Scoop: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Reintroduces 2 Popular Tribal Mechanics

Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently adopt tribe-based tactics — who hasn't assembled a goblin deck before? — while this forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release revives two popular mechanics that match seamlessly to the flavor.

Reappearing Tribal Abilities

One initial ability, called "Ally," was debuted in a Zendikar and gives buffs each time additional permanents bearing this type enter play.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" represents an enchantment-based subtype which originated with Kamigawa. While not creature-based tribal theme, Shrines also become power as a player owns additional Shrines on the battlefield.

A Return for the Ally Mechanic

While Shrine cards have appeared occasionally across newer releases, the Ally subtype was much rarer — until this ends in ATLA, in which this mechanic gets heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must gather a lot of companions on the quest to bring back balance to the world, and there's no better way to reflect this through a Magic: The Gathering set.

Exclusive Cards Preview

After its first set announcement, below is a look of an Ally plus one Shrine cards in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: A Beloved Figure

Teo stands as a popular minor figure from ATLA, a young man from Earth Kingdom who resided at the Northern Air Temple following his home was destroyed in a flood, which rendered him unable to walk.

Due to his dad's skill with mechanics, he can glide through the skies using his glider, and dares Aang in an aerial race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases his fondness of flying along with his tribe's reliance of gliders by allowing you loot whenever a player attacks using an airborne unit, and also pumping your team via counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine

Speaking of his home, this appears as a card named Northern Air Temple, which drains your opponent's life total when coming into the battlefield, depending on how many of Shrines you control.

The card furthermore drains one more point anytime another Shrine comes onto the field.

It appears to be a powerful card, given its low cost and valuable ETB effect.

A big drawback of Shrine decks in formats besides Commander are that these cards are always legendary permanents, however this card is effective in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that drains every opponent during the start of your main phase.

The Welcome Crossover

Currently when Universes Beyond sets have been garnering significant criticism by fans, a beloved franchise like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be exactly what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Preview period has begun, and all cards will be released November 21st.

Joyce Fields
Joyce Fields

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online slots, specializing in strategy development and game reviews.