Scoop: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Revives Two Fan-Favorite Tribe-Focused Mechanics

MTG fans consistently adopt tribal decks — what player hasn't assembled a zombie strategy once or twice? — and this forthcoming ATLA crossover set brings back two well-known examples which match perfectly with its setting.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

The first mechanic, known as "Allies," first introduced with the Zendikar and grants boosts each time additional creatures bearing this subtype enter the field.

On the other hand, "Shrine" represents an enchantment-based subtype which originated with Kamigawa. While not a creature tribal theme, Shrines also become strength as you controls additional of them in play.

A Return for Allies Mechanic

Although Shrines have shown up occasionally across recent sets, the Ally mechanic was far less common — but this changes in Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which the feature is heavily featured.

Aang must gather a lot of allies on his journey to bring back peace across the four nations, so there's no more fitting method to reflect this in an Magic expansion.

Revealed Card Preview

After its first set announcement, below are previews of one Ally plus a Shrine card in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: The Fan-Favorite Figure

Teo is one cherished supporting character in ATLA, a boy of Earth Kingdom that lived at an Air Temple after his village was destroyed by a disaster, which left him paraplegic.

Because of his father's prowess in mechanics, Teo can soar through the skies with a flying device, even dares Aang in a flying contest.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases his passion for flying and his tribe's reliance on flying machines through allowing you draw and discard whenever you attack using an airborne creature, while also boosting your creatures with counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine Enchantment

Regarding Teo's dwelling, this is represented as the card The Northern Air Temple, which reduces your opponent's life when entering play, depending on the number Shrine cards you control.

The card furthermore drains one more life whenever a Shrine comes onto the field.

It looks like a strong addition, given the card's low mana cost plus good ETB ability.

A big weakness of Shrine-based strategies outside of Commander are the fact that these cards are typically legendary permanents, but Northern Air Temple can be effective when paired with another Shrine, that drains every opponent during the start of your main phase.

The Welcome Crossover

Currently when Universes Beyond products have been garnering a lot of hate from the community, an iconic series like Avatar can be precisely what MTG needs.

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