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Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently adopt tribe-based decks — who hasn't assembled a goblin strategy once or twice? — and the new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set revives 2 beloved examples that fit perfectly to its flavor.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

One first ability, named "Allies," was introduced with a Zendikar and gives bonuses whenever more creatures bearing the Ally type enter the field.

Alternatively, "Shrine" represents another enchantment subtype that first appeared in Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribe, these enchantments likewise gain power as you has additional Shrines on the battlefield.

A Comeback of the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrine cards have shown up here and there in newer releases, the Ally mechanic was far less common — but this ends with ATLA, where the feature gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to assemble numerous companions on his journey to bring back balance across the four nations, so it's no more fitting way to show this through a Magic expansion.

Exclusive Cards Showcase

After the first set reveal, here are a look at an Ally plus one Shrine cards from the new ATLA release.

Teo: The Fan-Favorite Figure

Teo is a beloved minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from Earth Kingdom that lived in the Northern Air Temple after his village was destroyed by a disaster, which left him unable to walk.

Thanks to his dad's skill with engineering, Teo is able to fly through the skies with his glider, and dares Aang to a flying race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider reproduces Teo's love of the skies and the Earth Tribe's use on flying machines by allowing you loot each time a player attacks using a flying unit, and also strengthening your creatures with +1/+1 counters in the process.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine

Regarding his dwelling, this is represented as a card named Northern Air Temple, that reduces an opponent's life total when entering the battlefield, based on how many of Shrines you control.

It furthermore drains one more point whenever another Shrine enters the battlefield.

This looks like a powerful addition, given its cheap cost and good enter the battlefield effect.

One big drawback of Shrine-based decks outside of Commander is that these cards are always Legendary, however this card is great in combination with another Shrine, which drains all opponents during the start of your turn.

A Welcome Crossover

At a time while Universes Beyond sets have been garnering a lot of backlash by the community, an iconic series like Avatar can be precisely just what Magic: The Gathering needs.

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