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MTG fans often enjoy tribal decks — who hasn't built a goblin strategy once or twice? — while the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover release revives 2 well-known mechanics that align perfectly with the setting.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Abilities

One first mechanic, named "Allies," was introduced with a Zendikar set and gives boosts whenever additional creatures with the Ally type enter the field.

Alternatively, "Shrine" represents another enchantment-based subtype which originated with Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribal theme, Shrines also gain power when a player has more Shrines in play.

The Return for Allies Mechanic

Although Shrines have appeared here and there across recent sets, the Ally mechanic was much rarer — until that ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which the feature gets central.

The protagonist Aang has to gather numerous companions during the quest to bring back balance across the world, and there's no more fitting way to represent this in an Magic set.

Exclusive Card Showcase

Following the initial set reveal, below are a look at one Ally plus one Shrine card from the upcoming ATLA release.

Teo: A Beloved Character

Teo stands as a popular minor figure in ATLA, a boy from the Earth Tribe who resided at the Northern Air Temple after his village was destroyed in a flood, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Because of his father's expertise in mechanics, he is able to fly through the skies with a flying device, even challenges the Avatar in an aerial race.

The card Teo reproduces his passion of flying and his tribe's reliance on gliders by allowing the player draw and discard each time you attack with a flying unit, and also pumping your creatures via counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: The Strong Shrine Enchantment

Regarding Teo's dwelling, this is represented as the card The Northern Air Temple, which drains your opponent's life upon entering play, based on the number Shrine cards you have.

The card furthermore removes an additional point whenever another Shrine enters the battlefield.

This appears to be a strong card, considering the card's low mana cost plus valuable enter the battlefield ability.

A major weakness for Shrine strategies in formats besides EDH are that Shrines are typically Legendary, however Northern Air Temple can be great when paired with another Shrine, that drains every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.

A Timely Crossover

Currently while Universes Beyond products are receiving significant hate from the community, a beloved franchise such as Avatar: The Last Airbender can be exactly what MTG requires.

Preview period has begun, and the full set set to be launched November 21st.