Exclusive: The Way Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Revives 2 Fan-Favorite Tribe-Focused Gameplay Features

Magic: The Gathering fans often adopt tribe-based decks — who has not constructed a zombie deck at some point? — while this new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set revives 2 well-known mechanics which fit perfectly with its flavor.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Abilities

One first ability, called "Allies," was debuted with a Zendikar and gives buffs whenever additional permanents bearing this subtype enter play.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" is an enchantment-based subtype that first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not exactly a creature tribe, these enchantments likewise gain strength when a player owns additional Shrines on the battlefield.

A Comeback of the Ally Ability

While Shrines have been shown up occasionally across newer sets, Allies mechanic was far less common — until that changes in ATLA, where this mechanic gets heavily featured.

Aang must gather many companions during his quest to bring back peace across the four nations, so there's no better method to show this in an Magic set.

Exclusive Card Preview

After the first card reveal, below is previews of an Allies and one Shrine card in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Figure

Teo is one beloved minor figure in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from the Earth Tribe that lived in an Air Temple after his home was ruined in a disaster, which left him paraplegic.

Due to his father's skill with mechanics, Teo is able to glide through the skies using his glider, and challenges the Avatar in a flying race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents Teo's love for the skies and the Earth Tribe's reliance of gliders by allowing you loot whenever you attack with an airborne unit, and also strengthening your team with +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine

Regarding his home, this appears in the card Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life when coming into the battlefield, depending on how many Shrine cards you have.

The card furthermore removes an additional life whenever another Shrine enters the battlefield.

This looks like a powerful addition, given its cheap mana cost and good enter the battlefield ability.

A major drawback of Shrine-based decks in formats besides Commander are the fact that Shrines are typically Legendary, however Northern Air Temple can be effective when paired alongside another Shrine, which drains all opponents during the start of your turn.

The Timely Crossover

Currently while Universes Beyond products are garnering significant backlash from fans, a beloved franchise like Avatar could be exactly just what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Preview period has begun, and the full set will be launched on Nov. 21.

David Gillespie
David Gillespie

A seasoned casino analyst with over a decade of experience in online gambling, specializing in slot machine mechanics and player psychology.