Earthbend

Earthbend
Keyword Action
Introduced	Avatar: The Last Airbender
Last used	Avatar: The Last Airbender Eternal
Reminder Text	Earthbend N (Target land you control becomes a 0/0 creature with haste that's still a land. Put N +1/+1 counters on it. When it dies or is exiled, return it to the battlefield tapped.) Earthbend 1 (Target land you control becomes a 0/0 creature with haste that's still a land. Put a +1/+1 counter on it. When it dies or is exiled, return it to the battlefield tapped.)
Scryfall Statistics
cards

Earthbend is an keyword action introduced in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Earthbend targets a land, turning it into a 0/0 creature with haste in addition to its other types, and putting a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to the earthbend value. When the land dies or is exiled, the card is returned to the battlefield tapped.

Development

Earthbend is one of the four bending mechanics created for Avatar: The Last Airbender, a Universes Beyond set based on the animated series of the same name. It represents the art of Earthbending' in the Avatar universe.

Earthbend was created during Vision Design; it was inspired by awaken, another mechanic that turns lands into creatures. The designers worked with the rules team to mitigate the risk of mana screw, allowing earthbend to appear on cheaper cards than awaken.

Compared to awaken, the gameplay is updated in two ways. First, earthbend can be used in many ways rather than only being an additional cost. Second, the lands you animate with earthbend can return to the battlefield from the graveyard or exile. Not only does this prevent players from permanently losing their lands, it also gives them more ways to hook into other effects like landfall or cards that sacrifice lands.

Future use

If the mechanic is to be reused outside of the Avatar: The Last Airbender IP it has to be renamed.

Rules

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (November 14, 2025—Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Earthbend

A keyword action that causes a land to become a 0/0 creature with haste in addition to its other types and puts a number of +1/+1 counters on it. When that land dies or is put into exile, return it to the battlefield tapped under your control. See 701.66, “Earthbend.”

From the Comprehensive Rules (November 14, 2025—Avatar: The Last Airbender)

• 701.66. Earthbend
  • 701.66a “Earthbend N” means “Target land you control becomes a 0/0 land creature with haste in addition to its other types. Put N +1/+1 counters on it. When that land dies or is put into exile, return it to the battlefield tapped under your control.”
  • 701.66b An ability that triggers whenever a player earthbends triggers when the delayed triggered ability described in rule 701.66a is created.

Rulings

From the Release Notes for Avatar: The Last Airbender (June 2, 2025)

• "Earthbend N" means "Target land you control becomes a 0/0 land creature with haste in addition to its other types. Put N +1/+1 counters on it. When it dies or is exiled, return it to the battlefield tapped under your control."
• If the targeted land becomes an illegal target before the spell or ability that includes earthbend resolves, earthbend does nothing. If the spell or ability didn't have other targets, it won't resolve.
• The land will retain any other types, subtypes, or supertypes it previously had. It will also retain any mana abilities it had as a result of those subtypes. For example, a Forest that's turned into a creature this way can still be tapped for .
• Earthbend doesn't give the land you control a color. As most lands are colorless, in most cases the resulting land creature will also be colorless.
• You may target a land that is already a creature, perhaps because of a previous earthbend ability. The land will get the +1/+1 counters, gain haste, and have its base power and toughness set to 0/0.
• If a land was animated by earthbend and would go to any zone other than the graveyard or exile, it will not be returned to the battlefield by the delayed triggered ability created by earthbend.
• An ability that triggers "whenever you earthbend" triggers immediately after the list of actions earthbend entails is complete, even if some or all of those actions were impossible, perhaps because an effect does not allow counters to be placed on creatures you control.

Examples

Example 1

Earthbending Lesson
Sorcery — Lesson
Earthbend 4. (Target land you control becomes a 0/0 creature with haste that’s still a land. Put four +1/+1 counters on it. When it dies or is exiled, return it to the battlefield tapped.)

Example 2

Beifong's Bounty Hunters
Creature — Human Mercenary
Whenever a nonland creature you control dies, earthbend X, where X is that creature’s power. (Target land you control becomes a 0/0 creature with haste that’s still a land. Put X +1/+1 counters on it. When it dies or is exiled, return it to the battlefield tapped.)
4/4

See also

• Airbend
• Firebending
• Waterbend
• Awaken