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

MTG enthusiasts frequently embrace tribal tactics — what player hasn't assembled a zombie deck before? — and the forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set revives two beloved mechanics that match seamlessly to the flavor.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

The initial mechanic, known as "Allies," first introduced in the Zendikar set and grants buffs whenever more creatures bearing the Ally type enter play.

Alternatively, "Shrine" is an enchantment-based subtype that originated in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribe, these enchantments likewise gain power as you owns additional of them on the battlefield.

A Return of the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrine cards have been appeared occasionally in newer releases, Allies mechanic was much rarer — but that changes with ATLA, in which this mechanic is central.

Aang must recruit numerous allies during his quest to restore peace to the four nations, so there's no more fitting method to represent this through a Magic: The Gathering set.

Exclusive Card Preview

After the initial set reveal, below is a look of one Ally plus one Shrine card in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Fan-Favorite Figure

This character is one cherished supporting character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man of Earth Kingdom that lived in the Northern Air Temple following his home was ruined by a disaster, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his father's skill with mechanics, he is able to fly in the air using his glider, even dares Aang in a flying contest.

The card Teo represents his passion for flying along with the Earth Tribe's use on gliders through allowing the player loot each time a player attacks with a flying creature, while additionally pumping your creatures with +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine

Regarding his home, it appears in a card named The Northern Air Temple, which drains your opponent's life upon coming into play, based on the number of Shrines you have.

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

It appears to be a strong addition, considering its low mana cost and valuable ETB ability.

A major drawback for Shrine-based decks in formats besides Commander are the fact that Shrines are always Legendary, however this card is great in combination alongside another Shrine, that deals damage to all opponents during the start of your turn.

A Timely Crossover

At a time while Universes Beyond products have been receiving significant hate from the community, a beloved series like Avatar could be precisely just what MTG needs.

Spoiler season is already here, and the full set will be launched on Nov. 21.

Tammy Harding
Tammy Harding

Elara Vance is a tech journalist and software developer with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and digital innovations.