🔗 Share this article Scoop: How Magic's Avatar Expansion Reintroduces Two Fan-Favorite Tribe-Focused Mechanics Magic: The Gathering players often adopt tribal tactics — who hasn't constructed an elf deck once or twice? — while the forthcoming ATLA Universes Beyond set revives two beloved mechanics that align seamlessly to the theme. Reappearing Tribal Abilities The first ability, called "Allies," was introduced in a Zendikar set and gives buffs each time more creatures bearing the Ally type come onto play. Alternatively, "Shrine" is an enchantment subtype that first appeared with Champions of Kamigawa. While not a creature tribe, Shrines also become strength when a player owns additional Shrines on the battlefield. A Return of the Ally Ability Although Shrine cards have shown up occasionally in newer sets, the Ally mechanic has been seldom seen — but that changes in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this feature gets central. Aang must assemble numerous allies on the quest to bring back balance across the four nations, so it's no more fitting way to show this in an Magic expansion. Revealed Cards Preview Following the initial card announcement, below is a look at an Allies and one Shrines card from the new ATLA release. Teo, Spirited Glider: The Beloved Figure Teo stands as one popular minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of the Earth Tribe who resided at an Air Temple following his village was destroyed in a flood, which rendered him paraplegic. Because of his father's skill with mechanics, he can glide in the air using a flying device, and challenges the Avatar in a flying contest. This card Teo, Spirited Glider reproduces Teo's fondness of flying and the Earth Tribe's use of flying machines by letting the player draw and discard each time you attack using an airborne unit, and additionally strengthening your team with counters at the same time. The Temple Card: A Powerful Shrine Enchantment Regarding Teo's dwelling, it is represented in the card The Northern Air Temple, which drains your opponent's life when entering play, based on the number of Shrines you have. It also removes one more point whenever a Shrine enters the field. This appears to be an impactful card, considering the card's cheap cost plus valuable ETB ability. A big weakness of Shrine-based decks outside of Commander are that Shrines are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is great in combination with another Shrine, that deals damage to every opponent at the beginning of your turn. A Welcome Collaboration At a time while crossover sets have been garnering significant hate from the community, a beloved series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender could be exactly what MTG needs. Preview period has begun, and all cards set to be released on Nov. 21.