Scoop: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar Set Revives 2 Fan-Favorite Tribal Gameplay Features

MTG enthusiasts consistently adopt tribal tactics — what player hasn't built a goblin deck once or twice? — and this new ATLA crossover release brings back 2 popular mechanics which fit perfectly to the flavor.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

One initial mechanic, known as "Allies," first introduced with the Zendikar which gives buffs each time more permanents bearing the Ally subtype enter the battlefield.

On the other hand, "Shrines" represents an enchantment subtype that first appeared in Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribe, Shrines also become strength as a player owns more Shrines in play.

A Comeback of Allies Mechanic

While Shrines have been appeared sporadically across newer sets, Allies mechanic was much rarer — but this ends with ATLA, in which this feature gets central.

Aang has to gather a lot of friends on his quest to bring back peace to the world, and there's no better way to represent this in a Magic set.

Exclusive Card Showcase

After the first set reveal, here are previews at an Ally plus a Shrines cards in the upcoming ATLA set.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Figure

Teo is one popular supporting character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from the Earth Tribe that lived in the Northern Air Temple after his home was ruined by a disaster, which left him unable to walk.

Thanks to his dad's expertise with engineering, Teo is able to fly in the air with his glider, and challenges the Avatar in an aerial race.

The card Teo reproduces his passion for flying along with the Earth Tribe's use of flying machines through allowing the player loot each time you attack using an airborne creature, and additionally pumping your team via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: A Powerful Shrine

Speaking of his home, this appears as a card named Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life total when entering the battlefield, based on how many of Shrines you have.

The card also drains an additional life whenever another Shrine enters the field.

It looks like a powerful card, given its low cost and good ETB ability.

One major drawback of Shrine decks in formats besides Commander are the fact that Shrines are always Legendary, however Northern Air Temple is effective in combination alongside another Shrine, which drains all opponents at the beginning of your main phase.

A Welcome Collaboration

Currently while Universes Beyond sets are garnering significant criticism by fans, an iconic franchise such as Avatar can be exactly what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Preview period is already here, and all cards set to be launched on Nov. 21.

Juan Wilson
Juan Wilson

Lena is a passionate gamer and tech journalist with over a decade of experience covering the gaming industry and reviewing new releases.