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MTG fans consistently embrace tribe-based tactics — what player hasn't assembled an elf deck before? — while the upcoming ATLA Universes Beyond release revives 2 well-known examples that match perfectly to its theme.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

The first mechanic, named "Ally," first debuted with the Zendikar which gives bonuses whenever additional permanents with this subtype come onto the battlefield.

Alternatively, "Shrines" is another enchantment subtype which originated with Champions of Kamigawa. While not creature-based tribe, these enchantments likewise become abilities as a player owns additional of them on the battlefield.

The Return of the Ally Mechanic

While Shrines have been appeared here and there across newer sets, Allies subtype has been seldom seen — but this changes with ATLA, where the mechanic gets heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must recruit numerous allies during his journey to bring back peace across the world, so there's no better method to reflect that through an Magic set.

Revealed Card Showcase

Following the initial card reveal, below are previews at one Ally plus one Shrine card in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Character

Teo is one beloved minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from the Earth Tribe that lived at an Air Temple following his home was ruined by a flood, which rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his father's expertise in engineering, he can glide through the skies with a flying device, and dares the Avatar to a flying race.

This card Teo represents his love for the skies along with the Earth Tribe's use of gliders by letting you draw and discard whenever you attack using an airborne creature, and also pumping your creatures via counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine

Regarding Teo's dwelling, this is represented as a card named Northern Air Temple, which drains your opponent's life total when coming into the battlefield, depending on how many Shrine cards you have.

The card also drains one more point whenever a Shrine enters the battlefield.

It looks like an impactful card, given the card's low mana cost and good enter the battlefield ability.

A major drawback for Shrine-based decks in formats besides Commander are that these cards are typically Legendary, but Northern Air Temple can be great when paired alongside another Shrine, that drains every opponent during the start of your turn.

A Welcome Collaboration

At a time while Universes Beyond sets are receiving significant backlash from fans, a beloved franchise like Avatar can be precisely what MTG requires.

Preview period has begun, with the full set will be launched on Nov. 21.