🔗 Share this article Exclusive: The Way Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Reintroduces 2 Popular Tribe-Focused Mechanics MTG fans frequently adopt tribe-based strategies — who has not built a zombie deck at some point? — and the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set brings back two beloved examples that fit perfectly with its setting. Reappearing Tribal Abilities One first ability, called "Allies," was introduced with a Zendikar and grants buffs each time additional permanents with this subtype come onto the battlefield. Meanwhile, "Shrines" is an enchantment type that first appeared with Champions of Kamigawa. While not a creature tribe, these enchantments likewise gain abilities when you controls additional Shrines in play. A Return of the Ally Mechanic Although Shrines have been appeared sporadically across recent releases, the Ally mechanic was far less common — until that ends with ATLA, in which this mechanic gets central. The protagonist Aang must gather numerous allies on his quest to bring back balance across the four nations, so it's no more fitting method to represent this through a Magic: The Gathering expansion. Exclusive Cards Preview After the first card announcement, here is previews of one Allies and one Shrine cards in the upcoming ATLA set. Teo: The Beloved Figure Teo stands as one cherished minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from the Earth Tribe who resided at an Air Temple after his home was ruined in a flood, an event that rendered him unable to walk. Due to his father's expertise in mechanics, he is able to glide through the skies using a flying device, and challenges the Avatar in an aerial contest. The card Teo represents his fondness for the skies along with the Earth Tribe's reliance of flying machines through allowing you draw and discard whenever a player attacks using an airborne unit, while also boosting your creatures with +1/+1 counters at the same time. Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine Regarding Teo's home, it is represented as a card named The Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life when entering the battlefield, based on how many Shrine cards you have. It furthermore drains one more point anytime a Shrine comes onto the field. This looks like a powerful addition, given the card's cheap cost plus valuable ETB effect. One major drawback of Shrine decks outside of EDH are that these cards are always legendary permanents, however Northern Air Temple can be great when paired with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to every opponent during the start of your main phase. A Timely Collaboration Currently while Universes Beyond products have been receiving significant backlash from fans, a beloved franchise like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be exactly just what MTG requires. Spoiler season is already here, and the full set will be launched on Nov. 21.