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Magic: The Gathering fans often embrace tribe-based strategies — what player has not assembled an elf deck before? — and the new Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover release is reintroducing 2 popular examples which match perfectly with its flavor.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

One initial ability, known as "Allies," first introduced in the Zendikar set which gives boosts whenever more permanents bearing this type enter the field.

Alternatively, "Shrines" represents another enchantment-based subtype which first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not creature-based tribal theme, these enchantments also gain abilities when you controls additional of them on the battlefield.

The Return of the Ally Ability

While Shrines have shown up here and there across recent sets, the Ally mechanic has been seldom seen — until that changes in ATLA, where this mechanic gets central.

Aang has to recruit numerous allies on his quest to bring back balance to the world, and there's no better method to reflect this through a Magic expansion.

Exclusive Cards Preview

After the initial set announcement, below are previews of an Allies plus a Shrine cards in the new ATLA release.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Character

Teo is a beloved supporting figure in ATLA, a boy of the Earth Tribe who resided in an Air Temple after his village was destroyed in a flood, which left him paraplegic.

Thanks to his dad's skill with engineering, he is able to soar in the air with his glider, and challenges the Avatar in a flying race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider reproduces his passion of the skies along with his tribe's use of gliders through allowing the player loot each time a player attacks with a flying unit, and also pumping your creatures via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine

Regarding his dwelling, it is represented as the card The Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life total when entering play, based on the number Shrine cards you control.

The card furthermore removes one more life anytime a Shrine comes onto the field.

This appears to be an impactful card, considering the card's cheap mana cost plus valuable ETB ability.

One major weakness for Shrine-based decks outside of Commander is that Shrines are typically legendary permanents, however this card can be effective when paired alongside another Shrine, which deals damage to every opponent during the start of your turn.

The Welcome Collaboration

At a time when Universes Beyond products are garnering significant backlash by fans, an iconic franchise like Avatar can be exactly just what MTG needs.

Spoiler season is already here, and the full set set to be launched November 21st.