Exclusive: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar Set Reintroduces 2 Fan-Favorite Tribal Mechanics
Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently embrace tribe-based tactics — what player hasn't assembled a goblin deck before? — and the new ATLA Universes Beyond set revives two beloved mechanics which match seamlessly with its flavor.
Reappearing Tribal Mechanics
The initial ability, called "Ally," first introduced in the Zendikar and gives buffs each time additional permanents bearing the Ally type enter the battlefield.
Meanwhile, "Shrine" represents an enchantment type which first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. Although not creature-based tribal theme, Shrines also gain power when a player controls more of them in play.
The Comeback for Allies Ability
Although Shrine cards have appeared here and there in newer sets, the Ally subtype has been much rarer — until this ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this feature is heavily featured.
The protagonist Aang has to recruit a lot of companions on his quest to bring back peace to the four nations, and it's no better method to show this in an Magic: The Gathering set.
Exclusive Card Showcase
After the initial card announcement, here are previews at an Ally and one Shrines card from the new ATLA release.
Teo: A Fan-Favorite Figure
Teo is a popular minor character in ATLA, a boy from the Earth Tribe who resided in an Air Temple after his home was ruined in a disaster, which left him paraplegic.
Thanks to his dad's expertise in engineering, Teo is able to fly through the skies using a flying device, even dares Aang in a flying race.
The card Teo showcases his love for flying along with his tribe's use on flying machines by letting the player loot whenever a player attacks with a flying unit, while additionally pumping your creatures via counters in the process.
Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine
Regarding Teo's dwelling, it is represented as the card Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life when coming into the battlefield, based on the number Shrine cards you control.
The card furthermore drains one more life anytime a Shrine enters the battlefield.
It appears to be an impactful card, considering its cheap cost plus valuable ETB effect.
A major weakness for Shrine-based strategies in formats besides EDH are that these cards are always legendary permanents, however Northern Air Temple can be great when paired alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that drains every opponent at the beginning of your turn.
A Timely Collaboration
Currently while crossover sets have been garnering a lot of backlash by the community, a beloved franchise such as Avatar can be precisely what Magic: The Gathering needs.
Spoiler season has begun, with the full set will be launched on Nov. 21.