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MTG enthusiasts consistently adopt tribal decks — who has not built an elf strategy at some point? — while this upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set revives two beloved examples which align seamlessly to the setting.

Returning Tribal Abilities

One first ability, called "Allies," was debuted with the Zendikar set and grants boosts whenever more creatures bearing the Ally type come onto play.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" represents an enchantment type which first appeared in Kamigawa. While not a creature tribe, Shrines likewise become power as a player controls more Shrines in play.

A Comeback of Allies Ability

Although Shrine cards have shown up occasionally across newer releases, Allies mechanic has been seldom seen — but that changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this mechanic gets central.

The protagonist Aang must recruit numerous allies on his quest to bring back peace to the four nations, so it's no better way to represent this through a Magic: The Gathering set.

Revealed Cards Preview

Following its first set reveal, here is previews of one Ally and one Shrines cards in the upcoming ATLA release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: A Beloved Figure

This character is a beloved minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy from Earth Kingdom that resided at an Air Temple following his home was ruined by a flood, which rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his dad's prowess in engineering, Teo is able to fly through the skies using his glider, and challenges the Avatar to an aerial race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents his passion for flying along with the Earth Tribe's reliance of gliders through allowing you draw and discard whenever you attack using an airborne unit, and also boosting your creatures via +1/+1 counters in the process.

The Temple Card: The Strong Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his home, it appears as the card The Northern Air Temple, that drains your opponent's life when coming into the battlefield, based on the number Shrine cards you have.

The card furthermore removes an additional point anytime another Shrine enters the battlefield.

It appears to be an impactful card, considering the card's cheap mana cost plus valuable enter the battlefield effect.

One major weakness of Shrine decks in formats besides Commander are that these cards are typically Legendary, however this card can be effective when paired with another Shrine, that drains all opponents during the start of your main phase.

A Welcome Collaboration

Currently when Universes Beyond products have been garnering a lot of backlash from fans, a beloved franchise like Avatar could be precisely just what MTG needs.

Preview period has begun, and the full set will be released November 21st.