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Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently adopt tribe-based decks — who has not built a zombie strategy once or twice? — and this upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set brings back two popular mechanics which align seamlessly with its theme.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

One initial ability, called "Allies," was debuted with the Zendikar set which grants boosts whenever additional permanents with the Ally type come onto the battlefield.

Alternatively, "Shrine" is another enchantment type that originated in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not creature-based tribal theme, Shrines likewise gain strength when a player owns more of them in play.

The Return of the Ally Ability

While Shrines have appeared occasionally across newer sets, the Ally subtype has been seldom seen — but this ends with ATLA, where this mechanic gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to gather a lot of companions on the quest to restore peace to the world, and it's no better method to show that in an Magic set.

Revealed Card Preview

After the initial card reveal, here is previews at one Ally and a Shrine cards in the new ATLA release.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Figure

This character is one popular supporting figure from ATLA, a young man of Earth Kingdom who lived in an Air Temple after his village was ruined by a disaster, which rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his dad's expertise with engineering, he is able to soar in the air with a flying device, even dares the Avatar in an aerial race.

This card Teo showcases Teo's love for the skies and his tribe's use on flying machines through letting the player loot each time you attack using a flying unit, and additionally strengthening your creatures via counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine

Regarding Teo's home, it is represented in a card named Northern Air Temple, that reduces an opponent's life when coming into the battlefield, based on the number Shrine cards you control.

It also removes one more point anytime another Shrine enters the field.

This looks like a powerful card, considering the card's low mana cost and valuable enter the battlefield effect.

One major weakness for Shrine-based decks in formats besides EDH are that Shrines are always legendary permanents, however this card can be effective in combination alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that drains all opponents at the beginning of your main phase.

The Timely Crossover

Currently when crossover sets have been garnering significant criticism by the community, an iconic series such as Avatar can be precisely what MTG requires.

Preview period is already here, and all cards will be launched November 21st.