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Magic: The Gathering players often adopt tribal strategies — who has not built a goblin strategy before? — and this new Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release revives two well-known examples which align perfectly with its flavor.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Abilities

One first mechanic, known as "Allies," first debuted with the Zendikar set and grants bonuses whenever additional creatures with the Ally subtype enter the field.

Alternatively, "Shrines" is an enchantment subtype that first appeared in Kamigawa. Although not creature-based tribe, these enchantments likewise gain abilities when you owns more of them in play.

The Comeback for Allies Mechanic

While Shrine cards have shown up sporadically in newer releases, Allies subtype has been far less common — until this changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this feature is prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to gather many allies during the journey to bring back balance to the four nations, so there's no more fitting way to represent this in an Magic set.

Revealed Cards Showcase

After the first card reveal, here is a look at an Allies and a Shrine card in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: The Fan-Favorite Character

Teo stands as a beloved minor figure from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of Earth Kingdom who resided at an Air Temple following his village was destroyed by a flood, which rendered him unable to walk.

Because of his father's expertise with engineering, Teo can fly through the skies with his glider, even challenges the Avatar to a flying race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents Teo's fondness for the skies along with the Earth Tribe's reliance of gliders by letting the player loot each time you attack with a flying creature, while additionally boosting 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 The Northern Air Temple, which reduces your opponent's life total when entering the battlefield, depending on the number Shrine cards you control.

It furthermore removes an additional life anytime a Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

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

A big drawback for Shrine-based strategies outside of EDH is that Shrines are typically legendary permanents, however this card is great in combination alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that deals damage to every opponent during the start of your turn.

A Welcome Crossover

At a time when Universes Beyond products are garnering significant backlash by the community, an iconic series like Avatar could be exactly just what MTG needs.

Spoiler season has begun, and all cards will be released November 21st.