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Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts often enjoy tribe-based tactics — who has not constructed an elf strategy before? — and the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set revives two popular examples which align perfectly with the setting.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Abilities

The first ability, named "Ally," first introduced in the Zendikar which provides boosts each time more permanents with the Ally type come onto the field.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" is another enchantment subtype which originated with Kamigawa. Although not exactly creature-based tribe, these enchantments also gain strength when you controls additional of them on the battlefield.

A Comeback for the Ally Mechanic

While Shrine cards have appeared sporadically in recent sets, the Ally subtype has been much rarer — but this changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the feature is prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to assemble numerous companions during his journey to bring back peace to the four nations, so it's no better way to show this through an Magic: The Gathering set.

Exclusive Cards Preview

After the first card announcement, here are previews at an Allies and a Shrines cards from the upcoming ATLA release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Beloved Character

Teo is a cherished supporting character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of Earth Kingdom who lived at the Northern Air Temple following his home was ruined by a disaster, which rendered him paraplegic.

Due to his dad's skill in engineering, Teo is able to glide through the skies using his glider, and challenges the Avatar in an aerial contest.

The card Teo represents his fondness for the skies and the Earth Tribe's reliance on flying machines by letting you loot whenever you attack using an airborne unit, and additionally strengthening your creatures with counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: The Strong Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his home, it appears as a card named Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life total when coming into play, depending on the number Shrine cards you control.

The card furthermore drains one more point anytime another Shrine enters the battlefield.

It looks like an impactful addition, considering the card's low cost plus valuable enter the battlefield ability.

A big drawback of Shrine-based strategies outside of EDH are that Shrines are typically Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is great in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that deals damage to all opponents during the start of your main phase.

A Welcome Collaboration

Currently while crossover sets have been garnering significant criticism by the community, an iconic franchise such as Avatar can be precisely what MTG needs.

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