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MTG players often adopt tribal decks — who has not constructed a zombie strategy at some point? — while this new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release brings back two well-known mechanics that align seamlessly with its flavor.

Returning Tribal Abilities

One initial mechanic, named "Ally," first debuted with a Zendikar and grants buffs whenever additional creatures with this subtype come onto the field.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" is an enchantment type that originated with Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribe, Shrines also become power when a player controls more of them on the battlefield.

The Return for Allies Mechanic

While Shrines have been appeared occasionally in recent releases, Allies subtype was much rarer — but this ends with ATLA, where the feature is prominently used.

Aang has to gather many allies during his quest to restore peace to the world, and it's no better way to represent that in an Magic: The Gathering set.

Revealed Cards Preview

Following its first card announcement, below is previews of an Ally plus a Shrine card from the new ATLA release.

Teo: The Fan-Favorite Figure

Teo is one beloved minor character from ATLA, a boy of the Earth Tribe who resided at the Northern Air Temple after his village was destroyed in a flood, an event that left him unable to walk.

Thanks to his dad's skill in engineering, he is able to soar in the air using a flying device, and dares Aang to a flying race.

The card Teo represents Teo's fondness for flying and his tribe's reliance of gliders by letting the player draw and discard whenever you attack with an airborne unit, and also pumping your team with +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of Teo's home, it appears in the card Northern Air Temple, which drains your opponent's life total when coming into play, based on how many Shrine cards you have.

The card also removes an additional life whenever another Shrine comes onto the field.

This looks like a strong addition, considering its low mana cost plus valuable enter the battlefield ability.

One major weakness for Shrine decks in formats besides EDH are the fact that Shrines are always legendary permanents, but Northern Air Temple is great when paired with another Shrine, which drains all opponents during the start of your main phase.

The Timely Collaboration

Currently when crossover sets are receiving significant criticism by the community, a beloved franchise like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be precisely what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Preview period has begun, with the full set set to be released November 21st.