Airbending Lesson
Put the pieces together
- Remove a blocker for a turn while your flyers keep attacking. A Clue or an Ally can help pay waterbend later.
- An anthem with one flyer is less useful than another creature.
WU
Flying
White–Blue (WU)Flying
Mode
How it wins
Attack over ground blockers with flying creatures. Develop small Allies first, then use Air Nomad Legacy or a timely airbend to turn those creatures into a clock.
- Early
- Develop mana and a useful creature; avoid spending a turn on a reward with no support.
- Middle
- Remove a blocker for a turn while your flyers keep attacking. A Clue or an Ally can help pay waterbend later.
- Finish
- Attack over ground blockers with flying creatures. Develop small Allies first, then use Air Nomad Legacy or a timely airbend to turn those creatures into a clock.
What it needs
Stay open early. Move toward this pair when you receive useful cards for both colors and the support described below.
Four checks while you draft
- 1Start playing early
Can I add a creature or useful answer by turn two?
Falling behind makes your later synergies harder to use.
- 2Flying creatures before the anthem
Does this card supply a missing piece of this plan?
Remove a blocker for a turn while your flyers keep attacking. A Clue or an Ally can help pay waterbend later.
- 3A way to win
Can my deck finish without drawing its single best card?
Attack over ground blockers with flying creatures. Develop small Allies first, then use Air Nomad Legacy or a timely airbend to turn those creatures into a clock.
- 4An answer
Can I stop a large threat or an opposing engine?
Keep removal for a card your creatures cannot handle.
Choose the missing job before another reward that needs it.
What to take next
You already have Air Nomad Legacy but lack support.
Prioritize First-Time Flyer or Messenger Hawk.
Flying creatures before the anthem. An anthem with one flyer is less useful than another creature.
You have Airbending Lesson and can use the interaction.
Consider First-Time Flyer for the next useful piece.
Remove a blocker for a turn while your flyers keep attacking. A Clue or an Ally can help pay waterbend later.
The support is missing
Keep broadly useful creatures and answers; if the special reward is missing, build a complete deck before chasing it.
Signals to watch
- Seeing several of First-Time Flyer, Water Tribe Rallier, Messenger Hawk arrive after your opening picks is more meaningful than one isolated gold card.
Repeated useful cards are clues, not proof that the colors are open.
Don’t
Check the support
An anthem with one flyer is less useful than another creature.
Against this deck
Keep blockers with flying or reach, and kill the anthem only if that changes combat. Race carefully: a Clue can help activate a waterbend ability after blockers are declared.
Best commons & uncommons
Invasion Submersible63.8% GIH · 7,621 instances
Aang, the Last Airbender63.0% GIH · 6,139 instances
Earth Kingdom Jailer62.5% GIH · 5,827 instances
Gran-Gran61.4% GIH · 5,678 instances
Benevolent River Spirit60.3% GIH · 6,517 instances
Sokka, Lateral Strategist60.2% GIH · 6,667 instances17Lands ↗ · Nov 18–Dec 31, 2025 · at least 100 card-in-hand instances in this pair’s no-splash decks. Choose the job your deck needs first.
Bombs in these colors
The Legend of Yangchen 3WWPair it with early defense, then cheap spells to trigger Yangchen after the Saga transforms. It needs double white; do not distort a nonwhite deck for it.
United Front XWWPrioritize cheap creatures and Ally rewards; the counters improve your whole team. It scales with extra mana, but double white makes it a poor light splash.
The Legend of Kuruk 2UUBuild a blue deck that can defend while the Saga draws cards. Cheap spells become evasive Spirits after it transforms; double blue discourages a light splash.
Wan Shi Tong, Librarian XUUKeep blue mana available, then choose an X you can afford. Ramp helps it grow and draw cards; {U}{U} is demanding for a splash.
Aang, Swift Savior 1WUPlay a white-blue tempo plan: hold up Aang to interrupt a spell or protect a creature. One missing color can be splashed with fixing, but casting him on time is better.17Lands Premier Draft ↗ · Nov 18–Dec 31, 2025 · 100-instance minimum
Cards for this pair
By jobA card can fill more than one job.
First-Time FlyerA cheap flying Ally; one Lesson in your graveyard makes it a better attacker.
Water Tribe RallierAn early Ally becomes a source of creatures later. Spare Clues and creatures can help pay its waterbend cost.
Messenger HawkFlying plus a Clue links drawing, waterbending and aerial attacks. Either blue or black can cast its hybrid cost.
Kyoshi WarriorsGoldUncommons and rares in both colors
All 233 castable cards →Including hybrid and colorless cards
Worked turns
2 examplesExamples apply the printed rules; judge the board, costs and timing.
Playing against this plan
- Keep blockers with flying or reach, and kill the anthem only if that changes combat. Race carefully: a Clue can help activate a waterbend ability after blockers are declared.
Adapt the plan to your format
| One-pick | Sealed |
|---|---|
| Normal one-pick draft: pick one card, pass the pack, and reassess which colors are arriving. Arena statistics are useful evidence, not the exact odds at your home table. | Use the cards you actually opened. If the support is missing, favor a complete curve and answers over forcing this theme. |
Rules for every deck →What every two-color deck needs before the plan: early plays, answers, a curve and mana · BuildLearn deck building →
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