Iroas, God of Victory Is a Great Firebending Commander

When you think about Avatar and Firebending, you might think of Iroh. However it’s Iroas, not Iroh, that I want to talk about today. I’d argue he’s a pretty slept on Boros Commander, and Firebending only makes him stronger.

IROAS, GOD OF VICTORY

Iroas is a chunky 7/4 Indestructible for four mana. He also gives your creatures Menace, and stops them receiving damage when they are attacking. If all of that seems like a lot for just four mana, that’s because he isn’t “online” as a creature until you hit a combined seven devotion to red and white. 

While that might seem like a downside, it’s actually not. It means that when your board is pretty empty, it’s safer to deploy him while you’re setting up or re-setting up after a wrath – he won’t eat a Path to Exile straight away, not being a creature. Besides – you’re not really doing the deck’s gameplan unless you’re going wide, so missing out on a small percentage chance to do Commander damage in games you otherwise probably wouldn’t win isn’t the be all and end all.

Four mana is a very contested slot these days, and it can be difficult to justify many of the cards you want to include. Iroas manages to always make the 99 in the decks I draft him to, though, which speaks to how pivotal this card can be.

But what about in the command zone?

I like to think about Iroas as the kind of Commander that just amplifies an already good strategy. While having a value engine in the ‘zone will always be more attractive than putting a card like Iroas there, putting Iroas there ensures your deckbuilding is at a high enough grade that it stands on its own. You have enough draw and ramp and value in the 99 that Iroas not having any doesn’t slow your roll. And, as far as him helping you to push through damage? Well, perma-access to a “finisher” effect means that you don’t have to dig for one. I’d still play a cheeky Akroma’s Will or Moonshaker Cavalry, though.

IROAS, GOD OF FIREBENDING?

With the release of Avatar: the Last Airbender, we have a new mechanic that Iroas decks can help to flourish: Firebending. Firebending requires you to get into the red zone, and requires good attacks to get the most out of. 

Iroas says “we always have good attacks”, and lets you just keep Firebending as much as you like, because your attacking creatures won’t take damage. That means Sozin’s Comet doesn’t have to be a suicide strike, and you can spring The Last Agni Kai without fearing taking damage. 

That’s all well and good, but what do we do with that mana? Boros isn’t the best at cantrip spellslinger without Feather, after all.

BREAKING BEND

The first option is to look at mana sinks. The Legend of Roku / Avatar Roku is an obvious include here, and lets you slowly snowball 4/4 Dragons who can birth yet more 4/4 Dragons. Avatar Roku, meanwhile, adds six {R} whenever a player attacks, and at base, this lets you pump some stuff with his mana sink. 

I’m really high on Overwhelming Victory in red decks, as it helps to push damage through. With Iroas in Command, that menace gets all the more menacing, and when you have a damage double as well? Things start to heat up real quick. It’s an obvious pick, but Haze of Rage is a shoe-in for Firebending decks, as the buyback is much more reasonable. A less obvious pick might be Blast-Furnace Hellkite, which can be cast at Flash speed by using the Artifact Offering mode. Surprise double strike for everyone attacking your opponents can be lethal. Another fun combat trick that shines here is Mercadia’s Downfall, which pairs exquisitely with a good Menace.

If you really want to take Iroas to the next level, you can use good old Pyrohemia. With firebending, your creatures won’t take damage if you activate it during combat. It’s a devilish way to ensure the board remains plucked clean of blockers. Of course, you can do this with spells like Starstorm and Magmaquake at instant speed. If you’re leaning into this option, then Lightmine Field can slow down your opponent’s value swings by forcing them to consider how they attack. Of course, it might stop them attacking at all, which is where some Goad might come in handy.

Purphoros, God of the Forge, Treasure Vault, Aggravated Assault – they’re all known quantities when it comes to activated abilities, and the best kinds of cards for this kind of deck when it comes to solid mana sinks.  That said, looking deeper at mana sinks can help you find some interesting options. Fall of Cair Andros and Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei can help to generate more tokens and board control, and The Wind Crystal heaps on more evasion and lifelink, while being a good cost reducer for multi-spell turns. Think about how useful the likes of Wand of Wonder, Inferno of the Star Mounts, or Draconic Destiny might be to you.

Just remember your Goldspan Dragons and your Professional Face-breakers. You’ll need plenty of ways to make that extra mana. Great Train Heist is a good one here, as it wants to be cast during combat – same for Embercleave.

UNITED ASSAULT

I mentioned Goad earlier, and depending how your build shakes out, you might want more than the stellar Taunt from the Rampart in your build. Laurine, the Diversion is an excellent mana sink for Firebending if you’re making creature or artifact tokens especially, and if you’re more spellslinger, Bothersome Quasit can prove extremely bothersome.

Depending on the composition of your 99, you might find that leaning into Allies works well. At the very least, United Front is a great board-in-a-can effect, and with enough Allies, Sokka’s Charge adds on two of the more powerful keywords to your team-wide Menace. If you are thick on keywords, then Odric, Lunarch Marshall is a great way to make your attacks even more difficult to deal with. 

ALWAYS BE ATTACKING

Whatever you’re doing in your Iroas deck – and whether that includes Ally cards or not – you should always be attacking. Attacking generates the fuel to keep attacking, after all. 

Even if you’re not deep on Allies, Jet Rebel Leader (and even Winota, list depending) can help you to get more creatures into play. Iroas’ protection helps keep Jet’s buddies alive, so Paladin Elizabeth Taggerdy might fit well here too. Card draw is essential, so Smellerbee, Rebel Fighter – also from Avatar Jumpstart – provides a stellar amount of draw and support. Anything that draws cards in this kind of deck (like Chivalric Alliance) will be great.

And how about those attack triggers? Avatar has even more tech for a deck like this with Firebender Ascension. While it isn’t as universally strong as Windcrag Siege, it does come down for two mana and gives a Firebending token, which can help get things rolling. Windcrag Siege and extra combats are going to be how this deck overperforms, and combining them with powerful triggers like Duelist’s Heritage is where things get interesting. Giving an opponent’s attacker double strike and +6/+0 with Avatar Roku, Firebender? Delightful. 

END STEP

Iroas might not be the flashiest creature in the command zone (and indeed, he can only be cast at sorcery speed!), but he certainly makes up for it in utility and enabling. I’ve always thought he was a little underrated, but the extra toys in Avatar and Avatar Jumpstart might be the upgrades he needs to cement himself as a more viable option.

That said, he does have some flashy SLD versions you can pick from, and that always helps. Might have to pick up a Freya and do some Firebending myself.