Exclusive: How Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Revives 2 Popular Tribe-Focused Mechanics

Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently enjoy tribe-based strategies — what player hasn't built a zombie strategy once or twice? — and this upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover release is reintroducing two popular examples which match perfectly to its flavor.

Returning Tribal Abilities

One first mechanic, called "Ally," was introduced in a Zendikar set which grants buffs whenever more creatures bearing the Ally subtype enter play.

Alternatively, "Shrine" represents an enchantment subtype that first appeared with Kamigawa. While not creature-based tribal theme, these enchantments also gain strength as you has more of them in play.

The Return of the Ally Ability

While Shrine cards have appeared here and there in newer sets, the Ally subtype has been much rarer — until this ends in ATLA, in which the feature is prominently used.

Aang must assemble a lot of friends during his journey to bring back balance to the four nations, so there's no better way to show that in a Magic: The Gathering set.

Revealed Cards Showcase

Following its initial card announcement, below are previews at an Allies plus a Shrines cards from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: The Fan-Favorite Character

This character stands as a popular minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from the Earth Tribe who resided in the Northern Air Temple after his home was ruined by a disaster, an event that rendered him unable to walk.

Thanks to his dad's expertise in engineering, Teo is able to fly in the air with his glider, and dares the Avatar in a flying contest.

This card Teo, Spirited Glider reproduces his passion for flying along with the Earth Tribe's reliance of flying machines by allowing you draw and discard each time a player attacks with a flying creature, and additionally pumping your creatures with +1/+1 counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of Teo's dwelling, it appears as a card named The Northern Air Temple, which reduces your opponent's life upon coming into the battlefield, based on how many of Shrines you control.

The card also removes an additional life anytime another Shrine enters the field.

This looks like a strong card, considering its low mana cost plus valuable ETB effect.

A major weakness of Shrine-based strategies in formats besides EDH is that these cards are always legendary permanents, however this card can be great in combination alongside another Shrine, that drains all opponents during the start of your turn.

The Timely Collaboration

At a time while Universes Beyond products are receiving a lot of backlash by the community, an iconic franchise such as Avatar: The Last Airbender can be exactly just what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Spoiler season has begun, with all cards set to be released on Nov. 21.