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Magic: The Gathering players frequently adopt tribal strategies — what player hasn't built a goblin deck before? — and the new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set brings back two popular examples that match seamlessly to its setting.

Reappearing Tribal Abilities

The initial mechanic, named "Allies," first debuted with a Zendikar set which grants buffs each time more creatures bearing this type come onto the battlefield.

On the other hand, "Shrines" is an enchantment-based type that first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. While not creature-based tribe, these enchantments likewise become abilities as you owns more Shrines on the battlefield.

The Return for the Ally Ability

Although Shrines have been shown up here and there across recent releases, Allies subtype has been much rarer — until this changes in ATLA, where this mechanic gets heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang has to recruit many allies on his quest to bring back peace across the four nations, and there's no better way to represent that through an Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Revealed Cards Showcase

After the initial set announcement, here are a look of one Allies and one Shrine card in the new ATLA release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: A Fan-Favorite Character

Teo stands as one popular supporting character from ATLA, a young man of Earth Kingdom that resided in an Air Temple following his home was ruined by a flood, an event that rendered him unable to walk.

Because of his dad's skill with engineering, he is able to glide through the skies using a flying device, and challenges Aang to an aerial contest.

This card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases Teo's love of the skies and the Earth Tribe's reliance on gliders by allowing the player loot whenever a player attacks using a flying unit, while also strengthening your team via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine

Speaking of his dwelling, this is represented in a card named Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life when coming into the battlefield, depending on how many of Shrines you control.

It also removes one more point anytime a Shrine enters the battlefield.

This appears to be an impactful addition, considering its low cost and valuable ETB ability.

A major weakness for Shrine-based strategies in formats besides EDH is the fact that Shrines are always Legendary, however Northern Air Temple can be great in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to every opponent during the start of your turn.

A Welcome Collaboration

At a time when crossover sets have been receiving a lot of backlash by fans, an iconic series like Avatar: The Last Airbender could be precisely just what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Preview period is already here, and the full set will be released November 21st.