Exclusive: The Way Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender Set Reintroduces 2 Popular Tribe-Focused Mechanics

Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts frequently adopt tribal strategies — what player hasn't built an elf deck before? — and the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release revives 2 beloved mechanics that match perfectly to its setting.

Reappearing Tribal Abilities

One initial mechanic, known as "Allies," was introduced with a Zendikar and grants bonuses each time additional creatures with the Ally subtype enter play.

Alternatively, "Shrines" is an enchantment subtype that first appeared with Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribal theme, Shrines also become abilities when you owns additional Shrines in play.

The Comeback of the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrine cards have been appeared here and there in recent sets, the Ally mechanic has been seldom seen — but that changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this mechanic gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang must assemble many allies during his journey to bring back balance across the four nations, so it's no better method to represent this in a Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Revealed Card Showcase

After the initial set announcement, here is previews at an Ally plus a Shrines card from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Character

This character stands as one cherished supporting character from ATLA, a boy from the Earth Tribe who lived in the Northern Air Temple following his home was destroyed in a flood, which left him unable to walk.

Thanks to his dad's prowess in mechanics, Teo is able to fly in the air using a flying device, even dares Aang to a flying race.

The card Teo showcases Teo's fondness for flying and the Earth Tribe's reliance of gliders by letting you draw and discard whenever you attack using a flying unit, and additionally pumping your creatures with counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine

Regarding Teo's home, it is represented as a card named Northern Air Temple, which reduces your opponent's life upon coming into the battlefield, depending on how many Shrine cards you have.

The card furthermore drains an additional point whenever a Shrine enters the field.

This looks like a powerful addition, given its low mana cost plus good enter the battlefield ability.

One big weakness for Shrine-based strategies in formats besides EDH is that Shrines are typically legendary permanents, but Northern Air Temple is great in combination alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which drains every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.

A Timely Crossover

Currently when Universes Beyond sets are garnering significant criticism by the community, a beloved series like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be precisely just what MTG needs.

Spoiler season is already here, with the full set set to be released November 21st.