Top Trades: November 11 - November 18

Fire Lord Azula | Illustrated by Fahmi Fauzi

Welcome back, folks, and happy Thursday! I hope that everyone who went out and played in a prerelease event this past weekend had a good time. As this week's wrapping up, it's time for Top Trades, the weekly series where we check in with the most popular cards here at Cardsphere. So, let's get to it!

Honorable Mention - Cryogen Relic

Number of Trades: 7 --- Number of Cards Traded: 13

Starting things off is our honorable mention for the week and the only card from a set other than Avatar: The Last Airbender: it's Cryogen Relic, the nifty little artifact that just keeps popping up.

For , Cryogen Relic is an artifact that, when it enters or leaves the battlefield, lets you draw a card. Additionally, you can pay and sacrifice it to put a stun counter on up to one target tapped creature.

While Cryogen Relic sees some play across both Standard and Pioneer as a inclusion in a few of those formats' more control-oriented decks (Esper Pixie in Standard, Dimir Bounce in Pioneer), the real home for this card is Pauper, where it gets plenty of use out of being sacrificed to the likes of Reckoner's Bargain in order to draw a wild amount of cards.

#5 - Fire Lord Azula

Number of Trades: 8 --- Number of Cards Traded: 8

Kicking off our list, and tied for our fourth pitch in number of trades and cards traded, is Fire Lord Azula, a legendary creature from Avatar: The Last Airbender that is going to be the reason the combat step becomes the combo step.

For , Fired Lord Azula is a 4/4 legendary Human Noble with firebending 2 and the triggered ability "Whenever you cast a spell while Fire Lord Azula is attacking, copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy." (Whenever a creature with firebending attacks, add an amount of to your mana pool equal to that creature's firebending number. That mana doesn't leave your mana pool as steps and phases end until the end of combat.)

Fire Lord Azula is a card that just begs for flash-enablers. Borne Upon a Wind, [Valley Floodcaller[/el], Leyline of Anticipation; all of these are cards that are in Azula's color identity, and all of them allow you to double anything you want during the combat step.

#4 - Wan Shi Tong, Librarian

Number of Trades: 8 --- Number of Cards Traded: 8

Coming in at number four on our list this week is one of Avatar: The Last Airbender's premier contribution's to cEDH: an infinite mana outlet that also serves as a card draw engine. It's Wan Shi Tong, Librarian.

For , Wan Shi Tong is a legendary 1/1 Bird Spirit with flash, flying, vigilance, and "Whenever an opponent searches their library, put a +1/+1 counter on Wan Shi Tong and draw a card." Additionally, when Wan Shi Tong enters, put X +1/+1 counters on it and draw half that many cards, rounded down.

Wan Shi Tong is basically blue's version of Archivist of Oghma, except with the flexibility of being a mana sink and the resiliency of +1/+1 counters being placed on it as the game goes on (making it harder to kill via Orcish Bowmasters damage alone). The only limiting factor on this card at all is the in its mana cost, something that isn't always immediately available in higher-color decks, but for all that Wan Shi Tong does that cost is easily worth it.

#3 - Redirect Lightning

Number of Trades: 9 --- Number of Cards Traded: 9

Tied with our next pick for the week is the other card that cEDH players absolutely giddy, and this time it's red. Let's look at Redirect Lightning.

For , Redirect Lightning is a Lesson instant with the additional cost of either pay five life or pay . Regardless of choice, however, the effect is the same: change the target of target spell or ability with a single target.

In cEDH, red interaction is at a premium, considering the color's prominence throughout the format as the second-most-interactive color (behind blue, of course). That interaction mostly falls into two camps: cards that redirect spells, and cards that counter blue spells. In the redirect camp, the best-in-class is Deflecting Swat, but for that to be affordable (free instead of ) you have to control your commander. Easy enough in most decks, but a recent slew of potent, mana-intensive commanders (such as Kefka, Court Mage) have shown that sometimes that requirement is only met in the late game. Redirect Lightning may never be free, but is as close as you can get.

#2 - Great Divide Guide

Number of Trades: 9 --- Number of Cards Traded: 9

Coming in as our penultimate pick for the the week is Great Divide Guide, an Ally-supporting mana-fixer that's gonna smooth out mana for plenty of Commander decks from now until well, forever probably.

For , Great Divide Guide is a 2/3 Human Scout Ally that grants each land and each Ally creature you control (including this one) the ability ": Add one mana of any color." Not only is this an excellent source of fixing akin to Prismatic Omen, but it's also a minimum plus-one source of mana ramp. In Ally decks - an archetype that frequently plays at least three, if not more, colors - that plus-one ramp can easily explode into making each creature you control a potential mana source. Now that's an easy way to close out a game.

#1 - Avatar's Wrath

Number of Trades: 10 --- Number of Cards Traded: 10

Here we are, folks, our most traded card for the week. Let's check out Avatar's Wrath, white's set-themed board wipe from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

For , this sorcery allows you to choose up to one target creature, then airbend all other creatures. Until your next turn, your opponents can't cast spells from anywhere other than their hands. Exile Avatar's Wrath. (To airbend something, exile it. That card's owner may cast it from exile for rather than that card's mana cost.)

Avatar's Wrath sits somewhere between a mass-flicker spell (something that would exile a bunch of stuff, then return it to the battlefield) and a mass bounce-spell (something like Aetherspouts). The cost t0 re-cast an airbended creature is decent, but not terribly high; more times than not, this'll be less than that card's mana value. What really makes Avatar's Wrath shine, however, is that one-turn restriction on casting creatures from other zones that it imposes on your opponents. By giving you the guaranteed first-turn to start recasting any of your own airbended creatures, plus leaving you with up to one already in play, Avatar's Wrath is a massive tempo swing that will always leave you ahead.

Wrap Up

This week, like most weeks immediately after a set prereleases, was all about the new cards. Avatar: The Last Airbender has brought with it a lot of exciting stuff; from an Ally resurgence to cEDH all-stars, this set (and this week) was a testament to crossover expansion done right. Check back in next week for another Top Trades, and thanks for reading!