🔗 Share this article

Magic: The Gathering fans consistently embrace tribal tactics — what player hasn't assembled an elf deck once or twice? — while this new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release brings back 2 beloved mechanics that align seamlessly with the theme.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Abilities

The first mechanic, known as "Allies," was introduced with the Zendikar and grants boosts whenever more permanents bearing the Ally subtype come onto the battlefield.

Alternatively, "Shrine" is another enchantment-based type which originated in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not exactly a creature tribe, Shrines also gain power as you controls more Shrines on the battlefield.

A Comeback of the Ally Ability

While Shrines have been shown up occasionally in recent sets, the Ally subtype was much rarer — until that ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this feature gets heavily featured.

Aang has to recruit a lot of friends during the journey to bring back peace across the world, so it's no more fitting method to show that through a Magic set.

Revealed Card Preview

After its first card announcement, below is previews at one Allies plus a Shrines cards in the new ATLA set.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Fan-Favorite Character

This character is a cherished minor figure from ATLA, a boy from Earth Kingdom that resided in an Air Temple after his village was ruined in a disaster, which left him paraplegic.

Due to his dad's prowess in mechanics, Teo can soar through the skies using his glider, even challenges Aang in a flying race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents his love of flying and the Earth Tribe's use on gliders by allowing the player loot whenever a player attacks using an airborne unit, and additionally strengthening your team with +1/+1 counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: A Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of Teo's dwelling, this is represented in a card named The Northern Air Temple, that reduces an opponent's life when entering the battlefield, based on how many Shrine cards you have.

The card also removes one more point anytime a Shrine enters the field.

It appears to be an impactful card, given its cheap mana cost plus good enter the battlefield effect.

One major drawback for Shrine strategies in formats besides Commander is the fact that these cards are always Legendary, however this card is effective in combination with another Shrine, which drains every opponent during the start of your turn.

A Welcome Crossover

At a time when crossover sets are receiving significant backlash by fans, a beloved franchise like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be precisely what MTG needs.

Spoiler season is already here, with the full set set to be launched on Nov. 21.