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MTG fans consistently embrace tribal strategies — who has not built an elf deck once or twice? — while this upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set brings back 2 popular mechanics that match perfectly with its flavor.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

The first mechanic, called "Allies," first introduced in the Zendikar set which grants bonuses each time additional creatures bearing the Ally type come onto the field.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" is an enchantment type that originated with Champions of Kamigawa. While not creature-based tribal theme, Shrines likewise become strength when a player has additional Shrines in play.

A Comeback for Allies Mechanic

While Shrine cards have been appeared occasionally across newer sets, Allies mechanic was seldom seen — until this ends in ATLA, in which this mechanic gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to gather numerous allies on the journey to bring back balance across the four nations, and it's no better way to reflect that in a Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Exclusive Card Preview

After its initial set announcement, here are previews of an Allies and one Shrine cards in the upcoming ATLA release.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Character

Teo is a popular minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of Earth Kingdom that resided in an Air Temple following his village was destroyed by a flood, which rendered him paraplegic.

Because of his father's expertise with engineering, Teo is able to soar through the skies using his glider, and dares Aang to an aerial race.

The card Teo represents his love for the skies and his tribe's use on gliders by letting the player draw and discard each time you attack using an airborne creature, and also strengthening your creatures via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his dwelling, it is represented as the card Northern Air Temple, that drains an opponent's life total upon entering the battlefield, depending on the number Shrine cards you control.

It also drains one more point whenever a Shrine comes onto the field.

It looks like a powerful card, considering the card's cheap mana cost and good ETB ability.

A major drawback of Shrine strategies outside of Commander is that Shrines are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple can be effective when paired alongside another Shrine, that deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your main phase.

The Timely Crossover

At a time while crossover products are receiving a lot of criticism from the community, a beloved franchise such as Avatar: The Last Airbender could be exactly just what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Spoiler season is already here, and the full set will be launched November 21st.