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Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently embrace tribe-based tactics — what player hasn't constructed a zombie deck before? — while this forthcoming ATLA Universes Beyond release is reintroducing two popular mechanics that fit perfectly with its theme.

Returning Tribal Abilities

One initial ability, called "Allies," was introduced in a Zendikar and gives boosts each time more permanents with the Ally type enter play.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" represents another enchantment subtype that originated with Champions of Kamigawa. While not creature-based tribal theme, these enchantments likewise gain strength as a player controls more Shrines in play.

A Comeback of the Ally Mechanic

While Shrines have shown up occasionally across newer sets, Allies mechanic was far less common — but that ends with ATLA, where the mechanic is heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must gather many allies on the quest to bring back balance across the world, so there's no better method to represent this through an Magic expansion.

Revealed Cards Preview

Following the initial set reveal, here is previews at an Allies and a Shrine card in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: A Beloved Character

This character is a popular supporting character in ATLA, a boy from the Earth Tribe who lived at the Northern Air Temple after his home was ruined in a disaster, which rendered him unable to walk.

Thanks to his dad's skill with engineering, Teo can soar through the skies using his glider, and dares the Avatar to a flying race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases Teo's passion of flying and his tribe's reliance of flying machines by letting the player draw and discard each time a player attacks with an airborne creature, while additionally boosting your team via counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine

Regarding his home, this appears as the card Northern Air Temple, that drains your opponent's life total when coming into play, depending on the number Shrine cards you control.

The card furthermore drains an additional life whenever another Shrine enters the field.

This appears to be a strong card, considering the card's cheap mana cost plus valuable ETB effect.

A big weakness of Shrine-based strategies in formats besides EDH are that Shrines are always legendary permanents, but Northern Air Temple is effective in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which drains all opponents at the beginning of your turn.

The Welcome Collaboration

At a time while Universes Beyond products are receiving significant hate by the community, a beloved franchise like Avatar can be precisely just what MTG needs.

Preview period has begun, with the full set set to be released November 21st.