Scoop: The Way Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Set Revives 2 Popular Tribal Mechanics

Magic: The Gathering fans frequently embrace tribal strategies — what player has not constructed a goblin strategy before? — and this forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release is reintroducing 2 well-known examples that fit seamlessly with its theme.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Abilities

The initial mechanic, named "Ally," first debuted in a Zendikar set and gives buffs each time more creatures with the Ally type come onto the field.

On the other hand, "Shrines" is another enchantment subtype that originated with Champions of Kamigawa. Although not exactly creature-based tribe, Shrines likewise become abilities as a player controls more of them on the battlefield.

A Comeback for the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrines have been appeared here and there in recent releases, the Ally mechanic has been much rarer — until this changes in ATLA, in which the mechanic is central.

The protagonist Aang must assemble a lot of allies during his quest to restore balance to the world, so it's no better method to represent this through an Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Revealed Cards Showcase

Following the initial card reveal, here is a look of one Ally and a Shrines card from the new Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Beloved Character

Teo stands as a popular minor character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy from the Earth Tribe who resided at an Air Temple following his village was ruined by a flood, which left him paraplegic.

Thanks to his father's skill with engineering, he can fly in the air using his glider, even dares Aang in an aerial race.

This card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases Teo's love of flying and the Earth Tribe's use on flying machines by allowing the player draw and discard whenever you attack using a flying unit, while also pumping your team via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Strong Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his dwelling, this is represented in the card Northern Air Temple, that reduces an opponent's life total upon coming into play, based on the number Shrine cards you control.

The card also drains an additional life whenever another Shrine comes onto the field.

It looks like an impactful card, given its cheap cost plus valuable ETB effect.

A big weakness of Shrine decks outside of Commander are that Shrines are typically Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is effective in combination with another Shrine, which deals damage to every opponent during the start of your main phase.

The Timely Collaboration

Currently when crossover sets have been receiving significant backlash from the community, an iconic franchise like Avatar could be precisely just what MTG needs.

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

Joseph Herring
Joseph Herring

Lena is a tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for exploring how emerging technologies shape our daily lives and future possibilities.