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MTG fans frequently embrace tribal strategies — what player has not constructed an elf strategy before? — while the new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release brings back 2 beloved examples that match seamlessly to its flavor.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

One first mechanic, known as "Allies," first debuted in a Zendikar and gives bonuses each time additional permanents bearing this type enter play.

On the other hand, "Shrines" represents another enchantment-based subtype that originated with Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribal theme, these enchantments also become power when a player owns more of them on the battlefield.

A Return for the Ally Ability

Although Shrine cards have appeared sporadically across newer releases, the Ally mechanic has been seldom seen — but this changes with ATLA, where this feature gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to recruit many friends on the quest to restore peace to the world, so there's no better way to show this in an Magic expansion.

Exclusive Cards Preview

After its first card reveal, here is a look of an Ally plus one Shrines card in the upcoming ATLA release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Fan-Favorite Figure

This character is one beloved minor figure from ATLA, a young man from Earth Kingdom that resided at the Northern Air Temple following his village was ruined in a flood, an event that left him paraplegic.

Due to his father's prowess in engineering, Teo is able to fly through the skies using a flying device, even dares Aang to an aerial race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents his love for the skies along with his tribe's use on flying machines by allowing you draw and discard whenever a player attacks using a flying unit, and also pumping your team via counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: A Strong Shrine

Speaking of Teo's dwelling, this appears in the card The Northern Air Temple, which drains your opponent's life upon coming into play, depending on how many Shrine cards you control.

The card also removes an additional point whenever a Shrine enters the field.

It looks like a strong card, given its low mana cost and valuable ETB effect.

One big weakness for Shrine-based decks outside of EDH is that Shrines are typically Legendary, but Northern Air Temple can be effective when paired alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your turn.

A Timely Collaboration

Currently when crossover sets have been receiving a lot of hate from the community, a beloved series such as Avatar could be exactly just what MTG requires.

Preview period has begun, with all cards set to be launched November 21st.