without Katara the same card is two triggers and +4/+4. With Doubling Season out each copy of the Warriors' trigger makes two tokens, and the count climbs to ten triggers and +20/+20.

The other token makers run the same sum. Invasion Reinforcements does it at instant speed, Katara, Water Tribe's Hope does it as she enters, Suki, Kyoshi Warrior does it on every attack and Aang and Katara does it on entering and on attacking. The tokens from Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Retreat to Emeria, United Front and Jasmine Dragon Tea Shop come from sources that are not Allies, so Katara does not double what they make. Each token is still an Ally arriving, though, and that half of the doubling still happens.

Turntimber Ranger is the second finisher and the slower one. Each Ally arriving makes two 2/2 Wolves and puts two +1/+1 counters on the Ranger. The Wolves are not Allies, so they set nothing else off, and the board grows by two bodies per Ally rather than running away on its own.

South Pole Voyager draws on the first Ally of each turn, so cast them on other players' turns

South Pole Voyager gains you 1 life whenever it or another Ally enters, and the second time that ability resolves in a turn it draws you a card too. Under Katara a single Ally resolves it twice. So the first Ally of any turn is a card, and the second and third Allies that turn are only life.

That rewards spreading your Allies around the table instead of casting three in your own main phase. Five creatures in the list have flash: Invasion Reinforcements, Aang, Swift Savior, Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Ty Lee, Chi Blocker and Flock Impostor. The Blue Spirit lets you cast the first creature spell of each turn as though it had flash, and it draws a card whenever a nontoken creature you control enters during combat, which Katara makes two cards. Hold an Ally until another player attacks, cast it once attackers are declared, and the Voyager and the Spirit draw three between them.

Jet, Rebel Leader is the same idea on your own turn. Each time it attacks it looks at the top five cards twice and can put a creature with mana value three or less onto the battlefield tapped and attacking each time. Those creatures arrive during combat, so The Blue Spirit draws two for each of them, and Kindred Discovery, named Ally, draws one more for every Ally among them.

The Earth King's two Bears are two land searches on every attack

The Earth King makes a 4/4 Bear token when it enters, so under Katara it makes two. Its second ability searches for basic lands whenever one or more of your creatures with power 4 or greater attack, one land for each of them, and that doubles too. Attack with both Bears the next turn and you put up to four basic lands onto the battlefield tapped. That is most of the reason a three color list carries ten basics: four Forests, three Plains and three Islands.

Retreat to Emeria turns each of those lands into a 1/1 Kor Ally token, and each Kor Ally sets off the rally creatures twice. Haru, Hidden Talent earthbends 1 whenever another Ally enters, so the same Kor Ally can also wake two of your lands as creatures with haste. Mutable Explorer's two Mutavaults count for Retreat to Emeria as well.

Those ten basics also let the land count sit at thirty five. Twenty two of the lands enter untapped and ten more do so on a condition that a four player table usually meets, so only Path of Ancestry, Spara's Headquarters and Seaside Citadel always come in tapped. Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, Great Divide Guide and Harabaz Druid are four creatures that make mana, Nature's Lore and Farseek each fetch a land with a basic land type, and the deck ends up with twenty eight green, twenty eight white and twenty seven blue sources. Two white by turn three is the tightest number, at 78.5%, and eight cards ask for it, Suki, Courageous Rescuer and Irregular Cohort among them.

The removal is printed on creatures, and each piece hits two targets

The list runs four removal spells and no board wipe, which is light for a deck this size. The rest of the interaction sits on Allies, where Katara doubles it. Earth Kingdom Jailer exiles up to two artifacts, creatures or enchantments with mana value three or more, and both stay gone until the Jailer leaves. Chomping Changeling destroys two artifacts or enchantments. Ty Lee, Chi Blocker taps two creatures and keeps them tapped for as long as you control her. Aang, Swift Savior airbends two targets, each a creature or a spell, so one copy can exile an opponent's best blocker while the other exiles your own Kyoshi Warriors. Recast the Warriors for and you get two more tokens, plus two more again if Appa, Steadfast Guardian is out, since it makes an Ally token whenever you cast a spell from exile.

Kor Entanglers taps a creature an opponent controls whenever it or another Ally enters, which is two creatures per Ally under Katara and clears the way on the turn Tajuru Warcaller is pumping. There is no sweeper because thirty seven of the ninety nine are creatures, and this deck loses more to a wipe than anyone it would cast one against. Teferi's Protection, Heroic Intervention and Flawless Maneuver are there instead, for the wipes the rest of the table casts.

A second Katara adds one trigger, not two, and so does Panharmonicon

Spark Double can enter as a copy of Katara that is not legendary, and the two add rather than multiply. Each copy gives one more instance, so with two Kataras an Ally's ability triggers three times, not four. Panharmonicon works the same way for anything that triggers when a creature or artifact enters, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines does it for anything that triggers when any permanent enters. With Katara and Panharmonicon out, each rally ability fires three times. Add Elesh Norn and it is four, and her last line means nothing entering the battlefield sets off a permanent an opponent controls.

Doubling Season does a different job. It changes how many tokens and counters each effect makes rather than how many triggers there are, so it multiplies on top of everything above. Hada Freeblade and Oran-Rief Survivalist each put a +1/+1 counter on themselves whenever an Ally enters, which under Katara is two counters, and with Doubling Season as well it is four.

The core list

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The budget rung keeps every Ally that triggers, and bracket 4 makes the Wolves Allies too

Neither rung touches the token makers, the rally creatures or the Allies with removal printed on them. What moves is the support around them.

The budget rung is fifteen swaps and brings the list from $361 to $120. Smothering Tithe and Teferi's Protection are the two Game Changers and both go, so nothing holds it above bracket 2. After them the largest saving is Doubling Season, which becomes Allied Teamwork. Five of the fifteen are lands, so this version has six lands that always enter tapped where the core list has three. Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines becomes Starfield Vocalist, which has the same extra trigger for anything entering on a four mana blue creature and gives up the line that silences your opponents. Aang, Airbending Master is the only Ally with a trigger to leave, for Earth Kingdom General.

It plays the same game with a lower ceiling. Kyoshi Warriors under Tajuru Warcaller is still +12/+12 here, but it never reaches +20/+20. The bigger cost shows when someone casts a wipe. Unbreakable Formation and Wrap in Vigor keep your creatures alive through most destroy effects and damage, and neither does anything about exile, sacrifice or a board returned to its owners' hands, which Teferi's Protection handled.

The bracket 4 rung is nine swaps and comes to $639. It runs six Game Changers, but the reason it belongs at bracket 4 is one card. Arcane Adaptation, naming Ally, makes every creature you control an Ally, and that includes the Wolves from Turntimber Ranger. Each Wolf then triggers the Ranger, twice under Katara, and the Ranger's ability is optional, so the loop runs for as long as you choose. With Kor Entanglers out every Wolf taps two of your opponents' creatures, and with Tajuru Warcaller out every Wolf is +4/+4 to your team. The Wolves cannot attack the turn they arrive, but everything that was already there can. Those two cards are a combo without Katara, and she only makes it faster.

Enlightened Tutor finds Arcane Adaptation or Roaming Throne. Worldly Tutor and Chord of Calling find the Ranger, and Chord can be paid for partly by tapping your creatures and puts it straight onto the battlefield at instant speed. Roaming Throne, naming Ally, adds a third trigger on top of Katara's second for every Ally ability. Cavern of Souls and Three Tree City name Ally too, and Rhystic Study and Cyclonic Rift are the other two new Game Changers. This is the version for a table that expects combos. At a bracket 3 table, leave Arcane Adaptation out and the rest of the rung is a stronger copy of the core list.

FAQ

Does Katara, the Fearless double rally abilities?

Yes. Rally is a triggered ability, so each Ally entering sets off every rally creature you control twice. That includes Katara herself entering, and any Ally that enters at the same moment she does. Static bonuses such as the one on White Lotus Reinforcements, and abilities you pay to activate such as cohort, are not doubled.

Do changelings count as Allies for Katara, the Fearless?

Yes. Changeling makes a card every creature type wherever it is, Ally included, so a changeling's triggered abilities fire twice under Katara and it sets off your rally creatures when it enters. A token with changeling counts too. This list runs six changelings, and three of them come from Lorwyn Eclipsed.

What bracket is a Katara, the Fearless deck?

Bracket 3 at the least, because of two Game Changers, Smothering Tithe and Teferi's Protection. There is no combo, no extra turn and no land destruction in the core list. The budget rung drops both cards and has no floor. The bracket 4 rung runs six Game Changers and the Turntimber Ranger loop, so it belongs at a table that plays combos.

How much does a Katara, the Fearless deck cost?

Priced card by card at the lowest paper price for each, $361 for the core list, $120 for the budget rung and $639 for bracket 4, as of the date in the box at the top of the page. Smothering Tithe, Teferi's Protection, Doubling Season and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines make up about two fifths of the core list's money, and the budget rung cuts all four.

Is Turntimber Ranger infinite with Katara, the Fearless?

Not on its own. The Wolves Turntimber Ranger makes are not Allies, so under Katara each Ally that enters gives you two Wolves and it stops there. It becomes a loop with no end the moment the Wolves are Allies as well, which is what Arcane Adaptation naming Ally does, and that is why Arcane Adaptation is only in the bracket 4 rung.

Does a second Katara, the Fearless make Ally triggers happen four times?

No, three. Each Katara adds one more instance, so an Ally's triggered ability fires once for itself and once for every copy of her. Spark Double is how this list gets a second one, because its copy is not legendary. Panharmonicon and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines add one more in the same way for anything set off by a permanent entering, and Roaming Throne adds one for the creature type you name.

Which Katara is this deck for?

Katara, the Fearless, number 230 in Avatar: The Last Airbender, the green, white and blue Human Warrior Ally with no abilities apart from the trigger doubling. Two other Katara cards are in the ninety nine: Katara, Water Tribe's Hope, which makes an Ally token when she enters, and Aang and Katara, which makes a token for every tapped artifact and creature you control whenever it enters or attacks.