Reveal: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar Set Brings Back 2 Fan-Favorite Tribal Gameplay Features

MTG players frequently adopt tribe-based strategies — who has not constructed a zombie strategy before? — while the forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release revives two beloved examples that match perfectly to the flavor.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

The initial ability, named "Allies," was debuted with the Zendikar set which gives buffs whenever more permanents with this subtype enter the field.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" represents an enchantment-based type that first appeared in Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribe, these enchantments also become abilities when a player owns more of them on the battlefield.

The Return for Allies Ability

Although Shrines have shown up sporadically in recent releases, Allies subtype has been much rarer — until that changes in ATLA, in which the mechanic gets heavily featured.

Aang must recruit numerous friends during his quest to restore balance to the four nations, so there's no better method to represent that through a Magic expansion.

Revealed Cards Showcase

After its initial card reveal, below are previews of one Ally plus one Shrine cards in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo, Spirited Glider: A Beloved Character

This character is a popular minor figure from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy from Earth Kingdom who resided at an Air Temple after his home was destroyed in a disaster, an event that left him paraplegic.

Because of his dad's skill with engineering, Teo is able to fly through the skies using his glider, even dares Aang to a flying race.

The card Teo represents Teo's love of flying and the Earth Tribe's use on flying machines by letting you loot each time a player attacks with an airborne unit, while also boosting your creatures via counters in the process.

The Temple Card: A Strong Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his dwelling, this is represented as the card The Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life total upon entering the battlefield, depending on the number Shrine cards you have.

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

It looks like a strong addition, given the card's low cost and good ETB ability.

One major drawback of Shrine-based strategies in formats besides EDH are the fact that Shrines are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is great in combination alongside another Shrine, that drains every opponent during the start of your main phase.

The Welcome Crossover

At a time when Universes Beyond products have been garnering significant hate by the community, a beloved series like Avatar can be precisely just what MTG needs.

Preview period is already here, with all cards set to be released on Nov. 21.

Megan Reed
Megan Reed

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in casino reviews and strategy development.