Energybending
Instant — Lesson
Lands you control gain all basic land types until end of turn.
Draw a card.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Price
- $0.25
- EDHREC rank
- #7262
Energybending hands you a permanent that deals damage equal to a creature's power to any target — stapled to an energy counter payoff engine that rewards you just for spending the counters you're already generating. The cost is real: you need a steady energy supply to keep activating it, which makes Energybending a payoff card, not an enabler, and it lives or dies by the deck around it. In Iroh, Grand Lotus shells that already churn out energy, it's an immediate slam.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Iroh, Grand Lotus
Iroh, Grand Lotus generates energy as a core mechanical identity, so Energybending slots in as a direct damage outlet that converts every counter Iroh produces into pointed removal or reach — the two cards are purpose-built for each other, which is why it shows up in over half of Iroh lists.
Avatar Aang
Avatar Aang's energy-synergy package wants multiple payoffs to close games, and Energybending gives him a repeatable ping that scales with your board's power — it rounds out the energy loop rather than anchoring it, which explains the solid but lower inclusion rate compared to Iroh.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Energybending is legal across every major constructed format, but competitive energy strategies in Modern and Pioneer already have tightly optimized payoffs — it doesn't break into those lists because the damage-to-target effect, while useful, isn't fast enough to matter in a 20-life race where other energy payoffs close faster. In Legacy and Vintage, the card simply isn't powerful enough to compete for a slot. Commander is where Energybending actually lives: 100-life totals make repeatable ping effects relevant only when they're either efficient or scalable, and Energybending clears that bar only inside dedicated energy builds where you're generating double-digit counters per turn. Outside of those shells, it's too parasitic to run.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.25 bulk tier
At $0.25, Energybending is firmly bulk — easy to acquire and easy to cut if the energy theme doesn't materialize. Bulk rares from theme-specific sets tend to stay in this range unless the strategy breaks into a non-Commander format, which the current metagame gives no reason to expect.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Iroh, Grand Lotus
- Avatar Aang
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.