🔗 Share this article

Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts frequently embrace tribe-based tactics — who hasn't assembled a zombie deck before? — and the forthcoming ATLA Universes Beyond set revives 2 popular mechanics that match perfectly with the theme.

Reappearing Tribal Abilities

The first ability, named "Ally," was introduced with a Zendikar and gives boosts each time additional permanents bearing this subtype enter the battlefield.

Alternatively, "Shrine" is another enchantment type that first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not exactly creature-based tribal theme, Shrines also become abilities as you owns more Shrines in play.

A Return of Allies Mechanic

While Shrine cards have appeared sporadically across recent sets, the Ally subtype has been far less common — until that ends with ATLA, in which the feature gets heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must gather many companions during his quest to restore balance across the world, so it's no better method to represent this in a Magic expansion.

Exclusive Card Showcase

Following its initial set reveal, here are a look of one Ally and one Shrine cards in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo: The Beloved Character

This character is a beloved supporting character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from Earth Kingdom who lived in the Northern Air Temple after his home was ruined in a disaster, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Because of his father's expertise with mechanics, Teo can glide through the skies using a flying device, and dares Aang to an aerial race.

The card Teo showcases his love of the skies along with the Earth Tribe's reliance of gliders by letting you loot each time you attack with an airborne unit, and also pumping your creatures via counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: A Strong Shrine

Speaking of his dwelling, this appears as the card Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life total upon coming into play, based on how many Shrine cards you have.

The card also removes one more life whenever a Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

It looks like an impactful card, considering its low cost plus valuable ETB ability.

A major weakness of Shrine strategies outside of EDH is that these cards are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is effective in combination with another Shrine, which deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your turn.

The Welcome Collaboration

At a time when crossover sets are receiving significant backlash by the community, an iconic series like Avatar can be exactly what MTG requires.

Preview period has begun, and the full set will be released November 21st.