Reveal: How Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender Set Brings Back 2 Fan-Favorite Tribe-Focused Gameplay Features

Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts often adopt tribe-based decks — who has not built a goblin deck once or twice? — and the upcoming ATLA Universes Beyond release is reintroducing 2 well-known mechanics that fit seamlessly to its theme.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Abilities

The first ability, called "Allies," first introduced with the Zendikar set which grants bonuses each time more creatures with this subtype come onto the battlefield.

Alternatively, "Shrine" represents another enchantment-based type which first appeared with Champions of Kamigawa. While not a creature tribe, these enchantments also gain strength when a player has additional Shrines in play.

A Comeback of Allies Mechanic

Although Shrines have appeared here and there across newer sets, Allies mechanic was far less common — until that ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the mechanic gets heavily featured.

Aang must recruit numerous companions during his quest to bring back balance across the four nations, so there's no more fitting way to represent this through a Magic: The Gathering set.

Revealed Card Preview

Following the first card reveal, here are a look at an Allies plus one Shrine card in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Beloved Character

Teo stands as one cherished minor figure in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy from the Earth Tribe who lived in an Air Temple following his home was ruined in a disaster, an event that left him paraplegic.

Due to his dad's expertise in mechanics, Teo is able to glide in the air with his glider, even dares Aang in an aerial race.

This card Teo represents his fondness for the skies and the Earth Tribe's reliance of flying machines by allowing the player draw and discard whenever a player attacks with an airborne unit, and also pumping your creatures via counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: The Strong Shrine

Speaking of Teo's home, this appears in the card Northern Air Temple, which reduces an opponent's life total when coming into the battlefield, depending on how many of Shrines you have.

The card furthermore drains an additional life anytime a Shrine comes onto the field.

It looks like a powerful addition, given the card's cheap cost plus valuable enter the battlefield ability.

A major drawback of Shrine-based strategies in formats besides Commander is the fact that these cards are typically Legendary, but this card is effective when paired alongside another Shrine, which drains every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.

The Welcome Collaboration

Currently when Universes Beyond products have been garnering a lot of backlash from fans, an iconic series such as Avatar can be precisely just what MTG needs.

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

David Armstrong
David Armstrong

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online casino trends and player strategies.