Reveal: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar Set Brings Back Two Fan-Favorite Tribe-Focused Gameplay Features

Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently embrace tribal tactics — what player hasn't constructed a goblin deck once or twice? — while this upcoming ATLA Universes Beyond set brings back two popular mechanics that fit seamlessly with the theme.

Reappearing Tribal Abilities

The first mechanic, called "Allies," was debuted in the Zendikar set which provides bonuses each time more permanents bearing this subtype come onto play.

Alternatively, "Shrines" represents another enchantment type that originated in Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribe, Shrines likewise gain abilities when a player has additional Shrines on the battlefield.

The Return of the Ally Ability

Although Shrines have appeared occasionally in recent releases, the Ally subtype was much rarer — until this ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this mechanic is central.

Aang must recruit numerous companions during the quest to restore peace to the world, and there's no more fitting method to represent this in a Magic expansion.

Exclusive Card Preview

Following its first card announcement, below are previews of one Allies and one Shrine card in the upcoming ATLA release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: A Beloved Character

Teo stands as a cherished minor character in ATLA, a boy of Earth Kingdom who lived in an Air Temple following his village was ruined by a disaster, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his father's prowess in engineering, Teo is able to glide in the air using his glider, and challenges Aang in a flying race.

The card Teo reproduces Teo's love for the skies and the Earth Tribe's reliance of flying machines through allowing the player draw and discard each time a player attacks with an airborne unit, and also pumping your team via counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine

Regarding his dwelling, this is represented in a card named Northern Air Temple, which reduces an opponent's life when entering play, depending on the number of Shrines you control.

It furthermore drains one more point whenever a Shrine comes onto the field.

It appears to be a strong addition, given its cheap mana cost and good enter the battlefield effect.

One major weakness for Shrine-based decks outside of EDH is that Shrines are always legendary permanents, but Northern Air Temple can be effective in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your main phase.

A Welcome Collaboration

At a time when crossover sets have been receiving a lot of backlash by the community, an iconic franchise like Avatar can be exactly just what MTG needs.

Spoiler season is already here, and all cards set to be launched November 21st.