Reveal: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Set Reintroduces Two Popular Tribal Mechanics

MTG fans consistently adopt tribe-based strategies — what player has not assembled a goblin deck before? — while this upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release brings back 2 popular mechanics that match seamlessly to the theme.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Abilities

The first mechanic, named "Ally," was debuted in a Zendikar set which provides buffs whenever additional permanents with the Ally type enter the field.

On the other hand, "Shrines" is another enchantment type that first appeared with Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribe, these enchantments likewise become abilities as you owns additional Shrines on the battlefield.

The Comeback of the Ally Mechanic

While Shrines have been appeared sporadically across newer sets, Allies subtype has been much rarer — until this changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which the mechanic gets prominently used.

Aang must assemble numerous allies during the journey to restore peace across the four nations, and there's no better method to show that through an Magic expansion.

Exclusive Cards Showcase

Following the first card reveal, below is previews of one Ally and a Shrine card from the upcoming ATLA set.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Fan-Favorite Character

This character stands as one popular supporting character from ATLA, a boy of the Earth Tribe that lived in the Northern Air Temple following his home was destroyed in a disaster, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his father's prowess in engineering, Teo can soar through the skies using a flying device, even dares Aang to a flying race.

The card Teo represents Teo's fondness for flying along with his tribe's use on flying machines by letting the player draw and discard whenever you attack with a flying unit, and additionally boosting your team via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Regarding Teo's home, this appears as the card The Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life total upon entering play, depending on how many Shrine cards you have.

The card furthermore removes an additional point anytime another Shrine enters the field.

It appears to be a powerful addition, given the card's cheap cost and good enter the battlefield ability.

A major weakness of Shrine decks outside of Commander are the fact that these cards are typically legendary permanents, but this card can be great in combination alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that drains every opponent at the beginning of your turn.

The Timely Collaboration

At a time while crossover sets are garnering significant criticism from the community, a beloved series like Avatar can be precisely what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Spoiler season is already here, with the full set will be released November 21st.

Jason Martinez
Jason Martinez

Elara Vance is a tech journalist specializing in AI and machine learning, with a background in computer science and a passion for demystifying complex topics.