🔗 Share this article Reveal: The Way Magic's Avatar Expansion Revives 2 Fan-Favorite Tribal Gameplay Features Magic: The Gathering players frequently adopt tribe-based decks — what player has not built a goblin deck once or twice? — while this upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover release brings back 2 well-known mechanics that match seamlessly with the setting. Reappearing Tribal Mechanics One first mechanic, named "Allies," was introduced in the Zendikar and grants boosts whenever more permanents bearing the Ally type enter play. On the other hand, "Shrines" represents an enchantment-based subtype which first appeared with Champions of Kamigawa. Although not exactly creature-based tribe, these enchantments also become abilities as you has more Shrines on the battlefield. A Return of Allies Ability While Shrines have appeared here and there across newer sets, the Ally subtype was far less common — but this changes in ATLA, in which this feature is prominently used. The protagonist Aang has to gather many allies during the journey to bring back peace to the four nations, so there's no more fitting way to reflect that through an Magic expansion. Revealed Cards Showcase Following the first set announcement, below is previews of one Allies and a Shrines card from the new Avatar: The Last Airbender release. Teo: A Fan-Favorite Figure This character stands as a beloved minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from Earth Kingdom who lived in an Air Temple following his home was destroyed in a flood, an event that left him unable to walk. Thanks to his father's prowess in engineering, Teo is able to fly in the air using a flying device, even dares the Avatar in an aerial contest. The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents his passion for flying along with his tribe's reliance of gliders by allowing you draw and discard whenever a player attacks using an airborne creature, while additionally boosting your creatures via counters at the same time. The Temple Card: A Strong Shrine Enchantment Regarding Teo's dwelling, it is represented in a card named Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life total when coming into the battlefield, depending on the number of Shrines you have. It also drains one more point whenever another Shrine comes onto the field. It looks like an impactful card, considering its low mana cost and valuable ETB effect. One big weakness of Shrine decks outside of EDH is that Shrines are typically legendary permanents, but this card can be effective when paired alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which drains all opponents during the start of your main phase. A Timely Collaboration Currently while crossover sets have been receiving significant criticism by fans, a beloved franchise such as Avatar could be precisely just what Magic: The Gathering needs. Spoiler season has begun, with the full set will be launched on Nov. 21.