Exclusive: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar Set Reintroduces Two Popular Tribe-Focused Mechanics

Magic: The Gathering fans frequently enjoy tribe-based strategies — what player hasn't constructed a goblin deck once or twice? — and the new ATLA Universes Beyond set is reintroducing two well-known examples which match perfectly to the flavor.

Reappearing Tribal Abilities

The initial mechanic, named "Allies," first introduced with a Zendikar set and gives boosts each time additional creatures bearing the Ally subtype come onto play.

Alternatively, "Shrines" is an enchantment-based type that originated in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribe, these enchantments also become power as a player has more Shrines in play.

The Comeback for Allies Mechanic

Although Shrine cards have been shown up sporadically across newer releases, the Ally subtype has been far less common — but this ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the feature gets prominently used.

Aang has to gather a lot of friends during the journey to bring back peace to the world, and there's no more fitting method to represent this through an Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Revealed Card Preview

After the initial set reveal, here are a look at one Allies plus one Shrines card in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: A Beloved Character

Teo stands as a popular minor figure in ATLA, a boy of Earth Kingdom that lived in an Air Temple following his village was destroyed in a disaster, an event that left him unable to walk.

Due to his dad's skill with mechanics, he can soar in the air using a flying device, even challenges Aang to an aerial race.

This card Teo showcases his love for flying and his tribe's reliance of gliders by letting the player loot whenever a player attacks with a flying creature, and additionally pumping your team via counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: A Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of his home, this is represented in the card The Northern Air Temple, that reduces an opponent's life upon coming into play, based on how many of Shrines you have.

The card furthermore removes an additional life whenever a Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

This appears to be a powerful addition, considering its low cost plus good ETB effect.

One big weakness for Shrine-based strategies in formats besides Commander is that Shrines are typically Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is great in combination with another Shrine, that deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your main phase.

A Timely Collaboration

At a time when Universes Beyond products have been garnering a lot of backlash by the community, a beloved franchise such as Avatar: The Last Airbender could be precisely just what MTG needs.

Preview period has begun, with all cards will be launched November 21st.