Reveal: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar Set Revives 2 Popular Tribal Mechanics

MTG enthusiasts frequently embrace tribal strategies — who has not constructed a goblin deck once or twice? — while this upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set is reintroducing two well-known examples that align perfectly to the setting.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

One first mechanic, named "Ally," was debuted with a Zendikar and grants buffs whenever additional permanents with the Ally type come onto play.

Alternatively, "Shrines" represents an enchantment subtype that originated with Champions of Kamigawa. While not a creature tribe, these enchantments likewise become power as you has additional Shrines in play.

A Comeback for the Ally Ability

Although Shrines have been shown up occasionally in newer sets, Allies mechanic was much rarer — but that ends with ATLA, in which the feature is prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to gather a lot of friends on his journey to bring back balance to the world, so there's no more fitting method to reflect that through a Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Revealed Cards Showcase

After its initial set announcement, below are previews at an Ally plus one Shrine cards from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo: A Beloved Figure

This character is a beloved minor character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy from Earth Kingdom who resided at the Northern Air Temple following his home was destroyed by a disaster, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Due to his father's skill in mechanics, Teo can fly in the air using his glider, and challenges the Avatar in a flying contest.

This card Teo, Spirited Glider represents his passion of flying along with the Earth Tribe's reliance of gliders by allowing the player loot whenever you attack using a flying creature, and also boosting your creatures via counters in the process.

The Temple Card: The Strong Shrine

Speaking of his home, this appears in the card The Northern Air Temple, which reduces an opponent's life when entering the battlefield, depending on the number Shrine cards you have.

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

This appears to be a strong addition, considering the card's cheap mana cost and good ETB effect.

One big weakness for Shrine-based decks outside of EDH is the fact that Shrines are always legendary permanents, but Northern Air Temple is great in combination with another Shrine, which deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your turn.

The Timely Collaboration

Currently while crossover products have been garnering a lot of hate from fans, an iconic series such as Avatar can be precisely just what MTG needs.

Spoiler season has begun, and the full set set to be launched on Nov. 21.

Patrick Barrett
Patrick Barrett

Elara is a seasoned gaming journalist with a passion for slot mechanics and player advocacy in the UK market.