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Magic: The Gathering fans consistently adopt tribe-based decks — who hasn't constructed a zombie strategy at some point? — while this new Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set revives 2 popular mechanics which fit perfectly to its flavor.

Returning Tribal Abilities

The first mechanic, named "Ally," was debuted with a Zendikar set and provides buffs each time more permanents with the Ally subtype enter the battlefield.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" represents an enchantment type which originated with Kamigawa. Although not exactly a creature tribe, these enchantments likewise become power as a player owns more Shrines in play.

A Comeback for the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrines have shown up sporadically in recent releases, the Ally subtype has been far less common — until this ends with ATLA, where the feature is central.

The protagonist Aang must assemble a lot of allies during his journey to bring back peace across the world, and there's no more fitting method to show that through an Magic expansion.

Revealed Card Preview

After its initial card reveal, below is previews at one Allies plus a Shrine cards from the new Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: A Fan-Favorite Figure

This character is a popular supporting figure in ATLA, a young man from Earth Kingdom that lived in an Air Temple after his home was destroyed by a flood, an event that rendered him unable to walk.

Thanks to his dad's prowess with engineering, he can soar in the air using a flying device, and dares Aang in an aerial race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider reproduces his love of the skies and his tribe's reliance of gliders through letting the player loot each time you attack with a flying unit, while also boosting your team via +1/+1 counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: A Powerful Shrine

Speaking of Teo's home, it appears as a card named Northern Air Temple, that drains your opponent's life total when coming into the battlefield, depending on the number of Shrines you control.

The card furthermore drains an additional life anytime another Shrine comes onto the field.

This looks like a powerful addition, given its cheap mana cost and valuable enter the battlefield effect.

A big weakness of Shrine-based strategies outside of Commander are the fact that Shrines are always Legendary, but this card is great when paired alongside another Shrine, that deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your main phase.

The Timely Collaboration

At a time while crossover sets are receiving a lot of backlash from fans, an iconic franchise such as Avatar: The Last Airbender can be exactly just what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Preview period is already here, and all cards set to be launched on Nov. 21.