🔗 Share this article

MTG fans frequently adopt tribal decks — who has not built a goblin strategy once or twice? — and the new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set is reintroducing 2 beloved examples that fit perfectly to the setting.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Abilities

One first mechanic, named "Ally," was debuted with the Zendikar set and gives boosts each time more creatures bearing the Ally type enter play.

Alternatively, "Shrines" is another enchantment subtype which originated with Champions of Kamigawa. While not a creature tribe, Shrines also become power when you controls more Shrines in play.

The Comeback for the Ally Ability

While Shrines have shown up occasionally in newer releases, Allies subtype has been much rarer — but this ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this mechanic is prominently used.

Aang must assemble numerous friends on the journey to bring back balance across the four nations, so there's no better way to represent that through a Magic: The Gathering set.

Revealed Card Showcase

After the first set reveal, here is previews at one Allies and a Shrine card from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: The Beloved Character

Teo is one beloved supporting character in ATLA, a boy of Earth Kingdom who lived in the Northern Air Temple following his village was ruined in a flood, an event that left him paraplegic.

Thanks to his father's skill with engineering, he is able to fly through the skies using a flying device, even challenges the Avatar to a flying race.

The card Teo showcases his passion for the skies along with his tribe's use on flying machines by allowing you draw and discard each time a player attacks with a flying unit, and additionally boosting your creatures via +1/+1 counters in the process.

The Temple Card: A Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his home, this appears as a card named Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life when entering play, depending on how many of Shrines you control.

The card also removes one more point whenever another Shrine comes onto the field.

This looks like an impactful addition, given its cheap mana cost plus good ETB effect.

A major drawback of Shrine-based decks in formats besides Commander are that these cards are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple can be effective in combination with another Shrine, which deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your turn.

A Welcome Collaboration

At a time while Universes Beyond products are garnering a lot of hate by fans, a beloved series such as Avatar could be exactly what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Spoiler season is already here, with the full set will be released on Nov. 21.