Reveal: The Way Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Set Revives 2 Popular Tribal Gameplay Features

MTG players frequently embrace tribal tactics — who hasn't constructed an elf strategy before? — and this upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set brings back two well-known mechanics which align perfectly to its setting.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Abilities

The initial mechanic, named "Allies," first debuted with a Zendikar and provides buffs whenever more permanents with the Ally type come onto play.

Alternatively, "Shrines" is another enchantment subtype which originated in Kamigawa. While not exactly creature-based tribal theme, these enchantments likewise gain power when a player owns additional Shrines on the battlefield.

The Comeback of Allies Mechanic

While Shrine cards have been appeared occasionally in newer releases, Allies mechanic was far less common — until that ends with ATLA, where the feature is heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must assemble a lot of companions on the journey to restore balance across the world, and it's no better method to reflect that through a Magic expansion.

Exclusive Cards Showcase

Following its initial card announcement, below are a look of an Ally plus a Shrine cards from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Character

Teo stands as a beloved minor character in ATLA, a young man from the Earth Tribe that resided in the Northern Air Temple after his village was ruined in a flood, an event that rendered him unable to walk.

Thanks to his dad's expertise with engineering, Teo can glide in the air with a flying device, and challenges the Avatar in an aerial race.

This card Teo showcases his fondness of the skies and his tribe's use of gliders through allowing the player loot each time you attack with an airborne unit, while also pumping your team with +1/+1 counters in the process.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine

Speaking of Teo's home, this appears as the card Northern Air Temple, that reduces an opponent's life when entering play, based on the number of Shrines you have.

The card also drains an additional point whenever another Shrine enters the battlefield.

It appears to be a strong card, considering its cheap mana cost plus good enter the battlefield effect.

One big drawback for Shrine strategies in formats besides EDH is the fact that Shrines are always Legendary, however this card can be great when paired with another Shrine, that drains every opponent during the start of your main phase.

The Timely Collaboration

Currently when crossover products have been garnering a lot of hate from the community, an iconic series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender could be precisely just what MTG needs.

Spoiler season has begun, with the full set set to be launched on Nov. 21.

Mrs. Kelly Anderson
Mrs. Kelly Anderson

A data strategist with over a decade of experience in business intelligence, specializing in predictive analytics and performance optimization for SMEs.

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