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MTG players consistently embrace tribal strategies — who hasn't built an elf strategy before? — and the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set brings back two popular mechanics which fit perfectly to the flavor.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

One first ability, known as "Ally," was debuted with a Zendikar set which grants boosts whenever additional creatures with the Ally subtype come onto play.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" represents an enchantment-based type which first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. While not a creature tribe, Shrines likewise gain strength when a player has more of them on the battlefield.

A Return for Allies Ability

While Shrines have been appeared occasionally in newer releases, the Ally mechanic was much rarer — but this changes in Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this feature is prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to assemble numerous companions on the quest to restore balance across the four nations, and there's no better way to represent this in a Magic expansion.

Exclusive Cards Preview

After its initial set reveal, below is previews of one Ally and a Shrines card from the new Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo: The Fan-Favorite Character

This character stands as a cherished minor character from ATLA, a young man of the Earth Tribe who lived at an Air Temple following his home was destroyed by a flood, which left him unable to walk.

Thanks to his dad's skill with engineering, Teo is able to soar in the air using a flying device, even challenges the Avatar to an aerial contest.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases Teo's fondness of flying along with his tribe's reliance of gliders by letting you loot each time you attack using a flying unit, and additionally strengthening your team with +1/+1 counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Regarding Teo's home, it appears in a card named Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life total when coming into play, based on the number of Shrines you have.

It also removes one more point whenever another Shrine enters the field.

This looks like a powerful addition, given its cheap cost plus valuable ETB effect.

One big weakness of Shrine-based decks outside of EDH is that these cards are always Legendary, however Northern Air Temple is great when paired alongside another Shrine, which deals damage to all opponents during the start of your main phase.

The Timely Crossover

At a time while Universes Beyond sets have been garnering a lot of criticism by the community, an iconic franchise such as Avatar could be exactly what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Spoiler season has begun, and all cards set to be released on Nov. 21.