The cat owl is out of the bag! Magic: The Gathering is officially getting an Avatar: The Last Airbender set as the final Standard release of 2025. The set, which launches on November 21, is based purely on Nickelodeon’s original series, following the adventures of Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph in their mission to defeat Fire Lord Ozai.
Of course, if you haven’t been living under The Boulder for the last couple of months, this reveal may be no surprise to you. We’ve believed since early January that Avatar was likely to be the final MTG set in the calendar, thanks to a rather telling clue that was (of all places) spotted on the Daily Deals page on MTG Arena. Nonetheless, it’s good to have it officially confirmed, along with a release date – something we’re still waiting on for the penultimate set, Marvel Spiderman.
An Avatar: The Last Airbender set does help explain why Wizards of the Coast is releasing a Spongebob Squarepants Secret Lair this year. That stuck out as a particularly odd announcement (and terrible fit for Magic) at the time, but now that we know Wizards was working on a deal with Nickelodeon for this release, all is suddenly made clear.
We haven’t had any cards confirmed for the set just yet, leaving us free to speculate about what might be in this set, from reprints like Imprisoned in the Moon to creature types (obviously there’ll be a few Avatars), to mechanics.
In particular, it’ll be interesting to see how Wizards of the Coast decides to split the four Avatar elements between the five MTG colors. I could imagine the designers assigning a particular color pair to each element (Rakdos for Fire, Gruul for Earth etc) but they might not go down this route at all, especially since the elements aren’t represented evenly in the plot: the Air Nomads are all wiped out before the Last Airbender story really begins.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an almost-universally beloved show, and I predict that some of those who have been immune to the charms of Universes Beyond so far will be won around, at least temporarily, by this release. Personally, it’s now the set on the MTG release schedule that I am most looking forward to. I want every single Zuko card, showing his transition from villain to hero.
The news of an Avatar x Magic: The Gathering set comes just one day after a brand new series of Avatar was announced. Avatar: Seven Havens is a new 26-episode series set in a post-cataclysmic world where the Avatar is hunted as the world’s destroyer. And it’s due out in January 2026, less than two months after this set. Avatar fans are finally eating good!
Because I’m not sure where else I’d get the chance to do it, I’m also going to take the opportunity to recommend the Avatar: Live in Concert show, which I went to last month. If you like Avatar, epic soundtracks, and the Secret Tunnel song, it’s a solid 10/10.
For more Magic: The Gathering news, check out our guides to Tarkir Dragonstorm and Edge of Eternities, which have also had new details revealed. Or check out our guide to the best MTG commanders in the format.
Source: Wargamer
