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Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts often adopt tribal decks — who hasn't constructed a goblin strategy before? — and the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover release is reintroducing two well-known mechanics which align perfectly with the flavor.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Abilities

The first ability, named "Allies," was debuted with a Zendikar set which provides buffs each time more creatures bearing this subtype come onto the battlefield.

On the other hand, "Shrines" is an enchantment type which originated with Kamigawa. Although not creature-based tribe, Shrines likewise become power when a player owns additional Shrines in play.

A Return for Allies Ability

Although Shrines have been shown up sporadically across newer releases, the Ally mechanic has been much rarer — but this changes in Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this mechanic is heavily featured.

Aang has to recruit numerous allies during his quest to bring back peace to the four nations, so there's no more fitting method to show that in an Magic expansion.

Revealed Cards Showcase

After its first set reveal, here are a look at one Allies and one Shrines cards from the upcoming ATLA set.

Teo: A Beloved Character

Teo is one popular supporting figure in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy from the Earth Tribe who resided at the Northern Air Temple after his village was destroyed by a disaster, which rendered him paraplegic.

Because of his dad's skill with engineering, he is able to glide in the air using his glider, and challenges the Avatar to a flying contest.

The card Teo showcases his passion of flying along with his tribe's use of flying machines by letting you draw and discard whenever a player attacks with an airborne creature, and additionally strengthening your creatures via counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of his home, this is represented in the card Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life when entering the battlefield, depending on how many of Shrines you have.

The card also drains an additional point whenever another Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

This looks like a powerful addition, considering its low cost plus good ETB ability.

One major weakness of Shrine-based strategies in formats besides Commander is that Shrines are typically Legendary, however Northern Air Temple can be effective in combination alongside another Shrine, that deals damage to every opponent during the start of your main phase.

The Welcome Collaboration

At a time while Universes Beyond products have been garnering a lot of hate by fans, an iconic franchise like Avatar could be exactly just what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Spoiler season has begun, and the full set set to be released November 21st.