Reveal: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar Expansion Reintroduces Two Fan-Favorite Tribe-Focused Gameplay Features

Magic: The Gathering fans often adopt tribal strategies — who hasn't constructed a goblin strategy once or twice? — and the new ATLA crossover release brings back two beloved examples which match perfectly to the setting.

Returning Tribal Mechanics

One initial mechanic, known as "Ally," first debuted with the Zendikar and gives buffs each time more creatures bearing the Ally subtype come onto play.

Alternatively, "Shrine" is another enchantment type that originated in Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly creature-based tribal theme, Shrines also gain abilities when a player controls additional Shrines in play.

A Comeback of Allies Mechanic

While Shrines have been appeared sporadically across newer releases, Allies subtype was far less common — but that ends in ATLA, in which this mechanic gets central.

The protagonist Aang must recruit numerous friends on his quest to restore peace across the world, and there's no better way to show that through a Magic: The Gathering set.

Revealed Cards Showcase

Following its initial card announcement, here is previews at an Ally plus one Shrines card from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: A Beloved Character

This character stands as a cherished minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man of the Earth Tribe that lived at the Northern Air Temple after his village was destroyed by a disaster, which rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his dad's prowess in mechanics, he can soar through the skies with his glider, and challenges Aang to an aerial contest.

The card Teo represents his fondness for the skies and his tribe's reliance on flying machines by letting the player loot each time you attack using an airborne unit, while also boosting your creatures via counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his dwelling, this appears in the card Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life upon coming into the battlefield, based on how many Shrine cards you control.

It also drains one more point whenever a Shrine enters the field.

This appears to be an impactful addition, given its low mana cost and good ETB ability.

One big drawback for Shrine strategies outside of Commander is that Shrines are always legendary permanents, but this card is effective in combination alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your turn.

A Welcome Collaboration

Currently while crossover sets have been garnering a lot of hate from fans, an iconic franchise such as Avatar can be exactly just what MTG needs.

Preview period is already here, and the full set will be released November 21st.