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Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts frequently adopt tribal decks — what player has not constructed an elf strategy at some point? — and the forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set is reintroducing two well-known mechanics that align perfectly to its setting.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

One first ability, called "Allies," first debuted with a Zendikar set and gives bonuses whenever additional permanents with the Ally type enter the field.

On the other hand, "Shrine" represents an enchantment-based subtype which originated with Kamigawa. Although not creature-based tribal theme, Shrines also gain abilities when a player has more Shrines on the battlefield.

The Return for Allies Ability

While Shrines have been shown up occasionally across recent sets, the Ally subtype has been far less common — until that ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this feature gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to assemble many companions on his quest to bring back peace to the four nations, so there's no better method to reflect this through a Magic: The Gathering set.

Exclusive Cards Preview

Following its first card reveal, here are previews at an Allies and one Shrine cards in the new ATLA set.

Teo: The Beloved Figure

Teo is a popular minor figure in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from the Earth Tribe that resided at the Northern Air Temple after his home was destroyed in a disaster, which rendered him unable to walk.

Due to his dad's expertise in engineering, Teo is able to fly through the skies with a flying device, and challenges the Avatar in an aerial contest.

This card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases Teo's fondness for flying and his tribe's reliance of gliders by letting you draw and discard each time a player attacks using a flying unit, while additionally pumping your creatures via +1/+1 counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his dwelling, it is represented as a card named The Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life total upon coming into play, based on how many of Shrines you have.

It furthermore drains one more point whenever a Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

This looks like a strong card, considering its cheap mana cost and valuable enter the battlefield ability.

A big drawback for Shrine-based strategies in formats besides EDH are that these cards are typically Legendary, but Northern Air Temple can be great when paired alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your turn.

A Welcome Collaboration

Currently when Universes Beyond sets are garnering significant criticism from the community, a beloved series such as Avatar could be exactly what MTG requires.

Spoiler season has begun, with the full set set to be launched on Nov. 21.