Reveal: The Way Magic's Avatar Expansion Brings Back 2 Fan-Favorite Tribal Mechanics

MTG enthusiasts often adopt tribal strategies — who hasn't constructed a goblin deck at some point? — and the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set revives 2 well-known examples which align perfectly to the flavor.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

The initial ability, named "Allies," first introduced with the Zendikar set and gives bonuses each time more creatures with this subtype enter play.

On the other hand, "Shrines" represents an enchantment subtype that originated in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribal theme, Shrines likewise gain power as you has additional of them in play.

The Return of Allies Ability

While Shrines have been appeared sporadically in newer sets, Allies mechanic has been far less common — but that ends in ATLA, in which the feature gets heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must recruit many friends on the quest to restore balance across the world, and it's no more fitting method to reflect that in an Magic set.

Revealed Card Preview

After the first card announcement, here are a look of one Allies plus a Shrine card in the upcoming ATLA set.

Teo, Spirited Glider: A Fan-Favorite Figure

Teo stands as a popular minor figure in ATLA, a young man of the Earth Tribe that lived at an Air Temple after his village was destroyed by a disaster, which left him unable to walk.

Due to his dad's skill with engineering, Teo is able to glide through the skies using his glider, and dares the Avatar in a flying contest.

The card Teo reproduces his fondness of flying and his tribe's reliance on flying machines through letting the player loot each time you attack with a flying unit, while also strengthening your creatures via counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of his home, this is represented in a card named The Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life total upon entering play, depending on the number Shrine cards you control.

The card also removes one more life anytime a Shrine enters the battlefield.

It looks like a powerful addition, given its low mana cost and valuable enter the battlefield ability.

A major weakness of Shrine decks outside of Commander is that these cards are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is great in combination alongside another Shrine, which drains all opponents during the start of your turn.

A Timely Crossover

At a time when Universes Beyond products are receiving significant criticism by fans, an iconic series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender can be precisely what MTG needs.

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

Julia Lopez
Julia Lopez

A seasoned gaming analyst with a passion for slot mechanics and player psychology, sharing insights to enhance your casino adventures.