Exclusive: How Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Revives Two Fan-Favorite Tribal Mechanics

MTG enthusiasts frequently adopt tribal strategies — what player has not constructed a zombie strategy once or twice? — while this new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set is reintroducing two popular examples which match seamlessly with its theme.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

One initial ability, named "Allies," was debuted in the Zendikar and grants boosts each time additional creatures with the Ally type enter the field.

Alternatively, "Shrines" represents another enchantment-based type that originated in Champions of Kamigawa. While not creature-based tribe, Shrines likewise become abilities when a player controls additional of them on the battlefield.

The Return for Allies Mechanic

While Shrine cards have been appeared here and there in recent sets, Allies mechanic has been seldom seen — until that ends in ATLA, in which this feature gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to gather a lot of allies on the quest to restore balance to the world, and there's no better method to show this through a Magic: The Gathering set.

Exclusive Card Preview

Following the initial card announcement, here are previews of an Ally and a Shrines cards in the upcoming ATLA set.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Fan-Favorite Figure

This character is a beloved minor character in ATLA, a young man of Earth Kingdom who resided at the Northern Air Temple following his village was ruined in a flood, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Because of his father's skill in mechanics, he is able to glide through the skies with a flying device, even challenges Aang in a flying race.

This card Teo represents his love for the skies and the Earth Tribe's reliance of gliders by allowing you loot each time a player attacks using a flying unit, and also strengthening your team with counters in the process.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine

Speaking of his dwelling, this is represented as the card Northern Air Temple, which reduces an opponent's life upon entering the battlefield, based on the number of Shrines you have.

It furthermore drains an additional point whenever a Shrine comes onto the field.

It appears to be an impactful addition, considering the card's low cost plus good enter the battlefield effect.

A big weakness of Shrine decks outside of Commander are the fact that these cards are typically legendary permanents, but this card can be great in combination alongside another Shrine, that deals damage to every opponent during the start of your turn.

The Welcome Collaboration

At a time when crossover sets are garnering a lot of backlash by the community, an iconic series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender could be precisely what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Spoiler season has begun, with the full set set to be launched on Nov. 21.

Shelby Williams
Shelby Williams

Elara Vance is a seasoned lifestyle journalist with over a decade of experience covering luxury brands and global travel trends.

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