🔗 Share this article Exclusive: The Way Magic: The Gathering's Avatar Set Reintroduces Two Fan-Favorite Tribal Gameplay Features Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently adopt tribal tactics — who hasn't assembled a goblin deck once or twice? — and this forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set revives 2 beloved mechanics that fit seamlessly to the setting. Returning Tribal Mechanics One first mechanic, called "Ally," first introduced in a Zendikar and gives bonuses each time more permanents bearing the Ally type come onto the battlefield. Alternatively, "Shrines" is another enchantment subtype which originated in Kamigawa. Although not creature-based tribal theme, Shrines likewise become power as a player controls more of them on the battlefield. The Return of Allies Mechanic While Shrines have been shown up here and there across newer releases, Allies mechanic has been far less common — until that ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the feature gets central. The protagonist Aang must assemble a lot of friends on his quest to bring back peace across the world, and it's no better way to reflect this through an Magic: The Gathering set. Exclusive Card Showcase Following its first set announcement, here is a look at an Ally and a Shrines cards from the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set. Teo, Spirited Glider: The Beloved Figure Teo stands as one cherished supporting character from ATLA, a boy from the Earth Tribe that lived at an Air Temple following his village was ruined in a disaster, which rendered him paraplegic. Because of his father's expertise in engineering, Teo is able to fly in the air with his glider, and dares Aang in an aerial contest. The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents Teo's love for the skies along with the Earth Tribe's use on gliders by allowing you draw and discard each time you attack with a flying creature, and additionally strengthening your creatures with +1/+1 counters at the same time. The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine Regarding Teo's home, it is represented in the card The Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life total upon coming into play, depending on the number of Shrines you control. It also removes one more point whenever a Shrine enters the battlefield. It appears to be a strong card, considering its low cost and valuable ETB ability. A big drawback of Shrine strategies outside of Commander are that Shrines are typically Legendary, however Northern Air Temple is effective in combination alongside another Shrine, that drains all opponents during the start of your turn. A Timely Crossover Currently while crossover sets have been receiving a lot of criticism by the community, a beloved series like Avatar can be exactly what MTG requires. Preview period is already here, and the full set will be launched November 21st.