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Magic: The Gathering players frequently enjoy tribe-based strategies — who has not assembled a zombie deck before? — while the new ATLA Universes Beyond set brings back two beloved mechanics which align perfectly to the flavor.

Returning Tribal Abilities

The initial mechanic, known as "Allies," was introduced in the Zendikar set and grants boosts each time additional creatures with the Ally subtype enter the field.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" represents an enchantment-based subtype which first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not exactly creature-based tribal theme, these enchantments likewise gain strength as you controls additional of them in play.

A Return for the Ally Ability

While Shrine cards have shown up here and there in recent releases, the Ally mechanic was much rarer — until that changes in Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this mechanic gets heavily featured.

Aang must assemble many friends on his quest to restore balance across the four nations, so there's no better method to show this in an Magic set.

Exclusive Cards Showcase

After its first set reveal, here are previews of an Allies plus one Shrines cards from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: The Fan-Favorite Figure

This character stands as a cherished minor character from ATLA, a boy from the Earth Tribe who lived at an Air Temple after his home was ruined in a disaster, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Due to his dad's skill with mechanics, Teo is able to glide in the air using his glider, and challenges Aang to an aerial contest.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents his fondness of flying and his tribe's reliance of gliders by allowing the player draw and discard whenever a player attacks with a flying creature, while also pumping your team with +1/+1 counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: A Powerful Shrine

Speaking of his home, this appears as the card The Northern Air Temple, which reduces your opponent's life total when entering play, depending on the number of Shrines you have.

It also drains an additional life anytime a Shrine enters the battlefield.

This appears to be a powerful card, considering its low cost plus valuable enter the battlefield effect.

One big drawback for Shrine-based decks outside of EDH are that these cards are typically legendary permanents, but this card can be effective when paired alongside another Shrine, which drains all opponents at the beginning of your main phase.

The Welcome Collaboration

At a time when crossover products are receiving a lot of criticism from fans, a beloved series like Avatar could be precisely what MTG needs.

Preview period is already here, and all cards set to be launched on Nov. 21.