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Magic: The Gathering fans often enjoy tribe-based strategies — who hasn't constructed a zombie strategy once or twice? — and the forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set brings back two well-known examples which fit perfectly to the theme.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

One initial ability, named "Ally," was introduced in a Zendikar and provides boosts whenever more creatures with the Ally subtype enter the field.

Alternatively, "Shrines" represents an enchantment-based subtype that originated in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribal theme, Shrines also gain power when you controls more of them on the battlefield.

The Return for Allies Ability

While Shrine cards have been appeared here and there in recent sets, the Ally mechanic has been far less common — but that changes in ATLA, in which this feature gets heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must gather numerous allies on the quest to bring back peace to the four nations, so there's no more fitting method to show this in a Magic: The Gathering set.

Revealed Cards Showcase

After the first set reveal, below is previews of one Ally plus one Shrines card from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Fan-Favorite Figure

This character is a popular minor character in ATLA, a boy from Earth Kingdom that resided in the Northern Air Temple following his home was ruined in a disaster, an event that left him unable to walk.

Because of his father's expertise with engineering, Teo is able to glide through the skies using a flying device, even challenges Aang in a flying contest.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents his fondness of flying along with his tribe's use on flying machines by letting the player draw and discard whenever you attack with a flying creature, while additionally boosting your team with counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine

Regarding his dwelling, this is represented in a card named The Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life when coming into the battlefield, depending on how many Shrine cards you have.

It furthermore removes one more point whenever another Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

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

A major weakness for Shrine decks outside of Commander are the fact that these cards are typically Legendary, but this card is great in combination alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to every opponent during the start of your main phase.

The Timely Crossover

At a time when Universes Beyond products have been garnering significant hate from fans, an iconic franchise like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be precisely just what MTG needs.

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