🔗 Share this article

Magic: The Gathering fans consistently embrace tribal strategies — who has not assembled an elf deck once or twice? — and the new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release brings back two well-known examples which align perfectly to its flavor.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

The initial ability, named "Allies," first introduced with a Zendikar and provides bonuses whenever additional permanents bearing this type come onto the field.

On the other hand, "Shrine" is another enchantment-based subtype which originated in Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly creature-based tribe, Shrines also gain power when you owns more Shrines on the battlefield.

A Comeback for the Ally Mechanic

While Shrines have been shown up sporadically across newer sets, the Ally mechanic has been seldom seen — but this changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this feature gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang must gather many companions on his quest to bring back peace to the four nations, so there's no better method to reflect this in an Magic: The Gathering set.

Exclusive Cards Preview

After its initial set announcement, here are a look at an Allies plus one Shrine cards in the new ATLA release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Fan-Favorite Figure

Teo stands as a popular supporting figure in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of the Earth Tribe who lived at an Air Temple after his village was destroyed in a disaster, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his dad's skill with engineering, Teo is able to soar through the skies using his glider, and dares Aang in a flying contest.

This card Teo represents his passion for flying along with his tribe's use of gliders by letting the player draw and discard each time a player attacks with a flying creature, and also strengthening your creatures via counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of Teo's dwelling, it is represented in the card Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life upon entering the battlefield, based on the number Shrine cards you control.

It furthermore removes one more life anytime a Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

This appears to be an impactful card, given its cheap mana cost plus valuable ETB effect.

A major drawback of Shrine-based decks outside of Commander is the fact that Shrines are typically Legendary, however this card can be great in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that deals damage to all opponents during the start of your main phase.

A Welcome Collaboration

At a time while Universes Beyond products have been receiving significant backlash by fans, an iconic franchise such as Avatar could be precisely just what MTG needs.

Preview period is already here, with the full set set to be launched on Nov. 21.