Reveal: The Way Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Set Brings Back 2 Fan-Favorite Tribal Mechanics

Magic: The Gathering players frequently enjoy tribe-based decks — who has not constructed a zombie deck at some point? — and this forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release is reintroducing 2 popular mechanics which align perfectly to its setting.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

The initial ability, known as "Allies," was debuted with a Zendikar and provides boosts whenever additional permanents with this type enter the battlefield.

On the other hand, "Shrines" represents an enchantment subtype that first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribe, Shrines also gain strength as a player has additional of them in play.

The Return for Allies Mechanic

While Shrines have been shown up sporadically across newer releases, Allies mechanic has been much rarer — until that ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this feature gets heavily featured.

Aang must assemble a lot of companions on his journey to restore peace across the four nations, and it's no better method to reflect that through a Magic: The Gathering set.

Exclusive Cards Showcase

After its initial card announcement, here is a look at one Ally and a Shrine cards from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: The Fan-Favorite Figure

Teo stands as a beloved minor character from ATLA, a boy of the Earth Tribe that lived at the Northern Air Temple following his home was ruined by a disaster, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his dad's prowess in engineering, he is able to soar in the air with his glider, even dares Aang in an aerial race.

This card Teo, Spirited Glider reproduces Teo's passion for flying along with his tribe's reliance of flying machines by letting the player draw and discard each time you attack with a flying creature, and also pumping your team via counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: A Powerful Shrine

Regarding his dwelling, it appears as a card named Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life when coming into play, depending on the number Shrine cards you control.

It furthermore removes an additional point whenever a Shrine enters the battlefield.

It looks like an impactful addition, considering its low mana cost plus valuable enter the battlefield effect.

One big drawback for Shrine-based decks outside of EDH is the fact that these cards are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is great in combination alongside another Shrine, that deals damage to every opponent during the start of your main phase.

The Timely Collaboration

At a time while Universes Beyond sets have been receiving significant backlash from fans, a beloved series like Avatar can be exactly just what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Spoiler season is already here, with all cards will be launched on Nov. 21.

Lydia Lopez
Lydia Lopez

A seasoned casino analyst with over a decade of experience in slot machine mechanics and gaming strategies, dedicated to helping players improve their odds.