🔗 Share this article

MTG fans consistently adopt tribal decks — who hasn't built an elf deck before? — while this forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set brings back 2 beloved mechanics that align seamlessly to the setting.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

The initial mechanic, named "Allies," was introduced with the Zendikar which grants bonuses whenever more permanents bearing the Ally type come onto play.

Alternatively, "Shrine" is an enchantment-based type which originated in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribe, Shrines also become abilities when you has more Shrines on the battlefield.

A Return of Allies Mechanic

While Shrines have been shown up occasionally in recent releases, Allies mechanic was much rarer — until that ends in ATLA, where this feature is prominently used.

The protagonist Aang must assemble a lot of allies during the quest to bring back balance across the world, so there's no more fitting method to reflect this in an Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Revealed Cards Preview

Following its first set reveal, below is a look of one Ally plus a Shrine card from the new Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo: The Beloved Character

This character is a cherished supporting character in ATLA, a young man of Earth Kingdom who lived in the Northern Air Temple following his village was ruined by a disaster, which left him unable to walk.

Because of his dad's expertise with engineering, he is able to soar in the air with a flying device, and challenges Aang in an aerial contest.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents Teo's fondness for the skies along with the Earth Tribe's use of flying machines through letting you loot whenever a player attacks with a flying unit, and additionally pumping your creatures with +1/+1 counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Regarding Teo's home, this appears in the card The Northern Air Temple, that drains your opponent's life total upon entering the battlefield, based on the number of Shrines you control.

The card furthermore drains an additional life anytime another Shrine comes onto the field.

This appears to be a strong addition, considering its low mana cost plus good ETB ability.

One big drawback of Shrine strategies in formats besides EDH is that Shrines are typically legendary permanents, but Northern Air Temple is effective in combination alongside another Shrine, which deals damage to every opponent during the start of your main phase.

The Welcome Crossover

Currently when crossover products have been garnering a lot of hate from fans, an iconic series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender could be exactly just what MTG needs.

Preview period has begun, and all cards will be launched November 21st.