Reveal: The Way Magic's Avatar Set Reintroduces Two Popular Tribe-Focused Mechanics
Magic: The Gathering fans consistently enjoy tribal strategies — who hasn't built a goblin strategy once or twice? — and the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release revives 2 well-known mechanics that align seamlessly with its theme.
Returning Tribe-Supporting Mechanics
One first ability, named "Allies," first debuted with a Zendikar set and provides boosts whenever additional permanents bearing this subtype come onto play.
Meanwhile, "Shrine" represents an enchantment-based subtype that first appeared with Champions of Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribe, these enchantments likewise become abilities when a player controls more Shrines in play.
A Return of the Ally Ability
While Shrine cards have appeared here and there across recent sets, Allies mechanic has been far less common — but that changes with ATLA, where the feature is prominently used.
The protagonist Aang must gather a lot of friends during the journey to bring back balance across the world, and it's no more fitting way to represent that in an Magic expansion.
Revealed Card Showcase
After the initial card announcement, here are a look at an Allies plus one Shrine cards from the new Avatar: The Last Airbender release.
Teo: The Beloved Figure
Teo is a beloved supporting figure in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of Earth Kingdom who lived at the Northern Air Temple after his home was destroyed in a flood, an event that rendered him unable to walk.
Thanks to his father's skill in mechanics, he can soar through the skies using his glider, even dares Aang in a flying contest.
The card Teo showcases Teo's love for flying along with the Earth Tribe's use on gliders by letting you draw and discard whenever a player attacks with a flying creature, and additionally strengthening your team with counters at the same time.
The Temple Card: A Powerful Shrine
Regarding his home, it appears as a card named The Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life when coming into play, depending on how many of Shrines you have.
It furthermore removes an additional life anytime another Shrine enters the battlefield.
This appears to be a strong addition, considering its cheap mana cost and good ETB ability.
One major weakness of Shrine decks in formats besides EDH is that Shrines are always Legendary, however Northern Air Temple is effective in combination alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.
The Welcome Crossover
Currently when Universes Beyond products are receiving significant hate from the community, an iconic series like Avatar: The Last Airbender could be exactly just what MTG requires.
Spoiler season has begun, with all cards set to be released on Nov. 21.