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Magic: The Gathering fans consistently enjoy tribe-based tactics — who has not constructed a goblin strategy at some point? — and the upcoming ATLA Universes Beyond set brings back 2 well-known examples which fit seamlessly with the flavor.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Abilities

One initial ability, called "Allies," first introduced with a Zendikar and gives buffs whenever more permanents bearing this subtype come onto the battlefield.

Alternatively, "Shrine" represents an enchantment type which originated in Champions of Kamigawa. While not creature-based tribal theme, these enchantments also gain power when a player has more of them in play.

A Return for the Ally Mechanic

While Shrine cards have been shown up sporadically in newer releases, the Ally subtype was much rarer — until that ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this mechanic gets heavily featured.

Aang has to assemble a lot of friends during the quest to bring back peace to the world, so there's no better method to show that in an Magic expansion.

Revealed Card Preview

Following its first set reveal, here are a look at an Ally plus a Shrines cards in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Character

Teo stands as a cherished minor character from ATLA, a boy from Earth Kingdom that resided in the Northern Air Temple after his home was ruined by a disaster, which rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his dad's prowess with engineering, Teo is able to soar through the skies with his glider, and challenges the Avatar in a flying race.

This card Teo represents his fondness of flying and his tribe's use of gliders through allowing you draw and discard each time you attack using a flying unit, while additionally pumping your team via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine

Speaking of his dwelling, this appears in a card named Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life total when entering the battlefield, based on how many Shrine cards you control.

The card also removes an additional point anytime a Shrine enters the battlefield.

It appears to be an impactful addition, considering its cheap cost plus good enter the battlefield effect.

A big weakness of Shrine-based strategies outside of Commander is that these cards are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is effective in combination alongside another Shrine, which deals damage to all opponents during the start of your main phase.

The Welcome Crossover

Currently when Universes Beyond products have been receiving significant criticism by the community, an iconic series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender could be precisely just what MTG needs.

Spoiler season has begun, with the full set set to be launched November 21st.