Universes Beyond’s Most Intense Villain Officially Joins Magic: The Gathering’s Top 10 Commanders

Published Nov 10, 2026, 12:46 PM EST Chris is a writer and editor with well over a decade of experience, with gaming – and especially card games – among his main areas of focus. The Pokémon TCG first introduced him to collectible card games before Magic: The Gathering became a full-blown obsession in the early 2000s. He remains immersed in those fields while also dabbling in RPGs and roguelikes (especially roguelike deckbuilders), and writing on topics related to gaming, music, sports, and entertainment for a variety of outlets including EDHREC, CardSphere, ComicBook.com, FanSided, TheGamer, MTGStocks, ClutchPoints, and more. His interests tend to circle back to the same things: strong design, memorable games, interesting history, and the occasional absurdly expensive piece of cardboard. Keep your friends close and your Lightning Bolts closer. Image: Wizards of the Coast Fire Lord Azula has firebent her way into the top 10 most popular Magic: The Gathering commanders, knocking two longtime favorites down the rankings in the process. According to EDHREC, the Avatar: The Last Airbender villain is now the format's 10th most-built commander, overtaking the monocolored Angel typal commander Giada, Font of Hope and Naya (red, green, and white) Dinosaur powerhouse Pantlaza, Sun-Favored. When it comes to Magic's most popular format, EDHREC's rankings offer a revealing cross-section of the legendary creatures inspiring deckbuilders worldwide. Any shake-up in the top 10 is big news, especially after Y'shtola, Night's Blessed overtook such established heavyweights as Edgar Markov and The Ur-Dragon earlier this year. Azula's arrival, however, might be the most fitting hostile takeover yet. Fire Lord Azula Is Setting Commander Deckbuilding Ablaze Image: Wizards of the Coast As of November 10, Azula boasts approximately 40,200 decks on EDHREC's rolling two-year leaderboard, good for 10th place. Giada and Pantlaza occupy 11th and 12th, respectively, with roughly 39,500 and 38,100 decks. That's a remarkable showing for a card that only debuted in November 2025, particularly considering the years those Angel and Dinosaur commanders have spent accumulating devotees. Better still, Azula's ascent has been lightning quick. She entered EDHREC's top 100 in December 2025, climbed to No. 20 by April 2026, and has now cracked the top 10 less than a year after her release. The Fire Nation knows nothing of the scenic route. The four-mana Grixis (blue, black, and red) legend is a 4/4 Human Noble with firebending 2, which produces two red mana whenever she attacks. That mana remains available until combat ends, and her second ability makes things considerably nastier: Whenever her controller casts a spell while Azula is attacking, they copy it, potentially changing its targets. That includes permanent spells, whose copies become tokens, rather than exclusively instants and sorceries. Naturally, spellslinger builds have proven especially popular alongside Azula. EDHREC lists Frantic Search in approximately 71% of Azula decks, while Big Score appears in 65%. The former can draw cards and untap lands twice over, while the latter doubles up on card draw and Treasure creation without requiring another discard. Big Score is also appearing in Magic's upcoming pixel-art Secret Lair collection, making it a potentially more accessible inclusion. Storm-Kiln Artist, meanwhile, rewards all those instant and sorcery copies with even more Treasures. A modest attack can quickly turn into an absurd amount of resources before blockers have even been declared. There is a catch: Azula must be attacking when the spells are cast. Sorceries ordinarily can't be cast during combat, making cards such as High Fae Trickster and Borne Upon a Wind valuable tools for players hoping to double their biggest spells. With the right setup, rituals such as Seething Song can produce mountains of mana for an enormous Comet Storm or another suitably flashy finish. Azula's Rise Shows How Much Commander Has Changed Azula's promotion reinforces the growing impact of Magic's crossover sets. Four of EDHREC's current top 10 commanders belong to Universes Beyond properties: Azula, Y'shtola, Vivi Ornitier, and Sauron, the Dark Lord. Four also debuted in 2025, with Teval, the Balanced Scale joining Azula and the two Final Fantasy legends. Still, there's an important distinction between popularity and power. EDHREC tracks published decklists, not victories or the frequency with which a commander actually hits a table. And as Magic's Commander bracket system illustrates, decks can operate at vastly different power levels. Even so, 40,000-plus builds is a formidable endorsement, especially for a commander that needs to attack to deliver her most entertaining (and potent) tricks. Whether Azula eventually challenges Y'shtola's hold on first place remains uncertain. For now, though, a villain famous for her ambition has successfully seized a seat among Commander's royalty. Nobody should be terribly surprised if she starts eyeing the throne.