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MTG fans consistently adopt tribe-based tactics — who has not built an elf deck before? — and the forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set is reintroducing 2 popular examples which fit perfectly to the setting.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

One initial ability, called "Ally," was debuted in a Zendikar set which gives boosts each time additional permanents bearing the Ally type enter the battlefield.

On the other hand, "Shrine" represents an enchantment-based type which originated in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not exactly a creature tribal theme, these enchantments also gain power when you owns more of them in play.

The Comeback for Allies Ability

Although Shrines have appeared occasionally across recent sets, Allies subtype was far less common — until that ends in ATLA, in which this feature gets heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must gather numerous companions during his journey to bring back balance across the four nations, so it's no better way to show that in a Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Revealed Cards Preview

Following the initial set reveal, here is previews at an Allies plus one Shrines cards in the new ATLA release.

Teo: A Beloved Figure

Teo is a popular supporting figure in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from Earth Kingdom that lived in the Northern Air Temple following his village was destroyed by a disaster, an event that rendered him unable to walk.

Due to his father's skill with engineering, he can soar in the air with a flying device, even challenges Aang to a flying race.

This card Teo reproduces his fondness for flying along with his tribe's reliance on flying machines by allowing the player draw and discard whenever a player attacks with a flying unit, and also pumping your team via +1/+1 counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: The Strong Shrine

Speaking of Teo's dwelling, it is represented as a card named The Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life total upon entering play, depending on the number Shrine cards you have.

The card also drains an additional point whenever a Shrine enters the field.

It appears to be a powerful card, considering its low cost plus good enter the battlefield ability.

A big drawback of Shrine-based strategies in formats besides Commander are that Shrines are always legendary permanents, but this card can be effective in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.

The Welcome Collaboration

At a time when Universes Beyond products are garnering a lot of criticism from the community, a beloved franchise such as Avatar could be precisely what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Preview period is already here, with the full set will be launched November 21st.