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Magic: The Gathering players often adopt tribe-based tactics — what player has not built a zombie strategy before? — and the new Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set revives 2 beloved mechanics which match seamlessly to its setting.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

The initial mechanic, named "Allies," first debuted with a Zendikar and provides buffs each time additional creatures bearing the Ally subtype come onto the field.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" is another enchantment-based type that originated in Kamigawa. Although not creature-based tribe, Shrines likewise gain power as a player owns more Shrines on the battlefield.

The Comeback for the Ally Ability

Although Shrine cards have been appeared sporadically in recent sets, the Ally subtype was seldom seen — but that ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the feature gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to gather many friends during his journey to bring back balance to the world, so there's no better method to show this through an Magic expansion.

Revealed Cards Preview

After the initial card reveal, below are previews at one Allies and a Shrines cards in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Beloved Character

Teo stands as a popular minor character in ATLA, a boy from Earth Kingdom who lived at the Northern Air Temple after his village was destroyed in a disaster, which left him paraplegic.

Because of his father's skill with mechanics, he is able to fly through the skies with his glider, and dares the Avatar to a flying contest.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases his love of the skies and the Earth Tribe's use on flying machines by allowing the player loot whenever you attack with a flying creature, and also strengthening your creatures with +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: A Strong Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of his dwelling, this is represented as the card The Northern Air Temple, that drains your opponent's life total upon coming into the battlefield, based on the number Shrine cards you have.

It furthermore removes an additional life whenever a Shrine enters the field.

It looks like an impactful addition, given its cheap cost plus valuable ETB ability.

A big weakness of Shrine decks in formats besides Commander are that these cards are typically Legendary, but this card is effective in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your main phase.

The Timely Collaboration

Currently while crossover sets are garnering a lot of backlash by the community, an iconic series like Avatar could be exactly what MTG needs.

Spoiler season has begun, with all cards set to be released on Nov. 21.