Reveal: The Way Magic's Avatar Set Reintroduces Two Popular Tribe-Focused Mechanics

Magic: The Gathering fans often embrace tribe-based tactics — who hasn't built an elf strategy before? — and this upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover release revives 2 well-known mechanics that fit perfectly with the setting.

Returning Tribal Mechanics

One initial mechanic, called "Allies," was debuted with the Zendikar which grants boosts whenever more creatures with this type enter play.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" is an enchantment type which originated with Kamigawa. Although not exactly a creature tribal theme, Shrines likewise gain strength as you owns more Shrines on the battlefield.

The Return of the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrine cards have appeared occasionally across newer releases, the Ally subtype was much rarer — but this changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which the feature is heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang has to assemble a lot of allies on his journey to bring back balance across the world, so it's no better way to represent this through a Magic expansion.

Exclusive Card Preview

After the initial set reveal, below are previews of one Allies plus one Shrine card from the new ATLA set.

Teo: A Beloved Character

Teo is a popular minor character from ATLA, a boy from Earth Kingdom that resided in the Northern Air Temple after his home was destroyed in a flood, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Due to his father's skill in engineering, he can glide in the air using his glider, and dares the Avatar in a flying contest.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases Teo's passion of flying and the Earth Tribe's use on flying machines by allowing the player loot each time a player attacks using an airborne unit, and also pumping your creatures via counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: A Strong Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his home, this is represented in the card The Northern Air Temple, which reduces your opponent's life total upon entering play, depending on the number of Shrines you control.

It also drains an additional life whenever a Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

It looks like a strong addition, considering the card's low cost and good enter the battlefield effect.

A big drawback for Shrine strategies outside of Commander are that Shrines are always Legendary, however Northern Air Temple can be effective when paired with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which drains all opponents at the beginning of your main phase.

A Welcome Collaboration

At a time while Universes Beyond products are receiving significant backlash by fans, an iconic franchise such as Avatar can be precisely just what MTG requires.

Preview period is already here, with all cards will be launched on Nov. 21.