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Magic: The Gathering fans often embrace tribal strategies — who hasn't built an elf deck once or twice? — and this forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release brings back 2 beloved examples that align seamlessly to the flavor.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

The initial mechanic, named "Allies," was debuted with a Zendikar which gives boosts each time additional permanents with this subtype come onto play.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" represents another enchantment subtype which first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not exactly creature-based tribal theme, Shrines also become power when a player has additional of them in play.

The Return of the Ally Mechanic

While Shrines have been appeared sporadically across recent releases, the Ally mechanic has been far less common — until this ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this mechanic gets heavily featured.

Aang has to assemble numerous allies during his quest to restore peace to the world, so there's no better method to reflect this through a Magic expansion.

Revealed Cards Showcase

Following the first card announcement, below are a look of one Ally and one Shrine cards in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: A Beloved Character

Teo is one cherished supporting character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of the Earth Tribe that lived at the Northern Air Temple after his village was destroyed by a flood, which rendered him paraplegic.

Due to his father's skill in mechanics, Teo is able to soar through the skies using a flying device, and dares the Avatar in a flying contest.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases Teo's passion of the skies along with the Earth Tribe's use on flying machines by letting the player draw and discard each time you attack with an airborne unit, while also boosting your team via counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Regarding Teo's home, this is represented as a card named Northern Air Temple, which reduces an opponent's life upon entering the battlefield, depending on how many of Shrines you control.

It furthermore removes an additional point anytime another Shrine comes onto the field.

It appears to be a strong card, given the card's cheap mana cost and valuable enter the battlefield effect.

One major weakness of Shrine decks in formats besides Commander are the fact that Shrines are always Legendary, however Northern Air Temple is effective when paired alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which drains all opponents during the start of your main phase.

The Timely Collaboration

At a time when Universes Beyond sets have been receiving a lot of backlash from the community, a beloved franchise such as Avatar could be precisely just what MTG requires.

Spoiler season is already here, with the full set set to be launched November 21st.