🔗 Share this article

Magic: The Gathering fans often embrace tribal strategies — what player has not assembled a zombie strategy before? — while this upcoming ATLA Universes Beyond set is reintroducing two well-known examples which match perfectly with its flavor.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

The first ability, called "Ally," was introduced with the Zendikar set which provides buffs whenever more permanents bearing this subtype enter play.

On the other hand, "Shrines" represents an enchantment-based type that originated in Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribal theme, Shrines likewise become strength when a player owns additional Shrines in play.

The Comeback of the Ally Ability

Although Shrines have appeared occasionally in newer releases, the Ally subtype was seldom seen — until this changes in ATLA, in which the feature gets heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must assemble a lot of companions on the quest to restore peace across the world, so there's no better way to reflect this in an Magic: The Gathering set.

Revealed Card Showcase

After its first card reveal, here are a look at an Allies plus a Shrines cards in the new ATLA release.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Figure

This character is a cherished supporting character from ATLA, a boy from Earth Kingdom that resided in the Northern Air Temple after his village was destroyed in a disaster, an event that rendered him unable to walk.

Due to his dad's expertise with engineering, he can glide in the air with his glider, and challenges Aang in an aerial race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider reproduces his fondness of flying along with his tribe's reliance on flying machines by letting you draw and discard whenever a player attacks using an airborne creature, and also strengthening your team via counters in the process.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Regarding Teo's dwelling, it is represented as a card named The Northern Air Temple, which reduces your opponent's life total upon coming into the battlefield, based on how many of Shrines you have.

It furthermore removes one more life whenever a Shrine enters the field.

It looks like an impactful addition, given the card's cheap cost and valuable ETB ability.

One major drawback for Shrine-based strategies in formats besides EDH is the fact that Shrines are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is great in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to every opponent during the start of your turn.

A Welcome Crossover

Currently while Universes Beyond sets are receiving a lot of hate by fans, a beloved series such as Avatar could be exactly just what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Preview period is already here, with all cards will be launched on Nov. 21.