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Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently enjoy tribal decks — what player hasn't constructed a zombie strategy once or twice? — while this new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set brings back two well-known mechanics that fit seamlessly to its flavor.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

One initial mechanic, known as "Ally," was debuted with a Zendikar which provides bonuses whenever additional creatures with this subtype enter the field.

Alternatively, "Shrines" is an enchantment-based subtype that originated in Kamigawa. Although not exactly a creature tribe, Shrines likewise gain abilities as you controls more Shrines on the battlefield.

The Comeback for the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrines have been appeared occasionally in recent releases, the Ally mechanic has been far less common — but this ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the mechanic gets prominently used.

Aang must assemble a lot of allies during the journey to restore balance across the world, and there's no better way to represent that through an Magic expansion.

Exclusive Cards Showcase

After its first set announcement, below is previews of an Allies plus a Shrine card from the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Fan-Favorite Character

This character stands as one popular supporting figure from ATLA, a young man from the Earth Tribe who resided at an Air Temple following his village was ruined by a disaster, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Due to his dad's expertise with mechanics, Teo is able to soar in the air with a flying device, even dares Aang to a flying race.

The card Teo represents his love of the skies along with the Earth Tribe's reliance on gliders by letting the player draw and discard whenever you attack with an airborne creature, and also strengthening your creatures via counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: A Powerful Shrine

Regarding Teo's dwelling, this is represented in the card Northern Air Temple, which reduces an opponent's life when coming into the battlefield, depending on how many of Shrines you have.

It furthermore drains an additional life whenever another Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

This appears to be a powerful card, given the card's low cost and good ETB ability.

One big drawback of Shrine-based strategies outside of EDH is the fact that Shrines are typically Legendary, but this card can be great when paired with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which drains every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.

A Timely Crossover

Currently while Universes Beyond products are garnering a lot of backlash from fans, an iconic series such as Avatar can be exactly just what MTG needs.

Preview period has begun, and all cards will be released November 21st.