Reveal: How Magic's Avatar Set Revives Two Fan-Favorite Tribal Gameplay Features
Magic: The Gathering players frequently enjoy tribe-based strategies — who hasn't built a zombie strategy once or twice? — while the new ATLA Universes Beyond set is reintroducing 2 beloved mechanics that match perfectly with the flavor.
Reappearing Tribal Mechanics
The initial mechanic, named "Allies," was debuted with the Zendikar which provides boosts whenever additional permanents bearing the Ally type enter the battlefield.
On the other hand, "Shrine" is another enchantment type that originated in Kamigawa. While not a creature tribal theme, these enchantments likewise become abilities as a player controls additional of them in play.
The Return of Allies Mechanic
While Shrine cards have appeared occasionally in newer releases, the Ally mechanic has been seldom seen — but that ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this feature is prominently used.
Aang must assemble many allies on his journey to restore balance to the world, so it's no better way to represent this through an Magic expansion.
Revealed Cards Showcase
After the initial card reveal, here are previews at an Allies and a Shrines card in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set.
Teo: A Fan-Favorite Character
Teo is a beloved minor figure in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man of Earth Kingdom that resided in the Northern Air Temple following his home was destroyed by a flood, which left him unable to walk.
Thanks to his father's prowess with mechanics, Teo is able to fly through the skies with a flying device, even dares the Avatar to an aerial race.
This card Teo showcases his passion for the skies and the Earth Tribe's use on gliders through allowing you draw and discard each time a player attacks using an airborne creature, and also pumping your creatures via +1/+1 counters at the same time.
Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment
Speaking of his home, this appears in a card named The Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life total when coming into play, based on how many Shrine cards you control.
The card furthermore removes one more life whenever another Shrine enters the battlefield.
This appears to be a powerful addition, considering the card's low mana cost and good enter the battlefield ability.
One big weakness of Shrine-based decks outside of EDH is that these cards are typically Legendary, but this card is effective in combination alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to all opponents during the start of your main phase.
A Timely Collaboration
At a time when Universes Beyond sets have been receiving a lot of backlash by fans, a beloved series like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be precisely just what MTG requires.
Spoiler season is already here, with all cards set to be launched November 21st.