🔗 Share this article Scoop: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Revives Two Fan-Favorite Tribal Gameplay Features Magic: The Gathering fans consistently adopt tribe-based decks — who hasn't constructed a zombie strategy once or twice? — while this upcoming ATLA crossover set revives two well-known examples that fit perfectly with the setting. Returning Tribe-Supporting Mechanics One first mechanic, named "Allies," was debuted with the Zendikar which provides bonuses whenever additional creatures bearing the Ally subtype enter the field. On the other hand, "Shrine" represents another enchantment type which first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribal theme, Shrines likewise become strength as you controls more Shrines in play. A Comeback of the Ally Ability Although Shrine cards have shown up here and there in newer releases, the Ally mechanic has been much rarer — but this changes in ATLA, in which the feature gets prominently used. Aang has to recruit a lot of friends during the journey to bring back peace across the four nations, and it's no more fitting method to represent this in a Magic: The Gathering expansion. Revealed Cards Showcase After its initial card announcement, here is a look of an Allies plus a Shrines cards from the new Avatar: The Last Airbender release. Teo: A Fan-Favorite Character Teo is a beloved supporting figure in ATLA, a young man of the Earth Tribe who lived at an Air Temple after his village was destroyed in a flood, an event that rendered him paraplegic. Due to his father's expertise with mechanics, Teo can glide in the air with a flying device, and dares the Avatar to an aerial contest. This card Teo, Spirited Glider represents Teo's love for the skies along with the Earth Tribe's use on flying machines by letting the player draw and discard whenever you attack with a flying unit, and additionally boosting your creatures via +1/+1 counters at the same time. The Temple Card: The Strong Shrine Enchantment Regarding Teo's home, this appears in the card The Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life total when entering play, depending on how many Shrine cards you control. It furthermore removes one more point whenever another Shrine enters the field. It appears to be a strong addition, given the card's cheap cost and good ETB ability. A major drawback of Shrine-based decks in formats besides Commander are that these cards are always legendary permanents, however this card is great when paired with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that deals damage to every opponent at the beginning of your turn. The Timely Collaboration At a time when crossover products have been receiving a lot of hate by fans, a beloved series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender can be exactly what Magic: The Gathering requires. Spoiler season has begun, and all cards set to be released November 21st.