Exclusive: The Way Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Reintroduces 2 Popular Tribe-Focused Gameplay Features

Magic: The Gathering players frequently embrace tribe-based tactics — who hasn't constructed a goblin deck before? — while this upcoming ATLA Universes Beyond release revives 2 well-known mechanics that match seamlessly to its theme.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

The initial mechanic, called "Allies," first debuted in the Zendikar which grants buffs whenever more permanents bearing this subtype enter play.

Alternatively, "Shrines" represents another enchantment subtype that originated with Kamigawa. While not a creature tribal theme, Shrines also gain strength when a player has more Shrines in play.

The Return for the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrine cards have been appeared sporadically in recent sets, the Ally subtype has been far less common — until this ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this mechanic is central.

Aang has to recruit many companions on his quest to restore peace to the four nations, and there's no more fitting method to represent that through an Magic expansion.

Exclusive Card Preview

After its first set reveal, here are previews of one Allies and one Shrines card in the upcoming ATLA set.

Teo: The Beloved Character

This character stands as one cherished minor figure from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of the Earth Tribe who resided at the Northern Air Temple following his home was destroyed by a disaster, which left him unable to walk.

Due to his dad's prowess in mechanics, Teo can soar through the skies using his glider, and challenges Aang to an aerial contest.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases Teo's love for flying and the Earth Tribe's reliance of flying machines by allowing the player draw and discard whenever a player attacks with a flying unit, while also pumping your creatures with +1/+1 counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine

Speaking of his home, this appears in the card Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life when entering play, depending on the number of Shrines you have.

It furthermore removes an additional life anytime a Shrine comes onto the field.

This looks like an impactful card, given the card's low cost plus good ETB effect.

A big drawback for Shrine strategies in formats besides Commander are that Shrines are always legendary permanents, however Northern Air Temple can be effective in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that deals damage to every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.

The Timely Crossover

Currently when Universes Beyond products have been garnering a lot of backlash by fans, a beloved franchise such as Avatar: The Last Airbender can be precisely just what MTG requires.

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