Reveal: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Revives 2 Popular Tribal Mechanics

MTG enthusiasts frequently embrace tribe-based decks — who has not built an elf strategy before? — while the new ATLA Universes Beyond release revives two beloved mechanics which match seamlessly to its setting.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Abilities

One initial ability, known as "Ally," was introduced with a Zendikar which grants buffs whenever additional creatures with the Ally type enter the field.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" is an enchantment-based type that originated with Champions of Kamigawa. While not a creature tribe, Shrines also gain strength as a player owns more Shrines in play.

The Return of Allies Ability

While Shrine cards have appeared occasionally across recent sets, Allies subtype has been seldom seen — but this changes in ATLA, where the feature gets central.

Aang must recruit numerous allies during his quest to restore balance across the four nations, so there's no better way to show that in a Magic set.

Revealed Card Preview

After its first card announcement, here are a look of one Ally plus a Shrines cards in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: The Beloved Character

Teo is one beloved supporting figure in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of Earth Kingdom who resided at the Northern Air Temple following his village was destroyed in a flood, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his father's expertise with engineering, Teo is able to glide in the air using a flying device, even dares the Avatar to a flying contest.

The card Teo showcases Teo's passion for the skies along with his tribe's use of gliders through allowing the player draw and discard whenever a player attacks using an airborne creature, and additionally pumping your creatures with counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: A Powerful Shrine

Speaking of his dwelling, this is represented as the card The Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life upon entering play, based on how many of Shrines you have.

The card also removes one more point whenever a Shrine comes onto the field.

This looks like a strong card, considering the card's cheap mana cost plus good enter the battlefield ability.

A major weakness of Shrine-based strategies outside of EDH is the fact that Shrines are typically Legendary, however this card is effective in combination with another Shrine, that deals damage to every opponent at the beginning of your turn.

The Welcome Crossover

Currently when Universes Beyond products are garnering a lot of backlash by fans, an iconic series like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be exactly what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Preview period has begun, with all cards will be launched on Nov. 21.

Kelly Lowe
Kelly Lowe

Elena is a sports journalist with over a decade of experience covering major leagues and international tournaments.