🔗 Share this article

MTG players frequently enjoy tribal strategies — who has not assembled an elf deck once or twice? — and the forthcoming ATLA Universes Beyond release revives 2 well-known examples that match perfectly with its flavor.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

One first ability, called "Ally," was debuted with the Zendikar set and gives bonuses whenever more creatures with this type come onto the field.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" represents an enchantment type which first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not creature-based tribal theme, Shrines likewise gain abilities as you controls more Shrines in play.

The Return of the Ally Mechanic

While Shrine cards have been appeared here and there across recent sets, the Ally subtype was far less common — but that changes in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this feature gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to gather a lot of allies during the quest to bring back balance across the four nations, so there's no more fitting method to reflect this in a Magic: The Gathering set.

Revealed Cards Showcase

After the first card reveal, here is a look at an Allies plus a Shrine card from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: The Beloved Character

Teo stands as a cherished supporting figure in ATLA, a young man from Earth Kingdom that lived at an Air Temple after his village was ruined in a flood, which rendered him unable to walk.

Thanks to his dad's prowess with mechanics, Teo can fly through the skies with his glider, and dares Aang in a flying contest.

This card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases his fondness for the skies and his tribe's use on flying machines through allowing you draw and discard whenever you attack with an airborne unit, while additionally pumping your creatures via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: The Strong Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of his dwelling, this is represented in the card Northern Air Temple, which drains your opponent's life total upon entering play, depending on the number of Shrines you have.

The card also drains one more life whenever a Shrine enters the field.

This appears to be a strong addition, considering the card's low cost and good enter the battlefield effect.

A major weakness of Shrine-based strategies outside of Commander is that these cards are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple can be great when paired with another Shrine, which deals damage to every opponent at the beginning of your turn.

The Welcome Crossover

At a time when crossover sets have been garnering significant backlash from fans, a beloved series such as Avatar could be precisely what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Preview period has begun, with all cards will be launched November 21st.