Reveal: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar Expansion Reintroduces Two Popular Tribal Gameplay Features

Magic: The Gathering fans consistently enjoy tribal decks — who has not built an elf deck before? — while this new Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set revives 2 beloved examples which match perfectly to its flavor.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Abilities

One initial ability, known as "Allies," was introduced in a Zendikar and grants buffs each time additional permanents bearing the Ally subtype enter play.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" is another enchantment-based subtype which originated in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not exactly a creature tribe, Shrines likewise gain power when you has additional Shrines on the battlefield.

The Return for the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrine cards have been appeared occasionally across recent releases, Allies subtype has been seldom seen — until that ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this mechanic gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to gather many allies on his quest to restore peace across the four nations, and it's no better way to represent this through an Magic: The Gathering set.

Exclusive Cards Showcase

After the first set announcement, here are a look of an Ally plus one Shrines card in the upcoming ATLA set.

Teo, Spirited Glider: A Beloved Character

This character is one popular supporting character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from Earth Kingdom that lived in the Northern Air Temple following his village was destroyed in a flood, an event that left him paraplegic.

Due to his father's expertise in mechanics, Teo is able to fly through the skies with a flying device, and challenges the Avatar in a flying contest.

The card Teo represents Teo's love of flying along with the Earth Tribe's use on flying machines by allowing the player draw and discard each time you attack using a flying creature, and additionally pumping your team via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Strong Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of his dwelling, it is represented in a card named Northern Air Temple, that reduces an opponent's life total when coming into play, based on how many Shrine cards you control.

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

This appears to be an impactful addition, considering its cheap cost and valuable enter the battlefield effect.

One big drawback for Shrine strategies in formats besides Commander are the fact that these cards are always legendary permanents, however this card can be great in combination alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that drains every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.

A Timely Crossover

Currently when crossover sets have been garnering significant criticism from the community, an iconic series like Avatar could be exactly just what Magic: The Gathering needs.

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