Reveal: The Way Magic's Avatar Set Reintroduces Two Popular Tribal Mechanics

MTG players often embrace tribe-based tactics — who has not constructed a zombie strategy before? — while this upcoming ATLA Universes Beyond release brings back two popular examples that match perfectly to the flavor.

Returning Tribal Mechanics

The initial ability, known as "Ally," was debuted with a Zendikar and gives buffs each time additional creatures bearing this subtype enter play.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" represents an enchantment subtype which first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly creature-based tribe, these enchantments likewise gain abilities when a player has additional Shrines in play.

A Return for the Ally Mechanic

While Shrines have appeared here and there in recent sets, the Ally mechanic was far less common — until this changes with ATLA, where the mechanic is heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must recruit a lot of friends on his journey to restore balance across the four nations, so there's no more fitting way to show that through a Magic set.

Revealed Cards Preview

Following its first card reveal, below are previews at an Allies and a Shrines cards from the upcoming ATLA release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: A Beloved Character

Teo is one beloved supporting character from ATLA, a boy of the Earth Tribe who lived at the Northern Air Temple following his home was ruined in a disaster, which left him unable to walk.

Because of his dad's skill in engineering, Teo can glide through the skies using a flying device, even dares Aang to a flying contest.

This card Teo, Spirited Glider reproduces Teo's fondness for the skies along with his tribe's reliance of flying machines through letting the player draw and discard whenever a player attacks with a flying creature, and also strengthening your creatures with +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine

Speaking of his home, it is represented as the card The Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life when entering play, based on how many Shrine cards you control.

It furthermore drains an additional point anytime another Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

This looks like an impactful card, considering its cheap mana cost plus valuable enter the battlefield ability.

One major drawback for Shrine-based strategies in formats besides Commander are the fact that these cards are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is great in combination alongside another Shrine, that deals damage to every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.

The Welcome Collaboration

Currently when crossover sets are garnering significant backlash by fans, a beloved series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender can be precisely just what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Spoiler season has begun, with all cards will be launched on Nov. 21.

Tina Peters
Tina Peters

A seasoned business strategist with over 15 years of experience in corporate innovation and digital transformation.