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Ozai, the Phoenix King

Legendary Creature — Human Noble

Trample, firebending 4, haste
If you would lose unspent mana, that mana becomes red instead.
Ozai has flying and indestructible as long as you have six or more unspent mana.

CMC
6
Mana cost
{2}{B}{B}{R}{R}
Color identity
BR
Rarity
mythic
Set
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Price
$16.01
EDHREC rank
#4379
Buy on TCGplayer
Ozai, the Phoenix King card art
Ozai, the Phoenix King hits the board as a six-mana 5/5 that deals damage equal to his power to each opponent when he attacks — that's 5 damage to the table on contact, and Sozin's Comet or any pump spell turns that number lethal fast. The catch is the mana cost: six is a lot to ask before he starts doing work, and he needs to actually connect to matter, which means he folds to any blocker or tap effect. Run him alongside Fire Lord Zuko for redundancy, not as your only finisher.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Fire Lord Zuko

Fire Lord Zuko

55.9% of decks · synergy 0.52

Fire Lord Zuko runs Ozai, the Phoenix King because the two share Avatar-set synergy and Zuko's ability to copy spells means every Comet or burn effect that powers up Ozai hits twice as hard — the pairing turns one combat step into a closing sequence.

02
Fire Lord Azula

Fire Lord Azula

43.2% of decks · synergy 0.36

Fire Lord Azula wants Ozai, the Phoenix King as a damage-on-attack threat that pressures all opponents simultaneously, which feeds her strategy of punishing opponents for taking any damage and forces them to block into a board they'd rather ignore.

03
Yurlok of Scorch Thrash

Yurlok of Scorch Thrash

23.5% of decks · synergy 0.22

Yurlok of Scorch Thrash leverages Ozai, the Phoenix King in a mana-burn shell where opponents are already bleeding life each turn — Ozai's attack trigger stacks with Yurlok's passive drain to close out games that are already in topdeck range.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Ozai, the Phoenix King actually earns his slot: multiplayer means his attack trigger hits three opponents at once, so a single swing with any power boost threatens 15+ damage split across the table. In 60-card formats — Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Standard — a six-mana 5/5 with a combat trigger is too slow to matter; faster threats win before he attacks. Vintage has the raw power to cast him earlier, but the format's combo density means he still won't see serious play. Oathbreaker is the sleeper fit: as a signature spell target or supporting threat in a burn-focused shell, the ETB-and-attack pressure translates cleanly to a smaller life total.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

If the six-dollar-per-copy ceiling is the barrier, Hellkite Tyrant and Thundermaw Hellkite both deliver a five-mana flying threat that demands an answer, though neither replicates Ozai, the Phoenix King's clean "deal power damage to each opponent" trigger on a ground attacker. For pure "punish everyone when I attack" redundancy, Heartless Hidetsugu costs three mana and halves every opponent's life total without needing combat damage to connect — it doesn't scale with power like Ozai does, but it closes games faster and costs under a dollar.

Price Context

Current price

$16.01 mid tier

At $16.01, Ozai, the Phoenix King sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel the cut in a budget build, cheap enough that dedicated Avatar tribal or Zuko players won't hesitate. The price is driven by casual demand from the Avatar set rather than competitive play, so it's unlikely to spike further but equally unlikely to crater.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.